Margaret K. McElderry Books
Simon & Schuster
October 1999
44p hc
ISBN: 978-0689825316
Behind The Wheel: poems about driving
Janet S. Wong
from the book...
Forget kindergarten,
sharing.
Everything you need to know
you learn right here
behind the wheel.
So begins the title poem of this collection for young adults in which Janet S. Wong looks at driving as a metaphor for life. Through thirty-six poems that range in subject from passing the written driver's test and borrowing a car, to parallel parking and being pulled over by a cop, to car accidents and parents' anxieties, the poet succeeds in touching on all the subjects of concern to young people - love, death, hopes and dreams.
Contemporary, honest and direct, these poems offer a fresh approach to a subject of deep interest to today's young people.
If you have read this verse novel and would like to share your opinion of it with other readers please send your review or comments to YARR-A
Behind
the Wheel is
a collection of poems about driving. While some of these
poems are funny others have a much more serious tone to them. This book
is a
very short read but has a good collection of poems. It has some very
serious
ones about drink driving and others that are about learning to drive.
By
far my favourite poem is called “Restraint.” This is a funny poem about
a
boy who describes his parents as an airbag. You don’t know if they care
and
then when you mess up “bang” they’re in your face.
This
is a really good book with a good selection of funny and serious poems
about
driving. I would give this book 3 out of 5. I would recommend this book
to
teenagers because of the theme and because it does deal with a few
serious
issues.