LS 5663 Spring 2012: Poetry Performance

Module 5:  Hopkins Award Poetry


Bibliographic information:

Schertle, Alice, and Petra Mathers. Button up!: wrinkled rhymes. New York: Harcourt Children's Books/ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. ISBN: 9780152050504

Review:

The national Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for Children’s Poetry is awarded yearly to an anthology of poetry or a single poem published for children by a living American poet or anthologist. The Hopkins Award is administered by The Pennsylvania Center for the Book and Penn State University Libraries.

The 2010 Hopkins Award winner, Button Up! Wrinkled Rhymes by Alice Schertle provides many examples of alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification and repetition. However, the collection’s real appeal is that it is written from the perspective of familiar inanimate objects such as hats, underwear and other clothing. These fifteen clever poems will stimulate readers’ imaginations as they explore the unknown world of items to which they can relate. Every poem is created with quality language and style by one award winning poet especially for this collection.

Readers may enjoy the personalities and moods of these common articles of clothing and may be inspired to look at everyday events from their perspectives. Using the table of contents readers can easily find a specific poem although there is no index. Each two page layout features a poem and an original watercolor illustration by Petra Mathers.

The Hopkins Award website states that the 2010 judges said that Button Up! is full of humor and will “draw children in with laughter and love”. The animated poems in Button Up! encourage expressive and dramatic reading that will urge even the most reluctant readers to read with enthusiasm.



Highlighted Poem:
p. 4

Bertie’s Shoelaces

Good old Bertie,

he lets us hang around.

It doesn’t bother Bertie

when we drag along the ground.

We’re not uptight

as our Bertie Buddy knows.

We’re hang loose laces and

we don’t do bows!

Introduction/Activity:

4th grade: personification

After reviewing the definition of personification, read Button Up, Wrinkled Rhymes. Re-read Bertie’s Shoelaces and have students identify phrases in the poem that demonstrate the use of personification. Have students create original poems using personification about school, home or a vacation written from their backpacks’ point of view.

Module 4: LS 5663 Spring 2012: Biography

Poetry Across the Curriculum: Biographical Poetry

Bibliographic information:

McGill, Alice, and Michael Cummings. In the hollow of your hand: slave lullabies. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN: 0395857554

Review:

Alice McGill’s In the Hollow of Your Hand; Slave Lullabies is a collection of poems passed down by members of her family who were slaves. The rhythmic storytelling and nonsense rhymes will stimulate readers’ emotions and imaginations as they expose them to the real life hardships slaves endured. McGill explains that these poems should be thought of as “musical stories” that express love in spite of the pain and sadness these families suffered. She also provides readers with insight into the lives of the poets/singers through the eyes of their descendants.

The poets are unknown outside of the author’s friends and family. McGill confesses that although she doesn’t know the origin of all of the poems, she tried to determine the sources of these descriptions of trials and celebrations her ancestors experienced. Readers will enjoy the silly as well as slightly frightening moods these poems convey.

The thirteen poems are arranged in a two page layout of a poem, artwork and background information about each poem or poet over two pages. Sheet music as well as a CD are included and allow readers to connect with the poetry on a more meaningful level. Along with an acoustic guitar, fiddle, banjo and other percussion instruments, McGill is the singer and the storyteller on the accompanying CD. Artist Michael Cummings has chosen various fabric and paper bits to create intense and powerful quilt collages to illustrate this collection. There is no pagination, table of contents or index; however the readers will appreciate how the introduction explains the connections the poems have to the real life people in McGill’s life. She also offers an “About the Lullaby” section that tells readers how and why the music and lyrics may have changed due to the traveling that may have occurred from plantation to plantation.



Highlighted Poem:

Rock de Cradle, Joe

(last stanza)

 

Joe went to de pig pen.

Slipped an’ he fell in.

All de gals commence to laugh

An’ Joe commence to grin.

Rock de cradle, rock de cradle,

Rock de cradle, Joe.

Introduction/Activity:

2nd grade: mood

Before reading Rock de Cradle, Joe, ask students if they have ever made up a nonsense song or poem with their friends. Read the story the author includes about the lullaby and then read the poem to students. Ask:  What is the mood the poem portrays?

LS 5663 Spring 2012 Mod 4 Social Studies

Poetry Across the Curriculum: Social Studies Poetry

Bibliographic information:

Hemphill, Stephanie. Wicked girls: a novel of the Salem witch trials. New York: Balzer + Bray, 2010. ISBN 9780061853296

Review:

Hemphill’s phrasing and word choice in Wicked Girls is emotional, descriptive and entertaining. Written in proper old English, it may at times be difficult for some readers to understand. However, readers who have some basic background knowledge of the history of the trials will have a slight advantage over readers who have no prior knowledge of these historical events. Hemphill offers great insight into what it may have been like for both the accused and the accusers. The quality of each poem intensifies the drama and danger that surrounded those involved in these trials.

Hemphill created these poems for this collection based on her research and investigations into the lives of those who were a part of the hearings that took place in the 1600’s known as the Salem Witch Trials or Hunts. The two sections titled, “The Real Girls and What Happened to Them” and “The Real People the Girls Accused” provides readers with an awareness of why and how the author wrote this poetry.

However, the arrangement is difficult to follow and readers may have to consult the descriptions before each poem many times to understand who is speaking. There are too many characters to keep track of and so readers may find themselves confused throughout the book. The story tends to get lost on the reader when he/she has to concentrate on each character’s specific set of circumstances and personality so closely.

The book is organized with headings before each poem to let readers know who is sharing. Page numbers, a table of contents and an index are provided. This collection is not illustrated; however, the list of resources, character descriptions, and factual information about the “real” people that may help readers with little or no background knowledge of this period in American history.



Highlighted Poem:
p. 346

Go Home

November 1692

After a fire rages,

the forest path dusts away.

it may be safe to walk,

but where do you go

when all directions wear

the same black ashen despair?

Introduction/Activity:

5th grade: mood

Explain that this poem is depicting the atmosphere in Salem Village after the trials and hangings had taken place. Read the poem. Ask students to describe the mood in Salem Village. How do you think the accusers feel?

LS 5663 Spring 2012 Mod 4 Science

Poetry Across the Curriculum:  Science Poetry

Bibliographic information:

Asch, Frank, and Ted Levin. Cactus poems. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co., 1998. ISBN 0152006761

Review:

The nineteen poems Asch and Levin include in Catus Poems teach readers about the desert. Through rhyme, repetition, personification and other figurative language readers understand the food web, the habitats and the animals that are unique to desert climates. If the animals aren’t familiar to the reader, the poems provide enough intrigue to draw readers in and make the unfamiliar more memorable. These poems will inspire every reader to learn more about these distinctive locations and may even persuade them to travel to the deserts and experience these unusual places for themselves.

Each poem is carefully crafted to uncover how plants and animals have adapted to thrive in a desert setting. The secrets of animal behaviors and plants’ functions are all revealed to readers. Levine’s photography illustrates this collection of imaginative portrayals of the Sonora, Mojave, Great Basin and the Chihuahua deserts perfectly.

Although there is only one poem per page there may be several photos used to illustrate it. There is no table of contents or index to help readers locate specific poems but the introduction shares the author’s inspiration for the poetry he included in this book. Also, each poem is accompanied with notes offering information about the topic and the photos used to illustrate it.

Highlighted Poem:

Bobcat Watching

I thought

I was tracking

a bobcat.

I was

sure of

his prints

in the mud.

I felt so smart,

so quiet

and sly.

Hoping to

catch a

glimpse of him,

I hid behind

a tree. Then suddenly

I turned and saw

him

calmly

watching

me.

Introduction/Activity:

2nd grade: point of view

After reading the whole book, reread Bobcat Watching and ask students to write a poem describing the human behaviors the bobcat may have been observing the whole time the writer was looking for the bobcat.

LS 5663 Spring 2012 Mod 3 Verse Novel

Module 3

Kinds of Poetry-Verse Novel

Bibliographic information:

Havill, Juanita, and Stanislawa Kodman. Grow: a novel in verse. Atlanta: Peachtree, 2008. ISBN: 9781561454419

Review:

Juanita Havill published her first children’s book in 1986. The following year she was awarded the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer award. In Grow: A Novel in Verse, she uses metaphors, similes and other figurative language to expertly evoke emotions and images in her readers. Descriptive phrases such as, “can almost hear his brain thinking”, “my stomach hollow with pain” and “his scream has the power of pain times three” help readers to understand the depth of each character’s thoughts or reactions. Her short, expressive style draws readers in and helps to further connect them to the main characters and plot of the novel. Most readers will relate to the troubles of Havill’s characters but all will empathize with their plights. Every poem expresses the growing and changing that occurs in the neighborhood garden and in the lives of the characters. The novel is a series of single titled poems arranged to tell the beginning, middle and end of the story of Berneetha, Darleen and Harlan as they grow and tend to a small urban garden. It is sparsely illustrated with sketches and drawings by Stanislawa Kodman. Although there is pagination and the titles for each poem are in bold type, there is no index or table of contents to help readers find a specific poem.

Highlighted Poem:

page 157 only

The Last Poem is Really the First

I stare at the notebook paper,

thin blue lines

that I’m supposed

to be writing on,

pink up-and-down stripes

to keep me

from scribbling

across the margin.

But we’re supposed

to write poems

today-

long lines all the way to and even

across the pink line if we want,

or short lines

if

we

want.

Introduction/Activity:

4th grade: descriptive writing

Share a few poems from the novel such as Going Shopping on page 51 and Secrets on page 99, and ask students to respond to the descriptions of the clothing or Berneetha’s appearance. Give each student a blank piece of lined notebook paper. As students study the piece of paper, read the first part of The Last Poem is Really the Last on page 157. Have students choose one item from a group of familiar items you have on display to study and write six statements that describe the object.

LS 5663 Spring 2012 Mod 3 Poetic Form

Module 3



Kinds of Poetry-Poetic Form


Bibliographic information:

Clements, Andrew, and Tim Bowers. Dogku. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2007. ISBN: 9780689858239

Review:

Andrew Clements is a well-known author of children’s literature. Although he is not as well known for his poetry, he has a tremendous talent for writing Haiku. Having published over fifty books for children, Clements wrote fifteen well-crafted Haikus just for this publication. In Dogku, readers learn what the world can look like to a lonely, stray dog. Clements’ use of influential, descriptive and emotional language allows readers some insight into Mooch’s perspective of homelessness. The result is a funny, hopeful and heartwarming story to which readers can relate. Events that we see as ordinary and necessary to daily human life are strange, confusing and a little scary to the little stray looking for a family. Arranged to flow as a single story of events spanning a few days, two page illustrations surround one poem in this traditional thirty two page picture book format. Tim Bowers’ oil on canvas illustrations add warmth and specific detail to the meager Haiku style. There is no table of contents, index or pagination. However, the author’s note teaches, models and encourages Haiku writing as Clements explains how he got “hooked on Haiku” years ago.



Highlighted Poem:

Nose out the window,

Ears flapping, hair pushed straight back.

Adventures in smell.

Possible emotional reactions: active, excited, curious

Categorized as: Thought provoking or intriguing


Introduction/Activity:

6th grade: connecting with literature/vocabulary development

Working in small groups and using resources such as dictionaries and thesauri, have students choose words to describe different emotional reactions they might have to a story or poem. Allow each group to share and discuss the meanings and synonyms for their words with the whole class. Read Dogku and allow students to describe the images and emotions that are strongest for them overall. In small groups have students categorize five of the Haikus from the book in regards to the descriptive words they discovered while working in small groups or during another group’s share out.

LS 5663 Spring 2012 Mod 3 New Poetry Book

Module 3


Kinds of Poetry-New Poetry Book

Bibliographic information:

Silverstein, Shel. Every thing on it: poems and drawings. New York: Harper, 2011. ISBN: 9780061998164

Review:

Shel Silverstein was a cartoonist, author, poet, songwriter, and playwright. He is best known for his many children's poems. In 2011, twelve years after his death, Everything On It was published. It is a familiar collection of Silverstein’s rhythmic talent and slightly dark yet upbeat sense of humor. This latest collection is definitely in keeping with what we have come to expect from Silverstein. His famous odd, peculiar and sometimes “gross” subject choices can be found in the collection alongside a few new surprises. The pace of the poetry and his use of figurative language create an emotional and stimulating experience for readers. Silverstein’s style is one of a storyteller. The fantasies and exaggerations he creates with words and simple drawings are quite appealing to children. The collection is arranged in such a way that readers can experience huge belly laughs as well as sensitive thoughtful moments as they make their way from beginning to end. Each poem is accompanied by his signature black and white sketch. The index and pagination make it easy for readers to locate a particular poem. The touching “For You” dedication and final poem entitled, “When I’m Gone” make this collection feel very personal.



Highlighted Poem:

Wild Weed

This kid-eating plant

Is a dangerous creature.

It can wind all around ya

And choke ya and eatcha.

I should chop it or clip it

Or pull it or prune it,

But its leaves are so pretty…

I do hate to ruin it.

Introduction/Activity:

1st grade-5th grade: predicting outcomes

After reading the book, re-read th epoem on page 160, Wild Weed. Have students create an original comic strip telling with pictures and captions what happened next.