LS5663 - Module 6 - Janeczko Collection - Book Review

Janeczko, Paul B., selected by. 2001. Dirty laundry pile, Poems in different voices. United States of America: HarperCollins Publishers. Illustrations by Melissa Sweet. ISBN 9780688162511.

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When I first read the title of the book, I thought it was a book that needed multiple readers to enjoy it to the fullest, but actually these are poems that are written "in the voice of an object or an animal, as if that thing or creature were speaking." These poems are clever, and some even made me laugh out loud! There are poems about a crayon in a box wanting to be chosen, a vicious vacuum cleaner, a cow complaining that the "grass is greener on the other side of the fence," and of a cold little horse hoping for a blanket and a carrot. Kids are going to love these because they have probably never before thought about the thoughts of a tree, a red glove, a broom, a kite, or a washing machine.

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Many of these poems rhyme, and they are a lot of fun to read out loud. When I read this book, I was sitting in my office and reading out loud and laughing, loudly sometimes. I am sure that the high school students who might have seen me think that I am so silly, but who cares? These poems are so cool!

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The illustrations are very bright and colorful and very appropriate in depicting the poetry. This is an excellent book for a library poetry collection.

One of my favorites is the one about the viscious vacuum cleaner:

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The Vacuum Cleaner's Revenge

by Patricia Hubbell

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I munch. I crunch.

I zoom. I roar.

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I clatter-clack

Across the floor.

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I swallow twigs.

I slurp dead bugs.

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I suck the cat hair

From the rugs.

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My stomach full

Of dirt and dust

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I gulp another

Pizza crust.

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A tiresome life--

All work, no play--

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I think I'll swallow you today!

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The illustration is of a gigantic vacuum cleaner, sucking up everything in its path. I don't want to be its next victim. Yikes!

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This is a wonderful read-aloud book to share with elementary students. These poems will invite a lot of discussion. It would be great to do an extension activity by having the children to think of other objects and try to imagine the thoughts of those items. They could try to make poems and then add a photograph or drawing of the item that they are personifying. This could be a very engaging and imaginative project.

LS5663 - Module 6 - Poetry by Kids - Book Review

Adedjouma, Davida, editor. 1996. The palm of my heart. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc. Illustrations by Gregory Christie. ISBN 9781880000410.

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Winner of Coretta Scott King Award.

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This book was a very nice surprise. There is an editor's note at the beginning which explains that this anthology came about as a writing workshop with children from the Inner City Youth League and the African-American Academy for Accelerated Learning. The editor stated that she had a desire "to share her love of language, the techniques of image and metaphor, narrative and dialogue, and then set them free to explore their own lives, feelings, and imaginations."

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One of the first things I noticed while reading was the strong identity that these children have in being African American. They celebrate it! They are very proud! This comes through positively on each poem. The illustrations also help to bring the poetry alive. The colors are bright, and childlike. They draw you into the excitement that the children are trying to convey.

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Lucille Clifton gives a brief introduction to the book, and she states the difference that time makes in our lives. When she was a girl, to be called black was an insult. Now these children in this poetry book are proclaiming it from the rooftops. She says, "Dark is equated with wonderful and Black with joy!"

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Each of the poems are very short, but powerful and distinctive. Most do not rhyme, but there is the heavy use of metaphor and image. Some of the printing in the book is done in bold type to emphasize words, wanting the reader to stress these, and call them out louder and prouder. Each poem has the poet's name underneath, and at the end of the book, there is a brief description of each child poet, along with their future occupational dream. Most of these kids are now entering adulthood, and I wondered whether they are still dreaming big??? I hope so!

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One of my favorites in the book is:

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Black culture is a secret

shared in the night.

A whispered thought,

the wonders of the mind,

a swirling of belief.

by T.J. Moore, Jr.

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I like the feeling of this poem. There is pride and intelligence and imagination here. It is wonderful!

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This would be a great book to bring out during February for Black Heritage Month. These are great read-aloud poems, and the students will be very impressed to know that they are written by real kids. It would be a fun challenge for the kids to be given a project to work in groups. Each group could come up with an idea and write a short poem together and then illustrate it, such as the ones in this book. This would be a great time to remind kids that poems don't have to rhyme. They should just try to express meaning about their idea. It will be fun to see what they come up with.

LS5663 - Module 6 - Serious Poetry - Book Review

Sones, Sonya. 2001. What my mother doesn't know. New York: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. ISBN: 9780689841149.

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This is a free verse poetry book about a young teenage girl, Sophie, trying to find the right boyfriend. During the course of the book, her various relationships through the year are mentioned, but all are lacking, as she searches for the "perfect guy" that truly makes her happy. This is a real "coming-of-age" story about a girl as she discovers for herself what "growing up" is all about, from the changes in her body, to her distant and confusing relationships with her parents, and to discovering how to set physical boundaries in her relationships with her boyfriends.

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This story also mentions a very serious subject that every kid on the Internet needs to very aware of, and that is "meeting" someone in a chatroom, and having a cyber-relationship. At one point the guy in the chatroom wants to meet Sophie, but through their final conversation, she realizes that some of the things he is saying are not "sounding" just right, and using her head, she immediately discontinues the cyber-relationship, and changes her e-mail address. This is a definite conversation item that all teenagers need to have with parents or trusted adults. It is a scary cyber-world, and this situation could have had deadly consequences. Hopefully readers will notice Sophie's "mostly" correct actions in this story, and they will remember it if they should ever find themselves in this situation.

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This book is serious, dramatic, and laugh-out-loud funny at times! Sophie really struggles with trying to figure out the difference between love and lust, and that can be very confusing sometimes. Sonya Sones uses free verse poetry as a means to tell the story, and each poem depicts different elements of Sophie's life, from Art class, to being at the movies, to shopping for a dress to wear to the dance, her New Year's Eve experiences, etc. It is all very clever, a fast read, and something that I think teen girls are really going to enjoy.

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One of my favorite poems in this story is:

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Oh, Man

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I probably

shouldn't have let him

hold my hand.

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What if it

gave him

the wrong idea?

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I hope

he doesn't think

that I like him now.

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I mean

I do like him,

but I don't like him.

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You can just see in your mind's eye the thoughts going on in Sophie's mind. She is so tormented at times of how to handle developing relationships.

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The whole poetry story boils down to, "What do you do when you fall in love with the school geek?" Sofie knows how wonderful he is, but what do you do about all that peer pressure of how the school kids already classify him? This is very tough on her, and it is interesting to see how she handles this. I was very close to the end of the book, and worried about how Sonya Sones would end the story. I was so afraid that I would be disappointed, but I liked the ending as well. ~

This is a great story for a "Girl BookTalk, complete with lots of comfort food. There are so many issues, both serious and silly, but I would so love to have a circle of girls discussing it, and hearing their thoughts about it. It would also be interesting to see if they have the same kinds of questions about life, love, parents, and relationships, that Sophie has. I would also like to hear if they enjoyed the free verse poetry style of the story, of if they would have preferred to have it in a prose style. Teenage girls have strong opinions, and I am so curious to see if they would feel the same way that I did after finishing the book.

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I personally loved this book and I wanted it to continue. I want to know if Sophie and her new "love" really make a go of it, or if that peer pressure does affect her adversely at some point. I am a sucker for this romance, along with all of the attached teenage hormonal issues!

LS5663 - Module 5 - Performance Poetry- Book Review

Eleveld, Mark, editor. 2003. The Spoken word revolution. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks mediaFusion. ISBN 9781402200373.

I am in a high school library and I specifically wanted a book that would work for performance poetry in a high school setting. The cover says "slam, hip hop & poetry of a new generation." When I requested this book from my public library, it seemed a perfect fit, but was I ever wrong! This book was a huge disappointment and frankly, I would never place it in a school library.

When I opened to the table of contents, I scanned, looking for a familiar poet. I came across Sherman Alexie and Viggo Mortensen. I flipped to those pages, and others, and I was simply shocked and appalled at the choice of language, subject, and content. I do not promote censorship in a library, however, I do believe in making the best choices for a school library and its budget. This book is offensive in multiple ways, and if this is the poetry of a "new generation," then I will pass. However, I know that there is so much better out there, that I will not waste time and money on this.

I guess that my biggest disappointment was that I wanted something that appealed specifically to high school students, and the "idea" of this book is what I wanted, just not this book.

This book does come with a CD, which I chose to not listen to, and each chapter begins with an introduction of sorts to the poetry in that section. There are pictures and graphics, done in black, red, and white, and just by glancing, it appears to be interesting and engaging.

I had to search very hard to find a poem to post here, that was clean enough. This one is by Viggo Mortensen.

Hillside

We underestimate damage

done to the sky

when we allow words

to slip away

into the clouds.

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I remember making promises

to you outside. We

were watching flowers

that hadn't opened.

A bee darted, careful

not to stick to

your half-shut mouth.

I think that for teen performance poetry, it isimportant for teens to feel comfortable with the poetry, and that it is something that they can relate to. But, I also feel that there are moral guidelines for a school activity, and so the search must go on to find something for them to use. Teens may want to perform poetry that they like as a solo, duet, chorus, with music, or sounds, or props. When they find a poem, they may need to try it multiple ways, to see what they like the best, and what makes the most effective performance.

I don't recommend this book, and I have learned to be more careful and critical in picking out performance poetry for teens and a school library.

LS5663 - Module 5 - Free Choice - Book Review

Frost, Helen. 2008. Diamond willow. New York: Frances Foster Books. ISBN 9780374317768.

I have seen this book everywhere lately, and I was curious. I requested it from the public library and when I got it, I sat down and literally read it in one sitting. It was amazing! All morning long, I have been discussing it with anyone that I can get to stand still long enough, teachers and students. I was so impressed by the story, and its creative free verse style. I am not sure what I was expecting, but I experienced a very sweet surprise!

Even though this book is about a 12 year-old girl, I still have plans to put a copy in the high school library. This is so good, that I don't want anyone to miss out on it. Willow is Athabascan Native American, with a loving, and happy family, but she suffers a little from middle child syndrome, and facing those scary upcoming and difficult teenage years. She is an accomplished dog musher and this story is about a trip to her grandparents using the dogs and sled as transportation.

There is an author's note at the beginning to help set the story for the reader, and then each poem is written in a diamond shape. There is a reason for this that the reader soon discovers, and also hidden within each diamond is a secret message, printed in bold. It feels like you are reading the story poetry, but also getting secret additional insight into the characters. Every once in a while, the poetry stops for a moment, and there is a prose insert, from one of her ancesters, who is watching over her, in a surprising way.

I truly enjoyed reading the story of Willow and watching her mature from a shy and introverted person, to a young lady who was starting to understand who she was, and to be proud and satisfied with it.

This novel is written in a free verse and concrete poetry style, and it really works here. I truly loved this book and I can't wait to have my students read it so that I can discuss it further.

One of my favorite poems was:

What

I love

about dogs:

They don't talk

behind your back.

If they're mad at you,

they bark a couple times

and get it over with. It's true

they slobber on you sometimes.

(I'm glad people don't do that.) They

jump out and scare you in the dark. (I know,

I should say me, not "you"--some people aren't

afraid of anything.) but dogs don't make fun

of you. They don't hit you in the back

of your neck with an ice-covered

snowball, and if they did, and

it made you cry, all their

friends wouldn't stand

there laughing

at you.

(Me.)

I like this poem because it lets you see a little into Willow's soul, and the comparison that she draws between her loving dog companions, and the trouble that she has with her human school classmates. Did you also see the hidden message? PEOPLE SCARE ME. Again, Helen Frost gives us even more information about the Willow. This is such a cool thing to do!

This would be a great book to use along with a unit about Alaska. I would read as much of this book as possible aloud to students, but also allow the students to have access to the poetry novel so that they can see the creative concrete design. The book gives some insight into the Native American culture, along with the dog sled used as transportation. There are many animals in this story, and students may find it interesting to do further research on the computer and in the library about Alaska and the Native cultures there.

I really think that kids of all ages will very much enjoy this wonderful free verse book of poetry.

LS5663 - Module 5 - Hopkins Award Poetry - Book Review

Myers, Walter Dean. 2006. Jazz. New York: Holiday House. Illustrated by Christopher Myers. ISBN 9780823415458.

I happen to love everything written by Walter Dean Myers! He is one of my absolute favorites and I promote him to my high school students as often as possible. In this book he is celebrating the "jazz" musical style through words and pictures, but they are so infectious when read aloud, that you can't help but to start tapping your toes and snapping your fingers. I have no idea how he creates that "magic" but it is there! I almost swear that I could hear a saxophone in my head.

There is an interesting explanation of the creation of jazz at the beginning of the book that helps to set the reader up for a very enjoyable experience. Most of the poems don't have a rhyming pattern, but they have a rhythm that can easily be felt, with lots of repetition of phrases and words. The first time I read this book, I read it silently to myself, but for the second reading, I had to do it aloud. The words beg to be heard spoken aloud. Many of them feel loud, and sing-song, and silly-fun even. Others are an introduction or further explanation into the African American musical culture. Some refrains are not even words at all, but musical sounds, like "be ba boodie, be ba boodie, boo." These words become the music in your head.

The illustrations are bold and bright, and fabulously colorful! The images depicted are helpful to the reader in understanding and feeling the music of the words. They are very impressive.

At the end of the book, there is a glossary of jazz terms, which I loved and found very useful. Also, included is a "Jazz Time Line" that helps to provide the history of this wonderful musical form.

This is a wonderful book that begs to be read aloud and shared. One of my favorite poems is:

AMERICA'S MUSIC

What did the world see?

What did the world hear?

Black men sweating in 4/4 time

Behind the beat, around the beat

Bending the in-between

Strings crying like midnight widows

Horns tearing down Jericho walls

A clarinet sassing

Its way through

a Sunday-night sermon

And the chorus calling out blues!

And ragtime!

And jazz!

From Mississippi to Harlem

While the folks across the ocean

were just saying

AMERICA.

This poem provides a sense of equality among all men, regardless of color or race. I like this, and I think that children will feel this as well.

As an extension activity to this book, it would be fun to bring in some jazz music and to share with the children, everything from the ragtime to the swing, and have the kids to act out playing the various instruments that they hear. This would get them moving and feeling the music. Jazz may be a type of music that most children are not familiar with, and what a great introduction!