Pretzel Day with Pop: Similes and Metaphors in Poems – Try it

Read the poems

These three poems tell about a rainy day of making soft pretzels with Pop. Each stanza is numbered.

Rainy Saturday Dough

1Rain taps on the kitchen window
like a drummer who forgot the song.
The backyard is too wet for soccer,
so Pop ties on his flour-dusted apron
and says, "Today, we make pretzels."

2He scoops flour into a big bowl.
The flour is a snowy hill,
and Pop presses a hollow in the top.
In goes warm water with yeast,
a little lake on a mountain.

3I push and fold and push again.
At first, the dough is as sticky as glue,
and it hangs on to my fingers.
Then it turns smooth and soft,
a sleepy cat curled up in the bowl.
Pop covers it with a dish towel.
"Let it rest," he whispers, "and grow."

Loop, Cross, Twist, Press

1An hour later, Pop lifts the towel.
The dough has puffed up
like a pillow someone just fluffed.
We cut it into pieces
and roll each one into a long rope,
skinny snakes stretched across the counter.

2Pop's hands move fast:
loop, cross, twist, press.
His pretzels are perfect bows on a birthday present.
I loop and cross and twist,
but mine looks like a scribble
my baby cousin drew with a crayon.

3I frown at my lumpy knot.
"Every shape tastes the same," Pop says,
and he gives me a wink.
His wink is a gold star on my paper.
I make eleven more.

Behind the Oven Window

1Pop lowers each pretzel
into a pot of hot water and baking soda,
counts to thirty,
and lifts it out with a slotted spoon.
Salt falls from my fingers
like a tiny snowstorm.

2The oven is a dragon's cave,
glowing orange and breathing heat
each time we open the door.
Through the little window, we watch
our pale pretzels turn a deep, shiny brown.

3Outside, the rain keeps drumming,
but the kitchen is a warm blanket
wrapped around Pop and me.
We blow on our pretzels and take a bite,
and Pop's laugh is thunder
that never scares anyone.

Spot the comparisons

A simile compares two things using like or as. A metaphor compares two things by saying one thing is the other.

These sentences come from "Rainy Saturday Dough." Circle the two sentences that use a simile.

Which of these parts of "Loop, Cross, Twist, Press" uses a metaphor?

A. Pop's hands move fast: loop, cross, twist, press.B. His pretzels are perfect bows on a birthday present.C. The dough has puffed up like a pillow someone just fluffed.D. Mine looks like a scribble my baby cousin drew with a crayon.

What do the comparisons mean?

Use the words around each comparison to decide what it means.

In stanza 2 of "Rainy Saturday Dough," the flour is "a snowy hill." What does this metaphor help you picture?

A. flour spilled across the kitchen floorB. a cold, wet pile of melting flourC. a white, rounded heap of flourD. a tall bag of flour by the window

In stanza 2 of "Rainy Saturday Dough," what is "a little lake on a mountain"?

A. warm water sitting in the hollow of the flourB. rainwater collecting on the hill in the backyardC. a picture of a lake painted on Pop's apronD. melted snow running down the kitchen window

Match each metaphor to what it means in the poems. One meaning will not be used.

Choose the word from the box that tells what each comparison shows. Two words will not be used.

"The dough has puffed up like a pillow someone just fluffed." The dough has gotten .
"The kitchen is a warm blanket wrapped around Pop and me." The kitchen feels .
"Pop's laugh is thunder that never scares anyone." Pop's laugh is but friendly.

In "Loop, Cross, Twist, Press," Pop's pretzels are "perfect bows on a birthday present," but the speaker's pretzel "looks like a scribble." What do these two comparisons show?

A. Pop's pretzels are for a party, but the speaker's are not.B. Pop's pretzels are small, but the speaker's is huge.C. Pop's pretzels are neat, but the speaker's is messy.D. Pop's pretzels taste sweet, but the speaker's tastes salty.

"Rain taps on the kitchen window like a drummer who forgot the song." What does this simile suggest about the sound of the rain?

A. It is a loud, scary crash that shakes the house.B. It is a soft, sweet tune that sounds like a lullaby.C. It is a steady beat that keeps perfect time.D. It is an uneven tapping with no clear pattern.

The poems begin and end with rain. How does the speaker's rainy day change? Explain one comparison from the first poem and one from the last poem in your answer.