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