retrieved from leewardlaw.com on 2/27/2013

Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku

Wardlaw, Lee. Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2011. ISBN 9780805089950

Illustrated by: Eugene Yelchin

Critical Analysis:

Written in the senryu form of Japanese poetry developed from and similar to haiku, the poems in this book examine the foibles of a cat’s nature and the emotional process of being an adopted shelter cat. The poetic structure follows the five, seven, five syllable pattern of traditional haiku verse. This lends a crisp feel to the work that is aptly supported by the clean lines and minimalist arrangement of the illustrations. The sparse format in no way detracts from the emotional impact of this purrrfectly wonderful work.

Wardlaw and Yelchin do an excellent job of conveying the staunchly independent nature of this homeless kitty while giving the reader glimpses of his secret hope of being adopted by that special boy. The fear of the unknown is artfully conveyed by an illustration of bright blue eyes on a totally black page and the following poems.

                                                                 Deep, dark bed cave. Me?

                                                                Hiding? I’m no scaredy-cat!

                                                                      I like dust bunnies!

                                                                      “Here, kitty, kitty.”

                                                                Ha. I’ll stay put till I know:

                                                                 Are they friend… or foe?

The catty attitude often exhibited by our feline friends is loud and clear as kitty states:

                                                                          I explained it loud

                                                                and clear. What part of “meow”

                                                                       Don’t you understand?

The words lead the reader to laugh out loud as we think of those catty attitudes we all know and love. The feelings of love and adoration between boy and cat are clearly expressed in an artfully portrayed painting and the giving of the secret name….”Boy, it’s time you knew: My name is Haiku.”

This book is heartfelt, touching and laugh out loud funny.

Book Reviews:

Wardlaw’s terse, traditional verse captures catness from every angle, while Yelchin’s graphite and gouache illustrations telegraph cat-itude with every stretch and sinuous slink. Perfect pussycat poetry for anyone who has ever loved a shelter cat. Kirkus Reviews, January 1, 2011 Vol. 79, No. 1

A surprisingly powerful story in verse. Publishers Weekly

Awards:

Myra Cohn Livingston Award for Poetry, 2012 Winner United States

Connections:

This is a wonderful introduction to Japanese poetry such as Haiku and Senryu. Read this book and Don’t Step on the Sky by Miriam Chaikin then discuss the characteristics of each type. End with students writing their own poetry to share in an anthology and a poetry reading for family.

Library Activity: Read this book before introducing a care of animals program conducted by the local SPCA. Have other poetry titles available such as The Hound Dog’s Haiku by Michael J. Rosen or The British Museum Haiku Animals edited by Mavis Pilbeam as well as books on animal and pet care. 

retrieved from guysread.com on 2/15/2013

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars

Florian, Douglas. Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars. New York: Harcourt, Inc, 2007. ISBN 9780152053727

Critical Analysis:

Florian creates a sense of fun and adventure in this poetic exploration of outer space. Colorful artwork created by combining color, cut outs, newsprint, and the concrete poetry of poems like A Galaxy, invite the reader to explore each page while the rhythm and rhyme of each poem entice the ear. Add a bit of humor such as that which is found in Jupiter and Florian blends together a well-written montage of poetry about space, the universe, planets, and stars.

Aptly organized the book begins with the vastness of the universe, narrows its focus to the galaxy, then planets and moons only to expand again to the great beyond. A table of contents guides the reader to selected works while the galactic glossary provides added information about each poem. Couple these with further reading and a selected bibliography and this work is a perfect companion to a textbook unit on outer space or just a fun read for budding astronomers.

Book Reviews:

Florian is a child-loved illustrator-poet who has joined the ranks of favorites like Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein. As usual in this book, Florian encapsulates the sense of things in a way that catches readers unawares, often with humor. Generally his art is simple drawings, but these are ethereal and elegant renderings. His initial poem and art set the tone well: “The universe is every place,/Including all the e m p t y space.” Florian visually represents the vastness with extra gaps between letters on a blue double-page spread. The page is illuminated with collaged bits of old newspaper clippings about space, painted concentric circles, and an old print of a rayed sun. On the next page a spiraled poem describes a galaxy by using miscellaneously shaped spirals circling about to mirror the concept. With cut-outs, colors, and word play Florian goes on to describe celestial bodies and ideas--from planets to black holes--with perceptions sure to set a child to wondering and longing. He offers a last tease in his final poem, “The Great Beyond” with “Great galaxies spin,/While bright comets race. And I’d tell you more, /But I’ve run out of space.” Susan Wilde Children’s Literature

Best Books:

Best Children’s Books of the Year 2008; Bank Street College of Education; Outstanding Merit; United States

Kirkus Best Children’s Books, 2007; Kirkus; United States

Kirkus Book Review Stars, March 15, 2007; United States

Connections:

                                                           

Skywatch

                                                On a clear night you might try

                                                To gaze upon the starry sky.

                                                A telescope or binoculars are

                                                Great aids to observe a star.

                                                To find your way it’s good to sight

                                                Upon a star that’s very bright,

                                                Like Sirius or Canopus,

                                                Alpha Centauri or Arcturus.

                                                You may see a planet or

                                                A flash of light from a meteor.

                                                Use a constellation chart

                                                To help you tell the stars apart.

                                                Start out when the day is done.

                                                Most of all: have lots of fun!

Read the above poem to introduce a unit on Space Exploration. Follow up with a trip to a planetarium.

Continue to read a poem as each new topic is introduced. For example: When beginning to study the separate planets, planetoids, or stars, have each student choose one, read the accompanying poem, and create a diorama of their particular topic.

For public librarians: Hold a Star Gazer Program with a local astronomer. Read this book of poetry before you begin. Have participants try to locate some of the stars and planets mentioned in Florian’s work.

Other Books by Douglas Florian

Autumnblings: Poems & Paintings, 2003

Summersaults: Poems & Paintings, 2002

Lizards, Frogs, and Polliwogs: Poems & Paintings, 2001

A Pig is Big, 2000

Check Out This Page:
http://poetryfridayanthology.blogspot.com/

retrieved from picturebooks4 olderreaders.wordpress.com on 2/13/2013

Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night

Bibliography

Sidman, Joyce. Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010, ISBN 9780547152288

Critical Analysis:

Dark Emperor is the ultimate example of sense imagery, sound, rhythm and figurative language. It has it all in abundance. Each and every poem is well written, inviting, and enticing to the ear.  Oak After Dark is an excellent example of all that is typical of the poetry throughout this book. Its sense imagery definitely leads the reader to look at trees in a whole new way. The sounds and rhythms lend themselves to oral reading and the figurative language is rich.

                                                               

 As nighttime rustles at my knee,

                                                 I stand in silent gravity

                                                 and quietly continue chores

                                                 of feeding leaves and sealing pores.

                                                 While beetles whisper in my bark,

                                                  while warblers roost in branches dark,

                                                  I stretch my roots into the hill

                                                  and slowly, slowly, drink my fill.

                                                  A thousand crickets scream my name,

                                                  yet I remain the same, the same.

                                                  I do not rest, I do not sleep,

                                                  and all my promises I keep:

                                                   to stand while all the seasons fly,

                                                   to anchor earth,

                                                               to touch the sky.   

 Rick Allen’s illustrations compliment the theme of this work with the unique use of linoleum cuts, wood engravings and a layered technique that gives added dimension to his art. The two page spread includes a column of scientific facts and information sure to entice those science minded children while the accompanying poetry is an excellent way to introduce various scientific subjects.

Organized loosely around the phases of the night Sidmon begins with Welcome to the Night. She goes on to describe various animals and their behaviors and ends the night with Moon’s Lament. A table of contents enables readers to easily find a particular poem. This is especially helpful for teachers that are utilizing this book in science lessons. A glossary of terms is an additional bonus.

Awards:

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature, 2011

 Cybil Award, 2010 Finalist United States

John Newbery Medal, 2011 Honor Book United States

Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, 2011 Honor Book

Notable Children’s Books in the English Language Arts, 2011 ; NCTE Children’s Literature Assembly; United States

Reviews:

The potential of this scientific and sensory book to fascinate children of diverse learning styles is just one of the reasons it has been named an NSTA/CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for 2011. CBC Reviewer (National Science Teachers Association (NSTA))

With “Welcome to the Night,” the first of twelve deftly crafted and both visually and emotionally evocative poems, Sidman begins a journey from dusk to dawn. Through a variety of verse forms, from rhymes with refrains and free verse to concrete poetry, we encounter places and creatures in action in the dark of night. Each: raccoon, snail, moth, owl, trees, spiders, porcupines, crickets, mushrooms, bats, and moon, tells its nighttime story on one side of the double page with vignette illustration. Across the gutter along with the full page illustration comes a sidebar of factual information on the subject. On the final wordless page, the sun rises over the forest for a new day. This scene is the same one that begins the nocturnal adventure, but here the owl that was in flight now rests on a quiet branch, while the corner of the house on the side formerly glowing in the sunset now takes on a bish tone in the early orange sunlight. Allen’s striking illustrations are produced in relief printing, a complex process described in detail on the copyright page. They retain considerable black to shape the flora and fauna, leaving sufficient space for the intense colors printed from additional wood blocks. Although naturalistic, they convey the emotional quality of the poems. Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)

Connections:

Read Oak After Dark and The Mushrooms Come to students before beginning a lesson on photosynthesis and how other plants produce food.

Have each student choose a poem from Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night. Explain that the poem they chose is the topic they will research for a science project.

Other Books by Joyce Sidman:

Swirl by Swirl (2011), illustrated by Beth Krommes

Ubiquitous: celebrating nature’s survivors (2010), Illustrated by Beckie Prange

Red Sings From the Treetops: a year in colors (2009), Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

This Is Just to Say Poems of Apology and Forgiveness (2007), Illustrated by Pamella Zagarenski

retrieved from apples4teacher.com on 2/11/2013

My Mexico-Mexico mio

Bibliography

Johnston, Tony. My Mexico-Mexico mio. New York: Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 1996. ISBN 0698117573

Critical Analysis:

My Mexico-Mexico mio is a small book of 18 mostly free verse poems, written in both English and Spanish. Each depicts an aspect of Mexican culture. A couple of the poems are humorous, such as I Am Cucaracha, and Little Piece of Prickly Pear.  A few, such as Street Dogs and Downtown, Mexico City are even thought provoking but the majority of the poems in this book are unremarkable and not Johnston’s best work. Most have little emotional impact and seem rather bland and uninteresting although the beautiful illustrations help to distract the reader just a bit. The English translations while adequately conveying the meaning of the Spanish versions are a little rough and difficult to read.

I Am Cucaracha

  Put down your broom, Senora.

          Senor, don’t raise your shoe.

          My family is an ancient one,

          Much older, far, than you.

          Respect is what I ask for.

          I’m old. And you are new.

          Calm yourself, Senora

          Don’t shriek so, por favor.

          My line began before your time

          By steamy, slimy shore.

          Respect, dear lady, I demand.

          Don’t crush me on the floor.

          Put down your broom, Senora.

          And let me scuttle through

          To crannied kitchen cupboards

          Much darker than your shoe,

          Senor. I am truly ancient.

          Respect is what I’m due.

That is not to say that this book of poetry is not an adequate addition to a poetry collection. The fact that each poem is printed in English as well as Spanish makes it a helpful tool for introducing English to Spanish-speaking students or vice versa, a more energetic selection might be more appealing to most students.

While not laid out in any particular order, the table of contents gives the reader a bit of direction and a helpful glossary in the back aids non-Spanish speaking readers with pronunciation. The illustrations also give appropriate visual clues for decoding the text for each poem.

Awards

Adventuring with Books: A Booklists for PreK-Grade 6, 12^th Edition, 1999; National Council of Teachers of English; United States

Americas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, 1996; Consortium of Latin American Studies Programs (CLASP); Commended; United States

Kaleidoscope, A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, Third Edition, 2001; National Councils of Teachers of English; United States

Connections

El dia de los ninos/El dia de los libros—Children’s Day/Book day

Gather this book of poetry as well as poetry and stories of from other languages and cultures. Be sure to include stories shared orally as many cultures do not have their legends written down.  Read and share them together at a Dia Day event. Invite your foreign language speaking patrons to share poetry, songs, and stories from their culture. If acceptable to those patrons, ask them to share the English translations as well. If possible write them down and create a book to share. Invite children to create illustrations to coincide with the literature of their choice.

Have students take turns reading the poems to each other. Pair ESL students with English speaking students and have them practice together then share their chosen poems with the class.