Module 2- Florian Poetry (The Beast Feast)

(Credit)

Florian, Douglas, Beast Feast. Florida: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1994.

Poems and paintings by Douglas Florian

Beast Feast is a collection of comedic poems about different animals ranging from chameleons to anteaters! These poems are intended for younger children but could be great for any age . The layout of the book is easy to follow. When looking at the landscape of a page, on one side you will read the poem, and the opposite side shows an illustration of the animal the poem talks about. The illustrations are framed; they never spill outside of their square shape. Florian created a very clean line with his paintings- the are easy to understand, much like his poetry. His poetry has a lot of humor and is very intelligently written, all while still being easy to understand.

The illustrations are not heavy; they are light and clear. The colors are light and resemble line drawings. Many times in poetry, the content is difficult to follow or has a few really great poems while the rest sort of blend together. Florian has made it a point to keep every poem to-the-point, humorous, and informational. Another fun part that Florian uses in his poetry is the way he writes some words. For example, when he uses the word ‘pause’ when describing a sloth, it has two spaces between each word to symbolize slowness: p  a  u  s  e.  I enjoyed reading them all and found them all to be a lot of fun to share with my daughter. :)

Poetry Excerpt:

The Sloth

Up in tree

The shaggy sloth

Is hanging by its claws.

It doesn’t like to move at all.

It only likes to

p  a  u  s  e.

(The illustration shows a grey, black, and brown stripped sloth hanging upside down from a single tree limb. There are three flowers, yellow and orange, hanging daintily behind him.)

Module 2- NCTE Winner (My Man Blue By Nikki Grimes)

My Man Blue

Grimes, Nikki, My Man Blue. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 1999.

Poems by: Nikki Grimes, Illustrations by Jerome Lagarrigue

I had never read anything by Nikki Grimes before reading ‘My Man Blue’. I am absolutely in love with her poetry. She has such a strong conviction in her words. I feel as though she is telling me a story. Her collection of poems tells a story of a man or a “gold toothed angel” who is a friend to a young boy, Damon. It is evident that Damon is in need of a father figure and Blue is the perfect fit. I really enjoyed the progression of these poems and the story that they tell. In a lot of the books of poetry I’ve read, they are more like a collection, not a narrative. I REALLY enjoy this!

Lagarrigue did a magnificent job with the illustrations in this book. The poems sit on a page of solid color that seems textured by brush strokes. Each poem has an accompanying illustration that sits opposite of it. These illustrations also have interesting color combinations, using very bold and dramatic colors- lots of green, navy, and deep orange. The pictures show the textures of a brush and the canvas they were painted on. The pictures are very captivating and help keep the reader interested in the poetry!

I love the lessons this book teaches about love for you family and how to treat other people. Just exposing children to these poems does a lot on its own. However, this book hits a very personal cord—it talks a lot about family and the special times a boy and his mentor have. I think having students create a journal entry about a time when they remember having a special experience with their mom, dad, or guardian. If students felt comfortable, they could share their experiences. I want them to feel a personal connection to the text—I think this will be easy for children after reading this book.

Example Poem:

Class Bully

            A Bully

kicks me in the knee

That bully’s name

is Tiffany.

            I fume

but don’t return the blow.

Guys don’t hit girls

Blue says, and so

            I grab

her wrists ‘till she

calms down, while

            Laughing

jeering kids stand ‘round

and shout “You wimp!” But

they’re all wrong.

            It’s guys

who don’t hit girls

            Who’re strong.

(The illustrations shows Damon on the playground, and a girl smiling at him. There are other children standing around watching… most are continuing to play.)

Module 2- Multicultural Poetry (Yum! MmMm! Que Rico!)

(Credit)

Yum! MmMm!  Que rico!

Mora, Pat, Yum MmMm! Que rico. New York: Lee and Low Books Inc., 2007.

Pictures by Rafael Lopez

Let me start with this is a great book for children! This book has haiku’s that focus on different foods like fruits, vegetables and nuts that are originate from different parts of the world. This book is a really great multicultural resource for children.

The illustrations in this book are what make it so wonderful. The haiku poetry is beautiful but I feel that without the pictures, I wouldn’t enjoy the words as much. Each page gives a little excerpt of the origin of the food. I think this offers really great teaching opportunities and ways for students and patrons to learn about different cultures. Each page has absolutely stunning illustrations. They remind me of character art.  The pictures are very large and colorful, one reason why they are great for children. They colors have a very tropical feel, very fun!

There is no rhyming though the words are very descriptive. There is lots of onomatopoeia, which supplements the ‘fun’ feel of the book. I would love to investigate the places that these foods come from. We could use a program called Pebble Go to research these foods and the places they come from. It could be fun to try some of the foods that match the poems!

Overall, I would absolutely add Yum! MmMm! Que Rico! to any collection. It reaches a wide variety of patrons and offers awesome social studies aspects as well as bright illustrations.

Papaya

Chewing your perfume,

we taste your leafy jungle.

Yum! Juicy tropics.

Module 1- Amazing Faces

(Credit)

Amazing Faces

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, Amazing Faces. New York: Lee and Low Books, 2010.

Pictures by Chris Soentpiet

This book  is a versatile collection of poetry! It has poems that appeal to both adults and children. For example, there are poems based on parenting and then poems based on starting a new elementary school. I love that this book reaches so many different people!

I have had this book of poetry in my classroom for a long time, to be honest; I hadn’t cracked it open in several months. Finally, I read through it again and... wow. I forgot how smooth and captivating these poems are! The illustrations are so wonderful. They are realistic, almost like photos. Soentpiet absolutely did a fabulous job of recreating these poems through pictures. They will do a wonderful job of helping keep the reader focused and interested in the poem.  I also like that the pictures take up the majority of the page. They start on a page, cross the seam of the book and the last 1/3 of the page is white and that is where the poem is found. Technically the poems found in Amazing Faces are diverse in structure. Every poem is laid out in different form whether it be regular stanza’s or staggered words. Exposing readers to poetry that is read in different ways is a great way to teach pacing, vocabulary, and just expose them to a lot of different structures of poetry!

I could find great use from the illustration that represents each poem. Students could look at the illustration and create a poem based on the photo. This activity would go a long way in helping students draw conclusions and make inferences. I am overly satisfied with the quality of the poems Bennett used in this book. They are all wonderful and diverse. I highly recommend this book!

Amazing Face

Amazing, your face.

Amazing.

It shows there will be trails to follow,

Porches to wave from, wonder from,

Play on.

It shows you will sail ships,

Paint stars,

carve pumpkins,

hours,

years.

You will climb stalks,

greet giants,

crawl before you walk.

And you will fly

And you will fall.

And you will fly again.

Amazing, your face.

It shows you will watch from a window,

whisper to a friend,

ride a carousel,

melt candy on your tounge.

Amazing, your face.

Amazing

- Rebecca Kai Dotlich

(The illustration that reflects this poem is a Mom holding a little baby up in the air. Both the mom and the baby are extremely happy and laughing. As a momma myself, the poem and illustration make me smile!)

Module 1: I, Too, Sing America

(Credit)

I, Too, Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry

Catherine Clinton, I, Too, Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.

Illustrator: Stephen Alcorn

ISBN: 0-395-89599-5

I, Too, Sing America is like an anthology of African American poetry and extremely rich in history. Immediately you see the acknowledgements where the author thanks the many different people who contributed to this collection. This collection of poems is definitely a great resource for a more mature reader. The text is small and the poetry is lengthy. There is also an explanation and history of the poem on the pages prefacing the poems. These also have mature vocabulary and are intended for a more mature audience.

I really enjoy the beautiful illustrations that reflect each poem. Each illustration is represents a piece of African American history. Each illustration sits reflecting the poem. I really like this- it gives the reader a way to visualize the poem, especially for those students who cannot understand all the text. I rarely find poetry with such serious content that has illustrations. I love it! Throughout these poems, I found rhyming, onomatopoeia, and a rich vocabulary. All of these characteristics help make this book a great learning tool.

Though this is intended for an older audience, I could really do some great things with this book for my younger students. I would love to find a poem in this collection that is appropriate for my younger students. I would show my students the illustration that matches the poem. Students will discuss what they think the picture represents. Then I will read them a stanza or two from the poem and they can discuss whether or not the illustration and their predictions actually represented the poem well. I think African-American history is a wonderfully rich topic and that I, Too, Sing America is an amazing and poetic way of reflecting on the past.

An poem from the anthology I, Too, Sing America:

We Wear the Mask

We wear the mask that grins and lies,

It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,--

This debt we pay to human guile;

With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,

And mouth with myriad subtleties.

Why should the world be overwise,

In counting all our tears and sighs?

Nay, let the only see us while

            We wear the mask.

We smile, but, O great Christ, our cries

To thee tortured souls arise.

We sing, but oh the clay is vile

Beneath our feet, and long the mile;

But let the world dream otherwise,

            We wear the mask!

(The illustration for this poem is on the opposite page. It is an African American, middle-aged woman with brown eyes. She is looking straight forward, holding two masks; one mask is frowning, the other is smiling.)