FLORIAN POETRY

SUMMERSAULTS

  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Florian, Douglas. 2002. Summersaults. New York: Greenwillow Books.  ISBN 0060292679.

SUMMARY

This collection by Douglas Florian features a variety of poems all about summer.  Some poems focus on the delights and joys of summer, such as dandelions and swings, while others focus on things that are hated about summer, such as bees and the end of the season.

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 and carry a humorous tone that children enjoy.

Layout

Summersaults is a collection of twenty-eight poems about summertime.  A Table of Contents included in the beginning of the book makes it easy for readers to find poems in the book. The first poem, “Summersaults,” is a concrete poem that talks about the way in which summer vaults from spring and “tumbles into fall,” appropriately introducing the thematic content of this collection. The poems that follow range from topics such as birds in trees to seashells, providing a wide array of all things that have to do with this season.

Each poem appears on a two-page spread, giving Florian plenty of space to include his illustrations, which he is also well known for.  His distinct artistic design and style permeates through every page, adding a sense of whimsy and fun to enhance and intensify the humor in his words and poems. To accompany “Names of Clouds,” for instance, three personified cloud drawings appear on the opposite page, bringing a child-like quality to the poem.

Poetic Elements

Florian’s poems in this collection deal primarily with concrete meaning.  Each is an ode to an aspect that relates to summer, whether it is a summertime game like table tennis or an experience like a campfire.  Every poem is heavily loaded with rhyme, and most are written in rhyming couplets. “Dog Day,” for instance, follows an aabbccdd rhyme scheme while “Graze Days” uses an aabccbddeffe rhyme scheme. Florian’s poems vary in length, the shortest being three lines long and the longest being twenty-seven lines long. The poems included in this book do not have a consistent pattern; instead, they each have a flow that enhances the topic of a given poem. “Fireflies,” for example, uses monosyllabic words in some lines and 4-syllable single words in others, creating a rhythm that mimics a firefly’s movements.

Because most of the poems in this collection talk about nature, they lend themselves to poetic sound devices like onomatopoeia and consonance that help create sensory images for readers. In “Summer Night,” readers will visualize the “belch” of bullfrogs, the “chirping” of crickets, and the “buzz” of mosquitoes.  In “Lost and Found,” Florian uses consonance to describe “Five feathers from/A Seabird’s wings,” accentuating these found items and making them more memorable for readers.

Florian also uses figurative language in his poems to further bring them to life. 

Appeal

Florian’s short, rhythmic poems draw readers in and lets readers rejoice in the greatness of the summer season.  The majority of the poems in this collection rhyme, giving them a musical, sing-song feel that imitates the carefree feelings associated with summer.  Readers, especially young readers, will certainly relate to the experiences narrated through the poems, such as “The Swing,” which describes a person swinging, and “Double Dutch Girls,” which describes a jump-rope game in a short, highly rhythmic manner.  These are universal childhood experiences that readers of any age will connect to and that will keep readers wanting more.

Overall Quality

This collection by Florian showcases Florian’s large range as a poet.  All poems included in this book reflect a high literary quality that readers can appreciate and enjoy.  Each poem is carefully constructed to add to the overall theme of the collection, presenting not only the great things about summer but also the bad things about summer.  The poems have a nostalgic tone that is engaging and gives a warm, happy feeling and will have readers yearning for this wonderful season. 

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

“Summerize” by Douglas Florian

June’s a bright blue butterfly.

July is brighter yet.

August is a purple one.

September is the net.

Although concise, “Summerize” packs a lot of poetic power that children can enjoy.  It brings in rich imagery through simple visual descriptions that readers will be able to imagine.  This poem also uses a familiar rhyme scheme, abcb, that readers may recognize from nursery rhymes like “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Also, this poem creates a perfect opportunity to discuss the changes within a season as well as the months in a season.

I would introduce this poem by reviewing the months of the year and the four major seasons. I would do an “I have/who has” activity to have students sort out the months according to season. Then, I would tell students that we will be reading a poem about summer. Prior to reading, I would have students think about the four months of summer—June, July, August, and September—and associate a color and an item with each month. Students would then share their ideas with the class. During reading, I would have a picture slideshow play on a projector to help students follow along with the changes within the summer season. As an extension after reading the poem, I would have students create their own picture slideshow based on the ideas they brainstormed in the introductory activity. Then, I would have them write their own “Summerize” poem.

MULTICULTURAL POETRY

YUM! ¡MMMM! ¡QUE RICO! AMERICAS’ SPROUTINGS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mora, Pat. 2017. Yum! ¡Qué Rico! Americas’ Sproutings. Ill. by Rafael López. New York: Lee & Low Books.  ISBN 9781584302711.

SUMMARY

In this collection, Pat Mora honors various foods that are indigenous to the Americas.  Written in haiku form, each poem focuses on a specific food, and a short description explains where the food originates and what the food is known for.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poet

Pat Mora is a well-known Mexican American author and poet. Much of her writing focuses on cultural diversity, namely the Latino/a culture along the United States-Mexico border.  She is known for including code switching in her works, which helps promote multiculturalism, a major focus and purpose of hers.  She was the recipient of the 2015 Texas Writer Award, the 2006 Pura Belpré Honor Award, and the 2009 International Latino Book Award for Best Children’s Picture Book, among others.

Layout

In a note to the reader at the end of the book, Mora explains that she combined her desire to write a book about foods indigenous to the Americas with her desire to write her first book of haiku to produce this book.  She consulted many books and resources to research the origins of the foods that she presents in her poems.

Yum! ¡Qué Rico! Americas’ Sproutings consists of 14 haiku written about foods such as chiles, pineapples, peanuts, and papayas.  All poems are thematically linked around foods and are thus arranged accordingly. Each poem is accompanied by an illustration by Rafael López, all of which enhance the subject of the poems. López’s artwork is vivid and colorful, accentuating the richness of both the foods and the culture they come from. Bold yellows, reds, and oranges pop on every page, making it visually appealing for readers but not overshadowing the poems themselves. Also, a short written description of each food is provided on the page opposite to the poem. This gives readers background information on where the food comes from as well as interesting facts about the food item.

Poetic Elements

As haiku are short poems by nature, Mora carefully weaves other poetic elements to make her writing shine.  She intertwines both the concrete and the abstract in each poem, just as when she concretely describes the “hard, brown shells” and abstractly describes the “crunchy taste of fall” of pecans.  The poems in this collection strictly follow the haiku form: 5 syllables in the first line, 7 syllables in the second line, and 5 syllables in the third line. This creates a steady rhythm that is distinct, yet similar in each poem.

Mora uses various sound techniques through her haiku.  In “Potato,” for instance, she uses alliteration to describe the “brown bundle” that grows underground. She also uses assonance in “Chile” when she says Dad “laughs when tears fill his eyes, sighs,” stressing the long i vowel sound and simultaneously creating internal rhyme.  Another sound technique Mora uses is onomatopoeia, such as when she describes the way a cranberry “POPS!” or when she describes the “juicy splatter” of a tomato in your mouth.

In this collection, Mora also infuses her poems with figurative language to bring her subject matter to life.  She primarily relies on metaphor to carry meaning across to the reader. In “Blueberry,” for instance, she describes a bowl of blueberries as a “bowl heaped with summer,” comparing this fruit to summer and, thus, evoking feelings of fun.  Mora also uses personification to help the reader visualize the experiences and emotions in her poems. For instance, in “Chocolate,” Mora writes that “your eyes dance” when “Brown magic melts on your tongue,” allowing readers to connect to the positive feelings that chocolate brings to them.

The imagery used in this collection is concise yet strong, fitting for the haiku form.  By appealing to the senses, Mora creates vivid pictures and experiences for the readers, such as in “Corn” where she describes the way “Leaves sprout [a] silk-snug house,” allowing readers to picture the hair-like tassel that is enveloped in the corn leaves.  She then goes on to describe the scent of “grits, tortillas, corn bread,” further adding to the reader’s sensory experience.

Mora’s haiku collection presents a playful, yet informative tone.  “Pineapple,” for example, lightheartedly describes the “stiff, spiky hat” that tops pineapples.  Readers will delight in learning new things about these indigenous foods of the Americans as well as in the playfulness of Mora’s style. 

Appeal

Yum! ¡Qué Rico! Americas’ Sproutings will definitely appeal to any reader, whether old or young.  Young children will enjoy the short haiku form while older readers will appreciate the structure of the haiku form as well.  The vivid descriptions and playful use of language make this collection memorable, as it will encourage readers to see foods in new, different, creative ways.  Mora’s additional explanations on the foods will interest readers as well, as rich information about their history is fascinating.  Readers of Latino backgrounds will especially relate to and enjoy the colorful illustrations as well as Mora’s writing style, as they will identify with the Spanish language that is integrated into some of the poems. Non-Spanish readers will also expand their linguistic abilities as they learn some Spanish words, which Mora provides definitions for in the beginning of her book.

Overall Quality

Mora’s haiku poems strongly evoke sensory images, giving her poems immense literary quality.  Mora experiments with various ways of presenting each haiku, such as by creating end-stopped lines as in “Blueberry” and using enjambment in others like “Papaya.” Although the poems do not rhyme, they 5-7-5 syllable lines create a rhythmic, musical sound that is further accentuated by Mora’s playful diction.  To better capture certain emotions and images, Mora uses the Spanish language, such as when describing prickly pears that become “dulces,” or candies. In this way, she is able to imaginatively and creatively fulfill the haiku form in a way that appeals to Spanish speakers and that invites non-Spanish speakers to hear the beauty of the Spanish language.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

“Tomato” by Pat Mora

Round roly-poly

squirts seedy, juicy splatter.

Red bursts in your mouth.

In “Tomato,” Mora expertly uses alliteration, onomatopoeia.  When read aloud, this poem invites readers to enjoy the sounds as much as the imagery. The repeated s sounds add a musical quality to the poem, and the “splatter” will appeal to not only the readers’ ears but sight as well. This is also a great poem to emphasize effective imagery to students as it creatively describes many components of a tomato, from the round exterior to the seedy interior.

I would introduce this poem by bringing in a tomato and asking students to describe it. In groups, students would brainstorm lists for the following: What a Tomato Looks Like, What a Tomato Sounds Like, What a Tomato Tastes Like, What a Tomato Smells Like, and What a Tomato Feels Like. I would then lead a discussion about the uses of tomatoes by asking questions such as, “What do we use tomatoes for? What foods have you eaten that use tomatoes as an ingredient? What foods do you think would taste better with tomatoes?” After this discussion, I would tell students that the poem we will read, “Tomato” by Pat Mora, describes a tomato in just three short lines. During reading, I would stop and ask students what they visualize after each line. After reading, we would model our own haiku after this one on different foods.

NCTE AWARD POETRY

THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Ill. Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.  ISBN 9780618616800.

SUMMARY

Inspired by William Carlos Williams’ “This Is Just to Say,” Joyce Sidman created a two-part poem collection in this book.  Sidman approaches this collection by setting up a fictional class, Mrs. Merz’s sixth-grade class at Florence Scribner School, in which students write apology poems as part of their class poetry unit.  As a further extension of this poetry unit, students then write responses to the first set of apology poems, bringing forgiveness for some and closure for all.

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

In the Introduction, Sidman writes in the voice of a sixth-grade boy, Anthony, who also happens to be the fictional editor of the book.  Anthony explains that this collection came about as part of a poetry unit in Mrs. Merz’s class in which he and his classmates had to write their own apology poems modeled after William Carlos Williams’ “This Is Just to Say” poem.  Anthony continues to explain that he got the idea to have the students write poems in response to apology poems written to them.  Thus, the book is set up in two parts: Part One, Apologies, and Part Two, Responses. In Part One, readers hear apologies from a boy who stole doughnuts from the teachers’ lounge, a girl who stabbed her sister’s hand with a pencil, and a boy who had to put his dog to sleep, among others.  In Part Two, Mrs. Garcia from the school’s office forgives the boy who stole her doughnuts, the girl whose had was stabbed expresses lingering anger towards her sister, and the school custodian replies to the boy who lost his dog.

Each poem appears on a different page, giving each voice ample space to express the apology. Poems are written in free verse and have varying lengths. Also, each poem is accompanied by illustrations by Pamela Zagarenski, which in the Anthony explains were made by a classmate, Bao Vang with the help of their art teacher. Zagarenski’s colorful, detailed artwork emphasizes each poem’s essence.  Simple character drawings display the emotions carried through a single poem, bringing these fictional characters to life and giving them realistic qualities. By using mixed media, Zagarenski adds a whimsical touch to her illustrations, which highlights the child-like experiences that make up the content of this collection.

Poetic Elements

Sidman effortlessly displays her poetic craft and style through each poem. Her use of imagery is particularly exceptional. In “Brownies—Oops!,” for instance, readers will salivate at the visualization of “the warm, thick/brick of brownies” with “gooey hunks of chocolate” and will relate to Maria, the girl who “step[s]/over the sleeping dog” and walks across the “cold linoleum/on [her] bare toes” to gobble up this delicious dessert.  In “It Was Quiet,” readers will feel sorrow as they through Sidman’s sensory images, imagine Tenzin’s dog Einstein, his “nose…still wet” and “ears…still silky” as he passed away.  The poems in this collection are mostly written in free verse, but one in particular, “Spelling Bomb,” is written in pantoum form with the second and fourth lines in one stanza being repeated as the first and third lines in the next stanza.  However, even this poem does not rhyme.  Other poems such as “Dodge Ball Crazy” use a concrete poem form, allowing readers to visualize the bouncing movement of a dodge ball. In the response poem, “Dodge Ball Kings,” Sidman writes a poem for two voices, introducing another fun poetic form that begs to be read and performed aloud.

In this collection, Sidman also makes great use of figurative language. In “Fashion Sense,” for example, Carmen writes that “The silence [in the classroom] seemed like a hundred crushing elephants” since no one had more to say about Old Yeller.  This simile allows readers to imagine the tension in the room, creating an exaggerated feeling of suffocation.  In “Sparkling Deer,” Mrs. Merz apologizes to her mother for breaking her glass deer, explaining that the “little snow scene drew [her] like a magnet.” By suing this simile, Sidman allows readers to relate to Mrs. Merz’s character.

Because the poems are narrative in style, they do not have many sound techniques. Instead, Sidman chooses to focus on meaning and emotional impact.  Many of her poems are humorous, such as “Dodge Ball,” in which a young boy apologizes to his friend for getting carried away in the game and hitting him too hard. Other poems, however, are much deeper and tug at readers’ heart strings. “Next Time,” for instance, follows the thoughts of a young girl who blames herself for her father leaving.  The responses further evoke a forgiving, heartfelt tone.  In “Some Reasons Why,” Tenzin replies to Anthony, who felt he had disappointed his mother for not winning the Spelling Bee.  In this poem, Tenzin offers Anthony friendly advice, encouraging him to not be so hard on himself and to focus on the great things he has to offer. Through the responses, readers get a good sense of the strong bonds and relationships between the characters.

Appeal

Sidman’s collection will appeal to young readers primarily because of the content and style.  They will be able to connect to the experience of being apologetic towards someone or something, and they may even gain the confidence to write apology poems as well.  The free-verse format of most of the poems will also make this collection non-threatening, as readers will recognize that poems do not have to rhyme or follow a specific meter.  The language used throughout the collection is simple enough for young children to follow and comprehend. Sidman’s use of imagery and figurative language, however, make these poems just as appealing to older readers, who will enjoy the imaginative way in which the ideas behind the poems are expressed.

Overall Quality

Overall, the poems in this collection are of high literary quality.  Sidman evokes not only sensory images but emotional connections in the readers as well.  The complexity of the structure forces readers to follow as though this was a storyline, showing the interconnectedness of every character and every experience detailed in the poems.  Because they are written in free verse, the flow of the words is natural, giving authenticity to the apologies and making the characters realistic.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

“Dodge Ball Kings” by Joyce Sidman

Kyle                                                       Reuben

We’re

Dodge Ball Kings!                                  Dodge Ball Kings!

We like to zing

                                                           each other.

Dodge Ball Kings!                                 Dodge Ball Kings!

Each ball, we fling

                                                           with all out might

as though it is our last:                        as though it is our last:

a catapult,

                                                           a cherry bomb,

a setting sun,

                                                           a blazing ring

we fire

                                                          through air.

We mark each other out—                    We mark each other out—

Zing, bam, sting!                                 Zing, bam, sting!

It hurts

                                                          but we don’t care.

We’re

Dodge Ball Kings!                              Dodge Ball Kings!

This poem is an excellent introduction to the entire collection, as it incorporates the subject matter of apologies while offering the two-voice poem form as way to simultaneously provide an immediate response, capturing the essence of the collection structure and layout. Within this poem, readers can also visualize the events through Sidman’s sensory imagery and onomatopoeia. 

To introduce this poem, I would play a short video clip of a dodge ball game for students to activate their prior knowledge. I would then ask students to pair-share their experiences with playing dodge ball and then do a class share-out/discussion.  I would guide the discussion by asking, “Have you evern played dodge ball with a close friend? How did it feel to hit him/her with the ball? How did it feel when your friend hit you?” I would then explain that we would be reading an apology poem between two friends who play dodge ball with each other.  I would introduce the two-voice poem form by explaining that this form is like a conversation between two people, and, just as in conversations, there are times when they speak at the same time. I would make sure to make the poem visible to all students, either via a paper copy or via a projection of the poem on a screen. I would ask two student volunteers to each take a role and to read the poem aloud. After reading, I would ask students how they would act out the lines from the poem to make the poem a performance. I would then pair students up and ask each pair to prepare a performance of the poem by acting it out. We would finish by having each pair present their own performance/reading of this poem.

AFRICAN AMERICAN POETRY

ONE LAST WORD: WISDOM FROM THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Grimes, Nikki. 2017. One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance. Ill. By Cozbi A. Cabrera et al. New York: Bloomsbury.  ISBN 9781619635548.

SUMMARY

Nikki Grimes looks to the greats of the Harlem Renaissance to find inspiration and create new poems that relate to our modern-day struggles and experiences.  She opens her book with “Emergency Measures,” a poem in which a young girl tries to come to grips with the way African Americans are negatively perceived in today’s world and then says she, at the recommendation of her teacher, will look for “counsel” in the poems of the Harlem Renaissance. Thereafter, Grimes alternates between poems written by Harlem Renaissance poets and her own poems, written in Golden Shovel poetry form. In the concluding poem, “I Leave the Glory Days,” Grimes brings her opening poem to a closure, finally having gained inspiration from Harlem Renaissance poets to help her cope with life’s struggles.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poets

Grimes includes fourteen poems written by eight famous, notable Harlem Renaissance poets. She taps into Jean Toomer, Clara Ann Thompson, Countee Cullen, Georgia Douglas Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Bennett, and Waring Cuney and unearths some of their best-known, exemplary works that have been previously published in other collections, such as Hughes’ first published poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, and Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask,” a poem that is read widely even today and perhaps the poem he is best known for.  Grimes balances both male and female poets, emphasizing the role of women and their contributions to this historic time of African American literary proliferation, which often tends to be overlooked.  Grimes use the Golden Shovel poetry from to take a striking line or stanza from each of the featured Harlem Renaissance poem and then creates her own original, never before published poem, exemplifying her poetic abilities.

Layout

Nikki provides a Preface, introductory notes on the Harlem Renaissance, an Author’s note, and a Poetry Form explanation at the beginning of her collection. All of this helps readers understand her intention in creating this collection as well as makes reader familiar with the Harlem Renaissance and with the Golden Shovel form she adopts in her own poems. Since Grimes’ purpose is to educate the modern generation on the Harlem Renaissance, it is appropriate that she dedicated some space to explaining what it is and the impact it has had and can continue to have in our world. The collection is then divided into three parts: Part 1, Emergency Measures, Part 2, Calling Dreams, and Part 3, To a Dark Girl.  Grimes’ introductory poem, “Emergency Measures,” does not follow the Golden Shovel poem but instead, along with her concluding poem “I leave the Glory Days Behind,” creates a frame for all the other poems within the collection. In this poem, Grimes introduces the Harlem Renaissance by way of a young girl questioning society’s negativity and, consequently, “dip[ping her] spoon/into the bowl of [the Harlem Renaissance] years” to find ways to help her understand the world around her. Grimes then introduces a poem by a Harlem Renaissance master, bolding a striking line or inspiring stanza, and follows that by an original poem of her own, taking each word from the striking line or stanza and placing each at the end of her own lines. Each of Grimes’ poems is followed by an original artwork by prominent children’s literature artists like Cozbi A. Cabrera, Briank Pinkney, and Pat Cummings. The pieces of art truly enrich the poems, embracing the crux of the themes of overcoming racism and struggles in bold, vivid colors that bring out each artist’s technique. Grimes also includes additional resources such as poet and artist biographies as well as acknowledgements, sources, and an index at the end of her collection to help promote knowledge and awareness of and pride in African Americans and their great contributions to the world as we know it today. A Table of Contents at the very beginning of the book makes it easy for readers to locate information and follow along.

Poetic Elements

Grimes skillfully intertwines her voice with those of the Harlem Renaissance by way of the Golden Shovel form. Due to the nature of the form, Grimes’ poems follow a free verse format that does not rely on rhyme or meter. What she lacks in these two elements, however, she more than makes up for in other poetic techniques. In “Crucible of Champions,” for instance, Grimes uses sensory imagery to help bring the concerns and aspirations of six speakers alive, such as when she describes Jamar’s “sharp-bladed question” as he ponders if his life might be cut short.  This helps readers see abstract concepts in concrete ways so as to truly immerse themselves in the speakers’ mind. Grimes also uses sound elements like alliteration, giving her poems a musical quality that will ring in listeners’ ears and bringing out the essence of hope in her poems.  The opening line of “A Safe Place”—“Dream-killers daily stalk the streets you and I/travel”—uses the alliterative “d” and “s” sounds to emphasize the harsh experience of having to overcome people who try to “trip us up.” Another technique found in Grimes’ poems is metaphor, as she uses this to help express the ideas and emotions that cannot be adequately expressed in the words of the English language.  In “On Bully Patrol,” the speaker states that she “shape[s] my love like fingers, pluck[s] the splinters of hate, one by/one, until my child smiles again.” By using comparisons, she makes her emotions come to life, making them vivid images that can almost be felt and seen.

Appeal

One Last Word presents concerns that are immediate and relatable to young people, whether they are of African American identity or not. The poems included here center on themes of dealing with racism, overcoming challenges, and fulfilling dreams, all of which will leave readers feeling positive about life and their position in it. Readers will be able to relate to many emotions expressed in these poems, as they’ll see themselves in experiences narrated through them.  They, too, will experience the journey towards self-discovery through the uncovering of old wisdom just as the young female speaker in the introductory poem. Grimes’ aim to teacher our modern generation about their past will also appeal to readers, as they will immerse themselves in words of their past and will further enrich their knowledge with the author biographies provided at the end of the book. The language and subject matter will best appeal to older children, as writers use sophisticated words, but young readers will enjoy hearing these poems for their poetic quality and will also be able to identify with their content. Readers will also appreciate Grimes’ use of the Golden Shovel form and be inspired to create some of their own.

Overall Quality

All the poems in One Last Word beautifully capture the African American experience in rich, vivid imagery and poetic techniques that are particular to each Harlem Renaissance master. Grimes’ own poems are also consistent in quality, as she masterfully interweaves her words with those of the original poems and creates something entirely new. While most of the featured poets’ works center on the African American struggle of their days, Grimes balances that out with her own poems which revolve around a triumphant feel. “Truth,” for instance, a poem that uses a line of Jean Toomer’s “Storm Ending,” urges readers to “Claim that cloud with the silver lining,” and in “The Sculptor,” Grimes takes a line from “Calling Dreams” by Georgia Douglas Johnson to affirm that “hard work is the clay dreams/are molded from.” Overall, Grimes’ message and mood are repeatedly made clear, such as she claims in “In Search of a Superpower”: “The power you seek is in/sight. Look in the mirror. Own yourself. You are that entity.”

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

“Emergency Measures” by Nikki Grimes

My sister and I watch

the five-o’clock news,

which spells out

our worth in the world.

According to reports,

it’s somewhere on the minus side.

That may only be hearsay,

but how can I live long enough

to disprove the lie?

How can I stay strong

ina world where fear and hate

wait outside my door?

My teacher tells me

to go in search of counsel,

back, back, back

to the Harlem Renaissance,

when poetry burst like a dam

and a river of wisdom-words

rushed through the streets

I call home.

Can I really find

fuel for the future

in the past?

Less sure than desperate,

I dip my spoon

into the bowl of years,

stir till I reach the Renaissance

and find a few choice lines

to chew on,

and I think:

We’ll see.

We’ll see.

In this poem, Grimes simultaneously sets a frame for the poems that ensue and sets a purpose for readers. Her intent is to educate readers about poets of the Harlem Renaissance, to celebrate their experiences, works, and contributions to our past, present, and future, and to help us understand  “how to make the most of freedom, despite living in a nation that had not, and has not yet, fully realized its promise of freedom and justice for all.” “Emergency Measures” makes readers stop and think about how our past can influence our present and future. This poem then allows readers to understand Grimes’ poetic form as well as the layout of her book, making it easier for students to understand the overarching themes presented in it.

I would introduce this poem by asking students to think of where the search for or whom the go to for advice when they face problems. I would ask questions such as, “Have you ever experiences a problem or challenge in life? Who do you go to for advice? Where can you search for answers? What helps you overcome these problems?” Then, I would tell students that the poem we will read, “Emergency Measures” by Nikki Grimes, talks about a young girl who is searching for a way to address her problem. During reading, I would stop and ask students what problems the speaker in the poem is facing, what advice she is given, and how she feels about the advice she is given. During reading, I would also stop to emphasize Grimes’ use of similes and metaphors to help with comprehension and highlight Grimes’ poetic techniques. After reading, I would ask students to predict what the speaker will find out as she takes her teachers’ advice.

HOPKINS COLLECTION

A PET FOR ME: POEMS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, comp. 2003. A Pet for Me: Poems. Ill. By Jane Manning. New York: HarperCollins.  ISBN 0060291117.

SUMMARY

In A Pet for Me, Lee Bennett Hopkins compiles twenty poems by well-known children’s poets such as Rebecca Kai Dotlich and Fran Haraway. These poems all have one thing in common: they are all about the love of pets! From cats to tarantulas, the pets that these poems highlight are brought to life, demonstrating the deep bond and friendship that exists between children and their pets.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poets

The thirteen poets featured in this collection, Hopkins’ seventh, are a mixture well-known children’s authors and lesser-known children’s poets. Readers will recognize Alice Schertle’s style from her famous How Now, Brown Cow? book and J. Lewis Patrick’s familiar sing-song rhythm that is characteristic of all of his works. Readers will equally delight in reading the works of Avis Harley, who is well-versed in writing poems about animals, and Tom Robert Shields, who has been featured in other of Hokpins’ collections. This unit of poets, both traditional and contemporary, effectively blends together seamlessly, creating a cohesive feel yet bringing out each poet’s individual style and forte.

Layout

The introductory poem, “I Would Like to Have a Pet” by Karla Kuskin, appropriately sets the light-hearten tone and introduces the theme of this collection.  In this poem, the speaker expresses a longing for a pet, no matter what pet it may be. This serves as a great springboard for all the other poems that follow, each of which focuses on a specific type of pet or animal. The poems begin with familiar pets like dogs and cats and then progresses into more unusual pets like snakes and tarantulas. Each poem is given a two-page spread, meaning that readers take in one poem at a time. Also, each poem is accompanied by Jane Manning’s colorful illustrations. Manning’s drawings are a perfect blend between simple, stark outlines and carefully line strokes to bring out details. In the illustration that accompanies “Ant Farm,” for instance, a boy is pictured holding an ant farm and, although the viewer cannot make out the ant form in this far-away shot, the ants are given detail in an outer frame.  An Index of Authors and Titles provided at the end of this collection is an access feature that helps readers navigate through the book.  The last poem, written by Lee Bennett Hopkins, speaks generally about pets, giving the collection a frame-like feel and reminding readers of the “moments/[and] hours/of/pet-loving days.”

Poetic Elements

Collectively, the poems in A Pet for Me demonstrate a large array of poetic elements that young readers will appreciate.  Of the twenty poems included, nineteen rely heavily on end rhyme.  “Kitten Capers” by Aileen Fisher, for instance, is a 4-line poem with and alternating rhyme scheme ABAB, and “Ant Farm” by Madeleine Comora, a 12-line poem, is set in rhyming couplets.  Another element seen in many of the poems in this collection is imagery. In “Hamster Hide-and-Seek,” Avis Harley especially appeals to the sense of touch, as she describes a hamster who “softly flows” wither a “cinnamon coat/and whiskery nose,” allowing the reader to not only imagine what this hamster looks like but also to imagine what it feels like. In “Puppy Olympics,” Avis Harley exemplifies excellent use of poetic sound techniques such as repetition and alliteration, such as when she describes a puppy that “round and round/and round…goes” in a “flurry of fur,” emphasizing a comical scene of a dog chasing his tail.  Due to the nature of this collection, it is clear that each individual poem delivers a warm, loving emotional impact.  “Dog Love” by X.J. Kennedy states the general feel of the entire collection when he writes that “I wouldn’t trade [my pet]/for all the [pets] in town!”

Appeal

A Pet for Me is definitely appealing for young readers.  Their short nature—the longest poem comes in at sixteen lines—and subject matter will hold young children’s interest; the poems are short enough to be read quickly and, thus, make them likely to be read over and over again. Readers will connect to the familiar experience of the longing for a pet or the bond they may already have with a pet of their own.  The poems in this collection bring up common pets that children are likely to have interacted with but also draw attention to other interesting animals like snakes and tarantulas, which will certainly pique some readers’ interests and help them see these animals in a new light. Additionally, the poems have a nursery-rhyme quality that is amplified by poetic techniques, namely rhyme.  To further add to the appeal of the words, Manning’s illustrations beautifully capture the essence of each pet, most of whom are drawn with a child, further cementing the loving relationship between a child and his pet. Furthermore, the language used throughout this collection is simple for young readers to understand, yet some words lend the opportunity for readers to expand their vocabulary in a non-threatening, such as the words “sprouts” and “stiff” that describe a turtle and can be understood through context.  Readers will surely be inspired to celebrate their pets too.

Overall Quality

Hopkins’ collection features familiar, well-known poets established in the children’s literature arena. While each of the twenty poems has a different focal point, none strays from the quality of the collection’s intention. As a collection for young readers, it is clear that each poem was carefully selected not only for its content but also for its poetic worth.  All poems represent a similar mood: to rejoice in the friendship that exists between a young child and his pet. Although the mood may be consistent throughout, the poems help evoke different emotions in the readers. Some poems, such as “Just Fur Fun” by J. Patrick Lewis, create a good-humored feel, while others, such as “Pet Snake” by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, will make readers squirm as they envision the hissing sound of a snake.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

“Pet” by Lee Bennett Hopkins

All pets give love back

to you

in many

mysterious

wondrous way—

wet kisses

soft hisses

snuggles

neighs—

through moments

through hours

of

pet-loving days.

Hopkins’ own poem concludes his collection, adequately bringing closure to this book about pets. The other poems included each focus on a specific pet, and Hopkins wraps up the sentiment of love and friendship that a pet, no matter what kind it is, can provide.  His poem, like the others included in the book, uses strong imagery that appeals to the senses—readers can feel the “wet kisses,” hear the “soft hisses.”  This poem also stresses the collection’s overarching theme that pets give a special kind of love to their owners.

To introduce this poem, I would place students in small groups (2-3 students each) and give each group a stuffed animal—a snake, a bird, a puppy, a cat, a turtle, an iguana, a horse, etc. I would ask students to discuss how their animal might show love to them and have the share out their discussions with the class. I would asks guiding questions like, “How might (your animal) hug you? What would that feel like? How might (your animal) kiss you? What would that feel like?” Then, I would tell the students that Lee Bennett Hopkins’ poem “Pet Love” is about the different ways that pets can demonstrate their love. As we read the poem, I would stop and ask students if they can tell which animal is described in certain lines by how they show their love. This would allow me to emphasize Hopkins’ use of onomatopoeia and imagery.

SCHOOL POETRY

PUT YOUR EYES UP HERE AND OTHER SCHOOL POEMS

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dakos, Kalli. 2003. Put Your Eyes Up Here and Other School Poems. Ill. By G. Brian Karas. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.  ISBN 811179.

SUMMARY

Put Your Eyes Up Here and Other School Poems by Kalli Dakos takes readers through a school year in Ms. Roys’ class. Dakos primarily uses a Penny, a young girl who wants to get off to a good start in the introductory poem “Introducing a New Me,” to help narrate events. By the second poem, “Give Me Normal,” readers immediately learn that Ms. Roys is not your typical teacher; in fact, she is everything but typical! Through a series of 52 poems, readers get to discover Ms. Roys’ quirkiness as Penny and her classmates go on a class trip to the museum, hear Ms. Roys’ poems about her students, take tests, encounter ghosts of students past, write poems about snow, share each other’s interests, and finally come together to make the perfect goodbye gift for Ms. Roys as the school year comes to an end.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poet

Kalli Dakos is well-known for her school poetry collections.  Her experience as an elementary school teacher has served as her inspiration, and her expertise with young children shows in her poems. Her poetry accurately portrays the classroom, and her poetic style incorporates humor that still reflects the young child’s sensitivities in a way that does not condescend but, rather, acknowledges and validates these feelings.

Layout

All the poems in Dakos’ book are presented in sequential order, which is appropriate for the story that unfolds as it allows one poem to easily flow into the next, creating a cohesive unit. A table of contents provided at the beginning of the book makes it easy for readers to locate individual poems. Most poems have their own pages, but some poems, like “Introducing a New Me” and “Give Me Normal,” are paired together on a single page. Bolded, slightly-larger titles make it easy to identify a single poem, however. Depending on their length, some poems run to a second page, but most fit on one page. In addition, each poem is accompanied by at least one illustration. G. Brian Karas captures Dakos’ humorous, child-like tone with whimsical, simple caricatures and pencil drawings that do not distract from the words but rather enhance the meaning of each poem, helping move the poems along.

Poetic Elements

Dakos clearly displays her poetic technique throughout the poems in this book. Most of the poems are free verse poems, giving them a childlike, stream-of-consciousness feel that lets readers focus on meaning. “I Don’t Believe in Ghosts,” for example, is narrated as a dramatic play complete with stage directions to help readers understand what the characters are saying, thinking, and doing.  Other poems however, showcase Dakos’ extensive poetic technique. Perhaps the element she relies on most throughout this book is imagery.  In any given poem, readers can imagine what is being described simply because Dakos provides vivid sensory details to create that image in the reader’s mind. In “A Cemetery for Pencils,” for instance, Dakos appeals to the sense of sight by using carefully chosen words such as “broken-down” and “styrofoam gravestones” to describe these pencils’ figurative death. Dakos also uses sound techniques such as repetition and onomatopoeia heavily throughout her book. “Why We’re Sitting at Our Desks Wearing Raincoats and Holding Umbrellas,” for instance, is told almost entirely in repeated onomatopoeic words: “Drip!/Drop!” This helps readers experience the leaky roof that the characters in the book are trying to shield themselves from. In this particular poem, Dakos also plays with text arrangement to imitate raindrops falling from the roof, further bringing the experience to life for readers. While many of the poems focus on single, everyday events, they all deliver a humorous, comical emotional impact, such as “My Underwear,” which tells of Piggy’s pig-printed underwear, and some even reach warm, touching emotions, such as “The Magic Wand,” which discusses Ms. Roy’s effort to make every child feel special and find inspiration.

Appeal

Dakos displays a variety of experiences and poetic forms that will surely appeal to young readers. Because many of the poems are narrated by Penny, readers are invited into a young child’s mind, letting them experience the same emotions and thoughts that they themselves may already have about school. In “Ode to My Stressball,” for instance, young children will associate with the feelings of being overwhelmed and stressed with schoolwork and will also feel those emotions melt away as they imagine that they, like Penny, squish and poke a stress ball for relief.  Some poems are free verse poems, but most do use end rhyme, such as “The Art Gallery on Penny’s Back” and “Our Teacher’s Earrings,” which makes them especially appealing and memorable to the ears of young readers. The language used in the poems is simple and easy to understand, yet it also has the capacity to enrich readers’ language by using words in new ways and exposing them to poetic elements such as onomatopoeia.  Many readers will be able to identify with Penny and may be able to make a connection to that one warm, eccentric teacher who changed their lives or that one class writing assignment that inspired students to write.

Overall Quality

As this book represents a school year in Ms. Roys’ classroom, each poem helps advance the storyline and can be thought of as a vignette or snapshot of a day in Ms. Roys’ class.  Since the beginning, Ms. Roys’ class is set up as a fun learning experience, and each poem reinforces this purpose.  Due to this, the majority of the poems are humorous and light, embodying the child’s spirit of wonder. As part of the child’s experience, however, there are poems that represent feelings of frustration, such as “Worried About Being Worried,” in which Penny is nervous about a spelling test. In the culminating poem, readers are taken on a bittersweet journey as they, along with Penny and her classmates, say good-bye to Ms. Roys. The poems in this book will resonate with young readers both because of their poetic quality as well as because of their lighthearted yet moving content which, combined with Karas’ illustrations, will take their imaginations to far off places.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

“The Magic Wand” by Kalli Dakos

Ms. Roys says

We all have magic inside.

It is our birthright.

One nose,

Two eyes,

Ten fingers,

Lots of hair.

Tons of magic.

On her desk is

A magic wand

To remind us.

Sometimes we borrow it

When we need an idea

For a poem or a story.

Sometimes we just look

At the colors inside

When it is all lit up.

Sometimes we hold it

And tell the class

About a special dream.

Sometime we use it

To make a wish.

“The Magic Wand” is particularly representative of the emotional, lyrical, and sensory quality of Dakos’ poetry.  It taps into readers’ hearts by making an ordinary, non-magical object and turning it into something that has the power to remind children that they are special. By describing what this magic wand does, Dakos not only provides enough imagery that lets readers visualize that wand in their own way but also allows their imaginations to soar as they dream of other ways that a “magic” wand can brighten their day.

Before reading the poem, I would take out a toy wand and ask students to activate their prior knowledge about magic wands by asking questions such as, “Do you know what this is? Where have you seen or heard of one used? What does it do? What do you wish a magic wand could do for you?” Then, I would tell students that the poem we will read is about a magic wand. During reading, I would take my wand and point to students’ nose, eyes, fingers and hair when those lines come up. After reading, I would ask each student to take my wand and make a wish.