Poetry Book Review: "Florian Poetry"

Citation:

Florian, Douglas. Dinothesaurus: prehistoric poems and paintings. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2009. ISBN:978-1-4169-7978-4




Review:

Florian presents a wonderfully-illustrated conventional rhyming poetry book about eighteen dinosaurs and the prehistoric world they live in. The illustrations are made from a variety of water colors, collage, stencils and gouache that are promising to the eye. Children will enjoy Florian's combination of wordplay, rhyming and humor throughout the text. There is an added educational element throughout the text since the author included each dinosaur's name pronunciation, brief description of the dinosaur and an informative glossary that will keep science teachers and science enthusiasts smiling. This is a fun rhyming poetry book and is sure to keep the reader engaged to the very end!

Excerpt:

"Stegoceras"
steg-OSS-er-us (roof horn)

Thick head. Brick head. Hard head, too.
Round head. Mound head. Odd head, you.
Bone head. Stone head. Head like a dome.
Bash head. Smash head. Then head home.

Introducing the poem:

I would introduce this poem to school-age children so they can see how one specific anatomy part of a dinosaur, animal, mammal, reptile, etc. could be used to make a rhyming poem. I would also encourage students to use a thesaurus to enrich the vocabulary portion of their poem.

Poetry Book Review: "NCTE Award Poetry"

Citation:

Cullinan, Bernice. A jar of tiny stars: poems by ncte award-winning poets. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong Boyds Mills Press, 1996. Illustrations by Andi MacLeod. Portraits by Marc Nadel. ISBN: 978-1-5639-7087-0



Review:

This is an award-winning poetry anthology book containing works from David McCord, Aileen Fisher, Karla Kuskin, Myra Cohn Livingston, Eve Merriam, John Ciardi, Lilian Moore, Arnold Adoff, Valerie Worth and Barbara Esbensen. Each of the selected poets was nominated by the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English Award) and their poems were chosen by more than 3,000 school children across the United States. Only five poems were selected for each poet and displayed in black and white texts with accompanying black and white illustrations. The poems' topics included animals, feelings, insects, food, an important historical figure, weather and objects. Each of the poems was easy to understand and the verse text format was easy to follow. Many poems provided humor, good rhythm and repetition to the reader that would make one want to say them out loud! The readers will value the brief biography of the poets in the back of the book but more so the individual quotes each poet shared about poetry before you read his or her works. This is a very kid-friendly poetry book and should be in every classroom!

Excerpt:

"The Meal" by Karla Kuskin

Timothy Tompkins had turnips and tea.
The turnips were tiny.
He ate at least three.
And then, for dessert,
He had onions and ice.
He liked that so much
That he ordered it twice.
He had two cups of ketchup,
A prune, and a pickle.
"Delicious," said Timothy.
"Well worth a nickle."
He folded his napkin
And hastened to add,
"It's one of the loveliest breakfasts I've had."

Introducing to Poem:

This is a wonderful poem to introduce children to rhyme, rhythm, repetition and vocabulary! I feel that children will be drawn to the humor and rhythm of this poem. I would expect this poem to encourage children to sing or chant and enlighten them to use their imaginations when writing poems.

Poetry Book Review: "Multicultural Poetry"

Citation:

Mora, Pat. Dizzy in your eyes: poems about love. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2010. ISBN:978-0-375-84375-4

Review:

Mora presents a wonderful collection of poems that focus on the life experiences of teenagers, i.e. crushes, love, breakups, divorces, etc. Mora's poems are written in many poetic forms such as free verse, blank verse, sonnets, haiku, letter and pantoum form to name a few. Each poem has an introduction of the type of poetic form on the previous page for the reader. This is a nice touch especially for beginner poetry readers to understand the different poetic forms and how to read the poem in the appropriate rhythm. The text format and language was easy to follow throughout the book due to each poem's introduction. The reader will be able to connect with many of the poems since they relate to life experiences.

Excerpt:

"Dumped"

I can't believe you dumped me.
For months, I felt so happy inside.
What a catastrophe!
Now I feel ugly and just want to hide.

All those months, I felt so happy inside.
Was everything you said untrue?
Now I just want to hide
and try to forget I loved you. Still do.
I ache at the mean rumors I've heard.

"Let's just be friends." Haunting words.
Me, a lump you dumped, casually.
How I ache at the rumors I've heard.
My heart broke, my private catastrophe.

Introducing the poem:

I feel this is a great example of a pantoum poem to teenagers who can relate to the realism of how happy and difficult romantic relationships can be. For example, I would ask the class after introducing them to this poem to journal an experience of having a crush or romantic relationship and then demonstrate how the journal entry could be put into a pantoum, sonnet or letter poetry.

Poetry Book Review: "African American Poetry"

Citation:
Hughes, Langston. My people. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2009. Illustrator: Charles R. Smith Jr. ISBN: 978-1-4169-3540-7

Review:

This book is a short poem written by Langston Hughes honoring African Americans. The poem is accompanied by photographs. These photographs accented the text and gave a perfect visual of how to connect Langston's poem with nature and black people.

Excerpt:

"My People"

The night
is
beautiful,
so
the
faces
of
my
people.
The stars
are
beautiful,
so
the
eyes
of
my
people.
Beautiful,
also,
is the
sun.
Beautiful,
also,
are
the
souls
of
my
people.

Introducing the Poem:
The above poem is an excellent beginning for talking to older children about how poetry can be used to beautifully describe one's heritage and how photographs instead of drawings can accompany text.

Poetry Book Review: "Hopkins Collection"

Citation:

Bennett, L, & Hall, M. 2009. City I love. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN:978-0-8109-8327-4

Review:

This story is about a dog who is traveling around the world and is sharing poetic observations with the reader. Beautifully written and illustrated, the reader will be able to connect with the vibrant pictures and the text format is easy to follow. Featuring landmarks such as New York, Paris, London, Washington DC and Egypt, readers will be able to relate to the poetry connection Bennett is presenting.

Excerpt:

"City Lights"

Blazing lights
flicker
flash
glitter
gleam
twinkle
sparkle
bedazzle
beam

so

brilliantly
bright.

Reasons
why
city
stays
awake
all
night.

Introducing the Poem:

The above excerpt is a wonderful tool to show children how to visualize poetry to places they have visited. I would discuss traveling, landmarks, modes of travel and cultures with the children so they will be able to understand how poetry can be used to explain their adventures.

Poetry Book Review: "School Poetry"

Citation:

Koertge,Ron. The Brimstone Journals. 1st ed. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2001. ISBN:0-7636-1302-9


Review:

Koertge presented a well-written free-verse poetry novel that details the lives of fifteen high school students, who are in the Branston High School class of 2001. Each student shares excerpts of their lives and the many problems that they face such as peer pressure, depression, eating disorders, violence and drugs. For example, one student named Boyd is very hostile to the majority of his fellow peers and decides to make a "hit list". Readers will find this novel engaging and will want to keep reading to find out the conclusion. The text format is easy to follow and Koertge's writing will allow the reader to easily visualize the story while reading.

Excerpt:

"Boyd"

We make plans, we download from that
super secret website, we draw diagrams,
or go on a weapons recon, and Mike just
get calmer.

Not me. I keep both my fists in my pockets
and nod. Otherwise my voice, my hands,
everything shakes.

Then I look at the list: everybody who
ever blew me off, flipped me off,
or pissed me off.

So I shake a little. It'll be worth it.

Introducing the Poem:

I would use the above excerpt to open a discussion about violence to teenage readers. I would want the students to further evaulate and discuss what they feel the excerpt meant to them, i.e. what do they think is happening or going to happen.