Merry-Go-Day

Laurence Steven is Chairman of the English Department at Laurentian
University and author of Dissociation and Wholeness in Patrick White’s
Fiction.

This delightful work craftily displays the intrigue that an amusement
park excites in a child. Merry-Go-Day takes the form of a collection of
poems that progresses as a story about a young girl’s day at the
exhibition. Games, rides, fun-houses, food—there are poems about all
of our favorite carnival experiences. Children ages six to ten will love
it, but others both younger and older will enjoy it as well.

Fitch’s poetic style is a form of art in itself, illustrating
movements on the fairgrounds through the actual presentation of the
poems on the page, as well as through the conventions of verse.
Alliteration, onomatopoeia, repetition, and nonsense words (such as
“Fantasticalbubblefulspinaround”) evoke the feelings of excitement
and joy that children experience as they walk around an amusement park.
The wonderful chaos of the day gains its forward movement from a young
girl’s repeated attempts to win a beautiful purple parrot at one of
the game booths. Unfortunately, she is unsuccessful, but is able to
realize that she can try to win the parrot again next year.

Bobak’s illustrations are full of bright colors and will undoubtedly
appeal to a child’s imagination. There is, in addition, a hint of the
lurid in the purples, pinks, and blues that just suggests the wildness
of the carnival world. The artwork serves as a strong visual aid to the
child’s understanding of the poems, since there is an illustration
provided to depict the actions occurring in each one.

Fitch captures the intrigue that most children experience at fairs and
exhibitions. Although older children could read and understand this book
on their own, younger ones would enjoy having it read to them by their
parents or a teacher. All in all, this is a delightful book that will
help children appreciate how wild, zany, and fun poetry can really be.