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!