Poetry

Little Cat’s Luck by Marion Dane Bauer, illustrated by Jennifer A. Bell

~ Janet Dawson ~ 1 Comment

Published by Simon and Schuster 

Summary: One day Patches feels an urge to find a special place just for her. An indoor cat, she escapes the house and goes off to explore the outside world.  She ends up at a yard dominated by Gus, the meanest dog in the neighborhood.  Undeterred, she finds her way inside his doghouse, where a surprising series of events unfolds.  Finding herself in a difficult situation far from home, Patches must call on the animals around her for help, including, much to everyone’s astonishment, Gus.  Everyone rallies round, and, after a few false starts, a happy ending is in store for all.  224 pages; grades 1-4.

Pros:  This sweet story is told in verse, with many words moving up, down, and in various directions to illustrate the idea they are trying to convey.  The poetic , form makes it a quick read, but one that is filled with endearing animal characters and a satisfying plot.

Cons:  It took a few tries for me to get beyond the first couple of pages.  A little perseverance might be needed for readers to get engaged in the story.

What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? by Judith Viorst, with art by Lee White

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Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers 

Summary:  These mostly humorous poems are divided into eleven sections, such as How Are You Feeling Today?; School Stuff; About the Family; Home and Away;  and Friends and Other People. As the title suggests, there are poems about glad topics, like a perfect day, home, and a fun “arithmetrick”, and others about mad/sad topics, like divorce or an ex-best friend.  Black, white, and blue illustrations are on every page.  112 pages; grades 1-4.

Pros:  Published a week after Judith Viorst’s 85th birthday, this fun collection shows she still excels at writing for an elementary audience.  The subjects are perfect for kids, and the poems have a good blend of humor and poignancy.

Cons:  Some of the lines of poetry were a little uneven, so the poems didn’t flow quite as smoothly as they could have.

 

Echo Echo: Reverso Poems About Greek Myths by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Josee Masse

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Dial Books for Young Readers 

Summary:  Reverso is an amazing poetic form invented by Marilyn Singer, in which the second half of the poem is the first half in reverse, with changes in punctuation that make the meaning very different.  Each of these reverse poems is based on a Greek myth that features two main characters, with each verse told from the point of view of one of those characters.  For example, Perseus’s verse goes:

“There is no man who wouldn’t be

Scared stiff.

Petrified indeed.

I must have your head,

stone-hearted monster!

I am the chosen

one to rid the world of you nasty creatures.

It is my curse to be the hero.

Look away.

You cannot

shield yourself from me.”

 

And here’s Medusa’s:

“Shield yourself from me?

You cannot

look away,

hero.

It is my curse to be the

one to rid the world of you nasty creatures.

I am the chosen

stone-hearted monster.

I must have your head,

petrified indeed—

scared stiff.

There is no man who wouldn’t be.”

The poems are laid out side by side, with an illustration on the facing page. The last page gives further information about Greek mythology and a few sources of myths to read. 32 pages; grades 2-6.

Pros:  These poems are so, so cool.  They would be a fantastic supplement to a mythology unit.  See the author’s Follow, Follow and Mirror, Mirror for reverso poems based on fairy tales.

Cons:  It would be great to write reverso poems with kids, but it seems like a pretty daunting format.  Maybe an enrichment group?

American Ace by Marilyn Nelson

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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.