Poetry

American Ace by Marilyn Nelson

~ Janet Dawson ~ Leave a comment

Published by Dial Books 

Summary: When Connor’s grandmother Lucia dies, she leaves a letter for his father, revealing that Connor’s grandfather wasn’t the Italian man his father grew up with; instead, he was an American pilot who was in Italy during World War II. Connor’s father was raised in a tight-knit Italian family, and the news is devastating to him at first.  Along with the letter, Lucia left a school ring that belonged to the pilot.  Connor uses the ring to research his grandfather.  Eventually, he learns that this man was African American, one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen.  Just as the mystery is about to be solved, Dad has a stroke and is hospitalized.  Connor helps him heal, both physically and emotionally, by learning and sharing more and more of the courageous history of the Airmen.  117 pages; grades 7-10.

Pros:  In an author’s note, Marilyn Nelson writes how she wanted to tell the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, and eventually had the idea to write a book in which the main character gradually learns their history.  She achieves this brilliantly in just 45 poems told in Connor’s voice.  The history is fascinating, and so is the story of this family who must rethink their entire identity in the light of revelations about their cultural heritage.

Cons:  The structure of Part 7, in which Connor tells his father the story of the Tuskegee Airmen while his dad is convalescing in the hospital, is a little bit confusing.

Beastly Verse by Johee Yoon

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Published by Enchanted Lion Books 

Summary:   16 poems about animals are presented, illustrated with vividly colored prints.  Some poets, such as Lewis Carroll and Ogden Nash, will be familiar to many readers, while others, such as Arthur Waugh and Carolyn Wells, are less well-known.  Some of the pages unfold to reveal even larger illustrations.  48 pages; grades K-4.

Pros: The large square design and brightly colored, busy illustrations will provide an enticing introduction to poetry for young readers.

Cons:  I always enjoy an author’s note explaining the selection of poems, and maybe a description of how the art was produced to complement them.  Other than acknowledgements, there was none of this sort of information.

The National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry edited by J. Patrick Lewis

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Published by National Geographic 

Summary: Over 200 poems are paired with nature photographs, arranged in sections about animals, seasons, specific places, and natural disasters. J. Patrick Lewis, former U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate, edited the collection and wrote an introduction about looking at nature and responding to it poetically.  He includes six of his own poems in post-it note form at the end, and an essay on “Who is Mother Nature?” that invites kids to write their own poetic answer to that question.  Also included at the end: a bibliography of children’s books on wordplay in poetry arrange by category (acrostics, anagrams, epitaphs, etc.), and indices by title, poet, first line, and subject.  192 pages; grades K-6.

Pros:  This is a rich collection of poetry by many different writers that invites children to engage in the creative processes of enjoying poetry and creating their own.  Readers will be drawn in by the beautiful, National Geographic quality photographs on every page.

Cons:  It would have been interesting to know a little more about some of the lesser-known poets; at the very least, the year they wrote their poems.

My Seneca Village by Marilyn Nelson

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Published by Namelos 

Summary:  From 1825 to 1857, Seneca Village in Manhattan was populated by newly-freed African American slaves and immigrants from Ireland and Germany.  The people were poor and life was hard, but there was also celebration, hard work, and hope for the future.  This collection of poems tells the story of those years through the people who lived there.  Each facing page introduces the poem and creates a picture of the person at the moment it is spoken.  Characters are referenced in others’ poems, or come back with their own several years later.  The second to last poem, “The Law of Eminent Domain” quotes the law that ordered the eviction of Seneca Village residents so their land could be used to create Central Park.  The author’s introduction gives the history of Seneca Village; she uses the last few pages to describe the different poetic forms in the book.  87 pages; grades 5 and up.

Pros:  These moving, beautifully crafted poems introduce a little-known chapter in American history.  Footnotes give additional historical context.  The final lines of the last poem bring the inhabitants of Seneca Village into the present:  “I am one who knows that time and we are mist/hiding Light’s ever-changing panorama,/where the future holds a President Obama.”

Cons:  The drab colors of the cover could make this less appealing for young readers to pick up and try.

Sail Away poems by Langston Hughes, art by Ashley Bryan

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Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Sail Away | Book by Langston Hughes, Ashley Bryan | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

Summary: 15 of Langston Hughes’ poems, all having to do with the sea or water, are presented here, illuminated by award-winning illustrator Ashley Bryan, still going strong at age 92. The pictures are collages with swirls of bright color that perfectly capture the sea and the ships and people that travel on it.  40 pages; ages 5-10.

Pros:  I confess my knowledge of Langston Hughes is limited to “Harlem” (“What happens to a dream deferred?”).  I was surprised that he wrote so many beautiful poems about the ocean.  They’re accessible for young children, with language and imagery that could be appreciated by older ones.  Readers will love the brightly colored illustrations and may be inspired to try their hands at collage.

Cons:  There was no author’s note.  I would have loved to learn more about Hughes and how he came to write these poems.

Enormous Smallness: a story of E. E. Cummings by Matthew Burgess, illustrations by Kris Di Giacomo

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Published by Enchanted Lion Books 

Summary: Starting with his somewhat enchanted childhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts (complete with happy family, summers on a New Hampshire farm, and a large tree house heated by a wood stove), this book recounts the life of Edward Estlin Cummings. Estlin was both a poet and an artist.  From an early age, he loved spending time drawing and playing with words, and he continued with both activities for his entire life.  This book emphasizes how he responded to life with his creativity, experimenting with words and poetic forms to express what he experienced as he moved from his home in Cambridge, to Harvard, to France, where he drove an ambulance during World War I, and to 4 Patchin Place in Greenwich Village, his home for much of his adult life.  End matter includes a chronology, several poems, and an author’s note.  Grades 2-5.

Pros:  This book captures the joy E. E. Cummings experienced through his creativity, both in the writing and the illustrations, in which Estlin is consistently portrayed with a smile on his face.  The poems are well-selected to appeal to young readers.

Cons:  Despite their brevity, the poems of E. E. Cummings could be a bit difficult for elementary readers.

Bigfoot is Missing! by J. Patrick Lewis and Kenn Nesbitt, illustrated by Minalima

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Published by Chronicle Books 

Summary:  Each two-page spread features a creature from the files of cryptozoology (creatures rumored to exist, but never scientifically documented).  The actual animal isn’t shown in full, just a part or hint of it, with a report of a sighting in the form of a poem.  For instance, Bigfoot’s entry includes a milk carton with this verse: “Missing/Last seen: walking in the forest/Height and weight: much more than you/Gender: unknown/Hair: all over/Shoe size (Rumored): 92”.  The first page tells about cryptozoology, and the endpapers include a list of all the creatures in the book with a brief description of each.  Grades 2-6.

Pros:  This is one clever book, and the topic is sure to be popular with young readers, who will want to spend some time studying the illustrations.  A fun and easy introduction to poetry by two former children’s poet laureates.

Cons:  If you get this book out of the library (which you should), the creatures’ descriptions on the endpapers will most likely be partially covered by a taped-down book jacket.

Changes: A Child’s First Poetry Collection by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke

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Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Summary: “This summer still hangs heavy and sweet with sunlight as it did last year./The autumn still comes showering cold and crimson as it did last year./The winter still stings clean and cold and white as it did last year./The spring still comes like a whisper in the dark night./It is only I who have changed.” After this introductory poem, the book moves through the circle of seasons, beginning with spring, with several poems in each section that describe a simple, observable moment of that season. Beautifully illustrated with soft, seasonal colors, every poem is written by children’s literature legend Charlotte Zolotow, whose hundredth birthday this book commemorates. Grades K-4.

Pros: These poems seem like throwbacks to an earlier time, in a good way. They are simple enough for a very young child to understand, yet beautiful in their imagery; “Little trees like pencil strokes/black and still/etched forever in my mind/on that snowy hill.” This would be a wonderful introduction to both readers and writers of poetry.

Cons: Readers raised on the likes of Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky may need some guidance to appreciate this sort of poetry.

The Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Chris Raschka

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Published by Candlewick

Summary:  Veteran poetry anthologist Paul B. Janeczko has collected 50 poems about objects from nine periods in history, starting with the early Middle Ages and going to the present.  There are familiar selections such as “My Shadow” by Robert Louis Stevenson and “The Red Wheelbarrow” by William Carlos Williams, as well as lesser-known writers like Chinese poet Bai Juyi and Vietnamese emperor Le Thanh Tong.  The introduction gives the reader a brief overview of the different historical periods.

Pros:  This reminded me of my college Norton anthologies, traveling through time with literature.  Except that I actually enjoyed reading this book.  Norton would also benefit greatly by adding Raschka’s illustrations.  Kids will be motivated to look for objects in their world that can serve as inspiration for their own poems.

Cons:  With the exception of Pablo Neruda, all the poets after the Renaissance are British or American.

The Maine Coon’s Haiku and Other Poems for Animal Lovers by Michael J. Rosen, illustrated by Lee Anthony White

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Published by Candlewick

Summary:  There are twenty haiku in this collection, each one about a different type of cat.  The sections alternate between indoor cats and outdoor cats, with five in each of the four sections.  The last four pages give a brief description and history of each breed.

Pros:  A great introduction to haiku as well as a treat for all cat lovers.  Fun illustrations.

Cons:  An explanation of haiku will be necessary, as there is none in the book.