Poetry Review: Douglas Florian Poetry

Poetrees written and illustrated by Douglas Florian








Bibliographic Citation: Florian, Douglas. Poetrees. New York: Beach Lane Books. 2010.
ISBN-13: 978-1-41698-672-0

Review:This cleverly written book about the different shapes, sizes and origins of tress has great rhyme and rhythm to the poetry ear. There are a couple of concrete poems that add to the appeal of the imagery and illustrations of this book.  Mr. Florian's witty concept of having the book open to read from top to bottom only adds to the interest building about this book.  The vocabulary used to add vivid pictures makes this book a must share.

Scribbly Gum
The scribbly gum's smooth gray bark
Has lines where larvae left their mark.
Their nibbling left a scribbly drawing -
A work of art by boring, gnawing.
From their munching, lunching, chewing -
Lovely woodcuts for the viewing.

Introduction to Share: Reading this book aloud to students would be a wonderful treat all by itself. In a science class that is studying larvae and all that they do, students can get a visual image of this poem without ever seeing the illustration.  The vocabulary used to describe what the larvae does and how it looks, leads to students being able to draw what they hear. Teachers and students could bring in - or go outside and find - seeds, leaves, bark, flowers and describe their object. When they combine all their poems, what a wonderful science/nature book they have made.