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.