Glenn, M. (1996). Who killed Mr. Chippendale?: A mystery in poems. New York: Lodestar Books.
Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? is a collection of narrative poetry that tells the story of the murder and following investigation of a high school English teacher, Mr. Chippendale. Every poem is told from the point of view of a different character throughout the story. Some accounts are from students, teachers, police officers, and recurring poems written from the point of view of colleague and romantic partner, Angela Falcone. Some students have wonderful things to say about their former teacher, while others don't seem to care, or have negative opinions. With every poem, you get a little clue as to who may be responsible. Anonymous letters start showing up for Ms. Falcone and the police are immediately notified. You also learn a little more about the man beyond his murder by his students' and colleagues' descriptions.
Although the poems don't rhyme, there is a sense of rhythm with each poem. The poems are mostly literal, but Glenn did use some figurative language, specifically metaphors and similes. For example, on page 45 a student named Mike Curry says "Going to school is a lot like watching TV". You click from one period to the next all the while hearing the same messages over and over. He is referring to the impersonal education he feels he's had. On page 53, a student named June Hogarth compares her struggle with alcoholism with a washing machine- hoping to find the strength to stop the vicious cycle. Mr. C was the one person who reached out and gave her the help she needed.
This book was a very interesting twist on a typical mystery. More so than just the poetry, it was written from multiple points of view so you got sense of how different people felt about the man who was killed and the situation in general. Some students were glad to see a teacher who gave them a hard time gone. Others had been effected in a positive way by Mr. C and were devastated to see him gone. Many people, students and adults, did not like how the situation was handled by the school-almost as if it never happened.
This would be the perfect book for older students, 9-12 grade, who say they don't like reading poetry. I honestly, am not a huge fan of poetry, but I really enjoyed this book. I would use this book not only in a unit discussing narrative poetry, but also to teach about metaphors and similes. Students could write them down as they find them and categorize in a T-chart as either metaphors or similes.
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