(retrieved from BookCloseOuts.com,  retrieved January 31, 2013)

The Great Migration Journey To The North

Author: Eloise Greenfield

Illustrator: Jan Spivey Gilchrist

Publisher: Amistad an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

Year: 2011

ISBN: 9780061259210

The poignant collection of free verse poetry written by Eloise Greenfield coupled with the mixed media collages of Jan Spivey Gilchrist invite the reader to share the varying emotions, thoughts, and experiences of African Americans during the years of the “Great Migration”. Each spread depicts a different stage of the journey and Greenfield’s personal story, creates a haunting view of a life changing moment in U. S. history.

The reader feels the glimmer of hope when reading The News as rumors of a better life in the North drift to the people of the South. The reader tingles with anger and resentment at the injustices of early 20^th century practices toward African Americans as the words of Woman ring loud and clear. “Goodbye, crazy signs, telling me/ where I can go, what I can do.” One can empathize with the pain of saying goodbye to home, family and friends in poems like Goodbyes Man, and Very Young Woman.  Hope shines through the words of Up North as,

                                                               

                                                                In the stations, they greet their

                                                                husbands, aunts, uncles, cousins,

                                                                friends who have come to welcome them,

                                                                show them the way toward

                                                                their future. In a few months

                                                                they will be the ones guiding

                                                                newcomers, who will guide other

                                                                newcomers, who will guide….

                                                                and so on and so on and so on,

                                                                because the people keep coming,

                                                                keep coming, keep coming,

                                                                filling up the cities with

                                                                their hopes and their courage.

                                                                And their dreams.

The delicate balance between personal emotions and collective experiences result in a thought provoking and enriching portrait of an historic event in American history. Each re-reading of the book only enhances the richness and texture of the marvelous blend of poetry and art.

Since February is Black History Month a reading of this entire book throughout the month would be a wonderful way to celebrate. Students could research the “Great Migration” that occurred from 1915-1930 and interview someone that was a part of that event in history. 

(image taken from angusrobertson.com.au, retrieved January 30, 2013)

Wonderful Words: Poems About Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening

Selected by:  Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by:  Karen Barbour

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Year: 2004

This anthology of fifteen poems compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins contains a variety of poems from poets such as Emily Dickinson, Nikki Grimes, and Karla Kuskin. Coupled with the vibrant illustrations of Karen Barbour this anthology entices young readers to explore the world of reading, writing and listening.         

It is full of figurative language, creative imagery and a sense of sound that teases the ears of readers while creating word pictures that are fun, bold and vivid. The illustrations add a sense of color, fun, and whimsy that adds to the sensory appeal. The following poem by Karla Kuskin is a wonderful example of how figurative language and sense imagery create an emotional impact on the reader.

Finding a Poem

Dig deep in you.

Keeping everything you find.

Sketch the ever changing views,

dappled behind your eyes,

rustling in your mind.

Unlock the weather

in your heart.

Unleash a thousand whispers,

let them shout.

Then

when you feel

the presence of a poem

waiting to spring

to sting

within you,

bewitch it

into words

and sing it out.

While each poem in this anthology reinforces the purpose of the book, poems such as Share the Adventure by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack, I Am The Book by Tom Robert Shields, and Metaphor by Eve Merriam are particularly effective and would be excellent introductions to lessons on literary concepts.

 Primarily geared towards children that have some experience with language arts, this picture book of poetry still offers brilliant illustrations to entice the eye of the younger reader while poems like Word Builder contains subject matter that is familiar enough to capture the attention of a less experienced audience.

The book contains a table of contents that allows the reader to easily find a particular poem. They are also arranged rather loosely to introduce the reader first to words and then books and then the process of writing. It aptly ends with the poem The Period by Richard Armour thus ending in a humorous but appropriate manner.

This anthology would be a perfect introduction to a writing workshop for older elementary grades although Word Builder by Ann Whitford Paul lends itself to introducing the concept of writing to younger students.  Reading this particular poem before beginning a writing project is a perfect way to introduce the concept of putting words together to make sentences, then paragraphs, and finally an entire story. 

Put Your Eyes Up Here and Other School Poems

(image taken from kallidakos.com, retrieved January 27, 2013)

Author: Kalli Dakos

Illustrator: G. Brian Karas

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year: 2003

ISBN: 0689811179

Put Your Eyes Up Here and Other School Poems is a book of 46 school themed poems for children written by Kalli Dakos.  This collection offers funny yet thoughtful poems detailing the school year of a young girl named Penny. Arranged loosely around the school year calendar this book introduces Penny to her new teacher Ms.   Roys. She wears fantastic costumes, bites her nails, and believes that former students remain in the school as friendly ghosts. She keeps a magic wand on her desk to remind her student that they all have a bit of magic inside. Throughout the progression of the book young Penny moves from feelings of apprehension about her “odd” new teacher to ending the school year by trying to find the perfect gift for the teacher she doesn’t want to leave. She finally convinces her classmates to give Ms. Roys a bouquet of perfect acrylic fingernails from her fathers’ salon.  A poem about a unique and “odd” gift for her unique and “odd” teacher nicely rounds out this collection.

 Most of the poems are written in the first person voice of Penny as she describes an overnight field trip to the museum, Ms. Roys crawling under the bathroom sink in the girls’ room to read graffiti left by a girl in 1934, and her feelings of joy when Ms. Roys writes a poem all about her. A few are written in Ms. Roys voice and usually strive to make a student feel special or to open their eyes to a different point of view.

While many of the poems are humorous and lend themselves to laughter and fond remembrances, there are some serious moments of thoughtful reflection. Special Eyeballs in particular allows the reader to empathize with a young child’s desire to feel special to someone.

I Don’t Believe In Ghosts and A Gift for Ms. Roys are written in such a manner that they can be read as scripts or acted out as a skit. While others such as Why We’re Sitting at Our Desks Wearing Raincoats and Holding Umbrellas and Don’t Go Near It use shaped verse technique to enhance the look and feel of the poems.

The black and white illustrations by G. Brian Karas are simply done and yet add character to this book of verse and are aptly suited to the poetry within. The illustrations add just the right touch to this work without distracting the reader from the poetry. The table of contents allows the reader to find a particular poem with ease while the headings on each page describe what the poem is about. This is helpful as some of the poems to not overtly state this. One such example is:

Sleeping Beside a Stegosaurus on an Overnight Class Trip to the Museum

You were big,

I am small,

I am short,

You were tall.

You lived before,

I breathe today,

I walk the earth,

You died away.

You are extinct,

I hope to last,

I’m the present,

You are the past.

Your bones are here,

And I am too,

I am sleeping,

Right beside you.

You were wild,

And I am tame,

But something about us,

Is the same,

the same,

the same.

The above poem lends itself perfectly to a unit on dinosaurs for elementary school aged children.  If an overnight field trip could be arranged a reading of this poem while students are surrounded by dinosaur exhibits. If an overnight trip is not an option then a reading of this in the classroom before the beginning of the unit would be an option.

For those that are in the library profession, a reading of this poem would be a wonderful start to a story time about dinosaurs or perhaps a visiting program about dinosaurs from the local science museum.