I could use this book in third or fourth grade as an individual read. After the students had read the poem, I would ask them to contemplate what they had read and write a reflection on their thoughts. Then, students could choose one superstition and write a shorty story or poem about it with developed characters, plot, setting, etc. I could also use this book as a read aloud in first or second grade to talk about written and oral stories. The students and I would talk about what is told as truth and what others believe because of how or where they were raised. Students would be asked to research superstitions within their family.

I had mixed feelings about this book because although I found the superstitions to be very interesting, I found most of them to be very negative which I did not like. I liked how even though the entire book was about superstitions, each individual poem stood alone and had their own style. I liked that each poem had illustrations that went along really well with the meaning behind the poem. I think it was really neat how each of the poems fit into the shape of the object that the poem is about. I think one of the reasons I liked the poem book so much was because it was so different from anything I have ever read. I thought the writing was very organized and well written. The only thing I can think of for the big message would be to inform people about superstitions and what people should do if they acquire a particular one. ( )

I liked reading Knock on Wood, a book of poems about superstitions. The illustrations were extremely detailed and really enhanced the poems. There were some superstitions I had never heard of but I thought they were all interesting and in the back of the book they explained all of the superstitions. On the cat page, there were several cats hidden throughout the background illustrations. I also really liked the rhyming on the ear page, “be, now, good, sung, quick, now, bad, tongue.” It wasn’t a poem where every line rhymed but it still had a nice flow. The main message was that lots of people have superstitions they believe in. The book doesn’t say whether the author thinks they are true or not, it just describes each superstition. ( )

I enjoyed this collection of poems for a few reasons. I liked the theme of poems about different superstitions. There were some that were common like black cats and walking underneath ladders bring bad luck, and I learned some new superstitions, for instance, ladybugs are good luck. This incorporation of common and uncommon superstitions made the poems interesting to read. Also, the illustrations supported the idea behind each poem. For example, the poem about ladybugs had an illustration of ladybugs in a garden because they eat the other insects that would destroy plants. Lastly, in the back of the book, there was a list with the explanation of each superstition and where it originated. Because the poems didn’t directly explain the superstition, I thought it was helpful to have a clear explanation to give the full meaning and cultural background of each saying. ( )

This is a poetry collection about superstitions. Each poem deals with one. Some are about crossing the path of a black cat, breaking a mirror or knocking on wood.