Bibliography

Cullinan, Bernice E. 1996. A Jar of Tiny Stars. Poems by NCTE Award-Winning Poets, Illus. by Andi MacLeod. Boyds Mills Press.

Heard, Georgia. 2006. This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort. Illus. by Holly Meade. MA: Candlewick Press.

Hesse, Karen. 2001. Witness. Cover Art by Kim McGillvay. New York: Scholastic.

Hollander, John, ed. 2004. Poetry for Young People: Animal Poems. Illus. by Simona Mulazzani. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed 1988. Side by Side. Illus. by Hilary Knight. New York: Simon & Schuster, New York.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2005. Oh, No! Where Are My Pants? And Other Disasters: Poems. Illus. by Wolf Erlbruch. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Hudson, Cheryl Willis. 1997. Many Colors of Mother Goose. Illus. by Ken Brown, Mark Corcoran and Cathy Johnson. New Jersey: Just Us Books.

Janeczko, Paul B. 2001. A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems; Illus. by Chris Raschka. Cambridge: MA. Candlewick Press

Moncure, Jane B. 2000. In Spring. Illus. by Marie-Claude Monchaux. Child's World Inc.

Pearson, Susan. 2005. Grimericks. Illus. by Grimly, Gris. Tarrytown, New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp.

Stevenson, James. 1995. Sweet Corn Poems. Illus. by James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Poetry Book Review #12 - Paul Janeczko Book

Janeczko, Paul B. 2001. A Poke in the
I: A Collection of Concrete Poems;
Illus. by Chris Raschka.

Cambridge: MA. Candlewick Press

Paul Janeczko in his compilation of 30 concrete poems (poems that form shapes and pictures) has demonstrated that although words are important, their layout on the pages leaves plenty of space for the verse to move. Even though the visual pattern (shape) can really catch our eye, it is the language itself that makes the poems poetic. The table of contents which is artistically done gets you into the mood, appearing, understandably enough, as a table. As you read Monica Kulling's poem “Tennis Anyone?” you bounce from one side to another along with the ball. The illustrations by Chris Raschka offer a collage of ink, watercolor, and torn paper. Raschka’s artwork is creative, at times funny, the scarlet dancer with billowing crimson hair, or, for a change of pace, the round-headed yellow guy who peers up into one poem or recoils from another.

This book of concrete poems offers a fresh and enticing approach to reading a different kind of poetry.

Reviews

Book Magazine
Who can resist a concrete poem, a poem that visually reflects its subject? This elegant collection brings together thirty clever examples of them. Some form images, like a giraffe or a popsicle, while others vary the size of typeface to make a point. The table of contents, for instance, is shaped like a table. Brightly colored collage illustrations, which enhance some of the poems but almost overwhelm others, have the same playful spirit as the poetry itself.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6-Starting with a contents page shaped like a table, clever design and illustration bring out the best in Janeczko's selections. Thirty concrete poems of all shapes and sizes are carefully laid on large white spreads, extended by Raschka's quirky watercolor and paper-collage illustrations. Some of the poems bend or turn or fall down the page, some are shaped like an object. Some evoke a sound or an emotion or a landscape. Kids with a taste for the unusual and tricky will have no end of fun with these puzzlers. The effectiveness of the poems is clear when you consider that the one in German needs no translation. Reinhard D hl's "Pattern Poem with an Elusive Intruder" is a rounded block of text consisting of the word "Apfel" repeated over and over, except in one place, where there's a "Wurm." Janeczko's brief "Notes from the Editor" (laid out in radiating lines like music blasting from a saxophone) serves as a quick introduction to concrete poems, but kids will have little trouble figuring out what they are all about, or trying out their own. Beautiful and playful, this title should find use in storytimes, in the classroom, and just for pleasure anywhere.

Poetry Break #11 - Serious Poem

Introduction

Heard first began gathering poems after September 11, when asked to do so by the superintendent of district 2 in Manhattan. The superintendent wanted Heard to find "poems of comfort" that could be read to the New York City schoolchildren who had experienced the tragedy. This Place is one of these poems. Booklist

This poem invites us to express our sorrow, to find peace and comfort, to look ahead with hope, and to get strength from things that remain.

This Place
by Eloise Greenfield

There is this place I know

where children go to find

their deepest feelings

they look behind the trees

for hiding wants and angers

bashful joys

this place is quiet

no shouts may enter

no rolling laughter

but only silent tears

to carry the feelings

forward in waves

that wash the children

whole.


Heard, Georgia. 2006. This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort.
Illus. by Holly Meade. MA: Candlewick Press.


Extension

Ask your students to recall large or small acts of kindness, compassion, and selflessness that they have performed or witnessed in their lifetimes. How have these deeds affected or changed them?

Poetry Book Review #10 - Favorite Children's Book

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2005.Oh, No! Where Are My Pants? And Other Disasters: Poems. Illus. by Wolf Erlbruch. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Ages 7-10

Reviews—
School Library JournalGrade 2-5 - These 14 short poems all depict little moments of being human. The disasters referred to in the subtitle range from big to small, from comic ("Hello apple!/Shiny red/CHOMP, CHOMP/Hello worm/Where's your head?") to sad (a child is shown holding a dead rabbit, a classroom pet: "His tall straight ears, his long quick feet/Trailed like falling velvet drapes."). Embarrassment, shame, fear, chagrin: all of these feelings are so common in childhood that a collection of poems about them seems natural. Erlbruch, a well-known German artist, creates pictures that show this range of emotions beautifully. At first glance, they are deceptively simple and spare. A closer look reveals that what seems to be a quietly colored drawing actually has the subtle variation in texture of a collage. Ample white space, simple backgrounds, and a font that looks both childlike and elegant all combine to enhance this lovely book. A winner from a prolific poet/editor/compiler and a talented illustrator.

Who said only adults can have bad day? Children do too! This collection of poems brings together fourteen verses about different disasters experienced in childhood. The first-person narration in each poem makes it easy for readers "to identify with the situations and emotions. The calamities in the book were well chosen and very much from a child's perspective (being left at camp, losing a pet, dreaming of being at a dance without your pants). Many of the poets are well known for children’s writing and the poems included in this collection are wonderful. The illustrator did a marvelous job of depicting kid’s emotions and embarrassments. The choice of colors is subdued with a faintly nostalgic almost caricature feel to them. Overall, this is a collection that teachers, parents, and librarians will enjoy sharing with kids when a "horrible, embarrassing, nothing in life can compare, bad day" occurs.

Poetry Break #9 - Poem with Refrain

This simple poem reflects the view of a bus driver who has driven the same route, performed the same routine, and how he sees his passengers as nothing but faces floating in and out of the bus. The only constant is the heavy bench on the corner of the Green that it's solidly there at the bus stop, empty now of people (Don't know where they come from / Don't know where they're going).


Bus Stop
By James Stevenson

Don’t know where they come from,
Don’t know where they’re going,
People on the bench on the corner of the Green. (refrain)

Don’t know what they’re thinking,
Don’t know what they’re hoping,
People on the bench on the corner of the Green. (refrain)

There’s the bus departing,
Trailing smoke and fumes….
Just an empty bench on the corner of the Green. (refrain)

Stevenson, James. 1995. Sweet Corn Poems. Illus. by James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Extension—
This poem is a great introduction to a lesson on different types of jobs. Discuss jobs in which interaction takes place and then where there might not be any. An example could be a gardener, pool cleaner, garbage collector, etc. Ask questions about the type of people who work at these jobs and why these types of jobs may appeal to them. Create a KWL chart to record information.

Poetry Book Review #8 - Science

Hollander, John. ed. 2004. Poetry for Young People: Animal Poems. Illus. by Simona Mulazzani. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.



Reviews—
School Library Journal
Grades 3-6–William Blake's "The Tyger" and Edward Lear's "The Owl and the Pussy-cat" are just 2 of the 33 classic children's poems included in this collection, which is similar in style and format to earlier series titles. The book opens with an interesting five-page essay about different types of animal poems. Each offering is prefaced by information about the background of the poem or poet and some of the imagery used. The paragraphs are informative, but tend to overpower the shorter poems. Many of the pages contain a full-color illustration without borders or white space. The poems are superimposed on the art in small font, sometimes black on light, other times white on dark, which makes some of the entries difficult to read. However, Mulazzani's painterly style does a good job of mirroring the mood of each piece.

Booklist
Grades 5-7. Although animal poetry anthologies for young people abound, this one from the Poetry for Young People series sets itself apart by featuring a number of writers more commonly encountered in high-school and college literature courses than in elementary and middle-school classrooms. …….. Each poem is preceded by a short introduction commenting on the poet and the verse, and most are accompanied by brief notes defining words and phrases. Handsome, stylized paintings fill the pages with color. Varying widely in the accessibility of their language, the poems are occasionally difficult to read in a mechanical sense because they are superimposed on a patterned illustration.

Animal Poems is an exhilarating entry to an impressive lyrical menagerie. The poems are about natural animals, some common others rare, large and small, wild or tame found in zoos, the wild and everyday life. The whimsical paintings by the Italian children’s book artist Simona Mulazanni make every page a delight to see and read. The poets include classical and modern Dickinson, Frost, Tennyson, Whitman and Keats, Belloc and Swenson. The conglomeration of verse is energetic, real, mythical, playful, amusing and intriguing and is sure to capture young people and adults. The short and witty quatrain, The Elephant is accompanied by a whimsical picture of the creature sitting on a small stool. Holland in his introduction writes “poetry can be very careful in its observations, and yet report in strange ways on what has been seen. Emily Dickinson’s poem A Narrow Fellow about a snake suggests that a small snake slithering in the grass looks like comb as it separates the blades of grass/The grass divides as with a comb/A spotted shaft is seen. A Haiku from the sixteenth century poet Moritake has the reader thinking the poem is about fallen summer leaves and then realizes it is about butterflies/ Fallen flowers now/To their branch returning I/See—the butterflies!

The haiku, ballad, sonnet, fragment, and lyrical poetry in this book is a great introduction to any zoology or living science lesson!

Poetry Break #7 - Poem About Spring

Introduction―
Ahhhh...spring! After a cold winter, there is nothing that compares to walking outside and seeing and smelling the fresh new flowers. Moncure in her poem transcends you quickly into this exciting season. The poem with it’s rhyming verses is a wake-up call for spring. The full-page illustration by Marie Claude Monchaux is beautifully colored with pastels and an attractive spring border outlines the page.

Wake-Up Time
by Jane Belk Moncure

It’s wake-up time for flowers.
I find them every year,
growing in the sunshine,
knowing spring is here
How do they know
it’s time to grow?
They have a way to tell.
You can too.
Here’s what to do.
Just close your eyes
and smell!

Moncure, Jane B. 2000. In Spring. Illus. by Marie-Claude
Monchaux. Child's World Inc.

Extension
For this activity you will need to find poems that deal with spring
or any season. Next you will need 2 milk cartons with the bottoms
cut out to make a cube. Cut the bottoms according to the size
needed and put them inside of each other. Cover with colorful
paper or contact paper.

Each group (4-5 students) will be given a cube with poems written
on all sides. One person will roll the dice to see which poem their
group will be working on. They can then do one of two things to
present their poem to the class. Choral read the poem or act out
in front of the class.

The teacher and students will have fun listening and watching
the presentations of the poems.

Poetry Book Review #6 - Free Verse Novel

Hesse, Karen. (2001). Witness. Cover Art by Kim McGillvary. New York: Scholastic.

Reviews

Booklist
*Starred Review* Gr. 5-9. Using real events, Hesse tells a story of the Ku Klux Klan in a small town in Vermont in 1924 in the same clear free-verse as her Newbery winner, Out of the Dust (1997……Add this to the Holocaust curriculum, not because every racial incident means genocide, but because the book will spark discussion about how such a thing can happen even now.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2001
What Copeland created with music, and Hopper created with paint, Hesse deftly and unerringly creates with words...

Awards
2002 The Christopher Award
ALA Notable Children's Book
2001 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
2001 Publisher's Weekly Best Book of the Year

Witness is free-verse poetry, with a journal format that is divided into five acts. Written as a lyrical novel the story almost reads like a play. The story is told from the perspectives of 11 different voices that bring it to life. Of interest is the lack of capital letters, perhaps it is to illustrate the innocence and ignorance of those times. Although the book is written for grades 5-9, it may be more appropriate for middle and high school due to its format and content. The novel may be used to teach history, past and present, and to generate discussions about tolerance of indifference. Readers experience the events of terror and peace; witness the characters capacity for love, hate, kindness and change.

Hesse, in her novel tells the story of what happens to a small town when it is suddenly torn apart by the Ku Klux Klan. By using multiple perspectives of the same events she allows each character to tell their version. By doing this, personal biases are made known, and judgments about the temperament of the characters can be made. Witness as it is written helps the reader hear the voices and feel their emotions as you are drawn into the story. Although there are many voices being heard the story revolves around two children who are new to town Leonora Sutter, 12, who is black, and Esther Hirsch, 6, who is Jewish. The dialect of the two girls comes through vividly and contrasts both. Nonetheless, the story as it comes to life through the poems, is compelling and holds the reader's attention.

I have included excerpts from the novel to invite you in.

leanora sutter

separated on the stage from all those limb-tight white girls.
    The ones who wouldn’t dane with a negro.
    they went home in a huff that first day,
    but some came back.
    they told miss harvey they’d dance,
    but they wouldn’t
    touch any brown skin girl.

ester hirsh
    So I made a long walk by myself.
    I did follow the train tracks and
    pretty quick daddy did have comings after me. 

Poetry Break #5 - Poem in Unusual Form

Pearson, Susan. 2005. Grimericks. Illus. by Grimly, Gris.
Tarrytown, New York: Marshall Cavendish Corp.

Introduction –
This witty limerick can be read at anytime during the year, but would be great to use on Halloween. The poem is colorful, spooky, creepy, ghoulish, and humorous. The grimly illustration by Gris Grimly is cleverly done in watercolor and ink. The teachers are comically portrayed as ghouls. Although limericks are short they can say much.


A banshee named Mrs. O’Toole

Teaches wailing at Spookytime School,

Mr. Bones teaches dances,

Ms. Ghost teaches trances,

and grades are passed out by Miss Ghoul.


Extension –
Copy a life-size image of the illustration and tack to a wall before reading the poem. Set the mood for the poem by turning off the lights. Use a flashlight to illuminate while reading. Have students draw their favorite teacher in a ghoulish embodiment. Place the student’s creations on a wall. Have them guess the teachers by using post-its. Students can then choose their favorite illustration.

Poetry Book Review #4 - Author of Color

many colors of mother goose
adapted by Cheryl Willis Hudson
illustrated by Ken Brown, Mark Corcoran & Cathy Johnson

Most children in the United States grow up hearing and learning Mother Goose nursery rhymes. This book collects 31 classic rhymes, presenting them in a way that reflects a variety of cultures and races. The poems in this book are short, simple, and fun for young children. The upbeat rhymes reflect the music (jazz), rhythms, and lives of diverse people in a multi-faceted world. The poems seem to convey a message of happiness or lessons to be learned. (Rooster crows in the morning time/to tell all children to rise/for those who sleep late/will never be wise). The use of figurative language permeates throughout the books bringing the characters to life. In the poem There was an Old Woman the shoe could represent the world filled with people from all walks of life and nationalities living together peacefully.

There was an old woman
Who lived in a shoe.
She cared for lots of children
And knew just what to do.

She gave them hugs and kisses-
She shared happy dreams and good wishes.
And they lived, laughed and loved
All year through.

The illustrations for these well-known rhymes have traditionally reflected only a western European perspective. The illustrations seem to contribute to the overall tone of the collection The paintings are brightly colored filled with a plentitude of characters of color. There are also many elements of the African-American culture. For example, the jazzy poem Little Boy Lou is about a young boy, or perhaps the personification of the great jazz musician Louis Armstrong. As you read the poem you can almost feel yourself dancing behind the boy as he plays his horn.

Little Boy Lou,
Come blow your horn.
We’re jammin’ in New Orleans
Where jazz bands are born

In the poem Ole King Cole the author refers to musicians as happy cats who play a non-traditional type of music such as blue grass, soul, hop and rock n’ roll.

Ole King Cole was a partying soul
And a partying soul was he.

I recommend this book of poems as a fun, creative, good mood addition to any children’s library.

Hudson, Cheryl Willis, 1997. Many Colors of Mother Goose.

Illus. by Ken Brown, Mark Corcoran and Cathy Johnson. New Jersey: Just Us Books.

Poetry Break #3- A Poem by NCTE Award Winning Poet

Introduction –
The poem is simple and easy to read, and wonderfully humorous. The author uses colorful words, which help transcend beautiful pictures in a readers mind. In reading this poem to your students you can invite them to bite, touch, lick—to make the poem part of themselves.


How To Eat a Poem
by Eve Merriam

Don't be polite.
Bite in.
Pick it up with your fingers and lick the juice that
may run down your chin.
It is ready and ripe now, whenever you are.

You do not need a knife or fork or spoon
or plate or napkin or tablecloth.

For there is no core
or stem
or rind
or pit
or seed
or skin
to throw away.

Extension –
Students and teacher will read aloud; the emphasis at this point is on the poem as a work of art meant to be heard. Several readings will allow the students to get the sense of the poem as a whole; the reading done by students will be a quick gauge on understanding.

Following the readings a lesson on metaphors and non-literal language can be introduced using a chart. Different fruit containing pits can be used as examples to differentiate between the metaphors in the poem and literal language.

Cullinan, Bernice E. 1996. A Jar of Tiny Stars, Poems by NCTE Award-Winning Poets. Illus. Andi MacLeod. Boyds Mills Press.

Poetry Book Review #2 - Poetry Collection

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed 1988. Side by Side. Illus. by Hilary Knight. Simon & Schuster, New York.

This anthology of poems includes a nostalgic collection of poems selected to be read aloud from well-loved authors including; Lewis Carroll, Robert Louis Stevenson, Gwendolyn Brooks and Robert Frost. There is a wonderful introduction to the delightful collection and ageless poems. Poems by contemporary authors as well as new voices are included in the anthology. All of the poems in this collection are skillfully grouped according to subjects. There is a poem about seasons of the year, "Spring Again" by Karla Kuskin. In the poem, "The Pickety Fence" by David Mc Cord, you see a little boy tapping along the fence with a stick. If you listen carefully you can almost hear the tapping on the fence. The watercolor illustrations by Hilary Knight are splendid and capture the essence of each and every poem. In the back of the book an index has cleverly been compiled by titles, authors or the first lines of the poems. Not only will you enjoy reading these poems with students, you can sit side-by-side with anyone who enjoys poetry and have fun!

Poetry Break #1 - Poem About Books

Introduction
Children glow, beam, gleam, and radiate when they think about dinosaurs. Read a favorite dinosaur poem and witness the joy of poetry.

WHAT IF...
by Isabel Joshlin Glaser

What if...
You opened a book
About dinosaurs
And one stumbled out
And another and another
And more and more pour
Until the whole place
is bumbling and rumbling
And groaning and moaning
And snoring and roaring
And dinosauring?

What if...
You tried to push them
Back inside
But they kept tromping
Off the pages instead?
Would you close the covers?

GOOD BOOKS, GOOD TIMES, Harper and Row Publishers, 1990

Extension
This poem is excellent for role playing. Begin by asking students to name their favorite dinosaur. Make sure to have plenty of dinosaur books, toys, and posters. Copy the poem on chart paper or transparency. As you read the poem students can vocalize the verbs in the poem. I am sure they will have fun with it.