“No room on this rock? Can it be true? Read back to front for another point of view.”
The first time I saw Room on our Rock on the shelf of a small, local bookstore, I pulled it down, read it and then answered the invitation to read the book again, this time from back to front… and I gasped. The perspective completely shifted as I read from front to back, then back to front, and the two sides of the story combined to create a powerful narrative about making room for those who have no other place to go.
Read this book to children of all ages. Use it to open dialogue about the refugee crisis. Marvel at the craft. Keep it close by when teaching perspective and debate.
Your students will no doubt be intrigued by the reverso format. Be sure to check out this incredible reverso poetry series by Marilyn Singer to introduce them to more text in this format… and then be amazed when they begin to write their own.
