Poetry by Kids: Falling Hard

Franco, Betsy, ed. 2008. Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 978076364377.

Image courtesy
Candlewick Press

Review and Critical Analysis
Falling Hard is a collection of one hundred poems sent to editor Betsy Franco via email. The poems, written by teenagers , representing different ethnicities, genders, and backgrounds from all over the world, explore all aspects of falling into and out of love. Whether discussing admiration from afar, sex, or the devastation of a breakup, these teenage writers have captured what it means to be young and experience love.

Most of the poems in the collection are free verse poems, though an occasional sonnet does work its way in. They vary in length from four lines to two to three pages length, as well. The language varies in complexity, as one would expect from a wide variety of teenage poets, but most are filled with imagery and figurative language in attempts to define love. For example, in "Love Poem," the speaker compares his relationship to a tortilla, while in "Love is Like" love is compared to a honey bee. The authors use whatever they are familiar with to describe their love, from food to famous literary inspirations like Homer's Muse.

Because of the mature content and language, I would not recommend this book for classroom instruction, unless the teacher or librarian made a careful, intentional choice of a specific poem. Falling Hard is definitely a high school level book. For teens interested in poetry or who are dealing with love and relationships in any stage, I would highly recommend it for recreational reading.


Example Poems
Love is Like
by Hector Jasso, age 16

the sweetness of honey
falling from a bee hive.

You have to be careful
not to get stung.

Activity
Before reading this poem, ask students to brainstorm a list of things they use or encounter in their everyday life. They might come up with things like a desk, a baseball, or a microwave. They should record as many items and they can think of in their writing journal. After students have had a few minutes to brainstorm, read "Love is Like" two to three times. Invite students to share what they notice about the comparison in the poem and the author's use of opposites (or juxtaposition, depending on the age of the students).

As an extension, students could refer back to their list and choose an object to be the subject of their extended metaphor. Depending on the age and developmental stages of the children, you may want to give them a different emotion like joy, anger, or sadness. They could even include the use opposites in their comparisons.

Janeczko Collection: Hey You!

Janeczko, Paul B., comp. 2007. Hey You!: Poems to Skyscrapers, Mosquitoes, and Other Fun Things. Illustrated by Robert Rayevsky. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN: 9780060523480.

Image courtesy
Paul B. Janeczko

Review and Critical Analysis
In Hey You!: Poems to Skyscrapers, Mosquitoes, and Other Fun Things, Paul B. Janeczko has collected 30 poems by 25 different poets--from classic poets like Emily Dickinson to more modern poets like Douglas Florian and Nikki Grimes. The contents of the poems vary from black holes, to skyscrapers, to bees, and everything in between. Like the topics, the forms are varied, too. The book contains free verse poems, letter poems, and rhyming poems. The one unifying factor that unifies these poems is the fact that they are apostrophe poems, each one written to a specific object.

While the level of the language differs from poem to poem, the nature of apostrophe poems elicits elements of personification in almost every poem. For example, in “Sneakers” by Joan Bransfield Graham, the speaker comments on her shoes that appear “ready to blaze into/the day, either with or without/my feet!” and in X.J. Kennedy’s “To a Snowflake,” the speaker attributes the power of thought to snowflakes as the speaker considers how the snowflake cannot “Make up your wisher where/You wish to spend tonight.” The poets in Hey You! bring all of these ordinary objects to life through personification. Many of the poems build on this personification with imagery and figurative language. Naomi Shihab Nye’s “Little Blanco River” is one of the most vivid examples. Nye’s speaker describes the river, whose “...smooth shale skull/is slick & cool.” She depicts the river as making “...a clean swishing sound/centuries of skirts/lifting & falling in delicate rounds.” Though the language varies among these poems, each one reflects a close, intimate examination of an object that has made itself important to the speaker.

In Janeczko’s selections for Hey You!, the poems use sound in several different ways. Marjorie Maddox’s “Warning to a Fork” includes line after line of alliteration to build a strong rhythm and sense of foreboding. The poem warns the “Pitchfork for pie,/trident for tuna salad” to beware the “mangler of metal utensils,/mortuary of soup spoons and knives.” This alliteration works in conjunction with the onomatopoeic description of the “clank and crunch” of the garbage disposal to create such a dire warning. Unlike the dark nature of “Warning to a Fork,” Russell Hoban’s “Soft-Boiled” uses strong rhythm and end rhyme to create a light-hearted tone reminiscent of Dr. Seuss. His opening lines, “I do not like the way you slide,/I do not like your soft inside,” will conjure Green Eggs and Ham for almost any one.

The poems are accompanied by the cartoon-style illustrations of Robert Rayevsky in the foreground of each spread. The backgrounds of the visuals vary from what appears to be blurred photographs to watercolor paintings to abstract designs. Even the illustrations for the poems take on a variety of tones and textures. Despite their wide range, the images are connected by some type of blur or hazy effect added to each one that gives the pages a dream-like feeling.

Hey You! is a varied collection of poems from well-known poets of quality. While the poems have no clear theme, they provide excellent examples of the many ways poets can use apostrophe.

Example Poem
Sneakers
By Joan Bransfield Graham

Sneakers,
glancing from bed,
I see morning light cast
long shadows behind you just like
comets.

Your tails
flaring, you seem
ready to blaze into
the day, either with or without my feet!

Activity
Have students look at several different types of shoes. You can invite students to sit in a circle and display their shoes to each other, or, if you feel using student shoes might cause a student embarrassment, you could use images of shoes or a selection of your own shoes. Ask students questions that lead them to think of the shoes personified. For example, you could ask students to explain which shoes they think have the most energy? Which ones are tired? Which shoes look like they have been on many adventures? Do any of the shoes seem angry? Excited? Shy? After students have had a chance to respond to the shoes, explain that you are going to read a poem from the point of view of a child speaking to their sneakers.

After reading “Sneakers” at least once or twice, invite students to share what they noticed about the poem. Students should notice that the speaker is talking to shoes that do not have the ability to respond. Ask them to imagine what would happen if the shoes came to life. What might the shoes say in response to the child?

As an extension, students may choose to write a 1-2 stanza poem from the point of view of the shoes that gives its response to the child. Other students may wish to write their own poem that speaks to a specific object like their desk, the school bus, or their favorite game.

Free Choice Poetry: When Green Becomes Tomatoes

Fogliano, Julie. 2016. When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons. Illustrated by Julie Morstad. New York: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN: 978159643821.

Image courtesy Macmillan

Review and Critical Analysis
Julie Fogliano’s When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons explores the seasons from the first day of spring through the year until the first day of spring rolls around again. The book has a journal-like feel to it, each poem bearing a date in the place of a title. Through these 48 dated poems, readers will gain a personal insight into both the joys and the frustrations of each season.

Each spread in the book holds 1-3 poems that vary in length from two to 42 lines. Each poem is written to capture the essence of its subject. While some of the longer poems like “july 5” describe an entire scene, others like the three-lined “march 22” simply create one clear image. The free verse poems are all written without capital letters. The lack of formality of these lowercase letters adds to the journal motif, making the poems seem as if they are private writings not yet revised for public display.

The language of When Green Becomes Tomatoes is quite accessible for children. Fogliano uses common literary devices like imagery and simile to draw readers into the experiences of the speaker. For example, in the “june 30” description of a summer’s day, the speaker describes how the day is “hot and thick like honey” to prove why she’ll be swimming. She builds upon these vivid images with sound devices such as the alliteration in “january 30.” In this poem, Fogliano depicts the best winter day as one in which the house “sounds like slippers/and sipping.” The common language used to create the images in these poems invites readers to consider their own experiences with the ups and downs of each season from swimming to escape the heat of summer or playing in the leaves of fall.

Julie Morstad’s gouache and pencil crayon illustrations blend beautifully with the simple yet powerful language of Fogliano’s poems. Morstad’s multicultural characters engage with nature at its best and worst throughout the book in a charming style. They might be my favorite part of this entire book!

This book is a great resource to share with younger students who are studying seasons.
Example Poem

“july 5”

when you are still and quietly

in the grass
just sitting
for more than the moment
between coming and going and what’s next and when
but sitting, just to sit
you will find that nothing is still
out there in the grass
where everything is running
and jumping
climbing up and flying over
and everything is moving
back and forth
to and from
everything, except for the trees
who are too busy standing up
to bother

Activity
I would share this poem with students outside sitting in the grass or some similar place that the students would say “nothing” is happening. If the weather is not conducive for an outside experience, another typically busy place during a non-busy time would also work. Alternate locations might include the cafeteria when no one is eating a meal, the hallways when no one is changing classes, or even a silent school library. Ask the students to sit absolutely still and quiet for just a moment and use as many senses as they can to observe what is going on around them. Students will notice the quiet “nothing” has a lot more going than they first suspected. Invite students to share their observations. Record the students’ observations on chart paper or a Google Doc that can be displayed in the library or classroom later.

Then share “july 5” with them. Read the poem at least twice. After the first reading, invite student volunteers to share a summary of what is happening in the poem. Ask them to listen for parts of the poem that are like their observations and parts that are different and the read the poem a second time. Invite students to share what they noticed with an elbow partner, and then invite partner groups to share their best similarity and difference.

As an extension, encourage students to use the observations recorded at the beginning of the lesson to write their own poems to share their observations from being still and quiet. Provide them a template for a five sense poem. Have them include as many of the five senses as possible. Students who do not want to use the five sense template may choose any other format they feel is appropriate to express their quiet observations.

Joyce Sidman Poetry: Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems

Sidman, Joyce. 2005. Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems. Illustrated by Beckie Prange. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 9780618135479.

Image courtesy Joyce Sidman

Review and Critical Analysis

Joyce Sidman’s Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems is a collection of 11 poems that explore the ecosystem of a pond from the beginning of spring through the onset of winter. The poems are a combination of forms including rhyming poems, free verse poems, and shape poems. Each poem is accompanied by a beautiful ¾ to full page woodblock illustration hand-colored with watercolor and a short paragraph that provides information about the organism depicted in the poem.

The language Sidman uses make the poems accessible for young children. The poems themselves use imagery and concrete language to explain the habitat and behavior of unfamiliar animals and plants in a way that is understandable for children. For example, in “Listen for Me” the arrival of the spring peepers is described from the point of view of one of the frogs saying, “I creep up from the cold pond/the ice pond,/the winter pond.” Any academic or technical vocabulary such as “herbivorous” and “carnivorous” is reserved for the sidebars where the terms are first explained and included in parentheses. Young readers can enjoy the poems and learn important vocabulary words without difficult language getting in the way of the poems.

Sidman uses several different repetition and rhythm to create patterns throughout the poems in Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems. For example, in “Listen for Me” Sidman repeats the last word at the end of the first four lines of each stanza. The repetition is extended to a refrain in “Song of the Water Boatman and Backswimmer’s Refrain” where each stanza ends with a variation of the refrain “Yo, ho, ho,/the pond winds blow.” The various forms of repetition provide ample opportunities for choral reading and performance.

Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems is a 2006 Caldecott Honor Book and an excellent resource to use in support of a wide variety of science concepts.

Example Poem
In the Depths of the Summer Pond

Here hang the algae, green and small,
in the depths of the summer pond.

Here floats the flea, waving antennae,
that eats the algae, green and small,
in the depths of the summer pond.

Here nods the nymph with feathery gills
that drinks the flea,
that eats the algae, green and small,
in the depths of the summer pond.

Here dives the bug, sleek and swift,
that nabs the nymph
that drinks the flea
that eats the algae, green and small,
in the depths of the summer pond.

Here kicks the frog with golden eyes
that gulps the bug,
that nabs the nymph
that drinks the flea
that eats the algae, green and small,
in the depths of the summer pond.

Here lurks the fish, wide of jaw,
that swallows the frog
that gulps the bug,
that nabs the nymph
that drinks the flea
that eats the algae, green and small,
in the depths of the summer pond.

Here hunts the heron, queen of the pond,
that spears the fish,
that swallows the frog
that gulps the bug,
that nabs the nymph
that drinks the flea
that eats the algae, green and small,
in the depths of the summer pond.

Activity

“In the Depths of the Summer Pond” is a great poem to use with students who are studying the food chain in their science classes. Begin by asking students what they know about food chains and food webs. Have them explain key vocabulary like consumers, producers, and decomposers. Then explain that you will be reading a poems that explores a food chain in a specific ecosystem--a pond during the summertime.

Read through the poem once or twice for students to model pronunciation of words and the rhythm. Children of all ages will pick up the repetition of the the lines “that eats the algae, green and small,/in the depths of the summer pond” and will likely join in after the first few stanzas. Once students have a feel for the rhythm, divide the students into seven groups (or select seven readers). Assign each group one of the animals, and allow them time to practice their parts. Then have the groups read the lines about their animal in each stanza, with everyone chiming in for the line “in the depths of the summer pond.” 

As an extension, give the students another ecosystem--the ocean, the rainforest, the woods, or the desert--and ask them to identify seven parts of a food chain for that ecosystem. Working with their group members, students could then produce an illustration or find a public domain or Creative Commons digital image online and write a line of poetry to describe their animal. All the images and lines can be put together on the wall or in photo editing software to make a food chain diagram.

Performance Poetry: The Friendly Four

Greenfield, Eloise. 2006. The Friendly Four. Illustrated by Jon Spivey Gilchrist. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN: 9780060007607.

Image courtesy Harper Collins Publishers

Review and Critical Analysis
Eloise Greenfield’s The Friendly Four is a collection of 34 poems for children that work together to tell the one story of the summertime adventures of four children--Drummond, Dorene, Louis, and Rae. These children each face common struggles like being overshadowed by a baby sibling, moving to a new place, being adopted, or coping with a seriously ill parent. Over the course of one summer, these young friends learn to depend on each other and inspire one another through play and imagination.

The language of The Friendly Four is fairly straightforward to make it easily understandable for children in preschool to third grade. The text does include some simple similes and metaphors like “... churning/our legs like bicycle wheels” in the poem “The Race” and “Every day away from her/would be a thousand years” in “Going to Get Rae.” Teachers and librarians can find examples to illustrate almost any poetic device, but as a collection, the poems read more like everyday childhood conversation, making the book approachable for early readers.

The same could also be said for Greenfield’s use of sound devices in The Friendly Four. Sound devices like repetition, rhyme, and alliteration help establish a distinct rhythm at times, the patterns of everyday speech are the driving factor. Repetition and alliteration such as “likes to wrestle/likes to run/likes to count” are sprinkled in just enough to break up the conversational pattern to remind readers that they are indeed reading poetry.

The most distinctive trait of Greenfield’s poetry is the features included to structure these poems for performance. The lines spoken by each of the four children is marked by four different colors, and only lines to be read in multiple voices together are printed in black. Speakers are indicated like they would be in a script, so this book is ready to pick up and start practicing for performance without any additional markup to the text.

Example Poem
Here Comes the Truck

All:	Here comes the truck, carrying sheets of cardboard, cans of paint, and brushes,
Drum and Rae:	carrying sticky tape, and colored paper, and markers,
Dorene and Louis:	and glitter and glue.
All:	Now we have everything we need, to make a town that has beauty and laughter and heart.
Louis:	Let's get started!

Activity
To introduce this poem, I would ask if they ever thought up something and tried to make it from their own imagination. For example, about the closest I ever came up with was a blanket fort or a sock puppet. After students had an opportunity to share what they have made, I would show them the video “Caine’s Arcade” (available on YouTube).

I would read the poem once and then ask for volunteers to read the poem at least two more times to practice reading their lines together in unison. Ask students what they would build if they had all the supplies that Drum, Dorene, Louis, and Rae had. Would they make a town like the children did? An arcade like Caine? Or something totally different?

As an extension, students could work as individuals or small groups to participate in the Global Cardboard Challenge sponsored by the Imagination Foundation, which was started by a group of people who were inspired by Caine and his arcade.

Resources

Imagination Foundation. 2017. “2017 Global Cardboard Challenge.” Accessed April 11. http://carboardchallenge.com.

Mullick, Nirvan. “Caine’s Arcade.” Filmed [October 2012]. YouTube video, 10:58. Posted [April 2012]. https://youtu.be/faIFNkdq96U.

Hopkins Award Poetry: Jazz

Myers, Walter Dean. 2006. Jazz. Illustrated by Christopher Myers. New York: Holiday House. ISBN: 9780823415458.

Image courtesy walterdeanmyers.net

Review and Critical Analysis

Jazz by Walter Dean Myers is a collection of fifteen poems that recreate the experience of jazz music. From the opening poem that
summons the drumming rhythms of jazz’s African heritage to the poem “Three Voices” that highlights jazz instruments like the bass, piano, and horn, each poem presents an experience with the rhythms and emotions of jazz music.

The language of Jazz gives readers a sense of the motivating power of jazz music. The verbs Myers uses all portray active, vibrant movement. For example, in “Good-bye to Old Bob Johnson,” Myers employs verbs like “swinging,” “singing,” “stepping,” and “dipping” to describe the actions of the mourners. Even in a serious occasion like a funeral procession, the people are so filled with emotion they can’t help but move to the music.

Myers further connects the subject of jazz music with his poetry through his use of sound devices in each of the poems. He uses different forms of rhyme and repetition to create a jazz rhythm in each poem. In “Stride,” he accomplishes this by combining both internal and end rhyme with repeated words as he starts the poem:

We got jiving in our bones, and it won’t leave use alone--we’re really moving
               Jiving      bones
We got pride in our stride, and we know it’s all the style--we’re steady grooving
               Pride      stride.

The visuals in Jazz provide another layer to the power and emotion conveyed by the language. Myers’s son, Christopher created bold images of musicians and instruments with bright colored backgrounds by layering black ink on acetate over acrylic paintings to create striking illustrations with depth and richness. Even the typography of the poems includes multiple fonts and colors emphasizes key lines of the poems and adds movement to the words.

Jazz begins with an introduction to jazz music and its history and closes with a glossary of jazz and a jazz timeline, providing nonfiction text features to support the historical significance of jazz music and the jazz artists noted in the poems. The Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor book and ALA Notable Children’s Book is a beautiful library or classroom resource to connect music, painting, poetry, and history.

Example Poem

It’s Jazz

I hear the call of the cornet
I hear a swinging clarinet
They’re playing HOT jazz in the heat
Of old New Orleans
The rattling banjo pays its dues
To the Preservation blues
They’re playing HOT jazz in the heat
Of old New Orleans
There’s a crazy syncopation
And it’s tearing through the nation
And it’s bringing sweet elation
To every single tune
It’s jazz
There’s a drummer rat-a-tatting
There’s a patent shoe that’s patting
While a laid-back cat is scatting
About flying to the moon
It’s jazz
In the HEAT of New Orleans

Activity
To introduce this poem to students, begin by playing a little jazz music for students to get a feel for the musical style. You might play one of the jazz musicians named in the poems, like Louis Armstrong, Robert Johnson, or you might select an artist from the jazz timeline at the end, such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, or Benny Goodman.

As an extension after reading the poem, allow students to make their own percussion instruments like tin can drums, sand blocks, water bottle rattles, or even a homemade didgeridoo. Then, either as a whole class, in small groups, or even as individuals, students can practice the rhythm of the poem with their instruments and perform their own interpretation of this poem or other poems from Jazz.

Social Studies Poetry: Out of the Dust

Hesse, Karen. 1997. Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0590371258.

Review and Critical Analysis
Out of the Dust is the 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel by Karen Hesse. Thirteen year-old Billie Jo narrates the events of her life from January 1934 to December 1935, a time frame in which a tragic accident claims the life of her mother and unborn baby brother, leaving Billie Jo and her father alone in the middle of the Dust Bowl.

Billie Jo was a good student and talented piano player, so when her hands are severely burned in the accident, music--her emotional outlet--is taken from her. While Billie Jo still had her father, his own overwhelming sorrow and guilt leave her feeling as though she is just another burden he must bear. Only when she tries to run away from the dust and all it brings does Billie Jo realize that home is a part of you that can't be escaped.

Hesse's poems are written in a simple language the reflects the emotions of Billie Jo. Through her narration, we see her grief, her inability to communicate with her father, and her frustration with her new limitations. In "Those Hands," she mourns the changes in her life saying, "My father used to say, why not put those hands to good use?/He doesn't say anything about 'those hands' anymore." Even the figurative language used fits with the tone established by the desolate wasteland of the plains. For example, in "Homeward Bound," Billie Jo describes being away from home as "Lonelier than the wind./Emptier than the sky./More silent than the dust," illustrating the pervasiveness of dust, isolation, and desperation during the time frame.

Out of the Dust is a perfect novel to introduce middle grade readers to the devastation of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. It combines an accurate depiction of the historical context and the classic themes of school, guilt, parent/child conflict, growing up, and suffering loss that many young readers will identify with.

Example Poem

Fifty Miles South of Amarillo

In Amarillo,
wind
blew plate-glass windows in,
tore electric signs down,
ripped wheat
straight out of the ground.

February 1934

Activity
Before sharing this poem with students, find out what they already know about the Dust Bowl. You may need to supply some basic facts about the desolate conditions of the land in Oklahoma and surrounding states. You may wish to show students historical photographs like those available in the photo gallery on the website for Ken Burns's documentary The Dust Bowl (Available here.) Be sure to preview the images to make sure they are appropriate for your audience.

Read the poem aloud with students as they follow along with a printed or projected copy. First, read just so students get a feel for the poem, and then read again 1-2 times, encouraging students to note the location, the subject of the poem, and the actions of that subject. As an extension, have students view additional photographs from the Dust Bowl or other significant periods in history. Allow them to create original poems to share what they can determine about the location or setting, subject, and actions detectible in the photograph. Pictures and poems can be shared by displaying them in the library classroom or hallway.

"The Dust Bowl: Photo Gallery." PBS.org. http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/dustbowl/photos/ (retrieved March 24, 2017).

Biographical Poetry: Talkin' About Bessie

Grimes, Nikki. 2002. Talkin' About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. New York: Orchard Books. ISBN: 0439352436.

Review and Critical Analysis
In Talkin' About Bessie, Nikki Grimes tells the story of aviation pioneer Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman through a series of 21 free verse poems. Faced with poverty, sexism, and racism, Coleman defied all expectations, to become the first licensed female African-American pilot. The poems are fictionalized accounts based on the facts of Coleman's life.

Talkin' About Bessie opens with a brief historical background establishing Bessie Coleman's life in context of the history of aviation, and then jumps to a spread establishing a setting after a memorial for Coleman's death. The poems that follow are told as remembrances from family, friends, employers, flight instructors, newspaper reporters, and more. Each poem serves as a testament to the determination of Bessie Coleman to achieve great things despite the many setbacks she faced. Whether coming home from college because she could not longer afford it or learning a new language and moving overseas because no American flight school would accept an African-American woman, the poems of Coleman's life testify to her fighting spirit. The very last poem, told in Coleman's own voice, reveals the triumph she experienced through her flying.

The poems themselves are told in a very plain, conversational style free of lavish figurative language or rhyme. Instead they feel more like stories told in an interview, replicating natural speech. For example, Bessie's mother speaks of her early life saying:

I woke my Bessie before dawn on Sundays

to bathe and dress her for church,

bein' bound and determined that she,

like all my other children,

should first learn the wisdom of the Lawd,

and then, the wisdom of the world.

The language used for Bessie's mother recreates the dialect and speech patters of a Texas woman in the 1890s. 

Each poem is accompanied by a small sepia-toned water color image of the speaker, whether that individual happens to be a factual part of Bessie Coleman's life, or a compilation character like News Reporter #2. On the opposite page is a beautiful watercolor illustration of the scene depicted in the companion poem. The result is 21 spreads filled with the most significant memories and moments from Bessie Coleman's life.

The book's ending provides closure for Coleman's life with a short biography with details of her death and effect on the future of aviation. The author provides references for source notes about Bessie Coleman and the field of aviation.

Bessie Coleman's significance as a pioneer in aviation barrier-breaker in discrimination against women and African-Americans makes this book a valuable addition to any library for children in grades 2-5.

Example Poem

Bessie Coleman

I'll never forget that first time in France.
My knees wobbled when I climbed into the cockpit.
The mechanic cranked the propeller for me, and soon
a fine spray of engine oil misted my goggles,
baptizing me for take off.
I taxied down the runway, praying.

But flying at Checkerboard Field in Chicago was the best.
My family and friends were there in the stands,
cheering me on as I sliced through the air.
Oh Mama! I wish you could've been in the plane
to feel that magnificent machine shudder
with the sheer joy of leaving the ground.

I climbed over a thousand feet that day,
did a snap roll that sent the blood rushing
to my head so fast I thought my eyes would explode.
My seat belt felt like a magnet, pulling on my spine.
I can still feel my hand gripping the joystick,
how my muscles ached from struggling
to hold the plane center. But I didn't mind.

To rest, even for a moment,
weightless and silent, on a cushion of cloud,
near enough the sun to scoop up a handful of yellow
was a privilege more than worth the price of pain.

In the end, I count myself twice blessed:
first to have experienced the joy of flight;
and, second, to have shared it with others of my race.
I'll say this and no more:

        You have never lived
        until you have flown!

Activity
To share this poem with children, begin with a picture of triumph. The picture could be something like a child holding a large trophy or a climber at the top of a mountain. Discuss with children the obstacles the subject of the photograph might have encountered and the feelings they might have felt along the way. You may wish to share your own example of triumph or ask volunteers to share their own story of accomplishment. Then read them the poem from Talkin' About Bessie written from Coleman's perspective. Read the poem a second time, or ask several volunteers to read a stanza each from a projected or paper copy. During the second reading, direct children to think about the different emotions Coleman was feeling in each of those moments.

As an extension, ask students to think about their goals for the future. Do they want to fly like Bessie Coleman? Own their own company? Learn to water ski? Provide old magazines that can be cut up, glue, or even just markers, colored pencils, or crayons and allow students to make a dream board to give them visual reminders of what they want to do in the future and encourage them when they are having a hard day.

Science Poetry: Beast Feast

Florian, Douglas. 1994. Beast Feast. San Diego: Harcourt. ISBN: 0152951784.

Image courtesy Amazon.com

Review and Critical Analysis
Douglas Florian's Beast Feast contains 21 poems depicting all types of animals. Some animals such as the ants and the caterpillar are very familiar, while others, like the rhea and the kiwi, are more unusual. Each of the book's spreads pairs one of the poems with a whimsical, full-page watercolor painting of the animal.

The poems in Beast Feast rely heavily on playful rhyme and strong rhythm for their appeal. Florian uses traditional rhyme throughout the book. For example, in  "The Sloth" he rhymes "claws" and "pause," but he also plays with pronunciation and invents words to add a comical effect. In "The Walrus" he rhymes the word "sea" with his invented "walrusty," and in "The Boa" he plays with the word more, writing it as "moa and moa."

While all the poems play with rhyme and rhythm, they structures vary significantly. They vary in length from the two-lined "The Boa" that is a fairly simple rhyming couplet to the 20-lined "The Pigeon." Several of the poems are structured as quatrains, while my personal favorite, "The Mole" is written as a two-stanza limerick. The variety of poems and structures and lengths ensure there's a poem for everyone in this book.

Florian's language in Beast Feast is very accessible for children. The wording and descriptions are mostly straightforward, with an occasional simile such as referring to a lobster as being "Like an underwater/Mobster." He does include some scientific vocabulary such as "crustacean," "invertebrates," and "reptilian" that might need explanation for younger students who have not learned the vocabulary, yet. Their inclusion, however, is not so intrusive that students who might select this book from the shelf will be completely confused.

Douglas Florian's Beast Feast won the 1995 Lee Bennet Hopkins Poetry Award and is an excellent science resource for the library or elementary classroom.

Example Poem

The Lobster

See the hard-shelled
Leggy lobster
Like an underwater
Mobster
With two claws
To catch and crush
Worms and mollusks
Into mush
And antennae
Long and thick
Used for striking
Like a stick.
So be careful
On vacation
Not to step on
This crustacean.

Activity
"The Lobster" is an especially useful poem to use with a unit on ocean life. To introduce the poem, I would engage children in a conversation about their favorite underwater animal. Ask them to share what makes that animal special before reading about the legs, pinchers, and antennae of the lobster.

As an extension, have the children write a poem about their favorite ocean animal. Encourage them to try using rhyme or a simile like the poet does in "The Lobster." The poems can also be illustrated with traditional art supplies, or the poem and illustration can be designed using an iPad or computer.

Verse Novel: The Surrender Tree

Image courtesy http://www.margaritaengle.com

Engle, Margarita. 2008. The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9780805086744

Review and Critical Analysis
Margarita Engle’s The Surrender Tree tells the story of Cuba’s nearly fifty year struggle for freedom over the years of 1850-1899. This story is not told through a series of military victories and defeats. Rather, the story is revealed through the life of a freed Cuban slave named Rosa, her husband Jose, a reconcentration camp escapee named Silvia, and a slave hunter referred to as Lieutenant Death. The main character, Rosa, is based on Rosario Castellanos Castellanos, a historical Cuban figure known for her abilities as a healer. Through over 130 short poems, we see Engle’s depiction of Rosa grow from a young girl into a well-known nurse who uses the natural resources around her to heal anyone brought to her, escaped slave, soldier, or slave hunter. Rosa’s ability as a healer makes her a target for slave hunters, including a man known only as Lieutenant Death, even though she has healed him on two separate occasions.

Engle’s poems are written in language that a middle or high school student could access easily. Through the poems, the narrators reveal the richness of the forest around them with descriptions of “the music/of crickets, tree frogs, owls,/and the whir of wings/ as night birds fly” (7). These images of the forest and caves that become home for Rosa, Jose, and Silvia portray the connection between the characters, the forest, and their dreams for peace. Rosa explains, “I dream that I am able to sell all these flowers/because it is peacetime/and blossoms are treasured/for beauty and fragrance,/not potions, not cures. . . .” (153). Unfortunately for Rosa, Jose, and all the other Cubans, the end of the war in 1899 did not bring the freedom they expected, as the U.S. seized control of Cuba.

This verse novel includes several aids for readers. The table of contents divides the poems into five sections by date to place the poems into historical context. Additionally, the poems are followed by author’s notes, historical notes, a chronology, and selected references to help readers pick out the historical facts from Engle’s imagining of what Rosa’s life was like. The Surrender Tree offers readers an unusual perspective on war--that of the hunted and conquered.

Example Poem 
Rosa

Farms and mansions
are burning!

Flames turn to smoke--
the smoke leaps, then fades
and vanishes . . .
making the world seem invisible.

I am one of the few
free women blessed
with healing skills.

Should I fight with weapons,
or flowers and leaves?

Each choice leads to another--
I stand at a crossroads in my mind,
deciding to serve as a nurse,
armed with fragrant herbs,
fighting a wilderness battle, my own private war
against death. (27)

Activity
Engage students in a brief discussion of the different types of fighting (physical altercations, yelling matches, flame wars on social media, etc.). Find out what they know about nonviolent protest and key nonviolent figures like Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. As you read the poem out loud, ask the students to listen for the choice facing Rosa and how she chooses to fight.

As an extension, students can search for poems or song lyrics that explore the concept of nonviolent protest. Readers can practice their piece to perform for their classmates.

New Poetry Book: Loving vs. Virginia

Image courtesy http://talesforallages.com/

Powell, Patricia Hruby. 2017. Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case. Artwork by Shadra Strickland. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 9781452125909

Review and Critical Analysis
Loving vs. Virginia tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a couple whose struggle to live as husband and wife in their home state became a legal battle that would eventually change marriage laws across the United States. The verse novel begins in the fall of 1952 when Richard first begins to take an interest in Mildred (Millie) and then traces their story as they fall in love, marry, start a family, and fight for marriage equality. It closes shortly after their Supreme Court victory in 1967, nine years after their wedding.

Powell tells the Lovings’ story through nearly seventy free verse poems. She alternates between the voice of Mildred and the voice of Richard to capture the unique perspective of each of them. Rather that give the poems distinct titles, Powell provides the speaker and, as time passes, a month and year to place the scene in history. The one exception to this pattern is the poem about their wedding in June of 1958. To symbolize the joining of the two lives, the poem is written as a poem for two voices in which the voices sometimes alternate, sometimes speak in unison, and sometimes speak different words simultaneously. The combination gives readers a sense of both the nervousness of the young couple as well as the love they share.

The poems themselves use very sparse language. Rather than using elaborate figurative language or strong rhyme, Powell uses conversational language that almost reads like prose to build the relationship between Richard and Millie. The power of these poems lies in Powell’s ability to capture the thoughts and emotions of the two speakers through her crystal clear depictions of their interactions. For example, the October 1955 poem narrated by Richard takes place at the end of their first group date. As she’s getting out of his car, Millie very subtly acknowledges that she is interested in Richard. Powell reveals Richard’s response in the last stanza as he narrates, “I drove off, hitting the steering wheel/of my good ole green DeSoto/feeling just fine.” Richard doesn’t say anything out loud, but his reaction clearly indicates his joy at knowing Mille returns his affection. This plain-style writing serves the storyline well, as key events like the Lovings’ first arrest have their own power that doesn’t need extravagant language. When they are awakened by the Sheriff in their own bed only five weeks after their wedding, Mildred’s description of leaving the house is striking in its simplicity: “Mama watches me go off/with the white men/Get in their car./Go to jail.” The stark, straightforward language captures the rawness of such climactic moments.

Loving vs. Virginia includes several features that place the events of the Lovings’ lives in historical context. The opening includes a timeline beginning with the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865 through 1952, when the book begins. The timeline is accompanied by Langston Hughes’s “Long View: Negro,” which first calls up the idea that events that loom large in history had very real, personal effects on individuals. This ideas is echoed in supplementary information chronologically aligned with the lives of Richard and Mildred Loving, allowing the reader a broader look at society while they examine the Lovings’ story up close. Interspersed among the poems, readers will find primary documents like time period photographs, excerpts from news articles, quotes from famous public figures. Even more information such as a detailed timeline and bibliography is available at the end of the book to document the factual information included in the poems.

Loving vs. Virginia is recommended for children in grade eight or higher. While all content is handled quite gracefully, the events depicted have a sensitive nature that may not be appropriate for younger children. The Loving story is still so very relevant in modern society that this book would make an excellent addition to a high school library or to a language arts or social studies classroom as part of a civil rights study.

Example Poem

Richard
October 1955

Millie was the last one out of the car.
I said,
          I’ll stop by next week?
But I said it like a question, ‘cause she don’t like to be told.
She nodded.

I drove off, hitting the steering wheel
of my good ole green DeSoto
feeling just fine.

Activity
Most young adults will need background information on the story of Richard and Mildred Loving. Show students the trailer for the 2016 (3:01) movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPAbJzL98Y0 or for the HBO documentary (0:47) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h62ZBiHNJoM to provide background on the Lovings.

Then explain to students that while we see Richard and Mildred (Millie) Loving as strong, powerful people who literally changed marriage laws in our country, they didn’t set out to make such an impact. They started out--just like most couples do--with a crush, a budding romance, puppy love--whatever you want to call it.

Explain to students that this poem reveals a brief moment after Richard and Millie’s first group date. Richard has had a crush on Mildred for a while, but up to this point, she has not given much indication about how she feels. Read the poem once or twice to familiarize students with the poem. Then read the poem again, asking the students to note all the small ways Richard and Millie indicate their true feelings.

As an extension, students could research other people from historic court cases like Plessy v. Ferguson, Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, KS, etc. Students can share their findings through poetry. They might consider finding background information on the plaintiffs and writing a poem that depicts what they imagine the plaintiff’s average day was like or how the plaintiff felt in crucial moments. Students might also want to find one reliable, valuable source to use as a basis for a found poem.

Sources

HBODocs. "HBO Documentary Films: The Loving Story - Trailer (HBODocs)." YouTube. 0:47. January 11, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h62ZBiHNJoM

Zero Media. "Loving Official Trailer #1(2016) Joel Edgerton, Ruth Negga Drama Movie HD." YouTube, 3:01. July 12, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPAbJzL98Y0

Poetic Form - Concrete Poems: Wet Cement

Raczka, Bob. 2016. Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems. New York: Roaring Book Press. ISBN 9781626722361

Review and Critical Analysis

Image courtesy www.bobraczka.com/#/wet-cement

Bob Raczka’s Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems is a delightful collection of 21 concrete poems about everyday objects and experiences. In the opening, Raczka explains his “word paintings” in which he uses both the arrangement of letters in the poem titles and the layout of words in the poems to create meaning for each poem in the book. These “word paintings” take the form of clocks, icicles, mazes, and even a tree shedding its leaves. Raczka skillfully takes poems about movement, like “Orbiting,” “Hopscotch,” and “Pop-Up,” and magically recreates the motion with words fixed to a page. Even the title Wet Cement suggests that, at least in this book, concrete poetry has movement.

The richness of Raczka’s poems does not stop at his creative use of form. The poems use both rhyme and rhythm to extend the wordplay to an auditory experience as well. He uses traditional rhyme (The poem doesn’t have traditional lines to distinguish end rhyme from internal rhyme.) to show the contrast between a teacher and students’ views of the last bell of the school day in “Clock.” The poem explains “The clock on the wall says it’s five ‘til three but the kids in my class say it’s five ‘til free.” In other poems, like “Takeoff” he uses both traditional rhyme (“heaven”and “seven”) and slant rhyme (“twelve” and “himself”) to recreate the Wright brothers’ first flight. In addition to rhyme, poems like “Dominoes”use a strong, driving rhythm to move readers in the fast pace of cascading dominoes. The poem begins “JUST ONE PUSH/ HERE WE GO/ FOLLOW THROUGH/ FEEL THE FLOW” and carries the exact same rhythm throughout. The powerful rhyme and rhythm make “Dominoes” a favorite of my high school students who read this for a March Madness contest.

In Wet Cement, Raczka plays with poetic shape, he plays with sound, and he plays with the meaning of words. His use of metaphor takes some of the not-so-ordinary subjects of poems and brings them down to earth. For example, in “Dipper” he compares stars in the night sky to fireflies in a jar, and in “Tunnels” he make refers to the subway as “A CITIFIED-JUST-SLIDE-INSIDE-AND-TAKE-A-RIDE ELECTRIC MOLE.” Raczka also employs pun in “Hanger” which provides a humorous look at what a clothes hanger might think about “hanging out.” His use of one or two significant devices in these short poems create an approachable way to introduce and allow children to play with figurative language without picking a poem apart, over-analyzing it, and destroying their innate enjoyment of poetry.

The concrete poem form is carried all the way through Wet Cement...literally. The table of contents in the front of the book is shaped in the form of a table, and the copyright information in the back of the book is in the shape of the letter C enclosed in a circle. In between, Raczka’s book maintains the focus on “word painting” so much that the book contains no illustrations. Instead, the visuals are created through the use of black and white on each spread. Most of the pages are white text with black typography; however, the poems involving nighttime and stars reside in white text on a black background.

Raczka’s concrete poetry is appealing for readers of all ages. The short poems and everyday topics make the poems approachable for young readers. Their shape, however, may pose a challenge for younger readers. Some of the poems require turning the book, using a mirror, or reading the page from top to bottom. Older children will enjoy the wordplay and the challenge of figuring out how to read the poem. In fact, some of my high school boys needed hints to figure out “Hopscotch,” even after they decoded the title.

The sparse layout and everyday topics of Wet Cement make Raczka’s poems seem simple and effortless, making readers feel like anyone can write concrete poems. In fact, the last poem “PoeTRY” encourages readers to “TRY” poetry. Any attempts at will quickly reveal the clever wit and creativity that Raczka puts into his concrete poetry. Maybe everyone can write concrete poetry, but it is not as easy and it looks!

Example Poem
Takeoff

Wright on course,
headed for heaven.
One two three four
five six seven

eight nine ten
eleven twelve
Wright back down,
but proud of himself.

Image courtesy www.bobraczka.com/#/wet-cement

Activity
Share with students the feelings you had the first time you did something exciting like riding a bike, flying in an airplane, or even jumping on a trampoline. Have them imagine what it would feel like if they did something no one else had done before.

For older children who will surely know about the Wright brothers, you may want to jump right into the poem, projecting it with a document camera so they can see the shape of the title and poem as you read. After you’ve read the poem, you could invite students to read it together. Then see if they can guess who the poem is about.

Younger children who may not be familiar with the Wright brothers may benefit from a brief introduction to their claim to fame. Then after reading the poem aloud and viewing the poem, ask students to see what clues about flying and airplanes they see in the shape of the poem and title.

As an extension, students can write their own concrete poems about common objects they are familiar with. Encourage them to think of items they use or see every day and are very familiar with like books, pencils, or even sports equipment. Children may wish to use an online tool like Read Write Think’s Theme Poem Creator to format their poems. Printed poems can be collected for a class poetry book or taken home to share with family members.

Sources
International Literacy Association and National Council for Teachers of English. 2017. “Theme Poems.” ReadWriteThink. Accessed February 26. http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/theme_poems/

Multicultural Poetry: Yum! MmMm! Que Rico!: America's Sproutings

Mora, Pat. 2007. Yum! MmMm! Qué Rico!: America's Sproutings. Pictures by Rafael López. New York: Lee & Low. ISBN 9781584302711.

Image courtesy Amazon.com

Review and Critical Summary
Pat Mora's Yum! MmMm! Qué Rico! includes fourteen haiku celebrating delicious foods native to the Americas. From corn and tomatoes to chocolate and pineapple, Mora includes a variety of treats for young readers. With each tasty poem, Mora includes a short factual description of the food, its history, and even its modern use.

The seventeen syllable poems abound with sound devices.  Mora employs alliteration with corn leaves that "sprout silk-snug house" and a tomato that "squirts seedy-juicy splatter" as well as the assonance of a cranberry that "simmers then POPS! in hot pot." In "Pecan," Mora creates the sound of a person cracking and eating pecans with instances of onomatopoeia like "crack," "munching," and "crunchy." The use of sound imagery gives readers a food experience that makes use of more than just the expected sight and taste imagery.

Yum! MmMm! Qué Rico! creates a multi-sensory experience with one of my favorite types of figurative language -- synesthesia--or the use of sensory language that evokes the sensation of a different sense. For example, the first poem, "Blueberry" opens with the line "Fill your mouth with blue," suggesting the when eating a blueberry, one can use his or her tongue to taste and feel the color blue. This same device pops up again in the poem "Chile," when the narrator's dad says, "Mmmm! This heat tastes good."

This book of poems will have special appeal for Spanish speaking students. In addition to the Spanish phrase qué rico in the title, Mora also includes other Spanish words like luna in "Pumpkin" or dulces  in "Prickly Pear," providing opportunities for Spanish speakers to be the experts in pronouncing those words or translating them for the other students.

Mora's engaging language is made even more beautiful with the captivating artwork by Rafael López. Whether its a chocolate castle floating on a cloud or a giant personified pineapple dancing with maracas, each full page spread is fancifully illustrated in bright colors that embrace the sense of the food. The people depicted in the illustrations represent the diverse population of the Americas, as well. The characters have a variety of skin tones, hair colors, and even hair types. While most of the characters are children (as one might expect in a children's book), some of the illustrations include multi-generational families with parents and grandparents. The artwork, like the food described in the poems, reflect the diversity of the Americas.

Example Poem

Peanut

Smear nutty butter,

then jelly. Gooey party

my sandwich and me.

Activity
To introduce this poem to students,  ask for volunteers to share their favorite food. After students offer their favorite foods to the group, explain that you are going to share a poem about your favorite food. You might even give the students some information from the facts about peanuts before reading the poem. After you have read the poem aloud, ask the students to guess what your favorite food is.

As an extension, students could use art supplies to draw or glue pictures of their favorite foods onto paper plates. They may also want to try their hand at writing a haiku about their favorite food on their plate.

NCTE Award Poetry: Marilyn Nelson

Nelson, Marilyn. 2015. My Seneca Village. South Hampton, NH: Namelos. ISBN 9781608981977.

Image courtesy Amazon.com

Review and Critical Analysis
Marilyn Nelson is the 2017 recipient of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Nelson's previous works, Carver: A Life in Poems and A Wreath for Emmett Till have garnered Nelson significant recognition as a National Book Award finalist, Newbery Honor Book medalist, Coretta Scott King Honor Book medalist, Printz Honor Book medalist, and a Lee Bennet Hopkins Poetry Award Honoree (Nelson 2017).

Her 2015 book My Seneca Village tells the story of a multicultural community in Manhattan in an area that was taken over by the city government to become a part of Central Park. Set in the years 1825 - 1855, Nelson reveals the history of Seneca Village through a series of forty-one poems narrated by a community of characters, ranging from a bootblack to a young schoolboy to historical figures like Maria Stewart and Fredrick Douglass. Nelson based many of the events in the poems on what her imagination conjured after reading census records from Seneca Village, but some of the events are fictionalized accounts of real historical occurrences. Such events are indicated with italicized notes at the end of the poems with the factual information available.

My Seneca Village has a table of contents listing every poem. Following the table of contents, Nelson includes a "Welcome to Seneca Village" to explain the community and how she became acquainted with the villagers that eventually narrate her poems. On the right side of each spread, Nelson sets the scene for the poem, explaining what she "sees" or introducing a character or setting. The poem is then printed on the left side of each spread. The book closes with a helpful "About the Poems" section in which she explains the varying formats and rhyme schemes she uses. Her explanation is very helpful for people (like me) who may not recognize the structures and rhymes of classic poetic styles or for budding poets who want to try their hand at writing a terza rima sonnet or a found poem.

The majority of the poems are composed in quatrains with various rhyme schemes and styles. For example, the opening poem "Land Owner" uses both exact rhymes like  "wage/sage" and "vote/boat" and slant rhymes like "work/talk" and "Canal/heel" in each stanza. Other poems, like "Sisters of Charity" use what Nelson calls "conceptual rhyme" where the connection between the words is not a shared sound, but a shared idea. In "Sisters of Charity," she uses opposites to form the conceptual rhyme, pairing concepts like "day/night," "more/less," and "poor/rich."

Nelson works in several other poetic forms in addition to the rhyming quatrains. She includes sonnets like "Address" and "Pigs on the Ice" as well as a poem written to imitate a wedding announcement. In "The Park Theatre" and "The Shakespeare Riot," both poems about Shakespearean plays, Nelson pays homage to the iambic pentameter of William Shakespeare. She even invented a poetic form for one character, and all poems narrated by that character take on the form she calls "Tildie."

The language of My Seneca Village maintains a more conversational style, reflective of characters narrating their daily lives. But even within these conversations, Nelson drops in tantalizing bits of alliteration and imagery to create strong images for readers. For example, in "Council of Brothers," the youngest of five brothers refers to "a growling gut" and "wearing Hugh's smelly, outgrown, leaky boots," creating an image of the impoverished life the young men have been living.

My Seneca Village is recommended for children in fifth grade and up. The lack of illustrations, more complex vocabulary, and cover of muted colors clearly mark this as a book for older students. In the library, this book would probably need special promotion, for its outward appearance truly belies the fascinating history and skilled poetry inside.

Example Poem
15¢ Futures
Epiphany Davis, 1825

I set up my cash box and my bones and cards
on Broadway, most days, offering what I see
of what's to come. For a donation, words
fall from my mouth, surprising even me.

Uncle Epiphany doesn't forecast death
or illness worse than gout or a broken bone.
The sailors stop. They listen with caught breath
as I tell them some girl's heart is still theirs alone.

(... or not. Young love is such a butterfly.)
Girls come, arms linked, giggling behind their fans.
The sad come. Uncle Epiphany does not lie.
I close shop, and come back up here to my land.

It's a new world up here, of beggar millionaires:
neighbors who know how we all scrimped and saved
to own this stony swamp with its fetid air,
to claim the dream for dreamers yet enslaved.

I'm Epiphany Davis. I am a conjure-man.
I see glimpses. Glass towers ... A horseless vehicle ...
An American President who is half African ...
Until you pay me, that's all I'm going to tell.


Activity
This poem would work well with an 8th grade U.S. history class, especially as they begin to study events leading up to the Civil War.  To introduce the poem, set up the historical context, explaining when and where Seneca Village is set. Ask students to share what they know about the time period, and then read Nelson's vision for the scene and provide students an introduction to the narrator, Epiphany Davis. Since the poem is longer, I recommend providing students a written copy of the poem so they could read along.

After reading the poem aloud, determine if students know what the word "epiphany" means and explain if they do not. Have students share if they believe Epiphany Davis really has epiphanies. What makes them question him? What makes them believe him? Invite students to think of other parts of modern American life (other than skyscrapers, cars, and President Obama) that Epiphany and the other residents of Seneca Village might find surprising.

As an extension, students may want to choose other historical figures like Clara Barton, Abraham Lincoln, or Wilbur Wright to write a monologue about what type of "glimpses" of the future that person might wish see. These monologues could then be shared as part of a living history event students share with younger grades, parents, and the community.


Sources
Nelson, Marilyn. 2017. "About - Biography." Accessed February 14. http://marilyn-nelson.com/bio.html.

Florian Poetry: Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars

Florian, Douglas. 2007. Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars. Orlando: Harcourt. ISBN: 9780152053727.

Image courtesy Amazon.com

Review and Critical Analysis
Douglas Florian's Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars is a beautiful informational book of 20 poems about all things space-related.  The text has many of the expected features of an informational book, such as a table of contents, a glossary of terms, and suggestions for further reading, but this book is so much more than just an informational book.

This book is first and foremost a poetry book. Florian's poems all have a strong rhyme and rhythm to them. For example, the first poem, "Skywatch" begins "On a clear night you might try/To gaze upon the starry sky." While both the rhyme and rhythm are strong throughout the book, Florian varies the rhyme scheme and rhythm to keep the poems from becoming to sing-song and predictable. Additionally, the poems include strong imagery and figurative language, like a description of the sun's "Scalding-hot surface" or the comparison of a comet to "A dirty snowball of space debris."

The artwork that accompanies each poem--also by Florian--adds another layer of richness to the writing. The illustrations of goache, collage, and rubber stamps on primed brown paper bags create vibrant scenes for readers to explore. Not only does the artwork depict the space element serving as the subject of the poem, the rubber stamp lettering labels other features like moons, geographical features and other key components. My favorite spread is for the poem titled "A Galaxy." The background is a deep navy blue, nearly black, that looks like the abyss of outer space. The poem itself takes the shape of a spiral galaxy, and other galaxy shapes, like barred, elliptical, and egg-shaped galaxies, are depicted in beige with bright orange outlines. The visual effect is stunning, and the additional shapes provide the opportunity for readers to explore the concept further. The illustrations--combined with loads of space facts and fun poems-- make this a book of poetry that readers will want to sit down with and explore. Older children may even want to look up some of the names incorporated into the design to figure out why the names are included.

Young readers will love the strong rhyme and rhythm of Florian's poems in Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars. These traits make it a perfect book for reading aloud or call and response readings. Plus, the witty, whimsical nature of some of the poems will draw children in as well. For example, in "Pluto," the poet explains the dwarf planet's demotion, saying "Pluto was a planet./Till one day it got fired."  Florian's comparison of a black hole to a "Cosmic broom" and then wishing he had one for his room will delight younger readers as well. This book is an excellent support for the science classroom.

Example Poem
Venus

Scalding-hot surface
Nine hundred degrees,
No creatures,
No trees.
Poisonous clouds
Of acid above.
Why was it named for
the goddess of love?

Activity
Every poem in this book could be used in an astronomy unit in the science classroom. I can see the poems serving both as introductions to plants, constellations, and black holes or as reviews to see what students remember about previous lessons. The possibilities are endless!

One way I would consider using the planet poems like "Venus" is to use them as part of a check for understanding before assessing knowledge of a particular planet. I would introduce the poem by asking children, "What do you know about the planet Venus?" After giving the group a chance to share everything they can remember, I would read the poem to them at least two times--one time to give them the opportunity to simply enjoy the poem and another to have them listen for facts. After discussing what the poet chose to include and leave out, students could then use both Florian's illustration and other pictures (both realistic and artistic) of the planet as inspiration to create their own illustration of the planet Venus. The illustrations could then be incorporated to a trading card design for display.

African American Poetry: Locomotion

Woodson, Jacqueline. 2003. Locomotion. New York: Puffin Books. ISBN 9780399231155

Image courtesy of Goodreads

Review and Critical Analysis

Jacqueline Woodson's Locomotion gives readers a glimpse into the life of eleven-year-old Lonnie Collins Motion, or as his mother nicknamed him, Locomotion. In his short eleven years, Lonnie has faced more tragedy than most people face in a lifetime. His parents died in a fire, and he has been separated from his little sister, Lili. With the help of his foster mother, Miss Edna, and his teacher, Ms. Marcus, Lonnie discovers writing poetry as a vehicle to grapple with his grief and to rebuild his sense of hope.

The verse novel explores a variety of poetic forms including haiku, sonnets, and epistle poems. Some of the poems, like "December 9th," "Epitaph Poem," and "The Fire," are expressions of Lonnie's grief over losing his parents. These poems are filled with the images of firemen, smoke, and things he remembers about his parents--all the images that cloud his mind. Despite the tragedy that afflicts his past, Lonnie also expresses a clear hope for the future in poems like "Lili's New Mama's House" where he describes the joy he feels when he visits his sister or in "Rodney" when Lonnie is filled with pride when Miss Edna's son comes home and calls him "Little Brother." Lonnie's optimistic hope will draw readers young and old, inspiring those with their own struggles to find a way to work through the hardship and move toward a hope-filled future.

Example Poem

"Me, Eric, Lamont & Angel"

Once I saw a house fall down on a lady, Lamont says.

That ain't nothing, Angel says. Once I saw this dog

get hit by a car. He went way up in the air and

when he came down again,

he got up and ran away. But he stopped at the corner,

Angel says.

And died.

Eric squints up his eyes.

Looks out over the school yard.

The sky's real blue and no wind's blowing.

I shake my head, trying to shake that dog out of it.

Once I saw a little boy, Eric says, all mysterious.

And then in my dream, he was a man.

We all look at him and don't say nothing.

Far away, I hear some girls singing real slow and sad

Her mother, she went upstairs too.

Saying daughter oh daughter

what's troubling you . . .

That ain't no tragedy, Angel says, giving Eric a look.

More than what Lonnie seen, Eric says, grinning at me.

In my head I see a fire. I see black windows.

I hear people hollering. I smell smoke.

I hear a man's voice saying I'm so sorry.

I hear myself screaming.

Never seen nothing, I say.

Activity

To introduce this poem to young readers, I would ask if anyone had an experience where someone made an assumption about you when they had no idea how you really felt. I might also ask students if they have experiences in their past that they have hidden from their friends, teachers, or even parents. I would ask students to share how they felt when the people around them did not understand their situation. After reading the poem aloud, I would invite students to compare Lonnie's reaction to his friends with their own reactions.

School Poetry: The Brimstone Journals

Koertge, Ron. 2001. The Brimstone Journals. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763617424

Image courtesy of Goodreads

Review and Critical Analysis

The Brimstone Journals depicts high school life through the eyes of 15 members of the Branston High School Class of 2001. Through 97 journal-like poems, each character reveals the violence they face everyday, from Kelli--the cheerleader who breaks up with her controlling boyfriend--to Lester--who is bullied by the school’s jocks on a daily basis. Amid all the turmoil is an angry young man named Boyd. Boyd’s rocky relationship with his alcoholic father and his dangerous new friend Mike lead him to make a list of names. Now everyone could be in danger--not just those on the list.

The typically short, inter-related poems of The Brimstone Journals are titled with the name of the character who is narrating, each character designated by their distinct script. The free verse poems are not particularly lyrical, having a more conversational rhythm and language pattern. Koertge does, however, sprinkle in several strategically placed strong images or metaphors along the way. For example, Tran’s first poem, where he discusses his relationship with his father, ends with a poignant observation, “His dreams are a box I can’t put down.” Otherwise, the most prolific device is the rhetorical question. As the teenage narrators wrestle with their own thoughts and feelings, they express their confusion with many, many questions, like the sex-crazed Rob who asks, “If it isn’t a game, why does everybody/keep score?” As a whole, the poems draw their power from the raw emotion of their teenage narrators and the troubling darkness they face. The poems only provide glimpses of the characters, leaving the reader with vignettes rather than fully-developed characters.

The Brimstone Journals was named an American Library Association (ALA) Quick Pick, and aptly so, for the first poem, narrated by a overweight young man named Lester, describes how he likes to hold his father’s gun while he’s naked, imagining what would happen when the people who bully him saw he had a gun. This shocking start drew me in immediately, and I expect it would have a similar effect on students. Because of the violence and language, this book is most appropriate for high school students. The Brimstone Journals is one of those books librarians and teachers should put into the hands of a reluctant reader who is not so sure they would like poetry, especially if he or she likes darker books and movies. It is a fast and interesting read that could promote some very helpful and meaningful conversations about relationships between teens and the adults in their lives.

Example Poem

"Tran"

Since I have only acquaintances and no
true friends, I come to school in the morning
and let the building tell me things.

In this way I am like the Native Americans
who could taste water, listen to earth, read
sky.

I listen to what is traveling through wires,
dripping from overhead lighting radiating
from computer screens, oozing from outlets
in walls:

who lied who kissed who drank who smoked
who struck wept contaminated bought
Sold doted barely survived.

This passionate residue is called “the buzz.”

What a violent country: “He kissed
me so hard.” “I was so wasted.” “I hate
her so much.” “I love him to death.”

The students even call this well-appointed
and modern high school Brimstone,
a reference to their Bible and to the end
of the world. (28)

Activity

To introduce this poem to teenagers, ask what types of things they might hear if they just stood in the hallways and listened? What noises would the empty building make? What words or phrases would they hear from teachers? from students? Then ask students to consider what types of conclusions an outsider might draw about the school based on the things they could hear. As they listen to the poem read aloud, have students make note of the different things Tran hears in his school. How does their school compare to Trans? As an extention, students could use the different sounds and words they brainstormed earlier to write a poem about their own school.

Hopkins Collection: City I Love

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2009. City I Love. Illustrated by Marcellus Hall. New York: Adams. ISBN 9780810983274

Image courtesy of SLJ Blog

Review and Critical Analysis

Lee Bennett Hopkins’s City I Love celebrates the sights and sounds of urban life through 18 poems about the subways and taxis and skyscrapers and the noises that fill the city. While the content of the poems could apply to any city, the accompanying illustrations of iconic landmarks like the Washington monument, Big Ben, and the Great Pyramids clearly set each poem in a particular city. Additionally, the endpapers display a world map pinpointing the 18 major cities featured in the illustrations. Young readers will enjoy spotting the cartoon dog, who has donned a backpack to set out on his world travels with his partner, a little blue bird. The traveling companions appear somewhere in each illustration throughout the book.

The poems in City I Love take a variety of shapes and forms, including haiku, free verse, and rhyming couplets. Though the poems contain plenty of concrete visual imagery like descriptions of the sun as “fiery/orange-red” in “City Summer,” the sound devices Hopkins employs are the star of the book. The very first poem “Sing a Song of Cities” sets the tone for the entire book as it begins, “Sing a song of cities/If you do,/Cities will sing back/to you,” establishing a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur from the city. From there, onomatopoeia, alliteration, rhyme, and rhythm take over to create the hustle and bustle of the city for readers. The subway “roars and rumbles,” water is “pouring/roaring/gushing/rushing” from hydrants, and people shout “Taxi!” and “Hot dogs with sauerkraut/Get ‘em here!” Each poem adds another layer of city sounds to the description.

The illustrations by New Yorker artist Marcellus Hall take the poems to another level. The large, colorful brush, ink, and watercolor city scenes dominate most of the spreads. The one to two poems on each spread mostly sit along sidebars or in the negative space of the sky, but occasionally, the poems and illustrations are so intertwined determining which came first is a challenge. For example, a full-spread line of cars and double-decker buses drive right through the middle of the poem titled “Taxi!” and words of “Subways Are People” follow the same v-shape as the lines of perspective in the drawing of the people on a subway, ending near the picture’s vanishing point. The beautiful artwork alone makes this book worth a second read. I find something new every time I pick it up.

City I Love will provide readers with plenty of entertainment and enjoyment. The poems about city life will ring true with children from cities, yet the content--with bridges, kites, and summer--is so universal that children from rural areas can still connect with the poems for a new learning experience about cities. The illustrations are engaging, providing the perfect opportunity for exploration with friends, siblings, or parents. Plus, the wide range of cultures reflected in the specific cities highlighted simply beg for further exploration to learn about the cities or find pictures of the real landmarks online.

Example Poem

"City I Love"

In the city

I live in--

city I love--

mornings wake

to swishes, swashes,

sputters

of sweepers

swooshing litter

from gutters.

In the city

I live in--

city I love--

afternoons pulse

with

people hurrying,

scurrying--

races of faces

pacing to

must-get-there

places.

In the city

I live in--

city I love--

nights shimmer

with lights

competing

with stars above

unknown heights.

In the city

I live in--

city I love--

as dreams start to creep

my city

of senses

lulls

me 

to

sleep.

Activity

Before reading this poem with children, I would introduce the poem by asking if they live in the city or in the country, and I invite them to share what sounds they might hear on a daily basis where they live. For younger children, we could make one collaborative list of sounds, or older students might want to make their own lists of sounds and then share a few ideas.

After reading the poem I would ask students if they heard any of their sounds in the poem, or if anything in the poem reminds them of where they live. As a follow up, students could write a poem, using the first three lines “In the city/I live in--/city I love--” to begin their own stanzas. As necessary, they could change “city” to a more appropriate term like “town,” “country,” or--for the East Texans-- “woods.”