Review: Florian Poetry

Title: Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars

Written and Illustrated by: Douglas Florian

Citation: Florian, Douglas. Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc., 2007.

ISBN: 978-0-15-205372-7

Awards: Nominated for the 2008 Texas Bluebonnet Award, Nominated for the 2009 Beehive Children's Poetry Book Award, Nominated for the 2009 Rhode Island Children's Book Award, Nominated for the 2009 Young Hoosier Book Award, Nominated for the 2010 Garden State Children's Book Award

Review: Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars is a collection of themed poetry written and illustrated by Douglas Florian. Creatively written with attention to scientific detail as well to the lyrical nature of poetry, Florian creates a high quality collection that would be an important addition to any science teacher's collection. With beautifully inspired illustrations done with gouache, collage, and rubber stamps on primed brown paper bags, readers will enjoy examining the paintings just as much as reading the poems. Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars covers all aspects of the solar system, with poems describing each of the planets as well as other elements such as the universe, black holes, constellations, and the sun. An excellent educational tool, Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars will please adult and children alike.

Potential Use: Any unit on the solar system will be greatly enhanced by Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars. Learning about the planets can often be confusing for young students; the poems in this book offer a brief, accurate description of each planet that would help enhance students' understanding of the specific characteristics of each. Short and easy to memorize, students could learn each poem to have an understanding of the unique qualities of the different planets. For example, the poem Venus not only describes the physical characteristics of the planet, but also how it received its name:

Venus

Scalding-hot surface,

Nine hundred degrees.

Nothing can live there,

No creatures,

No trees.

Poisonous clouds

Of acid above.

Why was it named for the goddess of love?

Review: Multicultural Poetry

Title: Love to Mamá: A Tribute to Mothers

Edited By: Pat Mora

Illustrator: Paula S. Barragán M.

Citation: Mora, Pat. Love to Mamá: A Tribute to Mothers. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc., 2001.

ISBN: 1-58430-019-1

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book, Children's Books of the Year for Outstanding Merit by Bank Street College Children's Book Committee, "Starred Review" by School Library Journal

Review: Love to Mamá: A Tribute to Mothers celebrates the bond between mothers, grandmothers, and children. A collection of poetry from a variety of well- and lesser-known Latino poets, this book represents a variety of perspectives and writing styles. Each poem is filled with beautiful figurative language that begs to be read aloud. The heavy Spanish-language influence throughout the book provides a flowing rhythm that is pleasing to the ear of native English and Spanish speakers alike. The large, colorful illustrations covering each page add life to the vibrant words; readers will enjoy examining the uniquely created pictures as much as reading the poems. In Love to Mamá: A Tribute to Mothers, Pat Mora has created an excellent compilation of poems that show just how important maternal figures are in the Latino culture.

Potential Use: Love to Mamá: A Tribute to Mothers would be an excellent tool in teaching elementary-aged students beginning Spanish. Many elementary schools are incorporating Spanish language lessons into the general curriculum; this book would complement this instruction perfectly. Many of the poems allow students to discover the meaning of Spanish words through the use of context clues, just as they decode unfamiliar English vocabulary in the same manner. The poem My Tongue is Like a Map by Rane Arroyo lends itself well to this type of lesson. Give students a printed copy of the poem or have it posted in the room where it can be seen. Ask students to listen carefully to the English and Spanish words in the poem, then share it aloud:

My Tongue is Like a Map

Mami said yes, Abuelita sang sí.

They said, Two languages make you a rich man,

But words never paid for my penny candy.

Agua, water. Arroz, rice. Niño, me!

Arroz con leche, sang Abuelita

As my mami said, A is for Apple.

My ears were like a radio, so many stations.

Sometimes I would dream in English and Spanish.

I was a millionaire each time I said yes and sí.

After reading the poem several times, highlight all the Spanish words on the printed copy of the poem. Allow students to volunteer guesses about what each word means using the context clues in the poem as a base for their guesses. Once all words have been identified, re-read the poem. As an extension, discuss what it would be like to live in a bilingual home. Allow any bilingual students to share their experiences.

Review: NCTE Award Poetry

Title: Scien-Trickery: Riddles in Science

Author: J. Patrick Lewis

Illustrator: Frank Remkiewicz

Citation: Lewis, J. Patrick. Scien-Trickery: Riddles in Science. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc., 2004.

ISBN: 0-15-216681-5

Review: Scien-Trickery: Riddles in Science is a collection of scientific riddles written by NCTE Award-winning poet J. Patrick Lewis. With topics ranging from germs to laser beams to humidity, this collection covers a broad spectrum of scientific concepts. Each poem contains clues to the topic either in the words or in the watercolor and colored pencil illustrations created by Frank Remkiewicz, followed by the answer to the riddle written upside down beneath the poem. Though accurate in detail and chock full of scientific vocabulary, Scien-Trickery lacks a unifying theme as well as creative use of figurative language. With patterns that often seems forced and little sense imagery, the poems in this collection lack emotional impact.

Potential Use: Educators could pick and choose poems from Scien-Trickery: Riddles in Science to introduce topics of study in the science curriculum. Many of these poems lend them self to warm-up introductory activities. For example, if the topic of study for the day was gravity, an educator might introduce the subject with the following poem:

Gee!

It keeps you from flying

Off into space.

It's what makes you fall

Flat on your face.

And if it could talk

Like you and I do,

I think it would say,

"I'm pulling for you."

Answer: Gravity

As a follow-up activity, students could also try to create their own riddles based upon the day's science topic. Using the poems in Scien-Trickery for inspiration, students could write their own riddles and exchange them with classmates to solve.

Review: African American Poetry

Title: In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers

Illustrator: Javaka Steptoe

Citation: Steptoe, Javaka. In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc., 1997.

ISBN: 1-880000-31-8

Awards: ALA Notable Children's Book, Coretta Scott King Author Award Honor, Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award, NAACP Image Award Winner Outstanding Literary Achievement, Texas Bluebonnet Masterlist

Review: In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall celebrates the impact fathers (and grandfathers) have on their children's lives. A compilation of poems from a variety of different African American writers, each poem provides readers with a different style, tone, and cadence that keeps the book fresh and interesting. Ranging in tone from somber in Black Father Man by Lenard D. Moore, "We all bleed his blood/summer-hot and thick/summer hot-and thick/as unstrained milk./Black Father Man,/the word-music messenger," to silly in Tickle Tickle by Dakari Hru, "me papa tickle me feet/he call it "finger treat"/me scream and run each time he come/me papa tickle me feet," this collection offers something for everyone. The quality of writing is high, bringing together poetry by both new and established writers that contains a variety of tongue-pleasing figurative language. Accompanied by vivid illustrations utilizing a variety of media, In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall effectively lends tribute to the importance of fathers of in the African American culture.

Potential Use: In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall's variety of poems lends itself to use by many different age groups, from Kindergarten through middle school. For the youngest readers, the poem Promises by David A. Anderson will likely be relevant to their lives. This poem could be introduced by setting up a situation all children can relate to, "Have you ever done something your parents asked you not to do? What was it? What were the consequences?" After discussing, share the poem.

Promises

Dear Daddy,

I'm sorry I did not do what you told me to do.

If I do better

Can I still be your little boy?

Dear Son,

You will be

My little boy

For all of your little-boy days.

And when

You are no longer a little boy

I will still be your daddy.

Following the poem, allow students to discuss what it means to them. Lead the discussion to talk about how parents have unconditional love for their children and that no matter what they do or how old they get, they will always be their parents' children. This activity could be done with Pre-Kindergarten through First Grade students in conjunction with a study on families.

Review: Hopkins Collection

Title: Amazing Faces

Poems Selected By: Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrator: Chris Soentpiet

Citation: Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Amazing Faces. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc., 2010.

ISBN: 978-1-60060-334-1

Awards: Texas Bluebonnet Masterlist, "Starred Review" Publishers Weekly

Review: Amazing Faces is a compilation of poetry put together by Lee Bennett Hopkins and featuring a variety of poems from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Acclaimed authors in this collection include Joseph Bruchac, Pat Mora, Carole Boston Weatherford, Jane Yolen, and Langston Hughes. Focusing on children experiencing life from different cultural perspectives, each poem provides insight into the multicultural world in which we live. Asians, Hispanics, Caucasians, African Americans, and Native Americans are all well-represented in Amazing Faces not only in the words of the poems, but in the vibrant illustrations of Chris Soentpiet. Children of all ages and cultural backgrounds will appreciate and relate to this collection of poetry that ranges in tone and emotion and represents many aspects of growing up including making friends, first love, sports, and role models.

Potential Use: For elementary-aged English Language Learners (ELL), poetry can often be an abstract and confusing literary form. The poems in Amazing Faces can successfully help ELL students acknowledge their feelings and struggles in terms of the social aspect of their situation while at the same time introducing poetry in an accessible, relevant manner. To introduce an activity using the translated poems Me x 2/Yo x 2 by Jane Medina, ask the following: "What are some hard things about being an ELL student? Do you think native English speakers understand what you have to deal with being bilingual?" After discussing this, share the poems.

Me x 2

I read times two./I write times two./I think, I dream,/I cry times two.

I laugh times two./I'm right times two./I sing, I ask,/I try times two.

I do twice as much/As most people do./'Cause most speak one,/But I speak two!

Yo x 2

Leo por dos./Escribo por dos./Pienso y sueño/Y lloro por dos.

Yo río por dos./Grito por dos./Canto, pregunto,/Intento por dos.

Hago mucho más/Que hacen todos ellos,/Porque yo hablo dos:/Lo doble que aquellos.

Following the poems, allow students to discuss them. Ask if they agree or disagree with the author's portrayal of being bilingual. If students feel comfortable, invite students to share the poems with their homeroom class and lead a discussion about the positives and negatives of being bilingual.

Review: School Poetry

Title: Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems

Author: Kristine O'Connell George

Illustrator: Debbie Tilley

Citation: George, Kristine O'Connell. Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems. New York: Clarion Books, 2002.

ISBN: 0-618-15250-4

Awards: IRA-CBC Children's Choice Award 2003, Rose Diaz Pinan Reading Aloud Collection, World Book Encyclopedia – Outstanding Poetry Collection 2002

Review: Swimming Upstream takes a humorous look at the daily lives of middle school students. Featuring a variety of poetic forms including haiku, free verse, and acrostic, Kristine O'Connell George tells the tale of a sixth-grade girl making her way through the dreaded first year of middle school. Touching on everything from locker trouble, making friends, the first school dance, changing in the locker room, and homework, George takes a light-hearted tone in each of her short poems as she reminisces about circumstances every middle school student (past and present) can relate to. This easy read will appeal to upper elementary-aged students as they anticipate the changes to come as well as to middle school students who live out the antics presented in Swimming Upstream on a daily basis. A comical, yet well-written themed collection, Swimming Upstream is a quality addition to any adolescent's reading list.

Potential Use: Sixth-grade students will especially relate to the same-aged protagonist in Swimming Upstream. This collection of poems would lend itself to fun activities both during the first and last week of a student's sixth-grade year. During the first week of school, educators can read some of the first half of Swimming Upstream aloud to students and have them discuss the challenges of being new to middle school. One poem all students are likely to relate to is the haiku entitle Locker:

Locker
I've got your numbers.
Twelve…eleven…twenty-one.
Why won't you open?

After sharing this poem and others, have students write a haiku about their first week of middle school experience. Creating a haiku is a short activity that is both fun for the writer and the audience and allows students to realize they are not alone in their worries, fears, and struggles about middle school. Collect these haikus and save them until the end of the year, when students can reflect on how far they've come.

During the last week of school, educators can read either the entire collection or some of the second half of Swimming Upstream aloud to students. After doing so, pass out the students' haikus from the beginning of the year and discuss how they've matured and changed in the months that have passed. Have students write a poem in a format of their choice reflecting on their sixth-grade year.