Another Jar of Tiny Stars - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cullinan, Bernice E. & Deborah Wooten (Editors). 2009. ANOTHER JAR OF TINY STARS. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong, An Imprint of Boyds Mill Press, Inc. ISBN 9781590787267.

2. BOOK SUMMARY

This treasure of a book features poems by 15 poets, all of whom have received the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. A group of students voted from a selection of poems from each author, and the top five from each appear in this collection. The featured poets include: Arnold Adoff, John Ciardi, Barbara Esbensen, Aileen Fisher, Eloise Greenfield, Nikki Grimes, Karla Kuskin, Mary Ann Hoberman, Lee Bennett Hopkins, X.J. Kennedy, Myra Cohn Livingston, David McCord, Eve Merriam, Lilian Moore, and Valerie Worth. 

This book features, in general, a lot of poems about animals, especially cats, school-related topics, and favorite and least favorite foods, all appealing topics for children. Before each author's section, a portrait of the artist and a personal quote introduce the featured poems. At the end of the book, a bit of interesting  background information is presented about each author. Here are a few highlights from this book's noteworthy authors.

David McCord's poems feature funny rhymes and common things that young children like to do, such as climbing trees and playing with sticks, EVERYTIME I CLIMB A TREE (pg. 4). 

Aileen Fisher's CRICKET JACKET (pg. 14) portrays a fantastic image of a cricket shedding his "pinchy jacket" (skin) and hanging it up on "a bracket," since he's growing a new one.

Myra Cohn Livingston writes about delicate subjects, using pleasantly lilting rhymes and stanzas. In KITTENS (pg. 28-9), a mother cat gently carries her newborn kittens "outside to see how nice a winter day can be," with the help of the dog. LEMONADE STAND (pg. 30) presents an interesting stanza arrangement, with the verses appearing in four-line boxes, arranged side by side, allowing the poem to be read and interpreted in several different directions. This author is the master of one well-placed word that enhances the entire poem, such as "the wild waves calling to my ear" in SHELL (pg. 32), as the author describes listening to a conch shell.

John Ciardi, always a laugh-out-loud favorite, presents several hilarious moments throughout the poems featured here. His rhythms are rollicking, humorous, and pleasurable to read, either to oneself or aloud. In MUMMY SLEPT LATE AND DADDY FIXED BREAKFAST (pg. 42), "Daddy" attempts to cook waffles that "looked like gravel pudding" and, on next attempt, "looked like a manhole cover." Ciardi is not afraid to tamper with the number of beats per line (in order to fit his rhyme), which allows some stanzas to be longer or shorter than others within the poem, adding intrigue.

In Valerie Worth's GIRAFFE (pg. 64), the poem is laid out tall and lanky, like its subject. The head, "so high above" seems quite far from the "back, belly,/And legs," with each section of the "body" almost functioning of its own volition.

Eloise Greenfield's poems express music in the rhythms. In ROPE RHYMES (pg. 79), Greenfield demonstrates this amazing use of rhythm with a strong, constant beat that pounds just like the sound of two jumping ropes slapping the ground, especially when spoken aloud. The beat, "bounce and kick and giggle and spin" (and-one and-two and-three and-four) continues through the poem, until the end arrives, and the narrator calls to "jump/right/out!" (pg. 79).

X.J. Kennedy utilizes hilarious stream-of-consciousness thoughts through his poems. In PACIFIER (pg. 85), curiosity gets the best of the narrator, when "Once I picked one up and bit./What do babies see in it?" The poem featured below in the highlight is also by X.J. Kennedy.

Lee Bennett Hopkins uses only a few words to portray an eloquent, whimsical image in CAT'S KIT (pg. 107): "A/Siamese/seamstress" with "pincushiony toes."

3. POEM HIGHLIGHT

The poem I would like to highlight from this masterful collection is MIXED-UP SCHOOL (pg. 86), by X.J. Kennedy. As a fun follow-up exercise, I would lead the group of listeners to an open area where we could explore walking backwards. Afterwards, the students will explore ideas about what other things can be done backwards, and write a collective group poem, in the style of Kennedy, that combines their creative ideas.

MIXED-UP SCHOOL

We have a crazy mixed-up school.

Our teacher Mrs. Cheetah.

Makes us talk backwards. Nicer cat

You wouldn't want to meet a.

To start the day we eat our lunch, 

Then do some heavy dome-work.

The boys' and girls' rooms go to us,

The hamster marks our homework.

At recess time we race inside

To put on diving goggles,

Play pin-the-donkey-on-the-tail,

Ball-foot or ap-for-bobbles.

Old Cheetah, with a chunk of chalk,

Writes right across two blackbirds,

And when she says, "Go home!" we walk

The whole way barefoot backwards.

(By X.J. Kennedy)

Yum! MmMm! Que Rico! - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mora, Pat. 2007. YUM! MMMM! QUE RICO!: AMERICA'S SPROUTINGS/HAIKU BY PAT MORA. Illustrated by Rafael Lopez. New York, NY: LEE & LOW BOOKS, Inc. ISBN 9781584302711.

2. BOOK SUMMARY
Pat Mora's collection of haiku about delectable fruits, veggies, and foods that are found and/or grown in the Americas. Each haiku tells a brief introductory tale about the highlighted food, what it looks like and tastes like, and how it may be prepared and enjoyed. Juxtaposed on the facing page is an explanatory paragraph, detailing the origins of the food, and sometimes featuring its translation into another language (Spanish, French, or Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs). 

What a delightful journey for the reader, as Mora leads us through descriptions of cranberries, chocolate, potatoes, corn, and many others. In CRANBERRY, the reader is reminded of the first time she saw a cranberry pop, as "scarlet fireworks." The PINEAPPLE haiku is a great example of alliteration with "stiff, spiky hat" and "syrupy rings." 

Sometimes, a Spanish word is infused into the haiku, adding to the musicality of the language. The PUMPKIN grows "under round luna," the perfect image of a huge harvest moon over a pumpkin field. The reader also learns a great deal from the explanatory paragraphs, such as the fact (from PAPAYA) that "a papaya can weigh as much as twenty pounds." This book is highly enjoyable and educational, for very young children especially, as well as children of all ages. It is also an excellent reference for how to write beautiful haiku poems.

The illustrations, by Rafael Lopez, contribute so much magic to the already tangible moments throughout the book. In POTATO, the "salt and pepper clouds" resemble magical fairy dust raining down on the pile of mashed potatoes. The beautiful haiku verse are enhanced by the gorgeous, colorful, artful illustrations.

3. POEM HIGHLIGHT
The poem I chose to highlight from this wonderful collection (from many contenders) is CHOCOLATE. With ooey-gooey-ness oozing from the poem and the image, this choice also allows for many experimental follow-up activities, including samplings of all types of the foods mentioned within, as well as a practice writing exercise in haiku, about favorite treats. Que rico, indeed!


CHOCOLATE

Fudge, cake, pie, cookies.

Brown magic melts on your tongue.

Happy, your eyes dance.


(By Pat Mora)

Bing Bang Boing - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Florian, Douglas. 1994. BING BANG BOING. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0152337709.

2. BOOK SUMMARY
With a huge helping of humor, an interesting variety of word play, and rhymes that occasionally feature made-up words, Douglas Florian's book of poems and illustrations is a delight for children of all ages. Playing on some well-known maxims and sayings, Florian takes the thoughts for a spin around the block, and usually ends up somewhere in the realm of absurdity (to the delight of the reader, of course). For instance, in AN APPLE A DAY (pg. 26), as we all know, one will keep the doctor away, but according to Florian, "if you eat eleven/you'll soon go to heaven."

The illustrations, thick pen and ink drawings by Florian himself, are fun and imaginative, allowing the reader a little more insight into the quirky mind of the poet.

The topics cover a broad range of areas that are typically familiar to children, anywhere from strange aunts and uncles, to creepy monsters, to an aversion to vegetables. Occasionally the poems have a surprise at the end, like in CITY RUSH (pg. 39), which is about people rushing to and fro all day through the city: "to places they don't want to be." Moments like these among BING BANG BOING give the reader pause, causing a "huh" moment, and an opportunity for reflection.

The emotional impact and appeal to children is unmistakable, as page after page, the reader finds things that she has probably experienced during her younger years. In WHAT I WANT FOR MY BIRTHDAY (pg. 44), the reader encounters a child with an extremely long wish list. What child, or adult, has not experienced that type of wishful thinking? There is delightful daydreaming while washing the dishes in DELICIOUS WISHES (pg. 52). Florian's wacky sense of humor really lets loose in poems like AN ANACONDA (pg. 62), who finds himself tied in a knot, and "Squares" (pg. 62), in which the poem writes itself all the way around into a square shape. 

There are hints of influence from Shel Silverstein, especially in SOMETHING'S THERE (pg. 127) about a monstrous, mysterious creature in the refrigerator, which is reminiscent of Silverstein's BEAR IN THERE (featuring a polar bear in the fridge). Some poem titles and stanzas almost seem inspired by classic rock songs of the 60's and 70's. For instance, FOG FLUB (pg. 78) begins with: "In the misty morning fog..." just like the line in Van Morrison's song BROWN EYED GIRL. And the title LIFE IN THE GRASS LANE (pg. 93) must be at least distantly inspired by the Eagles' hit song LIFE IN THE FAST LANE.

BING BANG BOING is a successful mix of innocence and at times, innuendo. Probably everyone who has ever taken a bath can admit to wondering about the possibility of there being a shark, lurking beneath the bubbles, as in TROUBLE BUBBLE BATH (pg. 99). And, FATHER SKY AND MOTHER EARTH (pg. 114), while appearing innocent to young readers, contains surprisingly suggestive undertones (and postures) by the illustrated parties: "Your lofty mountains give me thrills." 

3. POEM HIGHLIGHT
The poem I would like to highlight from this fabulous collection is "I Taught My Cat" (pg. 104). The illustration, which features a cat pulled up to a piano on a stool, playing music, is as enjoyable as the poem. As a follow-up educational activity, I would ask the listeners to write brief and funny poems about their own pets, or pets they they know, followed by a session of practiced "meow-ing."


I TAUGHT MY CAT

I taught my cat to play piano,

To ride a bike,

To sing soprano,

To drive, to draw,

To paint, to plow - 

And she taught me how

To meow.


(By Douglas Florian)

Keeping the Night Watch - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Smith, Hope Anita. 2008. KEEPING THE NIGHT WATCH. Illustrations by E.B. Lewis. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. ISBN 9780508072020.

2. BOOK SUMMARY
This collection of poems by Hope Anita Smith is a fantastic dichotomy of emotions. Divided into two sections, FALL (20 poems) and SPRING (15 poems), the reader experiences a range of volatile feelings emoted by the narrator, "Cameron James Washington III., aka C.J." The poems center around C.J.'s home life and experiences, and the reader feels the tension and anger rising as C.J. copes with the absence of his father. This collection would appeal to anyone, but especially a young teenager, who is dealing with the difficult emotions of living within a broken family environment.

Words flow freely as Smith writes with raw emotion, colloquial language, and a host of recurring "family members" throughout the collection. The FALL section of poems gathers around the negative feelings that C.J. feels as he grows older, bigger, and wiser about the trends associated with the coming and going of "Daddy." Other "family members" in FALL include: Momma, Grandmomma, Byron, and Zuri (siblings). Two additional characters that emerge in the contrastingly light and exciting SPRING section are PREACHER and MAYA (the narrator's love interest).

Recurring themes throughout the collection include instability in the home life, an absent father, and wishing for things that cannot be obtained (likely due to financial strain). In FAMILY COOKING INSTRUCTIONS, C.J. notes: "We are not done in the middle./We need to bake a little longer" (pg. 5), highlighting the imperfections in everyone, and within the family unit itself. The writing is extremely honest and frank, and hints at the essence of someone who has had to accept a lot of responsibility at a young age, and who maintains an air of bitterness.

The tension is palpable in poems like SHOWDOWN AT THE O.K. CORRAL: "I am like a gunfighter in the Old West./I walk around with my words drawn,/ready to fire" (pg. 13), as though the return of the absent father has provoked a scenario where the house is no longer big enough for both C.J. and his father. In IF YOU CAN'T STAND THE HEAT (pg. 16), we really see the potential for explosive behavior, literally stewing: "I am the worst kind of mad.../I'm a pot with the lid on./I keep all my mad inside."

By contrast, the airy and lighter SPRING section of the book begins with MAYA'S SONNET (pg. 43), and later, in TONGUE TIED (pg. 46), the narrator finds himself tripping over his feelings and words when talking to Maya on the telephone: "Fifty-two-word pile up."  The character PREACHER also makes his debut and plays an extremely important, fatherly role to C.J. through the rest of the book, having a greater and much more positive influence on him than DADDY ever does. Humor arrives, with a breath of relief, in BEST-KEPT SECRET (pg. 61-62), regarding exactly what type of present to buy for Maya. There is a thread of hope for reconciliation with DADDY, but it seems far-off, and a long time from the present.

Illustrations by  E.B. Lewis evoke warm feelings and enhance the strong emotions of the language. The colors used are tactile and real in the portraits, and the faces are life-like and expressive.

3. POEM HIGHLIGHT
The poem I would like to highlight from this collection is MOUNTAIN CLIMBING (pg. 28). This is an emotional masterpiece in 60 words and is an excellent example of how to see the potential to overcome a "mountain" of negative feelings. An exploratory activity that I would lead with children (probably middle school to young high school age) is to begin by reading the poem aloud, and then to have them write down a private letter to someone with whom they have had a struggle. This person could be someone they know- a friend, family member, role model, etc., but should be someone that they have felt wronged or upset by. 

After writing the letters, I would have the children close their eyes, and quietly say out loud, whenever they felt comfortable, "I'm sorry" and "I forgive you," keeping the letter recipient in mind as they speak aloud together. The children could then either ball up the letter and throw it away, keep it to themselves, or even deliver the letter to the recipient. It would be their choice. The purpose of this exercise is to allow the children to feel the potential for forgiving someone, even if it doesn't happen that same day, at that time. The goal is for the children to be able to empathize with what is being experienced by C.J. in this poem- to recognize and acknowledge the feelings, even if the resolution might be a long distance away- and to imagine the possible future release of the build-up of anger/resentment/disappointment etc. that they feel for someone in their lives.


MOUNTAIN CLIMBING

It takes

all of Daddy's energy to 

move his words across the chasm

that separates us.

When he speaks, his words echo

and have lost all meaning when

they finally reach my ear.

I hope, one day,

that my snowy mountain of anger will be

so weighed down with Daddy's apology,

I will be overwhelmed

by an avalanche of forgiveness.


(By Hope Anita Smith)

If You're Not Here, Please Raise Your Hand: Poems About School - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

 

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dakos, Kalli. 1990. IF YOU'RE NOT HERE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. Illustrations by G. Brian Karas. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division. ISBN 0027255816.

2. BOOK SUMMARY

Kalli Dakos highlights the joys and woes of the typical (and not so typical) happenings within the walls of a school classroom for young children. In this collection, some of the poems are free form, while others display a particular rhyme scheme. The lengths of the poems vary from four lines, to over four pages, and the humor expressed throughout the pages is hilarious and contagious. 

School-age children can certainly identify with the issues that arise in Dakos' poems, like the item that the narrator of I BROUGHT A WORM brings for show and tell: "I brought a worm... I ate the worm!" (pg. 3). Children of all ages have probably hidden out in the bathroom at some point during their school careers: "The bathroom is the nicest place/To sit and wait for bells" (HIDING IN THE BATHROOM, pg. 36). And the children beg the teacher to empathize with their efforts to try hard in YOU CAN DO BETTER: "Could you/Sit beside a friend/And not speak too?" (pg. 21).

Dakos is not afraid to tackle difficult subjects that children are inevitably exposed to, including death, failing a grade, and being teased. She also displays good daydreaming imagery in THEY DON'T DO MATH IN TEXAS: "And every classroom/Had a popcorn machine,/A drink machine,/And a candy machine/With five different chocolate bars/And six choices of gum" (pg. 18). What child hasn't dreamed of a classroom that looks like that?

Humor is a big player throughout the collection as well, appearing in CALL THE PERIODS (pg. 46), a huge run-on sentence that is dying for punctuation, GO TO THE BAHAMAS (pg. 51), which the narrator has never been told to do, and so, figures that she is really in trouble, and IF WE HAD LUNCH AT THE WHITE HOUSE (pg. 59), a funny example of the typical lunchroom chaos.

3. POEM HIGHLIGHT

The poem that I would like to highlight from this collection is DANCING ON A RAINBOW (pg. 41). As a connection activity with the reading of this poem, I would guide the group of children in an crafting session decorating cut outs of paper rainbows. We could start with the base of a rainbow/cloud shape, paste on different stripes of color to represent the rainbow, as well as some cotton balls as clouds at either end (which are mentioned within the poem). We could also discuss the feelings that each child experiences when they see a rainbow across the sky, and relate it to the feelings expressed in the poem, especially which particular teachers the children might feel this way about.

DANCING ON A RAINBOW

When my reading teacher

Comes to get me

For my special reading class

I feel like

Dancing on a rainbow.

To me she is

     a light in the darkness

     the twinkle of a star

     soft as a cottonball

     a true friend.

When my reading teacher

Comes to get me

For my special reading class

I know what it is like

To dance on a rainbow.

(By Kalli Dakos) 

City I Love - Book Review

This post was written as a Master's course assignment for Texas Woman's University.

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2009. CITY I LOVE. Illustrated by Marcellus Hall. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 9780810983274.

2. BOOK SUMMARY
This collection of 18 poems by Lee Bennett Hopkins highlights cities from around the world and allows the reader to have an inside look into the special relationship that the author has with these great cities. With some rhyming poems, some song-like, a touch of onomatopoeia, and lots of humor, Hopkins takes the reader on a wild world tour. Hopkins uses consistent, eloquent details, such as "City's smallest store" to describe the hot dog cart in GET 'EM HERE, and "For streets will be filled with a magical M U S H"  to describe the quickly changing status of snow on the streets in SNOW CITY. 

This book, though filled with few words, provides an excellent example of maximizing word choice. The poems are filled with sounds, smells, activities at all hours of the day, alliteration, internal and external rhyme, repetition, and emotional impact. In SEAL AT THE ZOO, Hopkins lays out an array of good synonyms for young learners, such as "watch/look at/see" and "touch/and pet/and feel."

These poems are appealing to young people and adults as well, providing nostalgic moments, like playing in the runoff water from a fire hydrant, that almost everyone can relate to. Hopkins has a bit of a love affair with each city, and with cities in general, which is displayed through his affectionate (but not too sentimental) text.

Illustrations by Marcellus Hall add a great depth of character and charm to the many cities that the reader visits while exploring this book. Using vibrant colors, Hall captures the few imperative details of each highlighted city: the arch in St. Louis, the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, the Chrysler Building in New York City, flashing neon signs in Tokyo, etc. The illustrations convey to the audience the mood and attitude of each city and are a perfect complement to Hopkins' words.

3. POEM HIGHLIGHT
The poem I would like to highlight from this collection is an excerpt from SUBWAYS ARE PEOPLE, a favorite from the collection. Hopkins utilizes a great rhyme scheme and rhythm, and the poem seems to rock back and forth, like a subway in motion. 

As an educational activity to enhance the experience of listening to this poem aloud, I would ask children that are listening to, or reading this poem, to arrange their seats to be facing each other in a row, with some standing and some sitting, and have them rock back and forth to the motion of the words. Some children could also mimic the sound of the subway car's motion by gently tapping their palms to their legs, in unison, to establish the rhythm (tap tap, tap tap). This activity is a good example of learning how to listen carefully to the rhythm of a poem, either while reading it quietly or aloud.


SUBWAYS ARE PEOPLE

Subways are people-

   People standing
   People sitting
       People swaying to and fro
          Some in suits
          Some in tatters 
                 People I will never know.

                 Subways are people-

                                      Some with glasses
                                              Some without
                                                      Boy with smile
                                                      Girl with frown

    
                         People dashing
                            Steel flashing
Up and down and round the town.


(excerpt from SUBWAYS ARE PEOPLE, by Lee Bennett Hopkins)

Poetry for Children - LS 5663, Spring 2014

This blog will continue into a new course for the Spring 2014 Semester at Texas Woman's University- Poetry for Children, LS - 5663, with Sylvia Vardell.  

Stay tuned for posts about fabulous poetry books for children!