55 pages • 1-hour read
Rhyme Schemer
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Pages 78-119Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of bullying and emotional abuse.
Pages 78-119 Summary
Note: These pages contain the poems “Tuesday,” “Wednesday,” “Thursday,” “Friday,” “Monday,” “Later Monday,” “Tuesday,” “Thursday,” “Later Thursday,” “Friday,” “Later Friday,” “Saturday,” “Monday,” and “Tuesday.”
During Kevin’s mandatory library time, Mrs. Little notices his bruised face. Kevin tries to ignore her worried expression but can tell that she’s trying to communicate something with her eyes. He feels thankful that he has so many books to organize, hiding his face behind the stacks. Then, he realizes that he technically doesn’t have to be in the library anymore, as his library detention ended yesterday.
Kevin starts spending more time in the library. He avoids the lunchroom and sneaks his lunch into the encyclopedia section. He’s alone there but glad he doesn’t have to worry about Robin and his friends teasing him about his poems. On his way out of the library, Mrs. Little confronts him about tearing pages out of her books and writing the found poems. Kevin thinks that her eyes look kind, but he races away from her anyway.
That night, Kevin listens to Petey’s band through the wall again. He screams more of his rhymes over their playing until Petey yells at him “to shut up” (83).
Back at school, Kevin continues hanging the found poems for Robin but worries that he’ll get in trouble now that Mrs. Little knows the truth. He gets called to the principal. Mrs. Smithton makes Kelly and Robin escort him to the office. On the way, Kevin stops for a drink at the water fountain and gets water on his pants. Robin laughs at him, but Kelly doesn’t. In the office, Hartwick and Mrs. Little reprimand Kevin for defacing school property. He gets two more weeks of library detention as punishment. Hartwick insists that this is Kevin’s last chance.
Kevin is glad he isn’t getting expelled but can’t understand why Mrs. Little turned him in. Nevertheless, he’s glad to spend more time in the library. He writes another found poem to try to explain his situation, but this time, he uses a page from a book he found at home. Mrs. Little finds the poem and asks Kevin about it. He explains it to her, but she still warns him about acting out. That evening, Kevin yells more lyrics about his feelings over the band’s playing. Then, one of Petey’s bandmates remarks that Kevin is good at rhymes. Petey is mad, but Kevin feels proud.
The next time Kevin writes a found poem, he leaves it in the library’s poetry section for Mrs. Little to find, hoping that she’ll be able to understand how he feels. On Tuesday, Kevin is horrified to find that Robin copied one of his poems and distributed it to everyone. Kevin is so upset that he feels like an earthquake. He realizes that he might not be a stone after all. He buries his head in his arms, soon realizing that Kelly is doing the same. When they both look up, Kelly smiles at him.
Later in the week, Kevin notices that Mrs. Little discovered his found poem. She leaves him a fun book of poems in reply, which makes Kevin laugh. They exchange these little messages throughout the week.
At recess on Friday, Kevin and Robin get into a yelling match. Robin is angry that Kevin hasn’t outed him as the Poetry Bandit, and Kevin is angry that Robin has used his poems against him. Enraged, Kevin insults Robin; Robin retaliates. Suddenly, Kelly intervenes, grabbing Kevin’s hand and pulling him away from the fight. Kevin feels better afterward when he returns to the library and discovers that Mrs. Little left him a flyer for a local open-mic poetry night, inviting him to come. Kevin writes her a poem in exchange. When he gets home later, he writes another poem and slips it under Petey’s door.
On Saturday, Kevin watches the football game with his whole family. For the first time, he feels like they are normal, but an announcement from his mother ruins everything. She says that they all have to go out for dinner with her boss that Friday. Thinking of the poetry night, Kevin whines that he has plans. His family teases him, and his mother reiterates how important it is for him to attend the dinner because she is up for a promotion.
At school, Kevin leaves a found poem for Mrs. Little explaining that his parents won’t let him attend the open mic. Mrs. Little doesn’t say anything when she finds the note but puts her hand on Kevin’s shoulder to comfort him.
Pages 78-119 Analysis
The more adversity Kevin faces at school, the more he has to learn about himself and how to cope with his emotions. These facets of his experience further the novel’s theme of The Value of Poetry as a Coping Mechanism. In the early pages of the novel, Kevin uses his found poems to make fun of the teachers and get attention. He likes the way his classmates and teachers respond when they discover the often-offensive poems, even if they don’t know that he is behind them. His anonymity intensifies the excitement he gets from these pranks because it gives him a sense of power to make himself the subject of gossip and speculation. Meanwhile, he is the only one who knows the answer to the schoolwide question about the Poetry Bandit’s identity. In these pages, however, Kevin’s game goes awry. Robin, Mrs. Little, and Principal Hartwick discover the truth behind the found poems, causing Kevin to face the repercussions of his actions and re-evaluate where he has been directing his creativity.
Kevin’s relationship with poetry evolves in accordance with The Challenges and Rewards of Personal Growth. When he starts to learn about himself, face and identify his emotions, show his vulnerability, and allow others in, he realizes that his poetry can be a tool for connection. This is particularly evident in the context of Kevin’s time in the library for detention. Mrs. Little does report Kevin for vandalizing school property when she finds out about the found poems, but she also encourages Kevin’s creativity and self-expression.
The two begin to exchange clever messages, which fuels Kevin’s innate artistic capabilities and helps him build a relationship with Mrs. Little. In one of his “Friday” poems, Kevin hides a new poem in a library book, hoping that
Mrs. Little will find it
like [he] found her folded flyer.
And maybe she’ll smile
at the words [he] wrote (110).
Kevin has found pleasure and comfort in Mrs. Little’s playful missives and hopes that he might offer her the same enjoyment. In this moment, he learns that poetry can communicate more than anger and can actually bring people together. He is coping with his frustration and alienation by channeling his emotions into newly connective poetry, which reflects his growing maturity and awareness of how his actions can impact others.
Mrs. Little’s kindness toward Kevin also furthers his personal growth journey. Much like Kevin’s brother Paul, Mrs. Little emerges as an unlikely mentor when Kevin most needs friendship and guidance. Initially, Kevin sees her as just another authority figure who wants to punish him. However, the more time they spend together, the more Mrs. Little proves to care about Kevin and have his best interests in mind. Once they start communicating through books and poetry, Kevin starts to see her as an individual:
Her whole face is sparkly,
and for just a speck of a second
I see what she looked like
when she wasn’t 9,000 years old.
I smile back (110).
Also like Paul, Mrs. Little holds Kevin accountable for his actions while also showing him patience and grace. The scene where she puts her hand on his shoulder to tell him, “That’s okay, / but without using words” (118), teaches Kevin that support can come in many forms. Mrs. Little is showing Kevin that he is worthy of attention and care, despite all that he has gone through. Her gentleness makes Kevin feel seen while challenging him to do and be better.
The image of Kevin smiling back at Mrs. Little foreshadows how Kevin will begin to welcome people into his life and open himself up to more meaningful relationships. Throughout the novel, Kevin’s mantra has been “I am a rock.” He fears showing emotion or letting others see his hurt because he sees it as a sign of weakness. Thanks to Mrs. Little, he learns that his vulnerability can be a source of courage and strength and can help him connect with others. When he is upset about Robin distributing copies of one of his poems in class, for example, Kevin expresses his hurt by putting his face on the desk instead of immediately lashing out. His visible upset inspires a moment of connection with Kelly, who is also upset and smiles at Kevin. What Kevin is learning is that it is okay to feel hurt, that it is okay to ask for support getting through it, and that there are better ways of dealing with such hurt than bullying and anger.
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