Module 6- Falling Hard (YA authored poetry)

Franco, Betsy, Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teachers. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2008.

ISBN: 978-0-7636-3437-7

Betsy Franco is the author of a lot of very deep poetry! Falling Hard is a compilation of poems about love, written by young adults. I am a fan of Betsy Franco. She has a very different attitude in her books. I like how up front she is and how bold her work can be. This is definitely the case with Falling Hard. Ms. Franco has put together quite an edgy group of poems for young adults. The topics range from things like falling in love, missing love, finding love, and all that is between. Betsy Franco’s Falling Hard is absolutely intended for an older audience. I would feel comfortable with high school students being familiar with this book.

The different types of poetry keep Franco’s book versatile. We can read through poems that rhyme, poems that don’t rhyme, free verse, etc. Due to the fact that there were so many different types of poetry, it seems as though the reader would get lost in the variety.  Fortunately, that common theme of heart-felt, raw experience kept the reader in tune with the theme.

Below I’ve listed a few of my favorite selections from Falling Hard.

Love Poem

I am

the flour

to your tortilla

baby.

Juan Nunez, age 15

Love Poem is a favorite of mine because many of the poems in this book can be sad and heavy. This is a fun and silly poem! I would love to see what other poems students could come up with like “You are the icing to my cupcake” or “the cheese to my macaroni”… great practice on similies!

Untitled

Every time he gets around me

I fall weak

Trip on my words

Suddenly can’t speak

The way he licks his lips

Soft and wet

My palms get sweaty

My heart jets

He inspires me

To be everything I can

It’s crazy how I feel this way

About another man

He calls my name

Like the lyrics to a love song

Carried to me by Cupid

Nothing can go wrong

When I look at him, same body as me

I get scared and back away

Somehow, he makes me smile again

and the feelings I have convince me to stay

Aljune, Age 17

This is a more of a ‘love poem’… something I would expect to hear from a young adult or 17 year old. As I mentioned previously, reading the majority of these poems would be most appropriate for older students. These two poems are a great example of the versatility of this book. Overall, I would definitely have this book in a high school collection. 

Module 6- Very Best (almost) Friends (Janeczko Poetry)

(Credit) 

Janeczko, Paul B., Very Best (almost) Friends. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 1999.

ISBN: 0-7686-0475-5

Very Best (almost) Friends is a VERY relatable book. Though it is dated, it touches on subjects that children and young adults are so familiar with. This book is a collection of poetry by multiple authors. Each poem gives a creative twist on the highs and lows of friendship. I really like the topic Janeczko covers with this collection and I also find the mixture of the moods of the different poems a nice adjustment… they keep the reader interested and constantly relating to the topic. I found it interesting that the friends mentioned in these poems were all different types of friends, young children and adults, children and other children, etc.

The illustrations are very unique! They are water colored line drawings. Even the scenery on each page keeps with the theme. The illustrations do not impede or distract from the poetry which I like. Many times we lose sight of what the poem is talking about because its drowning in colorful and beautiful illustrations. Davenier did a perfect job of finding that perfect, non-overwhelming spot and created some fantastic illustrations.

Janeczko’s topic of friendship in this book is so relatable that I could see using some of these poems for students or children to create journal entries with, especially with work on personal narrative. I feel that these poems would help students jump start on an experience they may have had with their friends!

Example Poem

Teased

Sometimes

when I’m teased

I don’t cry,

I go away.

When I come back

my brother and his friends

are doing something else.

I remember.

They forget.

-- Richard J. Margolis

Module 6- Mirror, Mirror (Free Choice Poetry)

(Credit)

Singer, Marilyn, Mirror Mirror. New York: Penguin Group Inc., 2010.

ISBN: 978-0-525-47901-7

Mirror Mirror offers a creative way to read poetry! Ultimately, we are reading mini story’s about familiar fairy tales. What makes these poems unique is that each poem is reversible. One page has two verse poems. Each poem is the same poem, read once from top to bottom, and again from bottom to top. Ms. Singer has really created an interesting way to read and interpret poetry! This book of poetry is a cool way to read about different characters in fairy tales that we are familiar with! I really enjoyed Singers take of these characters.

The illustrations are, of course, stunning. Masse coordinated with the poetry in that the illustrations are a neat collage of reflected pictures. This book should be read to really be appreciated but the illustrations really compliment the theme of this book, reflections and equally proportioned pictures throughout.

Mirror Mirror lends itself to character analysis. Due to the fact that these characters are already familiar to us, Singer gives us more information or character traits to analyze a character… their attitude, how they feel about different things. This is a difficult concept for younger children! I also think that using graphic organizers to compare each character in Mirror, Mirror and their actual fairytale.

Poem Example:

In the Hood

In my hood,

Skipping through the wood,

carrying a basket,

picking berries to eat--

juicy and sweet

what a treat!

But a girl

mustn’t dawdle.

After all, Grandma’s waiting.

On same page, right side of the page

After all,

Grandma’s waiting,

mustn’t dawdle…

But a girl!

What a treat—

juicy and sweet,

picking berries to eat,

carrying a basket,

skipping through the wood

in my ‘hood.