Poetry Break: Refrain

Searching for a poem with a refrain that requires audience participation. Well, here is one you won't quickly forget! This fun poem was found in The Paper Doorway: funny verse and nothing worse by Dean R. Koontz. If you are familiar with the author you will know that his work will have lots of twist and surprises.

The book is illustrated by Phil Parks and at the end of the book the author includes a poem which informs the reader that hidden throughout all of the illustrations is a mouse. This leads to the poem that I have chosen which is all about a mouse. And like the narrator, in the poem "What Do We Do, What Do We Do?" the first time I came across a mouse the same reactions took place. Thank goodness calmer heads prevailed at my house.

When reading this poem with your group give them a cue to have them all shout the refrain like holding up a toy mouse.

I used red to highlight the refrain.

WHAT DO WE DO,

WHAT DO WE DO?

There’s a mouse in the house!

Do we burn the place down?

There’s a mouse in the house!

Do we get out of town?

There’s a mouse in the house!

Do we use dynamite?

There’s a mouse in the house!

Do we all die of fright?

There’s a mouse in the house!

Do we buy fifty cats?

There’s a mouse in the house!

Do we all just go bats?

There’s a mouse in the house!

Do we live in the yard?

There’s a mouse in the house!

Do we hire a guard?

There’s a mouse in the house!

There’s a mouse in the house!

There’s a mouse in the house!

There’s a mouse in the house!

Wait a minute.
Unless I’m dreaming.

The mouse just fled

from all the screaming.

Koontz, Dean R., and Phil Parks. 2001. The paper doorway: funny verse and nothing worse. New York: HarperCollins