Poetry Tag Time: 30 Poems by 30 Poets - eBook Review

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

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Vardell, Sylvia and Janet Wong (Compiled by). 2011. POETRY TAG TIME: 30 POEMS BY 30 POETS. Illustrated by Rich Arnold. Princeton, NJ: PoetryTagTime.com. ISBN 9781937057015.

2. BOOK SUMMARY

This delightful compilation of 30 unpublished poems by 30 poets of today is a joy to read. Based on the concept of playing "tag" as a child, the chosen poets follow a short set of rules by which to play the game: "1)share an unpublished poem within a day of being tagged; 2) make the poems accessible to children ages 0-8; 3)keep the lines "short" (for the purpose of e-book formatting); 4) write a "connection piece" explaining their poem's connection to the poem that came before it in the book." The flurry of movement and excitement created by the "tag rules" evoke memories of playing the game, and indeed, highlight the joys and pleasures of poetry.

The poets featured in this fantastic anthology are actively involved in the poetry publishing world of today. Many seem to know each other and some reference the friendship in their "tag" post. With fascinating bio notes by Sylvia Vardell, this collection is a classic that would be appropriate for inclusion in any poetry collection for children. The final poem, SCUTE by Janet Wong (who also co-compiled this collection) ties back to the beginning poem, IF THE MOON by Jack Prelutsky, bringing a completeness to the poetry tag circle. Illustrations by Rich Arnold are succinct and poignant and jump from the iPad screen. The art is absolutely perfect for this fast-paced book of tag.

Readers begin with an involving poem by Jack Prelutsky, IF THE MOON, in which the author wonders about the possibilities of the moon's composition: "We are happy to report/That the moon is just the moon" (and not a balloon, or cheese, or a sun). The tags begin, and as the reader gets the hang of the idea, the poets continue the game, injecting humor all the while. The tags themselves are almost as enjoyable as the poems. Alice Schertle's tag notes: "Here's a cinquain with some heat in it. Make that a sunquain." It is as if the poets cannot help themselves, and their creativity bubbles through in the tags. Douglas Florian gives us a nice set-up in his tag: "The opposite of crow is dove./One I hate and one I love."

The poems and tags flow quite nicely from one to the next, making the reading experience enjoyable for people of all ages. Humor, the seasons, weather, animals, and food all make at least one appearance in the collection. J. Patrick Lewis' EDGAR ALLAN POE'S APPLE PIE is a clever nod to Poe's poem, THE RAVEN, but instead of "nevermore" (Poe), we get "Never Four!" as the answer to "How many cuts/give me ten pieces?" (Lewis). 

Some of the poems feature rhymes, but not all. Joan Bransfield Graham's BUCKAROO BEES employs great rhythm, rhyme, and imagery: "stack their/pack their/saddlebag legs." And Julie Larios' SONG OF THE HOG produces great musicality and humor about none other than... a pig, the "Porcine King." Janet Wong's description of turtles' back scales in SCUTE compares the circular shapes to both "Mom's cinnamon rolls" and "Grandpa's scaly tough toenails."  POETRY TAG TIME is a book that may be enjoyed again and again, potentially in one sitting, as the reader joyfully moves back to the beginning to notice the ties to the final poem, and to find more ties among the ones in between.

3. POEM HIGHLIGHT

The poem I chose to highlight from this joyful collection is THE DOUBLENOSE HOTEL, by Calef Brown. After reading this sensational poem aloud, I would encourage the students to sniff several different fragrances and other olfactory delights, perhaps cinnamon rolls and other edible treats, and to then write short, descriptive poems to detail what their noses have sniffed, pretending that their readers have never smelled those scents before.

THE DOUBLENOSE HOTEL

Are you a savvy traveler
with a keen sense of smell?
If so, the only place to go
is the Doublenose Hotel.
From the grand ballroom
to the penthouse cafe
it's a nasal buffet-
a complex bouquet
of rare perfumes.
Free aroma service
in all the rooms.
You can order an odor
at any odd hour.
The essence of mint
or an exotic flower.
The water in the shower
is sweetly scented,
and every suite is vented
in case it gets too "fragrancy."
Arrive early, there's rarely a vacancy
at the famous inn that smells so swell-
The Doublenose Hotel.

By Calef Brown

Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets - Book Review

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

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Nye, Naomi Shihab (Selected by). 2000. SALTING THE OCEAN: 100 POEMS BY YOUNG POETS. Illustrated by Ashley Bryan. New York, NY: HarperCollins Children's Books. ISBN 9780688161934.

2. BOOK SUMMARY

Naomi Shihab Nye's extensive work with students and their writing in the classroom led to this wonderful collection of poems from the past 25 years. Nye chose 100 poems from students that she worked with, ranging from grades 1-12. In her introduction, "To the Poets," Nye gives this encouragement: "You are making a map of the days you live."

The book is divided into four fascinating sections, each with an overarching topic: THE SELF AND THE INNER WORLD; WHERE WE LIVE; ANYBODY'S FAMILY; THE WIDE IMAGINATION. The poems vary in shape and length, and very few involve rhyming.

The lovely illustrations by Ashley Bryan showcase the power of tempera paints, to the effect of creating beautiful lines that are thick and expressive. The paintings represent faces from all sorts of races and backgrounds, and though there are only a few paintings scattered among the poems, they add weight and dimension to the words and to the book, as a whole.

Though the reader is not aware of how exactly how old each poet was at the time the poems were written, it is fun to read the words and imagine the age of the mind which created it. The reader feels an array of emotions reading through the poems and can empathize with many of the feelings: sadness, loneliness, joy, awe.

In the first section, Jeffrey Trevino tells us: "I like to:... swim in the desert/write in fire" (p. 4). Sometimes one word or one line launches the poem in an entirely new direction, giving us great insight into the poet's true vision. Bonnie Gutierrez writes: "...I am a sweet girl./I am a helpful girl./...I feel like a chained-up little elephant/in a zoo" (p. 13). And as Rachel Moore tells us (p. 31): "I have a dark barn in me that is filled with talent." These young poets are tuned in, and Nye has definitely helped them get turned on to the powerful expression available through writing.

Section two brings us to thoughts about things around the home- noises, people, and borrowing things from the neighbor. In FRIEND SOUNDS, by Laurie Roy (p. 45), we get a quite personal observation of the crying sounds that different family members make in the house next door: "wa wa" and "hm hm" and "Moo Moo" by the children, as well as "screams" and "yells" by the parents.

The third section touches on the family, any and all families. With Brenda L. Burmeister (p. 59), we see the narrator recognizing the face of her grandmother in her own reflection, as probably many of us have done. And in the book's namesake poem, by Bill Collins (p. 66), we see the origin of the idea: SALTING THE OCEAN. What a fabulous image- envisioning the poet's mother salting and tasting the ocean water.

The fourth section was this reader's favorite, as it allows for wide open and wild-haired ideas and thinking. Peter Ramzy (p. 84) writes: "When I give birth to an idea, my stomach/starts to tingle in the clouds." This section allows for ruminating about all of the universe, as we see by Austin Stoker (p. 94): "What has happened/before me/before you/before us..." And the imagery by Mary Helen Gonzalez (p. 102) makes us feel like tiny pieces in the world: "Growing is like a rose sleeping in a king-size bed."

3. POEM HIGHLIGHT

The poem I chose to highlight from this collection is WHEN I WAS BORN by Homer Soto (p. 5). As a fun follow up exercise for students, I would lead them in a writing activity. The students will rewrite this poem filling in several blank portions, like a poem "Mad lib," and will customize it to match their own life and birth experience, as they remember it or can imagine it. The students would then share aloud with the other students, if they desired.

WHEN I WAS BORN

When I was born,

it was like a big ocean

with one fish.

Then it was like

I was not the only one

in the ocean.

And when I was bigger,

it was like an elephant

in a jar.

By Homer Soto

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems - Book Review

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

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Janeczko, Paul B. (Selected by). 2014. FIREFLY JULY: A YEAR OF VERY SHORT POEMS. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763648428.

2. BOOK SUMMARY

This wonderfully curated anthology of short poems celebrates the changing of the seasons in an extremely enjoyable and accessible way. Most of the poems are quite short, with many having only four lines or less, and none over ten lines. The book is paced beautifully and would make an excellent read before a child's bedtime. 

Several classic favorite poets are included, such as William Carlos Williams, with THE RED WHEELBARROW, Robert Frost, and Emily Dickenson. Janeczko also chose many popular poets of today in this compilation, such as April Halprin Wayland, J. Patrick Lewis, Joyce Sidman, and many more. Each seasonal segment of the book portrays the mood, colors, and activities of that time of year.

The illustrations by Melissa Sweet are outstanding. She also illustrated BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY, which appears as an earlier post in this blog. Sweet's beautiful, two-dimensional drawings/paintings bring a fabulous color palette to the book, with the colors radiating the feelings of each season.

We begin with the teals and pinks of SPRING, and progress through several poems that give a sense of promise and hope, a clinging to life. In THE ISLAND, by Lillian Morrison, we understand what it means to observe new life budding: "Wrinkled stone/like an elephant's skin/on which young birches are treading."  

In SUMMER, the colors of the illustrations burst into reds and yellows. This season brims with activity and encourages the imagination to run overtime. A HAPPY MEETING, by Joyce Sidman, paints the perfect portrait of a summer downpour: "Rain meets dust: soft, cinnamon kisses./Quick noisy courtship,/then marriage: mud." The SANDPIPERS (April Halprin Wayland) bustle around, "hemming the ocean" and we wish for the long days to last forever.

The wind gusts in with FALL, complete with crunching leaves and the mystery of fog. The illustrations settle into muted red, oranges, and browns. Cid Corman sets the mood in HEADLINE: "A leaf on/the doorstep-/don't even/have to pick/it up to/know the news." 

Then, suddenly WINTER makes a hurried appearance, a flurry of blues and whites, some serious fog, and the first snow. Robert Frost's DUST OF SNOW is included in this season, a classic favorite. The stars are bright, the nights are dark, and Anne Porter's WINTER TWILIGHT prepares us for a long winter's nap: "The crescent moon/And the round squirrels' nest/In the bare oak/Are equal planets." Cozy and comforted, the reader may find this to be the perfect time to drift off to sleep.

3. POEM HIGHLIGHT

The poem I chose to highlight from this collection is FOG, by Carl Sandburg. This poem appears in the WINTER section, a precursor for the imminent arrival of snow. After reading this poem aloud, I would lead the students in a drawing exercise to express their interpretations of the wonderful imagery in this poem, and to share later, if desired.

FOG

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking

over harbor and city

on silent haunches 

and then moves on.

By Carl Sandburg