JANECZKO COLLECTION:

Janeczko, Paul B., and Christopher Raschka. A Kick in the Head. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick, 2005. Print. ISBN 0763606626.

Janeczko compiles a collection of poems to explore poetic forms in the “everyday guide to poetic forms” The guide is easy to follow. In the introduction Janeczko expains the rules and tells that sometimes the poets don’t follow the rules but follow “the spirit of a poetic form.” The Table of Content lists the poem by the poem’s form. The book is arranged with the more familiar forms-couplets, tercets, quatrain, haiku then proceeding to the less familiar and ending with pantoum followed by notes and acknowledgements. The notes give a definition for the poetic form in addition to some history and symbols to help comprehend the syllable count. There are twenty-nine poetic forms addressed accompanied with one or two examples. The form is identified at the upper corner of the page. Janeczko recommends, in the introduction, to read the poem then the explanation found at the bottom of the page, and then reread the poem trying to differentiate that form from others. He uses accessible examples such as Edward Lear’s limerick, Shakespeare’s sonnet and J. Patrick Lewis’ comic epitaph. The poems contain a variety of emotions, such as humor in Ogden Nash’s “The Mule” and grief in Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s “Whispers to the Wall.” The poetry appears in all forms-a news story, question, directive, joke, art, game, story, list, reflection, and memory. Contributing poets include Eleanor Farjeon, William, Shakespeare, X.J. Kennedy, Ogden Nash, William Blake, Liz Rosenberg, and Janeczko, himself. Some poems are familiar other have never been published previously.

Raschka, a Caldecott Honor illustrator, fills each page with mixed media collages that contain delightfully colorful designs that complimenting, accenting, or frame the poem. Through torn pieces of various textures, shapes, and colors of paper Raschka forcefully communicated the deaths of September 11 in Georgia Heard’s “The Paper Trail.”
The collage character and designs contain detailed patterns, solids, and ink and watercolor lines. The white spaces focus the attention on the color-filled page full of activity.

Janeczko and Raschko have complied an interesting collection of poetic forms that student understand and that motivate them to want to write their own poems. This collection makes learning how poetic form takes place FUN by using spirited poetry and dynamic and colorful illustrations!

Poem for Library Lesson:

“The Mule”
by Ogden Nash

In the world of mules
There are no rules.

Activity:

Read the poem twice and show the illustration. Talk about the words that rhyme and have students make a list of 10 pairs of rhyming words. Teach mini-lesson on couplet (two line poem or stanza that usually rhymes, contain a complete thought, can be serious or funny). Present an example of a prepared couplet, like:
The garden grows,
When I use the hose.
Ask students, What illustration would you use with this couplet?
Review what makes this a couplet. What are the rhyming words? What is the complete thought? Write the three components of a couplet on the board. While the students think of a topic they want to use in a couplet. The students write their own rhyming couplet. Teacher/librarian move around the room conferencing with students if necessary and paying particular attention to complete thoughts, two lines, and rhyming words. After the students are finished with their couplet they create an illustration to accompany it. Students volunteer to share their work with the class. The poems and illustrations are gathered to display.

SERIOUS POETRY:

Heard, Georgia. This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick, 2002. Print. ISBN: 0763619248.

Heard compiled this picture book anthology of infamous poets and illustrators to create a collection of poems to comfort children. Heard’s focus for the collection was the children that were affected by the Twin Towers disaster on September 11 but is beneficial for anyone, child or adult, dealing with grief and despair. Heard chose effective uplifting poems dealing with emotions of fear and grief but show that there is hope, support, and comfort from others and good things will occur again. These secular poems provide an opportunity for deep thinking and critical discussions through “Porch Talks” for the many children suffering from perplexing emotions and grief. Comfort is conveyed through the theme of hope, happiness, and support from people. The assortment of poets brings various writing forms to this collection which is unified through the theme. Sensory imagery is present in lines such as “Fly like smoke from a chimney. /Fly like the whistle from a train.” Alliteration is found such as “run on ragged…/…rugged rocks.” Onomatopoeia is illustrated with the bee buzzing.

The poem selections provided a vast variation. Many were deeply emotional and touching, as “The Peace of Wild Things,” by Wendell Berry, “Dreams,” by Langston Hughes, "Strengthen the Things that Remain" by Nancy Wood, and Emily Dickinson's poem "Hope is the thing with feathers," while other were surprising, and some provided no reassurance at all.

The layout was consistent throughout the book. A poem and illustration share a double page with the poem found on the left page while the right page contains the accompanying illustration. Most of the illustrators compliment the poems and provides depth to the messages of hope and comfort through varied median and colors. Brian Karas' illustration of a little girl in a red coat with a white bird on her arm sweetly captures the innocence and sweetness of Emily Dickinson’s “‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers-.” Peter Sis’ illustration compliments Walt Whitman’s from “Song of the Broad-Axe,” which focuses on endurance, but is very unusual and catchy as it represents Manhattan and the skyline. William Steig’s illustration of a scary, sinister looking boy and an expressionless dog don’t convey the message of I can do anything if you are with me, from Karla Kuskin’s “To You.” The arrangement of the poems takes a child through the grief process and focuses the child on total horribleness, progresses to hope, then ending with new beginnings. The Table of Contents lists the poems with their poets and illustrators. At the end of the book acknowledgement, information about the illustrators, then the dedication is found.

This anthology provides encouragement to “strengthen the things that remain” and to continue on the journey with hope and joy. This is an exceptional collection of poems that remind us that everyone has worth.

Poem for Library Lesson:

“Life is mostly froth and bubble”
by A.L. Gordon

Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone;
Kindness in another’s trouble,
Courage in your own.

Activity:

After reading the poem once and showing the illustration ask the students, what did you like about the poem? Give them time to think. Allow students to answer questions. Read the poem a second time. Allow more students to answer the questions. Facilitate a “Porch Talk” use the following questions:
“What were you thinking as I read the poem? Do you have a favorite part?
Do you like the ending?
The way it begins?”
Did the poem make your heart beat faster? Why or why not? (Heard, 49)”
Divide the students in predetermined groups of three or four. The groups determine what is (are) important in their lives and write a poem to share with the class. The poem should tell the audience something about the important item(s) in their lives.

Heard, Georgia. 1989. FOR THE GOOD OF THE EARTH AND SUN; TEACHING POETRY. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. ISBN 043508495X.

POETRY BY KIDS:

Stepanek, Mattie J. T. Journey through Heartsongs. Alexandria, BA: VSP, 2001. Print. ISBN 9780786869428.

Mattie J.T. Stepanek, an award winning eleven year old, wrote and illustrated this collection of poetry which is his legacy. It comforts and inspires those left behind. He suffered a rare form of muscular dystrophy his entire life and wrote poetry, as an outlet, since he was three. Throughout the book his themes of life and death, love and loss, innocence and joy, and faith and hope are consistent. He used his insight and wisdom to create deeply moving and courageous messages in his poems while showing his spirit and eloquence. With grace, gratitude, and a gentle spirit, Mattie challenges the reader to embrace life while focusing on the important things life offers. His message to live each day to the fullest since any day can be the last creates a bothersome cloud of emotional sorrow which affects the mood of the reader possibly resulting in sympathy for Mattie. His mature and positive attitude throughout his journey is reflected in the work. He saw death up close and talked about it honestly, which is a nerve racking and scary experience for the most mature of people. Mattie states "Attitudes are contagious." He was a boy who was changed by misfortune. “Faces of Faith” shares his belief of “Heartsongs”. “Everyone is born with a “Heartsong” /…Sometimes we forget about it people forget to, /…Their “Heartsongs” really need to live/…They are what rise up, /….You have to sit in ThinkTime/ When you lose you ‘Heartsong’.”

Some poetic elements were present in the writing, such as sensory imagery, “the sky is such/ A perfect blue,” or “don’t have any hair because they/ Have to take medicines that makes it fall out,” but it was difficult to experience the action because of lack of description. Other times, it is obvious that Mattie connected with his subject as in “Pirate-Candy.” He allows the reader to taste the black candy as you feel and hear the crunch and smell the nasty sweetness and feel the gooey inside.

The Table of Contents lists the five chapters of the book – Beginning the Journey, Considering the Journey, Coping with the Journey, Celebrating the Journey, and Growing Beyond the Journey. The arrangement of the chapters allows the poems to flow smoothly as the journey proceeds. At the front of the book the dedication, acknowledgements, forward, and publisher’s letter, gives insight to the infamous heroic status Mattie has acquired through his books. In the forward President Jimmy Carter calls Mattie a “close personal friend” whose “thoughts and images brings both tears and expanded hearts.”

Mattie illustrates the five chapter division pages and the last poem, “Eternal Echoes,” with green, blues, and brown colors creating a pointillist path, using fingers, reflecting a journey through the “Heartsongs.” The poems are organized by chapter with respect to the part of the journey the poem addresses. There is at least one red heart with a musical note in each of the illustrations representing the “Heartsongs.” “A Handful of Mattie” has an illustration of Mattie’s hand to illustrate the poem’s message. The other pages contain one illustration, a red heart which contains the page number written in childlike script. The simplistic illustrations and colors allow the focus to be on the poems. At the end of the book an index is located with the poems listed in alphabetical order with the first line of the poem and page number. The cover has pink, coral, and red heart with musical notes in a few.

This collection of inspiring, thought provoking, and heart-wrenching poems are from a courageous boy who wants his readers to understand his “Heartsong” as he fights a courageous battle and shares feelings about life, death, love, loss, faith, hope, innocence and joy while staring death in the face.

Poem for Library Lesson:

“A Handful of Mattie”

My fingers stand for Reader,
Writer,
Black Belt,
Collector,
And friend...
My palm stands for Heartsongs,
Ebullient, spiritual,
Honest, trustworthy,
Brother, uniparental,
Optimistic, inspiring,
Diligent, savant,
Peacemaker, and
"Gift of God" –
My hands raise in prayer for
Giving thanks for my being
Which stands for life.

January 2000

Activity:

Read the poem aloud twice. Share Mattie’s illustration. Ask the students to think about what the poet is telling them through the poem. Give the students think time then listen to students thoughts. Ask if the students need help with the meaning of any words. Talk about those words. Have an overarching discussion of what Mattie was saying in the poem. Does the illustration help understand the message? How? Why do you think the fingers represent some items and the palm represents other items? Students write a poem titled “Handful of (your name).” The poem needs to tell what their fingers and palm represents or who you are, what do you do and what makes you the person you are. Create an illustration that compliments the poem. Display the students’ work on the wall.

Performance Poetry:

Franco, Betsy. Messing around on the Monkey Bars: and Other School Poems for Two Voices. Illus. Jessie Hartland. Somerville, Mass.: Candlewick, 2009. Print. ISBN 9780763631741.

Franco’s picture book collection of performance poetry is entertaining for students because they can relate to it. On the playground, kids are skipping rope and making trades. In the library, they’re whispering, fidgeting, and giggling. In the classroom, they’re learning their lessons, spinning tales, getting through the afternoon, listening to sounds instead of paying attention, and other fun-filled events. These activities are brimming with sensory imagery – sounds, images, movement, along with rhyme and rhythm, onomatopoetics, free verse, and repetition. The engaging collection of nineteen poems is ideal for reading aloud singularly or in groups of pairs, alternating lines, sharing line, or doing the lines in groups of boys/girl front/back, etc. The board listeners are gone! Everyone can participate. It is important for the children to be at the appropriate reading level allowing the other students to be able to comprehend the content as they listen to the performance. Words, pictures, and voices explode with all the non-stop fun activities around the school in poetry form in which the students can participate.

The Table of Contents reflects the poems are arranged as a student would progress through their day, beginning with “Wild Bus Ride” as the day starts with an adventure. Next the author has a note guiding the reading through her use of the poems’ font; they vary to indicate the particular voice that reads it in paired or group readings. The variation is difficult to detect without in-depth font comparing which is a distraction as students read. At the end of the collection the author makes suggestions of varied ways to read particular selections. Acknowledgements conclude the book. The use of an Elmo would benefit the students so they can all see the poems in addition to using the colored high lighting tape to assist the student to differentiate reader’s line, allowing them to focus on the content.

Harland, the illustrator, compliments the fun and action filled poetry with whimsical, colorful, action-filled illustrations which emulate children’s drawing. The subject of the poem contains details and the characters have expression-filled faces. The bright and vivacious illustrations frame and compliment the poetry as it helps the readers better relate to the poem.


Poem for Library Lesson:

“New Kid at School”

Where did you come from?


Far away.


Miss your friends?


Every day...


How old are you?


Just turned eight.


You like hoops?


Yeah, great.


Got any friends?


Nope, not yet.


Wanna play?


You bet!


Activity:

After reading the poem aloud twice to the class in different voices, again read it two more times using another adult (class teacher) as the second voice. Allow the students to think about the readings then discuss the poem. Did using two people make the poem appear more like a conversation? Does this poem sound like a conversation you have with a friend? Why or why not? Let the students explain. Ask the students to think of at least three times they were the new person in a situation. Ask the students to think about each of the three times they were the new student. Ask, “What kind of conversations did you have with another student?” As a whole group the class writes a performance poem for two voices, with the guidance of the librarian, about being the new student. After writing the poem, reflect on it, quietly and orally. Divide the class into groups of three, if possible. Two of the students perform the poem as the third is the audience, then the roles change. The poem is performed three times allow everyone to be the audience. The whole class gathers and discusses experiences they had in their groups.

Hopkins Award Poetry:

Myers, Walter Dean. Jazz. Illus. Christopher Myers. New York: Holiday House, 2006. Print. ISBN 9780823421732.


In a picture book format, Walter Myers and Christopher Myers, a father son collaboration team provides an explosion of movement and color, generating the reader’s movement. The father, Walter, the poet, composed fifteen poems that celebrate jazz music as the son, Christopher, the illustrator, produced expressive painting that focuses on the energy of the poems. The jazz sound is heard as you read through the collection, such as the drumming of African rhythms leading into a celebration of Louis Armstrong, an evocation of stride piano, a recreation of a New Orleans jazz funeral and a three-part improvisation. All of these activities are focusing on the subject in the poem they accompany. The feeling of celebration surrounds the reader through rhyme, while sensory imagery such as “ocean rhyme,” “feeling,” “preaching,” “fire,” “heat,” and “thumming” makes a connection with the reader.

Christopher Myers uses bold colors to create the strong jazz sound in the illustrations. The action-filled and colorful cover invites anyone who sees the book to open it. The use of lines, angles, and facial expressions add a visual complement to the jazz sounds and helps the reader hear the sound and keep the beat just like the impressionistic type illustrations. Many of the illustrations are distorted creating a focus on playfulness, intensity, and energy. The essential elements of the illustrations are enlarged and are detailed such as fingers on a piano, playing a flute, strumming strings, and held out. Occasionally cursive script emulating jazz movement focuses the readers to the jazz in the poem’s rhyme.

There is no Table of Content. The poems are arranged as a “jam session” celebrating all types of jazz including swing, ragtime, and be-bop. A detailed introduction, and a jazz glossary and timeline provide background knowledge of jazz. Jazz has acquired the following honors and awards: Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, ALA Notable Children’s Book, Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, Publishers Weekly’s 100 Best Books of the Year, Kirkus Reviews Editor’s Choice Booklist Editors’ Choice, Booklist Top Ten in Black History, A Book Links Best New Book for the Classroom, Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Text, IRA Notable Book for a Global Society 2007, Hans Christian Andersen Award, Illustrator Honor, New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work—Poetry, and Parenting Mom-Tested Book of the Year.

The enjoyable and engaging collection provides a fun and entertaining mood and upbeat emotions as it enriches the reader’s knowledge of jazz through the interesting topics and natural appeal. The Myers duo captures the spirit of jazz in this collection by making the reader want to move as they combine history, music, art, and poetry.

Poem for Library Lesson:

“Jazz”

Start with rhythm
Start with the heart
Drumming in tongues
Along the Nile
A black man’s drum
Speaks
Love
Start with
Rhythm
Start with
the Heart
Work songs
Gospel
Triumph
Despair
Voices
Lifted
From the soul

Activity:

Read the poem and discuss the meaning of the poem with respect to it being the first poem in the collection. Review point of view, 1st and 3rd person using the point of view box (outline of a square using tape on the floor, inside the box – 1st person [I, me, my] outside the box 2nd person).

Discuss the point of view the poet uses in the poem. Ask students to support their point of view answer with specific examples in the poem. The illustrator uses which point of view? Ask students to support their point of view answer with specific examples shown in the illustrations.

After listening to jazz and with jazz music playing in the background, he students write a poem reflecting the message they hear in the music. Review how the students can communicate rhyme, pauses, emotion, and movement using white space, stanzas, word choices, font, and punctuation. Students volunteer to share their work upon completion.

Free Choice:

Wong, Janet S. Twist: Yoga Poems. Illus. Julie Paschkis. New York: Margaret K. McElderry, 2007. Print. ISBN 9780689873942.

Twist is a collection of poems about yoga positions. Through lyrics and child friendly writing Wong conveys the poetic essence and uses sensory images in sixteen yoga positions such as Tree, Warrior, and Crow. Most of the poses have animal names allowing the readers to make a connection to the prose through imagery. The damp soil can be felt beneath you as you read Cobra and you grab the star as Half-Moon. Wong’s use of sensory imagery allows the yoga to live through the poem. Each poem has several layers of meaning including explaining the meaning of the yoga position in addition to providing a story and an imagery of the position. The author’s note is found in the book. It states the collection was written as a gift for the illustrator of the book, Paschkis. Wong did each position then stopped reflected and wrote poetry about that position. She acknowledged that some positions were difficult but doing them as well as personally possible is beneficial. After doing the positions, it is apparent that the Table of Content lists the collection from easies to most difficult position. (Yes, I too, did each position). The collection received the Bank Street Best Books of the Year and was the Garden State Children’s Book Award Nominee.

Paschkis, the illustrator, uses vibrant watercolors to picture each exercise and to exercise the reader’s imagination in addition to the body as it compliments each poem. The book is appealing with its attractive and inviting designs, warm colors, format which lends added dimension, energy, and beauty to Wong’s collection. The format of the book compliments the poetry topic. She uses complimentary patterns to accentuate the subject, such as using triangle patterns “Triangle” and in “Cobra” the lines in the boarder and clothes snake around. Two pages are used for each poem and the accompanying illustration which illustrates the position featured in the poem. Both the poem and illustration are framed with the illustrations on the left pages and the poems on the right pages throughout the collection. The framed illustrations and poems are set inside a boarder illustration which explempfies details from the accompanying poem as well as extend the yoga theme throughout the collection. Paschkis’ work makes the collection visually appealing and adds a dimension to the poems while providing subjects for the reader to make connections.

The illustrations and poetry work in tandem allowing the reader to experience the pose as they have an emotionally moving, literary, and artistic interpretation of yoga.


Poem for Library Lesson:

“From Tree”

Trees watch.

This is why
They grow tall,
this is why they bend
and sway,
so they can see around
a house, over a hill,
beyond a fire…

At the tip of each branch
There is an eye.


Activity:

After reading the poem discuss how the poem reflects the how a tree would be able to see if it had eyes at each branch. Would the tree be able to stand in one place and see or would the tree need to move, stretch, and sway to see around a house, over a hill and beyond a hill? Students demonstrate how the tree would have to move to see everything. Do any two trees move the same way? Why or why not? The students focus on how they as a tree are moving to see things. They complete the activity by writing a poem that describes a position their tree makes in order to see. Students voluntarily share their poetry and demonstrate their tree position.

Social Studies Poetry:

Stockland, Patricia M. The Free and the Brave: a Collection of Poems about the United States. Illus. Sara Rojo Perez. Minneapolis: Compass Point, 2004. Print. ISBN 9780756505639.

Stockland creates an anthology of poems about the United States with "Toolbox tips," which helps the reader understand the poetry and how it is written. The selected poem, which illustrates the collection’s patriotic theme throughout the collection, is selected from diverse authors including Carl Sandburg, Jean Little, Langston Hughes, Ogden Nash, and Janet Wong.

The toolbox is a major focus in the book. Each poem explanation of a related poetic form or concept, found throughout the book on the bottom of the pages, such as acrostic, meter, voice, onomatopoeia, or limerick. Each poems concept is effectively and clearly illustrated. The poems use free verse, limericks, alliteration and metaphors, repetition, rhyme, sensory imagery, voice, and meter. The Table of Content focuses on the “Toolbox” features, listing the poetry as “Poems” which cover pages six to twenty-five. The index on the last page of the book lists the nineteen poems in alphabetical order with the author and page number. The poems are arranged in the book based on poetic elements. A glossary of poetic terms is found in the back of the book as well as web and library resources. “Collect Your Tools” is a continued analyzation of specific use of tools in the poems found in this collection and encouragement to post poetry on the web. The diversity of the poems is reflected in the varied topic addresses. Many emotions are found in the collections, fun and reflective, such as “City Blockades,” and depressing or even embarrassing for children, such as “Poor.”

Rojo Perez, the illustrator creates brightly colored cartoon like illustrations for each poem which peak the reader’s curiosity and encourages reading the poem. The facial features are simple and interesting. Her illustrations frame and separate the poetry while making some of the poems more child friendly by lightening the content’s severity, such as “Aunt Sue’s Story.”

This is a wonderful book for teaching the poetic concepts and encourages the use of specific elements in writing poetry. The focus is primarily on the concepts and not the poem collection. To direct the focus on the theme – patriotism of the United States the poems can be read without referencing the “Tool Tips.”

Poem for Library Lesson:

“When I Grow Up”
I want to be an artist, Grandpa-
Write and paint, dance and sing.

Be accountant,
Be lawyer,
Make good living,
Buy good food.
Back in China,
In the old days,
Everybody
So, so poor.
Eat one chicken,
Work all year.

Grandpa, things are different
here.

-Janet S. Wong

Activity:

Read the poem out loud. Define voice and tell more than one voice can be in a poem. Show examples using another poem. Ask how many voices are in Wong’s poem. Discuss the message(s) Wong conveys in the poem. Specifically discuss Wong’s desires and goals according to the poem and desires and goals others have for her. Have students list hopes and goals for themselves and hopes and goals other have for them. Using that list, the students write a poem titled, “When I Grow Up.” They may include more than one voice in their poem if desired. When the student is finished with the poem they create an illustration that features their desire when they grow up.

Science Poetry:

Scieszka, Jon. Science Verse. Illus. Lane Smith. New York: Viking, 2004. Print. ISBN 0670910570.

The theme of this entertaining and funny collection by Scieszka and Smith is scientific topics such as dinosaurs, atoms, plants, food chains, evolution, water cycle, anatomy, astronomy, black holes, food additives, light, worms, parasites, fire, bedbugs, scientific method, electricity, virus, atoms, states of matter, senses, amoeba, metamorphosis, expanding universe and the solar system. The collection opens as Mr. Newton, the science teacher talks about “the poetry of science” and student is “zapped” by the teacher with a “curse of science verse.” The collection shares the poetry of science and the student hears in everything in rhyme and meter as science is factually presented. Emotions and sensory appeals are found throughout the poems as the student’s point of view is reflected-bored by dinosaurs, grossed by the body, wanting the right answer in lieu of understanding. The collection contains parodies of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” by Julia Ward Howe , “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer, “The Star” by Ann and Jane Taylor, “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe, “Jabberwocky” by Lewis Carroll, “Mary’s Lamb” by Sarah Josepha Hale, “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, “The Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost in addition to songs and nursery rhymes ("I'm a Little Teapot" and "Eenie, meanie, mynie, mo."). The last page, “Observations and Conclusions” lists the famous works that provided the basis for the parodies.

The C.D. is a helpful teaching tool allowing the meter and rhymes to be easily heard. Science Verse poetry does not all follow the traditional end couplet rhyme scheme. There is no Table of Contents. The poetry is arranged in a pattern beginning with evolution, water cycle then a several parodies. The pattern repeats and the science concepts build.


The illustrator, Lane Smith, compliments the poems with humorous details and the face of the student in each entertaining illustration using paintings, drawings, or collages while focusing on texture. The poem titles are in beige color while the poem is in coral on a solid background allowing focus on the poem and each accompanying illustration. The inside of the front and back covers contain the element chart.

Science Verse has been awarded The Parent’s Choice Award Gold 2004 Non-Fiction and The ALA Notable Children’s Book Award 2005.

The poems are effective and fun science learning tools that have a wide audience appeal due to appeal, entertainment, humor, and attractiveness. This is the key to turn a boring science lesson into a fun experience, quickly.


Poem for Library Lesson:

"Food Chain"

I’ve been working in the food chain,
All the livelong day.
In the middle of the food chain,
I’ve got no time to play.

Can‘t you see the green plants growing?
That’s energy, okay?
Consumer eats up the producer,
Predator eats prey.

Who’s for lunch today?
Who’s for lunch today?
Don’t you just wonder, who’s for lunch today?
Predator or prey.
Predator or prey.
Eat or be eaten, that’s the only way.

Activity:

Read the poem out loud to the class and discuss from what this poem is a parody. Review a food chain then discuss the words and phrases that were chosen for the poem. Look at the illustrations of the three food chains and discuss the animals and their role(s) in the food chain. Use the vocabulary found in the poem in the discussions, producer predator, prey, consumer, and energy. Each student creates their own food chain using a provided triangular template allowing for three levels. The students may reference the illustrated food chain but must use different items. After completing their food chain the student creates a complimentary poem to accompany their illustration. Students may volunteer to share their completed work.

Biographical Poetry:

Bernier-Grand, Carmen T. Frida: Viva La Vida = Long Live Life. Illus. Frieda Kahlo. New York: Marshall Cavendish Children/Marshall Cavendish, 2007. Print. ISBN 9780761453369.

Bernier-Grand writes twenty-six sensory image filled free verse biographical poems of Frida Kahlo. The illustrations are paintings by Kahlo, a twentieth century painter. The poems and illustrations express the sorrows, strengths, passions and joys of Kahlo’s life including two marriages to Diego Rivera, a life crippling bus accident, living in Manhattan (which she didn’t like because of surrounding poverty), her sister having an affair with Diego, her affair, three miscarriages, divorce, anticipation of her death, repeated physical pain, making headlines with her paintings, but through all of the emotional exhaustion her motto is “¡Viva la vida! Long live life!” The poems are in first person, conveying intimacy and an impression of the period of the event conveyed in the poem in lieu of a comprehensive outlook on Kahlo’s life. Allusion to the Gettysburg Address is present in “¡EXTRA!” “Frida Kahlo wore/ . . . a rebozo created by the people/ for the people/ who belong to the people.”


The book contains a Table of Contents that reflects the poems being arranged in the order of Kahlo’s life. In the back of the book is an assortment of documentation that authenticates, such as up lifting quotes “From the Letters and Diary of Frieda Kahlo,” a brief biography, a chronology, a glossary translating Spanish terminology used in the poems, sources, note, and acknowledgments. The political climate could benefit from an explanation in the back book notes to help readers which might be unfamiliar with this period in history. The color photo illustrations of Kahlo’s paintings have a title, date, detailed interpretations of symbolism providing additional biographical information and support the juxtaposition. The faces of the illustrations reflect emotion and physical pain. Some poems have an accompanying illustration. Twice in the book are several illustrations without accompanying poetry. The design is simplistic with an abundance of white space but this book is not for elementary children but adolescents in 7th or 8th grades in middle school or high school, due to the subject matter.

In this emotionally draining work which received Pura Belpré honors and is a Booklist Best Ten Biography, Bernier-Grand conveys Kahlo’s inspiring journey through her difficult life of emotional and physical pain and her continued thirst for life and her celebration for life even on her death bed. Bernier-Grand’s poetic verse does Kahlo’s paintings justice allowing the poetry and illustrations to reflect Kahlo’s ultimate optimism and giving the reader an emotional and biographical connection to her.


Poem for Library Lesson:

“Self Portrait With Cropped Hair”
Fraida Kahlo, a divorced woman-
I move
My parrots, hairless dogs,
Deer, spider monkeys and toys
To the U-shaped house of my childhood.
I paint the outside deep blue
To keep evil spirits away.
Instead of my family’s Persian rugs, I have petates.
Instead of the French sofa, Mexican chairs.

Why did Diego ask me for a divorce?
Was he having another affair?
Or did he learn about mine?

Men are kings. They direct the world.

I put on Diego’s suit
(it smells like him).
I sit in a Mexican yellow chair
And chop off my hair-
The hair he adored.
I look like a man,
But I leave my earrings on.


Activity:

High school students. Read the brief biography found at the back of the book then several selected poems with illustrations out loud and while projecting the accompanying illustration. Lead a discussion of poetry, paintings and significant aspects (bus accident, miscarriages, marriages, and her health) of Kahlo’s life. Focus the discussion on symbolism and repeated motifs found, such as colors, animals, and children. Guide the students in determining what they think the symbols and motifs used in her painting represent. Have the students make a list of three to five significant events, people, and feelings in their life and determine symbols to use to represent them. As they think about their own lives project more of Kahlo’s illustrations paintings found in the book. The students create a self-portrait using symbolism. After completion the students share their chosen symbolism and compare and contact their symbolism to Kahlo’s. Conclude the activity leading an over arching discussion of the students' and Kahlo’s work.

Free Verse Poetry:

Worth, Valerie. All the small poems and fourteen more. Illus. Natalie Babbitt. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 1994. Print. ISBN 9780374302115.

Adding to the Small Poems series the poems appear in the order of the four earlier books: small poems, more small poems, still more small poems, and small poems again with an additional fourteen poems to compose free verse poems in All the small poems and fourteen more, written by Worth. The poems are listed in the Table of Contents in presentation order. The one hundred and thirteen poems are short poems with titles that focus on everyday items and makes them shimmer through the point of view of what a child actually sees or wants to see, such as earthworms, rags, garbage, an amoeba, telephone poles, or a skunk. She compares, observes, and contemplates these ordinary fun and familiar concrete topics as the reader must think to determine a possible underlying abstract message conveyed in each poem, which makes the reader reflect from different points of view. Worth communicates the words and the words visually by making them fit the form and the forms fit the topic of the poems, such as the lawnmower goes back and forth. She also uses sensory imagery to appeal to hearing, taste, smell, touch, and sight, as in “caterpillar” where the reader experiences the feet rippling, pouncing and pattering as the caterpillar walks. The length of lines, repetition, and rhythm variation are used to communicate with the reader as well as figurative language. Occasionally she uses similes and metaphors to increase the height of the poem and to surprise the reader such as in “safety pin” the safety pin is like a shrimp with its “surprised eye.”

Babbitt illustrates each poem with a black ink sketch picture that complements the depth and simplicity reflected in the poem. The illustrations emphasizes Worth’s word choices making them pop to the reader. “tractor” contains consonance and assonance and with a rhyme and finishing with a simile.

This is a wonderful book with beautiful short, simple, and deep poems and illustrations that appeal and sing to the audience – children. The reader should linger through as they read the poems out loud.

Library Lesson:

“chairs”
Chairs
Seem
To
Sit
Down
On
Themselves, almost as if
They were people,
Some fat, some thin;
Settled comfortably
On their own seats,
Some even stretch out their arms
To
Rest.

Activity:

This is one of my favorite poems in this book. What message do you think the poet is telling us in this poem? Allow students to think and respond. To me, “chairs” is a poem that tells about life. There is a wonderful illustration that goes along with the poem too. Show and discuss the illustration that accompanies the poem. How does the illustration support the poem’s message? Allow students to think and respond. To me, the chair is like a person. Worth really makes us think when we read her poems. The poems are short but they have a lot of meaning. She makes our imaginations work! Now use your imagination. I want everyone to write a short poem about a subject – gum. Do what Worth did in her poems – use your comparative, contemplation, and observation skills. Also, illustrate a picture that compliments your work, as Babbit did. To help you observe a piece of gum I have a piece for each of you. You may use all your senses to experience the gum. After class, all gum is disposed of in the trash as they leave. I display everyone’s poem and illustration on the wall under a giant cut out of a piece of gum.

Concrete Poetry:

Sidman, Joyce. Meow Ruff A Story in Concrete Poetry. .Illus. Michelle Berg. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print. ISBN 9780618448944.

Sidman uses concrete poetry, in the form of word placement and shapes, and onomatopoeia, and many descriptions to create a picture poetry book that tells a story. No Table of Contents or headings are necessary since this is one continuous poem. A dog flees his home and a cat is left on the side of the road. The two meet and becomes friends as they endure a thunderstorm in the park. The plot contains a beginning, middle, and an end with the middle presenting the thunderstorm conflict. The poem is written in a play format where characters have different thoughts and feelings that add to the story figuratively as well as literally, such as the while puffy text of adjectives to represent a cloud:
“A billowing batch
Of cumulus”
Sideman includes surprises in the story, such as the dog jumping in the tree when the cat hisses.

Berg, the illustrator uses typefaces, shapes, and lines to personalize the texts and thoughts of the characters in lieu of bubble voices and thoughts. The story is told through the adjective- filled non-rhyming verses in word-shape landscapes creating much of the illustrations.
This style reflects an appealing warm tone to the audience the animals’ emotions in an arch-shaped line, as shown by the cat:
Back arching – hiss starting – sworn enemy – DOG!
The sensory images are felt, heard, seen, and smelt throughout the story in the thoughts and landscape. The colorful and simple illustrations allow the focus to be on the story as the fonts bring the characters to life.

Sidman and Berg marry concrete poetry, story, and art turning a common occurrence of a dog and cat into a unique and exciting adventure for children. This story is engaging because of the visually unique arrangement of the text that allows the story to stand out.


Library Lesson:


must run run run run

don’t want leash want speed want FREEDOM !


Activity:
After reading the poem and showing the pictures, look at each page and ask what is happening, include the details. A student tells the story of each page. Read what each character says using different voices for each character, if possible. Divide the class into groups allowing for each student in the group to represent the voice of a character in the story. Each group reads the story within their group by character. Stop after the CLOUDBURST and discuss the experiences.

Verse Poetry:

Lewis, J. Patrick. Underwear salesman jobs for better or verse. Illus. Serge Bloch. New York: Atheneum for Young Readers, 2009. Print. ISBN 9780689853258.

Lewis creates this collection of his verse poetry based on a variety of occupations using haikus, wit, word shapes, rhymes, word play, irony, puns, analogies, and limericks. Much of the word play used will be difficult for children, especially ELL students to understand, such as pixie wig and the toupee, found in the “Pet Groomer’s”. Lewis uses on set rime, alliteration as in “Bird Watcher” and onomatopoeias (Zooooooooooooom), and repetition of words, “clunk-clunk” and “thunk-thunk.” Lewis uses sensory images through his poems through smell, sight, touch, taste, and hearing. Concrete meanings and literal images are found in the poems but some can appear to be abstract to children due to the puns, jokes, (“Pet Groomer,” “Plumber”) and figurative language. A light playful tone and mood is found throughout the collection. The poems are abstract in language choices causing much thought in order to comprehend the message leaving little time to develop emotions regarding the poetry.

The Underwear Salesman jobs for better or verse contains poetic types and forms that are appealing, when read, to children and the poems retains their attention because they are short, light, and have funny and made up words, sounds and rhymes. The title starts the giggling! There will be much explaining for the children to comprehend some of the meaning due to tools the poet uses. Only a few poems should be read in one sitting allowing the students to digest the poem.

There is no Table of Contents or headings to guide the reader to the poems. Each poem is simply titled with the occupation which is addressed in the poem. The book opens with,
“Guess how many jobs there are /At the occupation
salad bar!”
Lewis writes the book “(For children overqualified/For boring jobs).”

Serge Bloch, the illustrator, compliments the poetry with whimsical, simple, and colorful illustrations which are effectively placed around or by the poem. White space is used to focus on Block’s and Lewis’ work.

Library Lesson:

“Sword Shallower”

Two rules sword shallowers follow
That normally follow a swallow:

1. Look up to the ceiling.
2. Ignore your gut feeling.

Activity:

Discuss the importance of rules when there is task to be done. Ask -what is a task the students do that need to be done by following rules? Read the poem. Lead a discussion about why his two rules are important. Discuss the rhymes in the poem. The students write a poem titling it with the job they are doing, such as Soccer Kicker, followed by a poem which contains information telling about the rules and the rules in addition to an illustration showing the rules being followed.

NCTE Award Poetry:

Greenfield, Eloise. Brothers & sisters family poems. Illus. Jan Spivey Gilchrist. New York: HarperCollins, 2009. Print. ISBN 9780060562847.

Greenfield's theme in this particular collection is the importance of family relationships which are at various ages and in different aspects of the familial relationships. The poems reflect how an African American family supports each other in good and bad times. Experiences include misunderstanding family, jealousy of a baby sibling, and experiences children realize growing up in a family. Greenfield’s characters are learning how to find happiness as they deal with difficult feelings and have a positive outlook in tough situations. Each poem expresses a mood, some quite or somber, while others are loud and fun.

The timeless poems are written in various styles. Some rhyme but all are concrete poems that convey a special family bond through love, fun, frustration, or experiences in family interactions. Greenfield uses alliteration, the repetition of other sounds, words, and phrases in the poetry. Hearing and seeing are some of the sensory imagery present in the poems. The poems are appealing to the children because they can relate to the relationships they have in their families. The poems are filled with emotion and connect to the readers’ feelings and experiences.

The index lists the poem titles such as, “Mad at Dad,” “Who is this Girl?” “At the Home Place,” and “The Two of Us,” The titles all reinforce the family theme and ensure the theme is carried through out the book. The title page and the last page have the same illustration of a brother and sister lovingly looking at each other.

Gilchrist, the illustrator, uses colorful pen and ink to bring the poem to life with colorful action and emotion filled detailed pictures framing the poem as they convey love, fun, and hurt feelings found in the poetry. The white space assists the reader in focusing on the poem and its complimentary illustration.

Poem for Library Lesson:

“The Two of Us”
When we grow up
We’re going to have
Our own big company,
Side by side we’ll sit
At the head of the meeting table,
Say yes to this and
No to that. Maybe we’ll make
Movies or cars or cities.
We don’t know yet,
But whatever we do,
We know we’re going to do it together.

Activity:
First, I would introduce the poem as my favorite in the book because it invokes memories of when my brother and I would make plans of what we would do when we were finally grown up. Then, I would read the poem aloud and discuss the emotion, mood, and theme of the poem. Next, I would ask the students to reflect on a family member that they would like to do an activity with. Finally, I would ask the students to then write a personal poem describing their plans with that relative. Students may voluntarily share their work with the class and then we would make the collection into book for the school.

Multicultural Poetry:

Mora, Pat. The Night the Moon Fell A Maya Myth. Illus. Domi. New York: Groundwood, 2000. Print. ISBN. 0888993986.

Pat Mora, an America Latina, authors this abstract poetry book which retells a Mayan myth. In the abstract poem, Luna, the moon, loses her balance when her grandfather's blowgun creates a loud noise and startled her in the sky. She falls to the earth and rolls into the ocean. With help from her fish friends, she directs them to find her broken pieces and glue them to her. Luna rescues herself and floats to the sky with her fish friends. The tiny fish weave a net around Luna so they can go home with Luna. Luna is glad to be home and she invites the fish to stay and swim in her skies as they create the Milky Way.

Luna is personified with descriptive words: being knowledgeable, losing her balance, rolling, breaking apart, sleeping, gasping, knowing, and floating.

Mora uses language in unique, impressive ways to present emotions to children. Potential sensory images are evident by the use of these words: hearing, sighting beauty, tickling, smiling, looking up, hearing, and glowing. Children feel peaceful with the soft, sweet, happy mood setting. Throughout the poem, Luna hums and she and her fish friends sway to music. Sadness is inserted to let children know that Luna misses her home and her fish friends feel sorry for her. Mora's use of personification leads the reader to better identify with the story; and examples are when she writes about the wind, flowers, fish and stars having human qualities.

The abstract poem uses a few Spanish words and abstract pictures to make The Night the Moon Fell distinctive with fresh, imaginative ideas, and feelings.

The theme of this poetry book is Luna’s god-like mythical journey - falling to earth, an unfamiliar place then saving herself and returning home. The poem appeals to an audience of children because of the fascinating use of words and creative story line. The eleven sets of rhyming couplets are compatible throughout the book in reinforcing the story line. These poems follow the happenings and are necessary to help the children’s knowledge of the poem and to carry the theme. The book does not include a table of contents, index, or topic headings.

The first poem is a plea for Luna to return home with her white light. Emotions of sadness, laughter, and smiling are communicated. The fish call Luna and then she ask questions, expresses physical needs, and sings joyful invitations. Examples of the poem's rhyme scheme are shown in the following examples:

“All you need is part to you
Ask yourself what you should do.”
and
“Pizzicatos, little fish
Smooth me whole. Please grant my wish.”

Children are interested in the smiling moon because they can usually see it every night and parents often point out the moon smile and the features—full moon, half-moon or quarter moon. The poem’s language is to be understood by children and the illustrations stimulate their imagination. The progressive action involves emotions from sadness and despair, when Luna fell from the sky, intensity, when she problem solves how to return to the sky, then joy and happiness, when she is able to return to the sky with her new friends.

Domi’s abstract illustrations reinforces the theme throughout the book. The consistent, compatible poetry is always presented on the left side of the book and illustrations are on the right side to support the poetry. Illustrations are colorful in bright hues. The moon is presented in multicolor with various expressions. Elements of nature--leaves, stars, sea horses, coral birds, fish, fish, and more fish are equally colorful and not in the usual expected colors. The illustrations are recognizable and bold colors that attract children’s eyes.


Poem for Library Lesson:

My favorite part of The Night the Moon Fell is the conclusion. Luna floated to the sky with her fish friends. Her white light opened the stars’ eyes, the flowers lifted their heads, the birds flew high and the wind purred. The moon was home! Luna, the moon, hummed and sang,

“Please, dear friends stay here with me
Swim my skies, my star bright sea.”

The poem ended with the emotions of happiness and a feel-good feeling. I even wished I was a fish.


Activity:
Draw a picture that reminds you of this poetry story. Write a couplet, two lines of poetry, with ending words that rhyme to complement your drawing. Students voluntarily share their work; and which will then be compiled into a book for the school library.

Florian Poetry:

Florian, Douglas. bow wow meow meow. New York: Harcourt, 2003. Print. ISBN 9780152163952.

bow wow meow meow’s theme is domestic animals–cats and dogs in particular. The Table of Contents reflects the titles of the poems which opens with “Dog Love” as the introductory poem of the first of eleven dog poems then ten cat poems follow, opened by “Cat Chat.” After the introductory poems the collection of rhyming and free form poems are descriptive of a dog or a cat breed, and named for that breed such as “The Chihuahua” and “The Persian.” Some of the poems are brief like the afore mention poems and others are concrete poems like “The Dalmatian.” “The Poodle” is a concrete poem written using a poodle's curls as the word shapes. Florian succinctly captures the animals’ presence through the use of onomatopoeias and fun word play, like “purrsian” and “fur-ocious.” Humor and imagination are in each poem as observations of the animals are shared through facts, colors, sounds, and events.

Florian serves as the poet as well as the illustrator for the book. Each poem earns a two page billing allowing for plenty of white space which draws attention to the poem and the accompanying illustration. The poems are on one page and across from it is the watercolor child-like colorful illustration reflecting the animal and the actions found in the poem.

This collection of poetry is a creative combination of sounds, imagery, and a fun-filled view of cats and dogs which has emotional impact on dog and cat fans.

Poem for Library Lesson:

One of my favorite poems is the introductory dog poem, "Dog Log." Listen as the sensory imagery allows the you to experience the poem as the dog wags, chases, chews, listens, and digs. As I read the poem what do you think of? I think of my endless love for animals. The rhyming, rhythm, and sounds of the observations of a dog’s daily activities in connection with the illustration of the dog’s brain is mapped with all the things she does (play dead, fetch) and interacts with (bones, cats) on a daily bases creates a humorous connection because this is also MY DOG’S daily log!!

“Dog Log”
Rolled out of bed.
Scratched my head.
Brought the mail.
Wagged my tail.
Fetched a stick.
Learned a trick.
Chased a hare.
Sat in a chair.
Chewed a shoe-
Table, too.
Got in a spat
With a cat.
Buried a bone.
Answered the phone.
Heard a thief.
Gave him grief.
Time to creep.
Off to sleep.

Activity:

Discuss the title of the poem and the definition of a “log.” List synonyms for the word log as used in the title context. Students work in groups to list a general routine of their daily activities they do on a school day. Using the list students compose a poem that reflects a their daily log that occurs each day. GT students can do the activity individually. Have thesauruses and dictionaries available for students to use. Students voluntarily share their work and work is collected for a book for everyone to see.

"simply semantics too..." debuts!

This blog is the continuation of “simply semantics …” http://simplysemantics.blogspot.com/ Unfortunately the path no longer allows me to share reviews which created its demise. I am posting these reviews for a TWU class.