NEW POETRY BOOK

FINDING WONDERS: THREE GIRLS WHO CHANGED SCIENCE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Atkins, Jeannine. 2016. Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science. New York: Atheneum Books.  ISBN 9781481465656.

SUMMARY

This verse novel follows the lives of three young girls who made significant contributions to science. Maria Merian, a girl living in 17^th century Germany, is curious about the real beginnings of caterpillars and sets out to discover the metamorphosis of insects. In early 1800s England, Mary Anning, with the help and guidance of her father, discovers fossils that provide clues about ancient creatures that once roamed the earth. Finally, the American Maria Mitchell takes her father’s teachings about star charts and teaches herself about the mysteries of the night sky and eventually discovering a comet.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poet

Heavily influenced by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Louise May Alcott, Jeannine Atkins bases her writing on courageous women. She has written many historical fiction books such as Stone Mirrors: The Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Lewis, which she is best known for. She first dabbled into full-on poetry writing with Borrowed Names in 2010. Atkins is also a university and college writing professor.

Layout

Each of the three storylines focuses on one major theme: girls’ contributions to science. While there are no visuals to accompany each text, the “cover page” of each storyline does include a black-and-white illustration. Each young girl is drawn partaking in her particular discovery: Maria Merian is shown reaching one palm out to a butterfly while she hold a paintbrush in the other hand; Mary Anning is depicted excavating a fossil from a large rock; and Maria Mitchell is drawn looking into a telescope at a comet. In addition, Atkins’ lively and detailed imagery helps readers picture every single event that unfolds.  Each poem is treated as a chapter, so there is never more than one poem per page, and some of the longer poems stretch over two pages. This makes it easy to follow and makes it accessible to juvenile readers.  A Contents page at the beginning of the book gives a title to each storyline, and beneath each title the author includes the protagonist’s name. Thanks to this feature, readers can quickly and easily keep track of each story.

Poetic Elements

In this verse novel, each poem has concrete meaning, as this adequately keeps the events and narrative in each story moving forward.  All poems are written in free verse, so there is not distinct meter or pattern to be followed. This style, however, allows readers to become immersed in each character’s life and enjoy the plot as it unfolds.  As there is no meter, lines do not end in rhyme, but Atkins does include internal rhyme and near-rhyme such as in “The Empty Basket” where she writes that “Maria struggles into her old coat.” A couple of other poetic elements that Atkins uses particularly well in this novel are alliteration, assonance, and consonance. For instance, in “Lost,” she writes that “Only rich folks can afford/to pretend much stays the same. They hire maids to mend shawls and scour stained linen,/gardeners to smash nets and rake gutters.” This gives poems a song-like quality that will ring in readers’ ears. Atkins also expertly uses sensory imagery to bring her poems and storylines to life.  In “Metamorphosis,” Atkins details the “quiet revolution [that] Maria paints,” describing the illustrations in such detail that the reader can see “how the small egg breaks,” the “scrunching and sprawling/over leaves [as the caterpillar] struggles out of her old skin,/which splits and flakes/like the bark of a growing tree.” Atkins is clearly a master at painting pictures with words.

Appeal

Finding Wonders will appeal to various readers: those interested in science, those interested in history, those interested in courageous girls, and those interested in beautiful poetry.  There is certainly something for everyone! This book is perfect for slightly older readers who can follow a storyline and can keep track of the three different girls’ stories. The poems are of significant length, averaging about 18 lines, which might not be appropriate for young children. Atkins also uses some sophisticated language in her poems that many young readers may not understand. However, through context, older readers will understand what they are reading, and this vocabulary and language will help the readers picture the setting and details that drive the narrative. The topic of each story will definitely interest readers, as readers get to learn biographical information and scientific information in a story-like fashion. Because of the plot, readers will be immersed in the emotions of the characters as they make their fascinating discoveries and overcome obstacles that come in their way. Ultimately, readers will learn very valuable information through a book that they can enjoy for its lyricism and linguistic beauty.

Overall Quality

The poems in Finding Wonders clearly depict Atkins’ exquisite poetic quality. As each poem is a piece of a story, each is an important piece that helps readers make sense of the narrative.  For each storyline, the poems fulfill the plot structure, taking readers through the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution of each girl’s experiences. To this end, the poems reinforce the purpose of the book, which is to narrate the lives of three young girls as they make incredible scientific discoveries.  The poem format allows each chapter to unfold in a stream-of-consciousness manner, taking readers into the characters’ minds and revealing their innermost thoughts of fear, excitement, curiosity, and joy.  Additionally, Atkins nicely reflects the moods of the characters, not simply focusing on the positive but also showcasing the negative feelings they encountered. For instance, in “Flight,” Atkins captures Maria’s feelings of fear as she hears her parents arguing, thinking they might be arguing over her father’s discovery of her new hobby of studying insects. Overall, each poem delivers a consistent quality that is characteristic of Atkins’ style.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

Excerpt from “Playing Planets” by Jeannine Atkins

Maria loves how planets take measured places in the sky,

but also hold mysteries. Once, she wished she could be a comet,

soaring close to the sun to be seen,

appearing as if from nowhere

among the whirls of sisters and brothers,

her father steady in the center.

This poem reflects Maria Mitchell’s true passion for studying the night sky.  As she readies herself to give an astronomy lesson, she ruminates about her love for astronomy, remembering a time when she wished she could be a comet.  In this poem, Atkins uses wonderful imagery and carefully-chosen diction as well as alliteration, all of which readers will enjoy listening to and imagining.

To introduce this poem, I would have students write a short journal answering the following: “If you could be any object from the galaxy, which would you be and why?” After being given time to write, students would then pair-share their responses and then share-out with the class. I would then say that we would read a poem about Maria Mitchell in which she answers that very same question. I would also ask students to, on a graphic organizer, keep track of the alliteration and imagery Atkins incorporates into her poem to express this character’s emotions. After reading, we would share our graphic organizer notes and discuss the effect of both alliteration and imagery on the meaning of the poem. Then, I would have students write their own poems about their journal responses while imitating Atkins’ model. Finally, I would post students’ poems on the wall and have students do a gallery walk to read others’ poems.