SCIENCE POETRY

FOREST HAS A SONG

  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

VanDerwater, Amy Ludwig. 2013. Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science. Ill. by Robbin Gourley. Boston: Clarion Books.  ISBN 9780618843497.

SUMMARY

In this collection, VanDerwater writes lyrical poems all about the forest.  She takes readers through various seasons and exposes the wildlife and plants that make up the forest, such as tree frogs, lichens, moss, and wintergreen.  

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The Poet

Inspired by the magical feeling of making things, VanDerwater delights in creating poetry. Her first book, Forest Has a Song, earned her critical acclaim. VanDerwater is the recipient of the 2013 Cybils Award in Poetry as well as the prestigious 2016 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award.

Layout

Each of the 26 poems in Forest Has a Song is thematically linked to an overarching topic: Forest life. Whether describing a rotten log or a squirrel, the poems bring the forest to life. This collection appropriately begins with a poem titled “Invitation” in which a narrator describes how the sound of a pinecone falling and the smell of the forest breeze invite her into the forest. Thereafter, the poems go on to describe what the narrator discovers throughout her journey in the forest, taking readers through a vivid experience of the forest life in different seasons. Ultimately, the narrator says goodbye to the forest in “Farewell” as the forest urges her to “Remember/I am here.” VanDerwater carefully crafts each poem so that even without a table of contents, readers can easily access the poems and find the common thread that ties all poems into a cohesive narrative.

Moreover, Robbin Gourley’s charming watercolor illustrations help readers follow a young female protagonist as she encounters new findings while exploring the forest, involving readers into the storyline. Gourley’s drawings carefully depict both flora and fauna in various perspectives: close-ups, zoomed-out images, landscapes, and portraits.  They are accurate enough to resemble illustrations found in science textbooks but playful enough to appeal to young readers.

Poetic Elements

VanDerwater explores the concrete creatures and plants found in a forest while giving the poem collection an abstract, metaphorical feel.  By immediately personifying the forest that invites the narrator to “Come visit,” the forest and all its inhabitants come to life.  VanDerwater expertly displays a variety of poetic patterns in each individual poem, ranging from haiku to free verse to rhyming couplets. “Spider,” for instance, is a 2-line poem that is written in iambic tetrameter, which mimics the patterns of a spider knitting a web and gives the poem a sing-song feel.  Virtually every poem in Forest Has a Song follows a distinct form of rhyme, predominantly end rhyme. For example, “Maples in October,” an 8-line poem, uses an abcbdebe rhyme scheme. VanDerwater also uses other forms of sound techniques such as assonance and alliteration. In “April Waking,” she describes the way “Ferny frondy fiddleheads/unfurl curls from dirty beds,” emphasizing the f sound to give the poem a child-like, tongue-twister characteristic and repeating the u sound to recreate the slow, unfolding movements of a fern.  Additionally, VanDerwater makes use of onomatopoeia, as in “First Flight” when she describes the “FLAP FLAP FLAP FLAP FLAP FLAP—WHOOOSH!” sounds of a baby owl taking flight. This helps readers imagine the noises made by the owl’s powerful wings, reinforcing the meaning behind the poem that the baby owl is strong enough to overcome his fear of flying. To further bring forest life to life, VanDerwater incorporates figurative language and sensory images into her poems.  In “Chickadee,” a little bird is personified and given a voice to express that it is “watching./…thinking./…scared of [the]/Child” that is approaching it.  In “Lady’s Slipper,” VanDerwater plays on the flower’s name and uses metaphor to describe its petals as “silky slipper[s],” and in “Dusk,” readers are given detailed descriptions of “baby animals” that “snuggle in a tree trunk [and]/Crawl beneath a stone.”  Through her expert use of poetic elements, VanDerwater is able to shift the tone of each poem to best capture the feel of the subject matter behind each poem and recreate it for the reader.

Appeal

Forest Has a Song will immediately capture young readers’ attention, as they will connect with the narrator and, along with her, be invited to explore the wonders of the forest.  Since the poems are relatively short, young children will remain interested. Even more so, the steady rhythm of the poems will remind readers of nursery rhymes and will be highly memorable.  The subject of each poem will provide many rich learning opportunities for readers of all ages, especially those who may not be familiar with a forest setting.  VanDerwater’s rich, yet accessible language and imagery will stimulate reader’s imaginations, bringing them into the forest as if they, too, are exploring it.

Overall Quality

VanDerwater consistently delivers high-quality poetic techniques in each poem included in this collection.  It is clear that she put much thought and effort into every poem, whether the poem ended up being a 3-line haiku or a 27-line free verse poem.  The subject of every poem adds depth to the overall collection, highlighting a specific season, animal, plant, or even time of day.  VanDerwater beautifully writes about each occasion in a way that combines an informational tone with a playful tone, making the readers experience each new bit of knowledge with wondrous delight.

SPOTLIGHT POEM AND ACTIVITIES

“Invitation” by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

Today

I heard

a pinecone fall.

I smell

a spicy breeze.

I see

Forest

wildly waving

rows of

friendly trees.

I’m here.

Come visit.

Please?

As its title implies, “Invitation” invites readers to learn about what a forest has to offer.  In this poem, VanDerwater uses rich images that appeal to the sense of sound, smell, and touch, which readers will enjoy visualizing.  Also, VanDerwater employs rhyme in such a way as to create a steady rhythm, which students will enjoy listening to. 

A great way to introduce this poem is to have students brainstorm ideas about what makes places inviting. I would write “Things that Make a Place Inviting” on the board and ask students to help me make a web of ideas by individually adding an idea to this web. After a short discussion about these ideas, I would tell students that the poem we are about to read is an invitation to a forest. I would make sure to provide a copy of the poem for each student to follow along as I read aloud. During reading, I would stop to ask students questions such as, “What sound would a pinecone make as it falls from a tree? What does a ‘spicy breeze’ feel like? What movement would ‘wildly waving’ trees make?” As a class, we would decide what sounds or movements to act out so we can do a poetry alive reading of the poem. Then, we would do a choral/poetry alive reading of the poem, incorporating the sounds and movements throughout the poem. After reading, I would ask students to write a response poem to the forest in which they ask the forest questions they may have about the forest. I would conclude the activity by having students read their poems aloud to the class.