Poetry By Kids

POETRY BY KIDS

SOFT HAY WILL CATCH YOU: POEMS BY YOUNG PEOPLE

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lyne, Sandford, comp. 2004. Soft Hay Will Catch You: Poems by Young People. Ills. by Julie Monks. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689834608.

SUMMARY
This collection of 100 poems features young poets from ages eight to eighteen.  Lyne compiled poems written in writing workshops to create this book of poems that celebrate life.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poets
Sandford Lyne, a poet and educator, was known for leading many writing workshops that encouraged young children to tap into their poetic writing abilities. For this particular collection, Lyne compiled poems about these youth’s personal stories. Although the poets are unknown people, their writings represent the human experience.

Layout
The poems in this collection are arranged and grouped into six themes: The Inward Fire: Poems About the Search for Self; My Fire Casts Shadows: Poems About Solitude and Loneliness; Smoke and Embers: Poems About the Home and Family; The World of Dew: Poems About the Soul’s Journey and the Circle of Life; Eternity’s Sunrise: Poems About Awakenings and Discoveries; and Green Words, Dancing Breezes: Poems About Our Connection to Place.  An Index of Poets provided at the end of the book gives a full list of poets arranged in alphabetical order by last name as well as the page number their poems appear on.  Several illustrations by Julie Monks appear throughout the collection, although not every poem is accompanied by one. Monks’ art beautifully captures the spirit of these poems, bringing their life truths to life in soft colors and abstract form.

Poetic Elements
Free verse is the primary poetic form seen throughout the poems in this collection. Hence, they are absent of rhythm and meter.  The meaning behind the poems is surprisingly abstract, focusing on common human experiences in ways that speak to readers of all ages.  While their subject matter deals with things such as friends, family meals, and seasons, the poems dig deeper into these everyday occurrences’ effects upon people. One of the poetic elements commonly found in this collection is imagery, such as in “Little Tears” by Bridget Fae Hedman who writes of “tears [that] drop on [her] shoulder/and drown out…laughter.” Another poetic element heavily used by the poets featured in this collection is figurative language, as fifth-grader Ben Lowenkron uses in “Inward Flame” when he writes that a sparrow’s song “touches [him]/like a roaring fire in winter” to describe the onset of Spring.  These poems inevitably portray each individual writer’s personal response to specific experiences and represent a variety of moods and tones.

Appeal
There is string appeal in Soft Hay Will Catch You. The simple fact that it is a collection of poems written by unknown, regular children will make this appealing to their peers.  Young people will be delighted to read poems by poets their age, inspiring them to create their own poems.  Familiar experiences and topics will resonate with readers, helping them connect to the poems and seeing themselves in the speakers as well.  The simplicity and brevity of the poems make this collection approachable, but readers will find that these poems are much more complex than they appear to be. As such, this collection can serve to expand readers’ linguistic abilities as well as arouse their imaginations.

Overall Quality
Lyne’s own exquisite poetic techniques are visible in the poems throughout this book.  It is clear that the poets featured here were heavily trained in poetic devices, as these are consistently and appropriately used throughout the poems in a natural way. None of the poems seem forced or heavy-handed in poetic elements; rather, they capture the essence of poetry: to express the experiences of everyday life.


SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

“Day’s End” by Sarah Sajewski

The sun waves good-bye.

The waters of life slowly stop.

The shadowy sky moves in.

You can only hear your breath

against eons of stillness.

The poem “Day’s End” written by fifth-grader Sarah Sajewski was one of my favorite poems in this collection. In 5 lines, Sajewski packs so much power and feeling about a simple event: the ending of a day. I picked this poem as a spotlight poem because it includes great poetic techniques such as personification, metaphor, alliteration, and mood to allow the poet to deliver great emotional impact.

To introduce this poem, I would show the students a slideshow of sunset pictures and ask them what their experiences are with a day’s end. I would lead a discussion about what they associate with a day’s end by asking them: “How do you feel at the end of the day? What do you notice about the end of a day? How would you describe the end of a day?” I would make sure to read the poem twice: the first time, I would tell students to close their eyes and visualize the poem while I read it aloud; the second time I’d tell them to open their eyes and read along with me. After reading, I would emphasize the tone of the poem by having students look at word choice and connotation and talking about the images created through figurative language. Afterwards, I would have students use this piece as a mentor text to write about a day’s beginning.

Janeczko Collection

JANECZKO COLLECTION

THE DEATH OF THE HAT: A BRIEF HISTORY OF POETRY IN 50 OBJECTS

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Janeczko, Paul B. , ed. 2015. The Death of the Hat: a Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects. Ills. by Chris Raschka.  Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763669638.

SUMMARY
In this collection, Janeczko compiles 50 poems about various throughout history. From grass to cobwebs, these objects represent specific time periods in history.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poets
Paul B. Janeczko, who compiled this collection, is a well-known American poet and anthologist. In this collection, he traces poetic history through the poems of greats such as Rumi, William Shakespeare, William Wordsworth, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Robert Frost, and Pablo Neruda. As such, the collection provides a variety of notable poems written by both traditional and contemporary poets, many of which, due to their fame, appear in other books.

Layout
This collection is broken up into 9 sections: Early Middle Ages, High Middle Ages, The Renaissance, The Enlightenment, Romantic Period, Victorian Period, Modern Period, Postmodern Period, and Contemporary.  These major literary periods serve as an organizational structure for the book, and each period includes several poems by a variety of representative poets of that time period.  A Contents page is included in the beginning of the novel to easy readers’ navigation of the collection.

Janeczko provides a general Introduction in the beginning of the book in which he explains the challenges he faced in putting together this collection as well as a brief overview of each literary period and its characteristics.  Ultimately, his goal is to give readers an idea of how poetry evolved throughout history. With the aid of Chris Raschka’s playful watercolor illustrations, readers will certainly gain a clear understanding of a survey of poetry throughout history.

Poetic Elements
As this collection of poems revolves around objects, many of the poems center on concrete meaning and display a wide array of tone and mood, which will appeal to various readers’ interests.  Some, however, do venture into abstract meaning, such as Rumi’s “A Just-Finishing Candle,” which literally describes a candle’s last flickers and, more deeply, discusses the philosophical meaning of life and human nature. 

Virtually every poem in The Death of the Hat displays some sort of poetic rhythmic and sound technique. The excerpt from “Mercutio’s Queen Mad Speech,” for example, highlights Shakespeare’s excellent iambic pentameter technique, and “A Burtn Ship” by John Donne, for instance, uses exact rhyme in an abbacc rhyme scheme.  In “Street Lanterns,” Mary Elizabeth Coleridge exhibits alliteration when she writes that “An unwonted silence steals”  and that, “Lit, throughout the lengthy night,/By the little lantern’s light,” appealing to reader’s sense of hearing and helping create a calm tone.

Appeal
The Death of the Hat will certainly appeal to readers of all ages. Young children will enjoy the poetic elements displayed throughout the collection while older readers and adults will enjoy the familiarity of many of the poems included.  Most of the poems’ subjects will resound with the reader, as readers will connect to topics such as roses, stars, city trees, and summer days—everyday objects that people encounter on a daily basis. Even more so, readers will appreciate the multi-dimensional aspect of these poems, as they go far beyond simple descriptions of objects and venture into metaphorical, philosophical musings that will make readers think about life.  Thus, while the language used in the poems is easy and accessible, it provides avenues for further contemplation and stimulates the emotions and imaginations of readers.

Overall Quality
The poems in this collection are undeniably consistent in quality.  All of the poets featured in this book are well-known poets and their works are well-known works. The poets selected for each literary period are certainly greats of those periods, reinforcing Janeczko’s purpose to present a historical evolution of poems.  In the end, readers will get a sense of not only the evolution of poems but, most importantly, a great appreciation of poetry.


SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES
A spotlight poem that I would use from this collection would be “Things” by Eloise Greenfield.  This poem serves as a perfect introduction to this collection because it presents the overarching theme of objects as well as drives the idea that poems outlast material objects.

“Things” by Eloise Greenfield

Went to the corner

Walked in the store

Bought me some candy

Ain’t got it no more

Ain’t got it no more

Went to the beach

Played on the shore

Built me a sandhouse

Ain’t got it no more

Ain’t got it no more

Went to the kitchen

Lay down on the floor

Made me a poem

Still got it

Still got it

Before reading this poem, I would lead a class discussion on the longevity of things. I would ask the students questions such as, “What items do you find joy in? Are they items that last forever? How long do they last? In what way can we make items last forever?” I would then project the poem on a screen and invite students to read the poem with me by reading the lines that are repeated (lines 4 and 5, lines 9 and 10, lines 14 and 15).  Then, I would ask students what they think the poet means when she writes that she “Made me a poem/Still got it/Still got it.” I would also ask them if they agree that poems or other forms of writing last longer than other material objects. As a culminating activity, I would have students write a poem about an item or object they want to immortalize through writing.

SIDMAN POETRY

RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS: A YEAR IN COLORS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sidman, Joyce. 2009. Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors. Ills. By Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 0547014947.

SUMMARY

In this poetry book, Joyce Sidman chronicles the changing seasons through descriptions of the way different colors appear in each season.  Beginning with spring, Sidman uses personification to describe the colors of the season, continuing this pattern for summer, autumn, and winter.  As winter comes to an end, the red cardinal reappears just as on the first page, emphasizing the circular cycle of the seasons.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poet

Joyce Sidman is a renowned, award-winning children’s writer. She is the 2006 recipient of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for Song of the Water Boatman and ALA’s Best Book for Young Adults for The World According to Dog.  She is known to write works related to nature and set in nature, such as Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors. Sidman is also known for writing poems in different voices that she imagines, creates, and tells stories through.

Layout

This book is laid out to follow each season, therefore broken up into 4 parts: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter.  Each section then includes descriptions of the colors of that particular season.  The pages are dedicated to a particular color of that season, making the flow of the narrative easy to follow.

Pamela Zagarenski’s brilliant colors and whimsical illustrations complement Sidman’s poetic language.  Zagarenski skillfully blends colors visually recreate Sidman’s descriptions. A drawing of a girl appears throughout the book, driving the narrative forward as the seasons change, and a red cardinal that appears on every page serves as a reminder of the cyclical nature of life.

Poetic Elements

Joyce Sidman uses free-verse poetry to bring the beautiful colors of the seasons to life. Through unrhymed verse, she is able to direct the reader’s focus to the imagery that describes each season.

Sidman employs various sound techniques like alliteration and onomatopoeia throughout this collection of poems that celebrate the colors of the seasons.  When describing blue, for instance, she says that the sun brings about a “sudden[],/sparkling spring sky!” By using the alliterative s sound, Sidman accentuates the sprightly color of blue.  In her description of white, Sidman says that the color “sounds like storms:/snapped twigs and bouncing hail,/blink of lightning/and rattling BOOM!”  By using various onomatopoeic sounds, readers are able to synesthetically experience the color white.

To accentuate the colors of the season, Sidman uses figurative language like personification and similes to further create imagery for readers.  When describing the yellow of Spring, for instance, she writes that “Yellow and Purple hold hands” as “They beam at each other with bright velvet faces.” By personifying these two colors, the reader is able to imagine how they blend seamlessly and how they coordinate together so well.

Appeal

Readers of all ages will fall in love with Sidman’s beautiful poetic craft as she describes the way colors change and interact in each season.  The musicality of her word choice and vivid descriptions will resonate with readers, who will feel fully immersed in the speaker’s experience.  The language used in this poetry collection is accessible enough for young readers while still through-provoking, encouraging readers to use language in new ways.  After reading this collection, readers will see the world in new, fascinating ways.

Overall Quality

Each poem in this collection is clearly representative of Sidman’s literary quality.  Through her effortless yet skillful use of language, Sidman evokes not only sensory images but, more importantly, emotional connections.  While describing something ordinary like colors and seasons, the unfolding of the narrative is complex, demonstrating how each season and color is interwoven.  Sidman’s choice of free verse in these poems provides a natural flow that instead lets readers enjoy colors and seasons in every sense possible.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

Excerpt from “Green” by Joyce Sidman

Green is new

in spring. Shy.

Green peeks from buds,

trembles in the breeze.

Green floats through rain-dark trees,

and glows, mossy-soft, at my feet.

Green drips from tips of leaves

     onto Pup’ nose.

In spring,

even the rain tastes Green.

This poem is exemplary of Sidman’s best poetic skill. Here, she uses personification, imagery, metaphor, assonance, and synesthesia, all of which help create a beautiful picture of the titular color. This poem would serve as an excellent introduction to a unit on colors or even figurative language.

I would introduce this poem by having students think about a description of a color using senses other than sight.  In groups, students would randomly pick a color and create a list of ways to describe that color using the sense of smell, touch, taste, and sound. Students would then share their lists with the class. Afterwards, I would tell students that the poem “Green” by Joyce Sidman uses a variety of senses to describe the color green.

During my oral reading of the poem, I would stop to ask students what sense each image appeals to. I would then invite students to read the poem again with me, this time having them join in by reading the word “Green” each time it appears.

As an extension, I would have students model their own color poems after Sidman’s. I would also have students draw their own illustrations to accompany their poems and post these on a wall for a gallery walk.

PERFORMANCE POETRY

THE FRIENDLY FOUR

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Greenfield, Eloise. 2006. The Friendly Four. Ill. By Jan Spicey Gilchrist. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 9780060007607.

SUMMARY
In this book, Greenfield introduces readers to 4 characters—Drummond, Dorene, Louis, and Rae—who develop a lifelong friendship one summer.  Written in the point of view of the characters, these poems gradually include multiple voices as characters meet each other, play together, exchange stories, create an imaginary town, and become the “friendly four.”  As summer comes to an end, these 4 children must say goodbye, but only until the following summer.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poet
Eloise Greenfield is a prolific children’s book writer, having written over 30 books, namely poetry books. Her poetry focuses on the African-American experience. Greenfield has received numerous awards for her works, such as the Carter G. Woodson Book Award and the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.

Layout
The Friendly Four is broken up into 6 parts: Drummond; Drum and Dorene; Drum, Dorene, and Louis; Drum, Dorene, Louis, and Rae; In the Town of Goodsummer; and Goodbyes.  A “Contents” page at the beginning of the book lists these 6 parts as well as the individual poems that make up each part, making it easy for readers to follow.

The first part follows a young boy named Drummond, or Drum, and consists of 4 poems as he expresses his boredom due to not having anyone to play with. In part 2, he meets Dorene, a new neighbor, and the two quickly become friends. In part 3, they meet Louis, a new neighbor, and in part 4 they finish up their “friendly four” group with Rae, Dorene’s cousin.  The poems all follow a from reminiscent of dialogue lines one would find in a play. As characters come into the storyline, the dialogue between them alternates, turning the poems into performance poems meant to be read by different voices.

Gilchrist’s illustrations depict young children and capture their emotions through facial expressions and body movements, allowing readers to follow the storyline and understand the characters’ feelings and changes. Gilchrist’s illustrations also help readers determine how to perform their lines in each poem.

Poetic Elements
Greenfield’s poems in this collection primarily focus on concrete meaning, allowing readers to fully engage with the characters and the storyline.  Readers will feel for Drum, for instance, when they learn that he feels lonely and left out since all his family’s attention is focused on his baby brother, and they will sympathize with Louis as he feels uncertain in his new foster home after having been in others where his foster parents were not emotionally invested in him.

As a collection of performance poetry, most of these poems do not follow formal poetic form. Instead, their free verse nature allows them to be read as spoken word that focuses on the characters’ experiences. 

Greenfield uses an array of poetic sound techniques such as rhyme and onomatopoeia.  In “Who I Am,” she uses an abcbdefgghi rhyme scheme which, although not consistent, still resonates in readers’ ears.  In “The Race,” spoken by Drum and Dorene, the two talk about racing each other, ultimately “Huffing, puffing!” as Drum wins the race.  These onomatopoeic sounds bring the poem to a climactic end.

Greenfield also uses vivid imagery to appeal to readers’ senses and bring the characters and their experiences to life. In “Play ground,” for instance, readers are able to visualize the 4 friends as they are “running,…/sliding,/swinging” in the playground, “Water drip[ping] from [their faces,/[Their] backs…wet” as they play at a playground.  These sensory images let readers connect to the characters and the act of playing in a playground.  Similarly, in “Here Comes the Truck,” readers can see and feel the “sheets of cardboard,/cans of paint, and brushes,…/sticky tape,/and colored paper,/and markers” and a myriad of other art supplies that the four youngsters will use to create their Goodsummer cardboard playtown.

Appeal
The performance poetry structure of the poems in this collection entices readers to read them aloud, as Greenfield intended. Slightly older children will find this collection especially appealing for this reason.  Having different voices in each poem in different-colored text makes it easy for readers to follow along and read aloud.  Readers will also be inspired to use gestures and body movements to portray the characters as well.

Since this collection focuses on young children’s experiences, young readers will certainly relate to these poems.  They will see themselves in Drum as he dreads having to spend a boring summer alone but will then rejoice when they discover that he makes new friends. Readers will also connect to the experience of making new friends and spending a glorious summer with them.

Overall Quality
Undoubtedly, Greenfield exhibits a consistent quality throughout this collection.  Each poem is carefully crafted to spotlight her expertise in poetic technique.  Greenfield, as a skilled poet, discretely incorporates poetic elements so that these enhance but not overshadow the characters and storyline of the collection.  Readers will appreciate her poetic style while still maintaining their focus on the performance poetry aspect of the poems.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES
“Playground” by Eloise Greenfield
All:         We’re running,

Dorene:  we’re sliding,

Louis:     swinging,

Rae:       sweating.

All:         Water drips from our faces.

Drum:     Our backs are wet.

Louis:     Get out the bottles of water.

All:         Find some shade.

Rae:       Sit.

Dorene:  Drink.

Louis:     Flop.

Drum:     Rest.

All:        Ahhhhh.

This poem, which incorporates all 4 voices, is a great introduction to performance poetry and multi-voice poems. Its simplicity makes it easy for readers to understand the form and to read aloud, yet Greenfield uses sophisticated imagery, alliteration, and onomatopoeia that are rich examples of effective poetic elements for readers to understand and enjoy.

A great way to introduce this poem is to ask students to brainstorm one-word ideas of things they associate with a playground. After writing some ideas on the board, I would ask for 2 volunteers to choose one word each to read aloud together. Then, I would ask a third volunteer to join in by choosing a different word and then have all three students read their words together. I would then ask the students to try taking turns reading their own word instead of reading them together. Afterwards, I would engage students in a class discussion about the effect of having words read together and read apart, as demonstrated by our volunteers, helping them understand that these two varieties emphasize different “voices” and, therefore, experiences or perspectives.

To read the poem, I would ask for 4 volunteers, each student taking on the role of one of the four characters. I would then have the students read “Playground” aloud, encouraging them to act out their lines.

As a culminating activity, I would turn this into a whole-class performance, having multiple students read the lines of each character. We would then perform the poem together!

HOPKINS AWARD POETRY

BEAST FEAST

 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Florian, Douglas. 1994. Beast Feast. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 9780152951788

SUMMARY
In this collection, Florian dedicates each of his 21 poems to a different animal, or beast.  From fireflies to lobsters, poems detail different animal characteristics, often from the animal’s point of view.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poet
Douglas Florian is a distinguished children’s writer and illustrator.  One of his best-known works, Beast Feast, won the Lee Bennet Hopkins Poetry Award. His poetry tends to focus on the natural world in a humorous way.

Layout

The poems in Beast Feast are thematically linked in that they all discuss animals.  The collection includes a “Contents” page at the beginning that lists the poems’ titles and indicates the page number that each poem appears on.  Each poem appears in a two-page spread so as to include Florian’s illustrations as well.  Because most of the poems are short, there is plenty of white space around the poem, allowing readers to truly focus on the poem’s meaning and to enjoy the accompanying illustrations.

Florian’s unique illustration characteristics shine in this collection.  Most illustrations are close-up portraits of the animals showcased in the poems. Florian uses a wide range of color schematics to complement the particular animal in each illustration. For “The Barracuda,” for instance, he uses cool blue hues throughout the painting, whereas in “The Lobster” he uses warm red tones.  His illustrations also pick up on Florians’ humorous nature, such as in his illustration of a chameleon with a painter’s palette and brush.

Poetic Elements

The poems in Beast Feast primarily focus on concrete meaning to highlight the characteristics and traits of the animals they are written about.  In “The Toad,” for example, Florian describes a toad’s “squat and plump” shape and food preference of “worms and slugs.”

While the poems in this collection do not ascribe to a strict form or meter, they do have rhythmic patterns and poetic sound elements that children will be able to pick up on and enjoy.  “The Walrus,” for example, is a 4-line poem that follows an abcb rhyme scheme, which produces a sing-song essence.  In “The Camel,” Florian uses alliteration to emphasize the animal’s “haggard, harsh, and hairy” appearance that may appear scary and monstrous to some.  He also makes use of onomatopoeia, such as in “The Kangaroo,” where he describes the way a kangaroo “zooms” as it leaps into the air.

Florian employs many examples of figurative language in his animal poems to produce sensory imagery for readers.  When describing a lobster, for instance, he uses similes to show that this animal is “Like an underwater/Mobster” who has antennae that are “Used for striking/Like a stick.” Through this similes, readers are able to visualize a lobster’s physical appearance as well as defensive disposition.  In “The Chameleon,” Florian appeals to the sense of sight and touch when he writes that a chameleon can have “From mousy browns to leafy greens/And several colors in between” as well as a “long and sticky tongue” that “lashes out at rapid rates.” These vivid descriptions helps readers truly have an understanding of what a chameleon is like. 

The poems’ subject matter as well as Florian’s poetic writing style give these poems an overall humorous tone.  Even when reading about scary bats or icky caterpillars, readers will laugh at their silly peculiarities, finding themselves drawn closer to these animals and appreciating their beauty and fundamental nature.  Readers will surely find these poems and their subjects favorable.

Appeal

Beast Feast is sure to appeal to young readers.  The eye-catching book cover, which features a couple of bats, and the book’s title will get children to become interested in what this collection is about.  The length of the poems as well as Florian’s accessible language are perfect for kids, as the poems are concise enough to get their point across but detailed enough to give them a true sense of what these animals are all about.  Florian’s poetic techniques and illustrations will keep sustain children’s interest throughout.  His humorous tone will make readers young and old laugh out loud. The animals Florian includes in this book will intrigue readers and compel them to continue learning about other less-popular animals, stimulating readers’ imaginations and enriching their knowledge.

Overall Quality

Florian consistently delivers high-quality poems in this collection.  He clearly exhibits his skill as an experiences poet and uses poetic techniques to catch and maintain readers’ attention.  Readers will be able to recognize and appreciate his poetic style and illustrations and, more importantly, will be moved to extend their knowledge about animals.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES
“The Lobster” by Douglas Florian

See the hard-shelled

Leggy lobster

Like an underwater

Mobster

With two claws

To catch and crush

Worms and mollusks

Into mush

And antennae

Long and thick

Used for striking

Like a stick.

So be careful

On vacation

Not to step on

This crustacean.

This poem perfectly captures the heart and spirit of this entire collection in that it focuses on a “beast” and makes it come to life. Florian’s wonderful use of poetic elements such as alliteration, similes, and imagery make this poem a great introduction to the collection or even to a unit on animals or sea creatures.

To introduce this poem, I would bring in a live lobster and have students observe it, asking them to take notes on its physical appearance.  I would then ask students to verbally share their observations about the lobster. I would distribute copies of the poem to students and read the poem aloud to them, including gestures and body movements where appropriate. Then, I would invite students to do a choral reading of the poem and to join me by emulating my gestures and body movements as well.  After reading, I would bring in some non-fiction texts about lobsters to learn more about them.

BIOGRAPHICAL POETRY

DRUM DREAM GIRL: HOW ONE GIRL’S COURAGE CHANGED MUSIC

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Engle, Margarita. 2015. Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music. Ill. by Rafael López. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  ISBN 9780761316657.

SUMMARY

As Engle explains in a Historical Note provided at the end of the book, this poem book is inspired by Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a young girl who “broke Cuba’s traditional taboo against female drummers.” This poem follows a young girl who, even after being discouraged by her father and the townspeople, dreams of playing drums. She continues to pursue her dreams until her father agrees to find her a teacher and, ultimately, she is able to perform.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poet

Margarita Engle is a prolific children’s author and famous poet. She was awarded the Newbery Honor for The Surrender Tree, becoming the first Latina to receive this honor, and the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award for Enchanted Air. Engle is also the recipient of three Pura Belpré Awards. She is best known for her verse novels.

Layout

As this is a single poem, it is laid out in chronological sequence to tell the story of a young girl who pursues her dream. We are introduced to “the dream drum girl” and are soon told that “everyone/on the island of music/…believed that only boys/should play drums,” establishing the poem’s conflict early one.  The poem, however, focuses on the dream drum girl’s persistence to continue playing despite what anyone says.  In the end, her dreams and courage pay off, as she finally gains acceptance for all girls who want to play drums.

López’s rich, vibrant acrylic illustrations strongly reflect the Cuban culture.  The animated drawings perfectly complement the poem’s dream-like, whimsical tone. Readers will enjoy the detailed illustrations as much as the poem itself.

Poetic Elements

While the poem follows the concrete biography of a young girl, Engle is able to give her poem a much deeper, thematic meaning.  Drum Dream Girl is ultimately a story about the importance of following your dreams and about perseverance. Although the poem is written in free verse, Engle utilizes poetic elements such as sound techniques to invite readers into the protagonist’s story.  Engle uses alliteration to tell of how the “drum dream girl/dreamed,” repeating the d sound to create a rhythmic, drum-like sound for readers.  She also uses onomatopoeia, as when she describes the “pounding,” “tapping,” and “boom boom booming” of the girl’s drumming, appealing to readers’ sense of sound and providing sensory imagery.  Engle continually uses imagery, such as when she writes that “When [the drum dream girl] walked under/wind-wavy palm trees/in a flower-bright park/she heard the whir of parrot wings,” bringing readers into the girl’s experience so they, too, can partake in this girl’s dream.  When drum dream girl’s father tells her that only boys are allowed to play drums, readers will feel the girl’s disappointment momentarily only to, along with the young girl, continue to pursue what she wants. In the end, Engle creates an inspirational tone that will resonate with readers.

Appeal

As a poem picture book, Drum Dream Girl will definitely appeal to readers both young and old.  The format of this poem is simple enough for young readers to follow, and the sensory language is both easy to understand and thought-provoking, giving readers the chance to expand their linguistic ability.  Readers will be able to relate to the young protagonist and will see themselves in her. Because of the inspirational outcome, readers will thoroughly enjoy this poem.

Overall Quality

Engle’s Drum Dream Girl captures her poetic repertoire and skill, showcasing consistent quality throughout.  The poem is broken up into separate pages at appropriate times to allow López’s illustrations to help develop the story.  Readers will feel a range of emotions throughout the poem but will ultimately end up with a feeling of hope.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

Excerpt from Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle

When she walked under

wind-wavy palm trees

in a flower-bright park

she heard the whir of parrot wings

the clack of woodpecker beaks

the dancing tap

of her own footsteps

and the comforting pat

of her own

heartbeat.

This excerpt captures the essence of meaning, tone, and poetic quality of Drum Dream Girl. Readers are able to see Engle’s masterful onomatopoeic sounds, imagery, and positive tone to understand the inspirational message of the overall poem.

I would emphasize this part of the poem by first inviting students to observe the illustrations and predict what is about to happen in the poem.  As students come up with ideas, I would ask them what sounds they imagine hearing based on the pictures. I would softly play a drum beat sound clip while reading this excerpt to help students experience what the young girl in the poem likely feels or hears.  After reading the poem in its entirety, I would lead the class in writing a whole-class golden shovel poem about the importance of following your dreams using the this excerpt from Drum Dream Girl.

SOCIAL STUDIES POETRY

EUREKA! POEMS ABOUT INVENTORS

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sidman, Joyce. 2002. Eureka! Poems About Inventors. Ill. by K. Bennett Chavez. Minneapolis: Millbrook Press.  ISBN 9780761316657.

SUMMARY

As its title states, Eureka! Poems About Inventors is a collection of poems dedicated to inventors throughout history.  Each poem honors a single inventor for his or her invention and contribution to our modern world.  

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poet

Joyce Sidman is a renowned, award-winning children’s writer. She is the 2006 recipient of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for Song of the Water Boatman and ALA’s Best Book for Young Adults for The World According to Dog.  She is known to write works related to nature and set in nature, such as Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors. Sidman is also known for writing poems in different voices that she imagines, creates, and tells stories through.

Layout

Eureka! is made up of 16 poems altogether.  A “Contents” page at the beginning of the book not only lists poem titles and page numbers but also sets forth an organizational structure that makes the chronology of the poems clear to readers.  The poems are organized into 4 parts: The Tapestry of the Past, which consists of 4 poems; The Age of Invention, which consists of 5 poems; A Light Interlude, which consists of 1 poem; and Dawn of the Modern Age, which consists of 6 poems. Each part focuses on a different time period, beginning with primitive cultures with no recorded history and ending with modern culture. Each of the 4 parts ends with biographical information about each inventor, which includes what he or she is invented and how he or she came up with the invention.

K. Bennett Chavez’s illustrations accompany the poems, depicting each single inventor as well as the creation.  Drawn with careful details and bold colors, these illustrations nicely complement the poems and help readers envision these important historical figures.

Poetic Elements

Due to the nature of the content, the poems in Eureka! mostly focus on creating concrete meaning.  Since Sidman aims to inform readers about historical figures and their inventions, the poems primarily seek to do just that.  Most of the poems are written in free verse, which is an appropriate form for the purpose Sidman sets out to establish with this collection.  She does, however, incorporate elements such as rhyme, as in “Those Fabulous Frenchmen” where every alternating line rhymes.  Sidman also makes use of other sound elements like alliteration, such as when she writes about how Mary “Caresse” Crosby “fashioned [her] own freedom” in “A Length of Pink Ribbon” and how Barbara McClintock “was drawn deeper and deeper” into her scientific studies in “This Is My Life.”  Another element Sidman uses throughout her collection is similes.  In “The Light—Ah! The Light,” for instance, she describes how Marie Curie “swept aside” obstacles “like a handful of cobwebs,” emphasizing Curie’s persistence and dedication to her discovery of radioactivity. Similarly, in “Cockleburs,” Sidman describes how burrs “grip like mad to the fur/beneath my dear old Fifi’s chin,” helping readers visualize the attachment strength that burrs have and helping tell the story of George de Mestral’s Velcro invention.  Yet another poetic element that Sidman uses in this collection is sensory imagery, which can be seen in virtually every poem.  In “Ode to Spode,” for instance, readers will be able to visualize the “Fine-boned plates” and the “dainty cups” that are “carv’d, fired and painted/with such gentle art” and will be able to hear how the cup “shatters” as well as Josephine Cochrane’s “weep[ing]” at the loss of such delicate china. This exquisite imagery allows Sidman to narrate the history behind Cochrane’s invention of the dishwasher, making Cochrane’s story relatable and allowing readers to sympathize with her reasons for pursuing her invention.  Each poem, whether told through the eyes of the inventor or through third-person narration, carries a light-hearted tone that will resound within readers.

Appeal

Eureka! is perfect for older readers. The subject matter of the book is highly sophisticated, and many of the poems use elevated, academic vocabulary that is not easy to understand for young readers.  The poems are also lengthy, which may not catch young readers’ attention but will surely be of appropriate length for older readers.  The free-verse, narrative style of the poems will present stimulating information to older readers who will enjoy the history just as much as the lyricism behind the poems.  This collection will surely inspire readers to conduct further research into these noted inventors as well as to research other inventors.

Overall Quality

As usual, Sidman consistently employs high poetic quality in this collection.  It is apparent that the subjects are well-researched and Sidman does a fantastic job of bringing these people and their stories to life.  She is able to give these figures voices and characterize them in ways that make them real.  Readers will certainly be inspired by these histories, thanks to Sidman’s careful poetic craftsmanship.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

“Walt Tells It Like It Is” (Walter Morrison invented the Frisbee in 1957) by Joyce Sidman

It wasn’t a new idea.

People have been tossing lids

around for years.

I just did a little design work.

Aerodynamics.

Before the war, the ex-wife and I

would hit the beach

with a few cake pans and throw ‘em around—

called ‘em Pluto Platters.

We were deadly.

Someone would get between us

& we’d lift their hat off.

One day, a guy from Wham-O comes along,

likes what he sees.

Helps me get a patent.

The rest is history.

Sure, I came up with some other stuff:

a water-filled bowling ball, for one.

Never took off.

But that Frisbee, man!

The dough keeps rolling in.

I’m just sitting back, enjoying it.

When you’re poor, you start thinking of things.

When you don’t need it, you relax.

I’m just like anyone else.

Except I always liked throwing rocks.

“Walt Tells It Like It Is” is a perfect example of the way Sidman capture’s a character’s voice, a technique she often uses in her poems. This poem, written in first-person, narrates Walter Morrison’s story in a non-linear way, evoking a conversational tone that students will enjoy and respond to.

To introduce this poem, I would first tell students to pretend they will be interviewing an inventor about his or her invention. I would ask them to come up with a list of questions they would ask during the interview, and we would share these questions in a whole-class discussion. Before reading the poem, I would tell students that the poem “Walt Tells It Like It Is” tells about Walter Morrison’s Frisbee invention—all told through his point of view. I would tell them to pay attention to the sequence of events as they unfold in the poem and the way in which this sequence affects the story itself. I would then read the poem aloud, asking students to follow along with their own copies of the poem. After reading, I would lead a class discussion about the sequence of events in the story and have students create a chronological timeline of these events to help them get a better sense of the history behind the invention of the Frisbee. Finally, I would display students’ timelines on a wall. As an extension, I would have students research another inventor and write a poem using “Walt Tells It Like It Is” as a model.