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.

Poetry Review: Multicultural Poetry

Yum! MmMm! Que rico! America's Sprouting by Pat Mora
Illustrated by Rafael Lopez







Bibliographic Citation: Mora, Pat. Yum! MmMm! Que rico! America's Sprouting. Illustrated by Rafael Lopez. New York: Lee & Low Books. 2007.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58430-271-1

Review: Pat Mora's book of native American foods in haiku's is truly an original piece of work.  Because of the specific wording needed for haiku, using the precise number of syllables, vocabulary knowledge is essential.  The words she selected are a vivid combination of imagery and sensory words.  She makes you feel and taste how wonderful each food item is that is mentioned.  The added narrative of information regarding the origins of each of the foods only adds to the deeper meaning and sentimental value as to why they were selected for this book. The colorful illustrations add to the whimsical feel of this book so that you feel as though you are part of the enjoyment through picture and words.

Peanut
Smear nutty butter,
then jelly.  Gooey party,
my sandwich and me.

Introduction to Share: This book just screams for you to bring in the mentioned food items and share!  What a great vocabulary builder when students begin describing the foods in these poems.  They can use their new words to make new poems to go along with Mrs. Mora's.  As an extension, different types of foods - a favorite food - could be brought in for student to describe using sensory and descriptive words.  Using these new words, students can write a haiku to follow Mrs. Mora's pattern in her book.  Once their haiku is written, they can research the origin of the food they wrote about.

Poetry Review: NCTE Award Poetry

Spot the Plot : A Riddle Book of Book Riddles by J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger







Bibliographic Citation: Lewis, J. Patrick. Spot the Plot: A Riddle Book of Book Riddles. Illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. San Fransisco: Chronicle Books. 2009.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8118-4668-4

Review: This cleverly written book will have teachers and children reading more to guess the answer!  Each poem is clues to a well-known book. The rhythm of some of the poems is catchy to the student, with the added bonus of trying to tie the clues together. Some poems even have clues within the poem by playing on the word. (ex. Toto - ly)  A couple of concrete poems add to the appeal of this book.  For those that get stuck on the story, the answers are provided in the back of the book!

One special train.
One little boy.
One Christmas gift -
not quite a toy:

A reindeer bell
jingling good cheer
that only believers
in Santa hear.
        (The Polar Express)

Introduction to Share: For younger students unfamiliar with the related stories, it would be wise for a teacher to have a copy of these books out in front of the students for them to see and pick from while reading the poems.  This gives the perfect opportunity to introduce a great story to read later. For older students, make the book into a puzzle: have the clues from the poetry written on a card that students have to match with the title of the book.  After sharing the poetry in this story, teachers could have students make their own poetry (rhyming, concrete, haiku...) with their favorite story and they could trade their clue-poem with other students.  Added depth, have students design their own illustrations to go with their clue-poem to make into a collection.

Poetry Review: African American Poetry

My People by Langston Hughes
Photographs by: Charles R. Smith, Jr.







Bibiliographic Citation: Hughes, Langston. My People. Photographs by Charles R. Smith, Jr. New York: Ginee Seo Books/Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2009.
ISBN: 978-1-41693-540-7

Review: This beautifully written poem is illustrated with poignant photographs that are so purposefully chosen to depict the words of the page. The smiles, the eyes, even the souls are seen in each picture as stated with each word.  The tone of the poetry is that of pride for the many generations of people. The poetry is easy to read and understand with a repeating theme of "my people". Langston Hughes makes you think about what makes a person beautiful.

Excerpt from My People:
The stars
are beautiful,
so the eyes
of my people.

Introduction to Share: This excerpt from the poem is a great example to share with students in having them think about why the author compared stars to eyes.  What picture comes to your mind when you hear these words? Do you see a little kid's face/eyes when they open the best gift on Christmas morning? or do you see the stars on a clear night and the sparkle in someone's eyes?  It makes you think about the wording and the comparisons of the two concepts.

Poetry Review: Hopkins Collection

My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrator: Stephen Alcorn

Bibliographic Citation: Hopkins, Lee Bennett. My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States. Ill. by Stephen Alcorn. New York: Simon & Schuster. 2000.

ISBN:978-0-689-81247-7

Review:  This compilation of poems about the places and things you see all around the United States is a great poetry book to start a geography unit.  The book is divided into sections of the country and the poems are related to that region.  Each author has their own style for writing, but each poem is beautifully written and artistically draws a mental picture with words what the regions, area, or town would look like. The tone set for this book is one of pride for the different areas of our great country.  You can truly tell that the poems selected show the parts of the country that we are proud to call home. The many authors selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins demonstrate the beauty they see for that area.

City Blockades
    by Lee Bennett Hopkins
I feel so small
standing beneath the tall
buildings that wall
me and the pigeons in
from the light of the
sky.

Introduction to Share: Geography lessons abound with this poetry book.  Pick a section of the country and read a few of the poems aloud to see if the students can figure out what state or region the author is describing (as long as the poem does not give the state name).  The poem selected could be used to discuss where this person is - based upon the vocabulary used, we know that tall buildings are blocking the light and that there are pigeons, letting us know that we are in a big city, maybe New York.

Poetry Review: School Poetry

Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School by Laura Purdie Salas                 Illustrator: Steven Salerno

Bibliographic Citation: Salas, Laura Purdie. Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School. Ill. by Steven Salerno. Boston: Clarion Books. 2009.

ISBN: 978-0-618-91488-3

Review: Laura Purdie Salas has written a collection of colorful school poetry with an undelying connection to animals.  Students and teachers will love the rhyming words and patterns of each poem and how the students in the poem are related to an animal. The title of the book prepares you for the animalistic school characteristics of this book and the illustrations show how the author's interpretations of each poem/animal relate.  It is an easy to read-aloud poetry share.

Turtleneck

I tuck my face into my sweater,
still as can be.

I should have studied, but I didn't.
PLEASE - don't call on me.

Introduction to Share: This poem would be great to share with the class and talk about many aspects for school:  How to be prepared for class, Responsibilites as a student, The mood of the student hiding. You could also talk about how the teacher always seems to know which student did not do their homework or study like they should have.  This is also a great lesson for animal adaptations: the turtle hides when it is frightened. How does this apply to a student in a classroom?

Genre 6: Fiction, Fantasy, and YA

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
1. Bibilography
Gaiman, Neil. 2008. The Graveyard Book. Ill. by Dave McKean. New York: HarperCollins.
ISBN: 978-0-06-053093-8
Dewey Classification: Fic
Reading Level: 5.1



2. Summary
Nobody "Bod" Owens is raised in the graveyard after his family is murdered. Bod is given full reign of the graveyard to roam, play and learn but is told he cannot leave the graveyard because he is in danger. Bod grows to the age of 18 and becomes the adventurer he has dreamed of becoming after solving the mystery of who is after him.

3. Critical Analysis
This story begins on such a graphic note, I wondered if I would get through it. This is not the normal type of book that I enjoy reading. As I continued into the story and read how Bod shows up at the graveyard and is adopted, not just by a set of parents, and his guardian, Silas, but by the whole graveyard, I began to get hooked into the mystery of the story. Everyone in the graveyard played a part in raising Bod, showing him how to stay safe from the person that killed his family and was still after him. An adventurer at heart, he thrived on reading and discovering anything he could about the"outside" world of the living. Because of his years of learning how to navigate the graveyard, he was able to protect himself at the age of 18 when the killer returned for him. His explorer spirit finally leads him out of the graveyard and into a different chapter of his life among the living. The theme of good vs. evil prevails in this type macabre tale. Bod is protected by the citizens of the graveyard and is taught to defend himself for when the time comes. The dialogue of the story is easy to follow and pulls you in to the story. The black and white illustrations by Dave McKean add to the storyline by guiding you into the next part of Bod's life through pictures.

4. Reviews
Newbery Medal Winner 2009
Horn Book
After fortuitously escaping the murder of his family, a toddler is taken in by the ghostly denizens of a local graveyard. Growing up in this strange setting entails many adventures, leading to a final showdown with the murderer. Occasional art enhances the otherworldly atmosphere with a flowing line and deep grays and blacks. This ghost-story-cum-coming-of-age novel is both bittersweet and action-filled.
Booklist
Grades 6-10. While a highly motivated killer murders his family, a baby, ignorant of the horrific goings-on but bent on independence, pulls himself out of his crib and toddles out of the house and into the night. This is most unfortunate for the killer, since the baby was his prime target. Finding his way through the barred fence of an ancient graveyard, the baby is discovered by Mr. and Mrs. Owens, a stable and caring couple with no children of their own—and who just happen to be dead. After much debate with the graveyard’s rather opinionated denizens, it is decided that the Owenses will take in the child. Under their care and the sponsorship of the mysterious Silas, the baby is named “Nobody” and raised among the dead to protect him from the killer, who relentlessly pursues him. This is an utterly captivating tale that is cleverly told through an entertaining cast of ghostly characters. There is plenty of darkness, but the novel’s ultimate message is strong and life affirming. Although marketed to the younger YA set, this is a rich story with broad appeal and is highly recommended for teens of all ages.

5. Connections
Ideas: Watch the preview to the book and listen to Neil Gaiman talk about how he came up with the ideas for the book and have students write a scary story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_UUVwTaemk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Dz90e883Q&feature=fvw
Books by the same author:
Gaiman, Neil. Coraline. ISBN: 978-0-380-97778-9
Gaiman, Neil. Interworld. ISBN: 978-0-06-123896-3
Gaiman, Neil. M is for Magic. ISBN: 978-0-06-118642-4
Gaiman, Neil. The Wolves in the Walls. ISBN: 978-0-380-97827-4
Gaiman, Neil. The Dangerous Alphabet. ISBN: 978-0-06-078334-1
Gaiman, Neil. Anansi Boys. ISBN: 978-0-06-051519-5


The First Part Last by Angela Johnson
1. Bibliography
Johnson, Angela. 2003. The First Part Last. New York: Simon &Schuster.
ISBN: 978-0-689-84922-0
Dewey Classification: Fic
Reading Level: 4.9


2. Summary
The heart wrenching story shows the new life that Bobby has to live when he becomes a single parent at the age of 16. The story tells of his confusion of learning to be a responsible adult while still yearning for the teenager that is lost.

3. Critical Analysis
This was an excellent book. I completed it in one day because I did not want to put it down. I liked the "Now" and "Then" way the chapters are written. You see what is happening in Bobby's life before he found out he was going to be a father and what it was like after his world completely changes. Your heart goes out to this teenager who was not ready to give up his life of freedom to become a father. You live through his turmoil of sleep deprived school days and the responsibility of being a dad to his daughter, Feather. But somewhere in the middle of all the mistakes made, he learns the beauty of innocence and trust through his baby and begins to see the man inside the kid. The setting plays into the urban scene and artwork done on sides of building, as Bobby plays out his life in a scene painted on a wall. As he becomes a dad, he realizes that moving to a suburban town would be a better place for him to raise his family. Unfortunately, this story is so true to life and so many teenagers are facing parenthood before they are ready. But I like the way the author showed the dad raising the daughter and showing the difficulties of pregnancy when the mom slipped into a coma that she will not ever come out of.
4. Reviews
Coretta Scott King Award
Michael L. Printz Award
Horn Book
Sixteen-year-old Bobby and his girlfriend, Nia, had planned to put their baby, Feather, up for adoption, but Feather becomes impossible to relinquish after, as the reader learns at book's end, pregnancy-related eclampsia leaves Nia in an irreversible coma. What resonate in this prequel to the Coretta Scott King Award-winning Heaven are the sacrifices Bobby makes for Feather's sake.
Booklist
Gr. 6-12. Bobby, the teenage artist and single-parent dad in Johnson's Coretta Scott King Award winner, Heaven (1998), tells his story here. At 16, he's scared to be raising his baby, Feather, but he's totally devoted to caring for her, even as she keeps him up all night, and he knows that his college plans are on hold. In short chapters alternating between "now"and "then,"he talks about the baby that now fills his life, and he remembers the pregnancy of his beloved girlfriend, Nia. Yes, the teens'parents were right. The couple should have used birth control; adoption could have meant freedom. But when Nia suffers irreversible postpartum brain damage, Bobby takes their newborn baby home. There's no romanticizing. The exhaustion is real, and Bobby gets in trouble with the police and nearly messes up everything. But from the first page, readers feel the physical reality of Bobby's new world: what it's like to hold Feather on his stomach, smell her skin, touch her clenched fists, feel her shiver, and kiss the top of her curly head. Johnson makes poetry with the simplest words in short, spare sentences that teens will read again and again. The great cover photo shows the strong African American teen holding his tiny baby in his arms.

5. Connections
Ideas: Have students journal their feelings about growing up and the problems they could face when they get into high school and how they could handle the situation.
http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=118852&title=The_First_Part_Last_Preview
Books by the same author:
Johnson, Angela. Heaven. ISBN: 978-0-689-82229-2
Johnson, Angela. Bird. ISBN: 978-0-8037-2847-9
Johnson, Angela. A Cool Moonlight ISBN: 978-0-14-240284-9
Johnson, Angela. Sweet, Hereafter. ISBN: 978-0-689-87385-0
Johnson, Angela. Looking for Red. ISBN-13: 978-0-689-86388-2

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal by Jeff Kinney

1. Bibliography
Kinney, Jeff. 2007. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Greg Heffley's Journal. New York: Amulet Books.
ISBN: 978-0-8109-9313-6
Dewey Classification: Fic
Reading Level: 5.0


2. Summary
Greg Heffley is a typical pre-teen boy that wants so much to be noticed, but not noticed. We see his everyday happenings of normality through this cleverly written journal of his 7th grade year of Junior High, living with his bully of an older brother (Roderick), his perfect little brother (Manny) that got everything he wanted, and his best friend Rowley, who begins to get the attention that Greg strives for.
3. Critical Analysis
Jeff Kinney began this series of books, that are now a popular set with many boys and girls, as a journal of thoughts and drawings. He kept this idea, even in the publishing of the book, as a journal seen through the eyes of our main character, Greg. Greg writes about his trials and tribulations of wanting to be popular, noticed in his school , and living through his older brother's tormenting. Greg's best friend, Rowley, starts off being the dork friend that Greg tries to change into a cool person. But once Greg is ratted out by Rowley and the two stop being friends, Rowley becomes the semi-popular person that Greg wanted to become. Greg realizes that Rowley's a great friend because he doesn't try to be anything more than what he is and ends up standing up for him to stop him from being embarrassed. The story revolves around the average student wanting to be more and learning how to become that person. The author depicts this tumultuous time period in a clever way so that any child reading it can relate to what is going on in Greg's life.
4. Reviews
Horn Book
"First of all, let me get something straight: This is a JOURNAL, not a diary." Greg Heffley chronicles a year of middle school through hilarious journal entries and accompanying cartoon sketches. His experiences--having to perform in a school play, dealing with bullies and changing friendships--are made fresh by Greg's over-the-top narration. Kinney's writing and illustrations are filled with laugh-out-loud kid humor.
Booklist
The first year in the middle-school life of Greg Heffley is chronicled in this laugh-out-loud novel that first appeared on the Internet. Greg tells his story in a series of short, episodic chapters. Most revolve around the adolescent male curse: the need to do incredibly dumb things because they seem to be a good idea at the time. Yet, unlike some other books about kids of this age, there's no sense of a slightly condescending adult writer behind the main character. At every moment, Greg seems real, and the engrossed reader will even occasionally see the logic in some of his choices. Greatly adding to the humor are Kinney's cartoons, which appear on every page. The simple line drawings perfectly capture archetypes of growing up, such as a preschool-age little brother, out-of-touch teachers, and an assortment of class nerds. Lots of fun throughout.

5. Connections
Idea: After watching the clips for the books and listening to how the author came up with the idea, have students write and draw in their own journal, writing about everything that happens for one week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxpdnjsyI4Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWGfLux0E9A&feature=related
Books by the same author:
Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules. ISBN: 978-0-8109-9473-7
Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-it-Yourself Book. ISBN: 978-0-8109-7977-2
Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw. ISBN: 978-0-8109-7068-7
Kinney, Jeff. Dog Days Diary of a Wimpy Kid Book 4. ISBN: 978-0-8109-8391-5