POETRY BIBLIOGRAPHY

Alarcón, Francisco X. 2001. IGUANAS IN THE SNOW AND OTHER WINTER POEMS. Ill by Maya Christina Gonzalez. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press. ISBN 0892391685

Bagert, Brod. 2008. SHOUT! LITTLE POEMS THAT ROAR. Ill. by Sachiko Yoshikawa. New York: Scholastic Inc. ISBN 0545110998

Cullinan, Bernice E. 1996. A JAR OF TINY STARS: POEMS BY NCTE AWARD-WINNING POETS. Ill. by Andi MacLeod. Honesdale, PA: Boyd Mills Press. ISBN 1563970872

Dakos, Kalli. 1990. IF YOU’RE NOT HERE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND: POEMS ABOUT SCHOOL. Ill by G. Brian Karas. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0027255816

Florian, Douglas. 1994. BING BANG BOING. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0152337709

Florian, Douglas. 1998. INSECTLOPEDIA: POEMS AND PAINTINGS. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0152013067

George, Kristine O’Connell. 2001. TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: CAMPING POEMS. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 061804597X

Giovanni, Nikki. 2008. HIP HOP SPEAKS TO CHILDREN: A CELEBRATION OF POETRY WITH A BEAT. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc. ISBN 1402210485

Greenfield, Eloise. 1978. HONEY, I LOVE AND OTHER LOVE POEMS. Ill. by Diane and Leo Dillon. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 0690038453

Hesse, Karen. 1997. OUT OF THE DUST: A NOVEL. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0590360809

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2000. MY AMERICA: A POETRY ATLAS OF THE UNITED STATES. Ill. by Stephen Alcorn. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439372909

Janeczko, Paul B. 2001. DIRTY LAUNDRY PILE: POEMS IN DIFFERENT VOICES. Ill. by Melissa Sweet. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 0688162517

Lewis, J. Patrick. 2008. THE WORLD’S GREATEST: POEMS. Ill. by Keith Graves. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780811851305

Nye, Naomi Shihab. 2000. SALTING THE OCEAN: 100 POEMS BY YOUNG POETS. Ill. by Ashley Bryan. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 0688161936

Paul, Ann Whitford.1999. ALL BY HERSELF: 14 GIRLS WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE, Poems, Ill. by Michael Steirnagle. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0152014772

Prelutsky, Jack. 1986. READ ALOUD RHYMES FOR THE VERY YOUNG. Ill by Marc Brown. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0394872185

Viorst, Judith. 1995. SAD UNDERWEAR AND OTHER COMPLICATIONS. Ill. by Richard Hull. New York: Antheneum Books. ISBN 0689319290

Worth, Valerie. 1994. ALL THE SMALL POEMS AND FOURTEEN MORE. Ill. by Natalie Babbitt. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0374403457

Poetry Break: Clock

Poetry Break: Clock

Introduction:
I will display different kinds of clocks. I will ask the students what they think time means.

Clock
By Robert Kimmel

Clock, who has looked at you
and seen the time?
Who has looked at you
and said they were late?
Clock, you must be tired,
after all, you stay up all night.
Clock, who has looked at you
and said they only had five minutes?
Clock, how many times
have you been wound?
Clock, you have all the time
in the world locked up inside.

From SALTING THE OCEAN: 100 POEMS BY YOUNG POETS, selected by Naomi Shihab Nye. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2000.

Extension:
I will reread the poem and then ask the students how they feel about it. These answers will direct the remaining conversation. The students will make a lists of activities and events where they have arrived late

Poetry Break: SEE THE JOLLY FAT BOY

POETRY BREAK: SEE THE JOLLY FAT BOY

Introduction: I will ask the students if they think words can hurt.

SEE THE JOLLY FAT BOY
By Judith Viorst

See the jolly fat boy
Filling up his plate,
Bulging at the belly and
A truckload overweight.
We call him blob and buffalo.
We call him tub of lard.
We’re sure he doesn’t mind because
There’s no one who laughs harder than
The fat boy.

See the jolly fat boy
Jiggling as he goes.
Bet it’s been at least five years
Since he’s last seen his toes.
We tell him that he looks just like
A movie star: King Kong.
We’re sure he likes our jokes because
There’s no one who laughs longer than
The fat boy.

See the jolly fat boy
When we’re not around.
He’s not laughing anymore.
He’s staring at the ground
With eyes like winter’s drearest days,
Like birds whose mama died.
I think we’ve never seen the boy
Who lives deep down inside—inside
The fat boy.

From SAD UNDERWEAR AND OTHER COMPLICATIONS by Judith Viorst. New York: Atheneum Books. 1995.

Extension: After a few minutes of reflection, I will ask the students how the poem made them feel. I will ask them again if they think words can hurt. Students will then take turns sharing positive comments about their classmates.

DIRTY LAUNDRY PILE: POEMS IN DIFFERENT VOICES

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Janeczko, Paul B. DIRTY LAUNDRY PILE: POEMS IN DIFFERENT VOICES. Ill. by Melissa Sweet. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 0688162517.

Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices is a lively collection of persona or mask poems selected by Paul Janeczko. Karla Kuskin, Kristine O’Connell George, Lillian Moore, Jane Yolen, and Douglas Florian are some of the poets included in this book. Objects and animals with a voice include a vacuum cleaner, washing machine, laundry pile, a whale, cows, the wind and more. The book includes couplets, haiku, and concrete poems. All the senses will be engaged by the variety of poems with their range of topics and engaging illustrations. The title poem, Dirty Laundry Pile, is an example of the fun poems in this collection of poetry.

Dirty Laundry Pile
by Marcy Barack Black

Ignore me now
On the floor
By the door.
But you’ll notice
When I swell
By my smell.

While many of the poems in this book are humorous some are quiet, thoughtful poems concerning nature and animals.

Illustrations are done in watercolor by Melissa Sweet. Young readers will delight in the full page and double page illustrations of the poetry. The artwork provides a visual image to enhance the words in the poems. The illustrations are fresh and simple. The picture for The Vacuum Cleaner’s Revenge by Patricia Hubbell consists of a large green vacuum cleaner with eyes gobbling up a variety of items. A bubble contains the words roar, crunch, and munch. The poem itself is written on a smudge of lemon yellow.

The book lacks any formal arrangement with poems of objects and animals mixed without any apparent basis. There is some grouping of poems although no regular structure is obvious. An introduction offers an explanation about why this book was created and that Janeczko thinks these poems are fun. There is no table of contents or index.

Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices is a worthy addition to any poetry collection with its delightful and entertaining collection of poems.

Poetry Break: People Equal

Introduction
I will display a large equal sign as well as several smaller equal signs in the room. I will ask the students what equal means.

People Equal
by James Berry

Some people shoot up tall.
Some hardly leave the ground at all.
yet—people equal. Equal.

One voice is a sweet mango.
Another is a nonsugar tomato.
yet—people equal. Equal.

Some people rush to the front.
Others hang back, feeling they can’t.
yet—people equal. Equal.

Hammer some people, you meet a wall.
Blow hard on others, they fall.
yet—people equal. Equal.

One person will aim at a star.
For another, a hilltop is too far.
yet—people equal. Equal.

Some people get on with their show.
Others never get on the go.
yet—people equal. Equal.

From HIP HOP SPEAKS TO CHILDREN: A CELEBRATION OF POETRY WITH A BEAT. Edited by Nikki Giovanni. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, Inc. 2008.

Extension
I will ask the students if things have to look the same to be equal. Working in groups, I will let the students use the equal signs to illustrate what they think is equal but doesn’t look alike. They can explain to the class why their illustration is equal.

Poetry Break: THE LIBRARY CHEER

Introduction
I will have a display of the books mentioned in the poem. I will have the poem written on a large poster with the refrain, “Books are good! Books are great! I want books! I WILL NOT WAIT!” written in a different color.

THE LIBRARY CHEER
by Brod Bagert

Books are good!
Books are great!
I want books!
I WILL NOT WAIT!
Bird books,
Bug books,
Bear books too,
Words and pictures
Through and through.

Books are good!
Books are great!
I want books!
I WILL NOT WAIT!
Books in color,
Black and white,
Skinny books,
Fat books,
Day and night.

Books are good!
Books are great!
I want books!
I WILL NOT WAIT!
Sad books,
Glad books,
Funny books too,
Books for me
And books for you.

Books are good!
Books are great!
I want books!
I WILL NOT WAIT!

From SHOUT! LITTLE POEMS THAT ROAR by Brod Bagert. New York: Scholastic Inc. 2008.

Extension:
After my initial reading we will repeat the poem with the students doing the refrain, “Books are good! Books are great! I want books! I WILL NOT WAIT!” Students will then be able to choose a book they, “will not wait” for and tell why.

THE WORLD'S GREATEST: POEMS

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lewis, J. Patrick. 2008. THE WORLD’S GREATEST: POEMS. Ill. by Keith Graves. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780811851305.

The World’s Greatest: Poems is a witty collection of zany real-life world records in poetry form. Readers, both young and old, of The Guinness Book of World Records are sure to appreciate this volume of poetry based primarily on their records. Children will delight in both the clever use of words and amusing illustrations. The poems are short, in various forms, and include a variety of topics. Poem shape and illustrations are used to support and enhance the poem content. The poem The Longest Traffic Jam is constructed of single word rhyming couplets, with an illustration crawling across the bottom of both pages of a road with vehicles bumper to bumper.

The book begins with The Kookiest Hat. A brief note accompanies each poem explaining the world record that is the premise of the poem. This poem’s note states, “Invented by Raymond D. Kiefer, Spring City, Pennsylvania, 1995.”

the Kookiest Hat

As I was walking down the street,
I met a man who wore
A fried egg on his head. I said,
“Dear me, what is it for?”

“A fried-egg hat repels the rain,”
Was what the man replied,
“Because, my dear, I always wear
It on the sunny side.”

This poem is a sample of how the world records and poems combined will capture young readers’ interest and draw them through the book looking for the next weird, funny, or unusual world record.

This attractive book has a table of contents listing each of the poems and their page numbers. A combination of color and white pages, text in a variety of colors, fonts, and sizes along with exaggerated artwork results in a visually appealing book. Skillful artwork and poem placement guide the readers’ eye to the delights on each page.

Keith Grave illustrated the book using acrylic paint and colored pencils. The illustrations have a youthful vibrancy adding a visual element to the poems. The Most Cobras Kissed Consecutively is illustrated with a basket filled with cobras sporting red human lips and long eyelashes. The Stone Skipping Record and The Smallest American Newspaper share an illustration that depicts a woman standing in water showing a skipping stone while reading a miniature paper. The illustrations add an extra element of fun to these unusual and outrageous records.

The World’s Greatest: Poems is a celebration of poetry; entertaining both young and old readers.

Poetry Break: The Spring Wind

Introduction
I will place four different fans around the room adjusting them to varying speeds to simulate the wind in the poem. I will attach streamers to the front of the fans. I will ask the students what a fan makes.

The Spring Wind
By Charlotte Zolotow

The summer wind
is soft and sweet
the winter wind is strong
the autumn wind is mischievous
and sweeps the leaves along.

The wind I love the best
comes gently after rain
smelling of spring and growing things
brushing the world with feathery wings
while everything glistens, and everything sings
in the spring wind
after the rain.


From Read-Aloud Rhymes For The Very Young, selected by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Marc Brown. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986.

Extension
I will ask the students to tell about different things that happen depending on the speed the wind is blowing. What activities depend on wind? As a class we will make a list poem of windy activities. Living in west Texas during the spring usually assures us of enough wind to fly a kite. When we finish our poem we will go outside and fly a kite.

Poetry Break: Wilma Rudolph

Introduction
I will display books about Wilma Rudolph, including Wilma Unlimited. I will ask the students if they know who Wilma Rudolph is. I will then read the poem.


Wilma Rudolph
By Ann Whitford Paul

One leg was bent; her foot turned in.
She had to wear a heavy brace
and an ugly, hateful shoe.
Each pace, each step, she scraped and clunked.
Kids gathered close to stare at her
and taunt and tease.
Slowly,
Wilma hobbled off.
She found a secret place,
unbuckled the brace, untied the shoe,
then yanked them off.
Every day she practiced walking.
How it hurt to hold her leg the normal way!
At first Wilma stumbled.
She dragged her foot.
Step, slow step…
slow lurching steps…
until she learned to walk!
Faster! Faster!
Wilma began
to run.
She ran
and ran
and ran.


From ALL BY HERSELF: 14 GIRLS WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE, Poems by Ann Whitford Paul, illustrated by Michael Steirnagle. San Diego: Harcourt, Inc.,1999.

Extension
I will let the students direct the discussion. After a few minutes of discussion I will read Wilma Unlimited. Then we will discuss her achievement. Then as a celebration of good health we will go outside and run on the playground.

Insectlopedia: Poems and Paintings

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Florian, Douglas. 1998. INSECTLOPEDIA: POEMS AND PAINTINGS. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0152013067

Insectlopedia is a witty and entertaining book to read. It is an engaging book that lures readers of all ages, especially young readers, into the insect world with joy. The twenty-one short poems are a variety of styles and shapes. Douglas Florian uses rhyme, alliteration and internal rhyme to capture an insect detail and weave lighthearted and informative poems. The Inchworm is written with a hump to depict a moving inchworm. The Whirligig Beetles poem is written in a circle. Text formatting is used to emphasize the poem content and bring attention to certain words. Clever use of words will engage and amuse readers. Students will immediately catch the play on words in the poem The Mosquitoes. The accompanying illustration will further delight students and open another topic, the human body.

The Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are thin.
Mosquitoes are rude.
They feast on your skin
For take-out food.

Florian also illustrates Insectlopedia. The artwork is watercolor and collage on primed brown paper providing another avenue for Florian to continue and deepen this insect adventure. While the poetry utilizes clever word play, the artwork encourages and invites the reader to pause and ponder its connection to the poem. Insectlopedia is a whimsical, clever book that encourages readers to examine both the text and illustrations closely.

The book has a table of contents listing each poem title and page number. Each poem is centered on a white page opposite a brightly colored painting. Large font is easy to read. The full page illustrations are all bordered with a band of white.

The imagery and rich vocabulary can provide a hook or extension for a study of a range of insects. Insectlopedia would be a great introduction to a live show and tell with insects. Douglas Florian captures a child’s enthusiasm and wonder for bugs.

TENT

Introduction
I will have “Library on the Lawn Day.” I will set a large tent up in the school yard and we will have library outside. I will have a triangular piece of concrete on display with the poem written on the back. I will ask the students if they have ever camped in a tent. I will share how much fun my family has camping at the lake. I will ask the students if they know what concrete poetry is and accept all ideas. I will read the poem one time without showing the students the poem written on the back of the concrete triangle. I will then turn the piece of concrete over and read the poem again.

Tent
By Kristine O’Connell George

First,
smooth dirt.
No rocks or roots.
Next, sharp stakes, poles,
strong nylon rope. Shake, snap.
Billow, whoof, settle. Tug. Pull taut.
Our tent is up! Blooming, bright orange.

From TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: CAMPING POEMS. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001

Extension
After showing the students the form of the poem I will ask again what they think concrete poetry is. I will direct the discussion until the students understand. We will have two activities. All students will have an opportunity to help set up a small tent—orange of course. All students will get to write their own triangle shaped poem using paper with a triangle on it. It can be about a tent or anything that pertains to a triangle. Examples of triangles are the geometric shape itself (math), top of house, church steeple, air vent window on a car, and Doritos chips.

pie

Introduction
I will have an apple pie on display in front of a poster with the poem written on it. I will tell them that pie was my dad’s favorite dessert and that he always called cake, “old dry cake” even if it was delicious.

pie
By Valerie Worth

After the yellow-white
Pie dough is rolled out
Flat, and picked up
Drooping like a round
Velvet mat, fitted gently
Into the dish, and piled
With sliced, sugared,
Yellow-white apples,
Covered with still another
Soft dough-blanket,
The whole thing trimmed
And tucked in tight, then
It is all so neat, so
Thick and filled and fat,
That we could happily
Eat it up, even
Before it is cooked.

From ALL THE SMALL POEMS AND FOURTEEN MORE, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994

Extension
I will ask the students what their favorite pie is. Then we will make dough and slice apples for a pie. The students will have the opportunity to read a recipe, measure, cut, and mix ingredients and finally taste an apple pie. Then, they will write a poem about their pie.

OUT OF THE DUST

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hesse, Karen. 1997. OUT OF THE DUST: A NOVEL. New York: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0590360809.

Out of the Dust is a verse novel by Karen Hesse that captures the readers’ emotions from the first page to the last page. This novel chronicles the life of Billie Jo from the winter of 1934 through the autumn of 1935. It is a powerful description of the hardships of life during the dust bowl years of the Depression in the Oklahoma panhandle. Written in free verse, this novel reads like a diary. The entries (poems) are divided into sections by the seasons and titled; with the month and year listed after each poem. The sparse words plainly tell of Billie Jo’s struggles to survive; not only the Dust Bowl but personal tragedy. Hesse’s description of the conditions (wind, dust, heat), the pain from the burns Billie Jo and her mother suffer, the despair, and finally the hope not only allow, but demand the reader visualize and feel the experience.

The writing reflects the starkness of the life Billie Jo is living, mirroring the fact that life during the Depression was about surviving the harshness of life with only the hope that better times will come. Teenagers reading this book will identify with Billie Jo’s struggle to find her own identity and accept the changes in her life.

The length of the poems varies with some poems a simple comment about her life and some poems dealing with life altering events. The Accident is a poignant and pivotal poem in the book. It tells about the accident that changed Billie Jo’s life. The repetitive use of words expresses Billie Jo’s sincerity and childlike bewilderment at what was happening.

The Accident

I got
burned
bad.

Daddy
put a pail of kerosene
next to the stove
and Ma,
fixing breakfast,
thinking the pail was
filled with water,
lifted it,
to make Daddy’s coffee,
poured it,
but instead of making coffee,
Ma made a rope of fire.
It rose up from the stove
to the pail
and the kerosene burst
into flames.

Ma ran across the kitchen,
out the porch door,
screaming for Daddy.
I tore after her,
then,
thinking of the burning pail
left behind in the bone-dry kitchen,
I flew back and grabbed it,
Throwing it out the door.

I didn’t know.
I didn’t know Ma was coming back.

The flaming oil
splashed
onto her apron,
and Ma,
suddenly Ma,
was a column of fire.
I pushed her to the ground,
deperate to save her,
desperate to save the baby, I
tried,
beating out the flames with my hands.
I did the best I could.
But it was no good.

Ma
got
burned
bad.

Out of the Dust is a very emotional reading experience engaging all the senses from the beginning. It is an excellent example of a verse novel and an enticement to read others.

IGUANAS IN THE SNOW AND OTHER WINTER POEMS

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alarcón, Francisco X. 2001. IGUANAS IN THE SNOW AND OTHER WINTER POEMS. Ill. by Maya Christina Gonzalez. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press. ISBN 0892391685.

Iguanas in the Snow and Other Winter Poems is a delightful reading experience and one that children are sure to love. It captures and expresses the exhilarating experience of life both with word and paint. Iguanas in the Snow is a bilingual book of poetry that celebrates life in San Francisco and northern California from a child’s perspective. The poems in this book are free verse, short and fresh. Some of the poems are humorous while others are nostalgic, reminding us of the history of San Francisco and the cultures that have thrived there for many years. I read the words of these poems and all my senses become involved.

The book begins with Starfish on the Beach, “a five-fingered hand full of salt” accompanied by a drawing of two children closely examining a starfish; evoking memories of playing as a child. Poems about the weather, San Francisco; old places, life in the barrio, school, and family comprise this book. Some poems in the book are followed by a note explaining something mentioned in the poem. The book ends in the snow covered mountains of northern California with a poem expressing the optimism of tomorrow. In Ancestors of Tomorrow, “children are the blooming branches of trees…their seeds will become the roots.” The poem In My Barrio expresses the mood of this book.

In My Barrio

you can hear
the music
of life

coming out
of murals
in full color

The artwork by Maya Christina Gonzalez enhances and complements the poetry with another dimension of enjoyment. The illustrations are happy with vibrant colors and involved characters, mostly children. Old maps of California and Mexico add intriguing background for some of the poems. The background illustrations for the Clouds and In Winter poems at the beginning of the book show the weather while the words describe it making the reader feel cold and wet. The poem First Snowfall is written on falling snowflakes. Playful iguanas are interspersed throughout the book.

Iguanas in the Snow reflects the “music of life.” I am eager to read other books by Francisco X. Alarcón.

Poetry Break: Barbara Esbensen

Introduction
I would display a bunch of both new, long, sharpened pencils and broken pencils along with some of those oversized pencils. I would ask the students how much writing they think one pencil can do.

PENCILS
by Barbara Esbensen

The rooms in a pencil
are narrow
but elephants castles and
watermelons
fit in

In a pencil
noisy words yell for attention
and quiet words wait their turn

How did they slip
into such a tight place?
Who
gives them their
lunch?

From a broken pencil
an unbroken poem will come!
There is a long story living
in the shortest pencil

Every word in your
pencil
is fearless ready to walk
the blue tightrope lines
Ready
to teeter and smile
down Ready to come right out
and show you
thinking!

From A JAR OF TINY STARS: POEMS BY NCTE AWARD-WINNING POETS, Boyd Mills Press, 1996.

Extension
Let the students choose a pencil (broken or new and long). Then let them tell why they chose a broken or new pencil. I would let them choose from a variety of shaped paper (elephant, star, fruit, square) to write what they are thinking.

Poetry Break: Douglas Florian

Introduction
I would display a variety of books with a cutout figure of a person showing above the pages. I would not define schnook before reading the poem. I would ask the students what they think the person in the book means.

Book Schnook
by Douglas Florian

Sidney Schellman is a schnook—
Went to sleep inside a book.
Sidney sprang this silly scheme
So he could read inside his dream.

From BING BANG BOING, Harcourt Brace & Company, 1994

Extension
I would begin by just listening to where the conversation goes after reading the poem. If necessary, ask what the students think a schnook is. I would then ask them what would they read inside their dream. Finally, I would give each student a cutout figure (boy or girl) and let them choose which book they would like to sleep in.

MY AMERICA: A POETRY ATLAS OF THE UNITED STATES

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2000. MY AMERICA: A POETRY ATLAS OF THE UNITED STATES. Ill. by Stephen Alcorn. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439372909.

REVIEW
This is a collection of poems that pays tribute to our country. As the title of the book states, it is about “my” America and uses the map of the United States as a format. The book is separated into eight sections that cover the entire country. Each section begins with interesting facts about each state in that section. One particularly engaging point is the great fact included about each state. There is also a color map at the beginning of each section. The book has a table of contents listing the poems and authors in each section. The end of the book features indexes of authors, titles, and first lines.

The purpose of this book is to celebrate America. Each individual poem supports this purpose while independently focusing on a myriad of topics, places, and people. The poets included are both familiar and new to this reviewer. The outstanding poems range from humorous to serious with a plethora of moods sandwiched between. This book would enhance a social studies curriculum by adding not only the map pieces and bits of factual state information but adding a depth and feeling to each area or state being studied.

Both traditional and contemporary poets are included in this anthology. Some of the poets included Lee Bennett Hopkins, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes, Frank Asch, Carl Sandburg, Myra Cohn Livingston, and Tom Robert Shields.
The illustrations by Stephen Alcorn add depth and meaning to the poems. Many of the illustrations show minute details that require close examination while enhancing the poem.

This anthology has short and long, urban and country, simple and complex poems allowing readers to find just the right fit. The poems invoke images children both know and can visualize as well as introducing new, unknown places, ideas, and activities that encourage thought and growth by them. A child from the southwest will not have the experience of gulls and lighthouses or lobsters and ocean waves, just as a child from New England will not know the experience of living with cactus, lonely long distance roads, and New Mexico dust.

The rich language in this broad collection of poems will allow readers to feel a variety of emotions and use the full range of senses. Many of the poems invoke images of the earth. Conjuring up the smells of a growing garden full of fresh vegetables and freshly worked soil, Nikki Giovanni’s “Knoxville, Tennessee” poem reminds this reviewer vividly of trips to visit her grandparents on the farm. This short poem, “Farmer” by Prince Redcloud brings immediate memories of a father coming home late after a long hard day of work.

Farmer

The farmer, worn from
long field-days, trods home to a
welcome, warm supper.

This anthology of poems offers a welcoming glance at America and is an engaging and enjoyable addition to any collection.

I WON THE PRIZE

Poetry Break

Introduction
I would have some trophies (spelling bee, AR) and other “prizes” along with some books about games, contests, winning, and losing displayed. I would ask the students if they have ever won anything.

I Won the Prize
By Kalli Dakos

I won
I won
I won
The prize
I won it
Right before
Their eyes
I’m the best kid
In this class
I came out first
Instead of last
I studied hard
I won the game
My life will never
Be the same
I won
I won
I won
The prize
I won it
Right before
Their eyes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dakos, Kalli. 1990. IF YOU’RE NOT HERE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND: POEMS ABOUT SCHOOL. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Extension
The students may just start repeating the, “I won,” with you, however, if they don’t, have them do those lines chorally. Let the children tell about something they have won and how they felt. After everyone has had a chance to share, have the students tell about when they lost at a competition. The poem says, “I studied hard.” Another discussion to initiate would be about preparing for different games or contests.

LOVE DON'T MEAN

Poetry Break

Introduction
I would ask the children what they think love is. I would then tell the students that the poem I am about to read is special to me because it reminds me of my dad and what he used to say to me when I was a child.

LOVE DON’T MEAN
by Eloise Greenfield

Love don’t mean all that kissing
Like on television
Love means Daddy
Saying keep your mama company
till I get back
And me doing it

Bibliography
Greenfield, Eloise. 1978. HONEY, I LOVE AND OTHER LOVE POEMS. Ill. by Diane and Leo Dillon. New York: HarperCollinsPublishers. ISBN 0690038453

Extension
Encourage a discussion on how love is shown in the students’ families. Guide the discussion to include what they do to show love to their parents.

NEW SEMESTER

As the title states it is a new semester and I am now studying poetry. In my final semester at school I hope to include enticing reviews and captivating poetry breaks on my blog. Happy reading!