LS 5663 Spring 2012


Module 1  Hopkins Collection


Bibliographic information:

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. I am the book: poems. New York: Holiday House, 2011. ISBN: 9780823421190

Review:

I Am The Book by Lee Bennett Hopkins is a collection of concrete and abstract poetry about books and reading. Hopkins has selected poems written by different well known poets such as Naomi Shihab Nye and Jane Yolen as well as some who may not be as familiar to young readers like Jill Corcoran and Avis Harley. However, each poem evokes images with which most readers are like identify. Metaphors, similes, rhyme and meter are used to appeal to the readers’ senses and ignite their imagination.

The table of contents and pagination enable readers to easily locate a single poem within the book. An “About The Poets” inclusion allows readers to gain a deeper understanding of each poet and his or her talent.

Yayo illustrates this collection with creative transformational and representational art using acrylics on canvas. Each painting brings the specifics of its poem partner to life with unique color and clever manipulations of objects. For instance, in one painting the book is actually a tea bag hanging from the side of an oversized tea cup. In another painting, the book is a treasure chest that has been found buried on a beach.

I Am The Book is a treasure of poetry and art that readers will surely find inspirational.



Highlighted Poem:

Paperback Plunder by Michele Krueger

 

Like a sunken treasure

Long forgotten,

I lie half buried under sand.

She remembered

her sunscreen,

her towel and hat.

She folded her blanket,

And that was that.

No last look back

For what she left behind.

Now I am here

For you to find.

Sun-drenched and salty,

Like a giant conch shell.

Lift me to you ear,

Hear the story I shall tell.

Introduction/Activity:

3rd grade: Creative Writing

After reading the entire book, re-read Paperback Plunder by Michele Krueger on page 15. Have students work in pairs or groups of three to four to create an original story that the book/shell might tell.

LS 5663 Spring 2012


Module 1:  School Poetry












Bibliographic information:

Singer, Marilyn, and Lorna Clark. All we needed to say: poems about school from Tanya and Sophie. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1996.  ISBN:  9780689806674.



Review:

All We Need To Say: poems about school from Tanya and Sophie by Marilyn Singer is a collection of poems about the activities and characters associated with an elementary school. Singer arranges the poems to alternate from one girl to the other. The result is almost conversational as we discover each young girl’s perspective on her school experiences. Singer utilizes alliteration and metaphors in her concrete poetry to appeal to all of the readers’ senses. Her selections are relatable to readers and each reinforces the theme of the book. Every poem skillfully evokes images of the girls’ experiences and understanding of their various moods as they stimulate readers’ emotions. However, there is no organizational tool that would allow a reader to easily find one specific poem in the book.

The illustrator, Lorna Clark, uses black and white photographs of very familiar school related settings and objects to add visual interest and supplement the selections. Readers can learn more details about the photographs and the school at which they were taken by reading the Acknowledgements provided on the last page. This well-known poet has provided a touching and artistic story of two children who discover they have more in common than they realized.


Highlighted Poem:

Tanya

Who is first, last and in the middle?

The answer to this riddle

is me

First in reading

writing

‘rithmitic

Last to leave the library every day

And right smack in the middle in gym

I jump

high on the trampoline

But I don’t soar

I sink

one surprising basket

But never four

There’s nothing really

bad

about being in the middle

It’s just that it feels

like you’re fiddling around

twiddling your thumbs

Because no matter how hard

you try

You can’t ever reach

the sky

Introduction/Activity:

5th grade: Character development (perspective)

After reading the entire book, re-read Tanya and ask students to relate to Tanya's perspective by recalling something they were not very good at when they were in Kindergarten or first grade. After a brief group sharing time, have them write a skill or activity on an index card but do not have them write their name on the card. Once all students have something written on a card, collect them. Create groups of students and give each group three of the index cards. Instruct students to study the cards they have been given and as a group determine how they feel first graders today might classify the skills: first, last or middle. Explain to students that it is possible that not every member of the group may agree on how to classify the skill. They must come up with solutions that will as accurately as possible, represent each member's input. Allow for each group to share their perspectives on the skills and how they settled any discrepancies among their group members.