Jeremy Bloom, a character first introduced in The D- Poems of Jeremy Bloom: A Collection of Poems About School Homework and Life (Sort Of), has returned. In this second Jeremy Bloom book , we once again meet up with the lacklustre poet only to discover his athletic abilities are nothing to write home about, let alone inspire a collection of poetry for publication.

It’s the beginning of a new school year and Bloom is approached by his beloved creative writing teacher, Mrs. Stegowitz – whom the students affectionately call Mrs. Stegosaurus – to enroll once again in her class. If he does, and if he does well, she promises that his D- mark of last year will be changed to reflect his new-found skill. Realizing he has little choice but to join the class, Bloom turns to sport for his muse.

The book is divided into six parts, one for each of the six sports Jeremy tries, plus an introduction and an epilogue. Each part has a prose introduction, giving an outline of the sport, the team, and how Mrs. Stegosaurus manages to come to a pivotal game in each season and somehow cause the downfall of the team’s fortunes. Invariably, every team Bloom plays for ends up in last place.

While Bloom’s poems, like his athletic abilities, have little muscle, there is no doubt the writer knows his audience. The mix of poetic styles – a cocktail of rhyming couplets, with a dash of concrete poetry, and a haiku – is replete with silly references and scenarios that will no doubt have eight- to 12-year-olds bursting into fits of laughter. Personally, I don’t see the humour in replacing a baseball with a hand grenade, but then, I may not be in tune with this age group’s mind set.