LS5663 - Module 2 - NCTE Poet Award - Book Review

Book cover image not available.


Livingston, Myra Cohn. 1988. There was a place and other poems. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. No illustrations included in the book. ISBN 9780689504648.


This is a very powerful set of poems for and about children dealing with all kinds of problems that life throws at them, such as divorce, step-parents, parents with new boyfriends or girlfriends, etc. The poems allow readers to understand and relate to the frustration, anguish, pain, and confusion that are part of these issues for a child.


I think I especially liked this book of poetry because I could see myself in many of them as a child of divorce. Also being a parent and a teacher, I have often seen children and teens deal with the hardships of life in a variety of ways. Reading the poems in this book doesn't make things better, but it allows one to see that they are not alone and that others have suffered similarly. Kids long for a "normal" family, however that can be defined. That is what I felt in Myra Cohn Livingston's poetry, a since of longing. It make you sad, and mad, and glad, sometimes all at the same time.


This is an older book that appears to be out of print, but it is worth finding and placing in a school library. Children need to be exposed to a type of poetry that is fairly simple to understand and allows one to feel emotion on many levels.


There is a lot of rhyming in her poetry, which children will find familiar, and many of the poems are short and simple. She also uses simple imagery, easily allowing the reader to see the picture in their mind's eye. The parent leaving, the mother screaming, the new girlfriend laughing. I was amazed at how vivid it felt when I read.


One poem in the book is:

Father


I look for you on every street,
wondering if we'll ever meet.


In every crowd I try to see
your face. I think you'd know it's me.


I watch our corner where the bus
stops, hoping you'll come back to us.


Mom says I'd better just forget
About you. but I haven't, yet.


Wow. I just feel the hardache for a child that has to experience something like this. It is such a powerful image in such few words.

I really struggled in trying to come up with a good sponge or poetry break activity for this. It feels so personal and experiences like this are private and wouldn't feel right being tossed back and forth in a group. This may be a book that I would share individually with a child that I knew was having a hard time. Many times children want to talk to a teacher and this may be a good opening for that conversation.

This is another great example of how there are so many types of poetry out there to enjoy in so many different ways. That is a good piece of knowledge for a child to know. Some poetry is there to help deal with hardships and struggles.