Wet Cement by Robert Raczka

  Raczka, Robert. Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems. Roaring Book Press, 2016. 8 to 12 years.

This is a collection of 21 concrete poems, or sometimes referred to as shape poems, which are explained as, “The poet arranges words in the shape of the thing the poem is about or in a way that emphasizes the poem's meaning. But here’s what’s really cool: by cleverly arranging individual letters, you can also paint a picture on the page with a single word” (Bob Raczka). The purpose of this collection is to encourage readers to look at words in a new light and make them want to play with language. Each word is given a two-page spread as a canvas for constructing these poems.  
These poems are targeted towards young readers, and they have high color contrast with their black and white color palette. The poems are minimal and provide exposure to young readers as to what poems can look like and emphasize the artistry of poetry. The poems in this collection are all written by Bob Raczka. While some poems are straightforward, others offer additional challenges of being written backwards. The poems all have a sense of playfulness and cleverness embedded into them and are related to things that can be found outside and in nature. 

The illustrations on the pages are comprised of the words making up the poems and further add to the meaning of the poem. Not only do these words literally make up a picture but also paint an image in the reader’s mind of the scene. The collection ends with the poem titled “poeTRY”, encouraging readers to try playing with words and see what they can come up with. This clever collection belongs in any young readers' library to showcase the artistry of words.