Poetry Review #45

 What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms, 

and Blessings

Author: Joyce Sidman
Illustrator: Pamela Zagarenski
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2013

ISBN: 978-0544106161
Reading Ages: 12 and up
Genre: Poetry for Teen and Young Adult

I Gave This Book 5 Roars!🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 5 Roars? It deals with a wide variety of topics. A great many of those are difficult topics, such as forgiveness, death, shame, grief and evil.  

Poetic Elements: The introduction got my attention and was the reason for reading this book. I found it to be an unusual book, but interesting. 

From the introduction:

“We speak to send messages to the world. We chant for what we want, bless what we like, lament what we've lost. When angry, we curse; when in love, we sing.

We have always done this. Since earliest human history, we have used language to try to influence the world around us . . .

We may no longer believe that words can make crops grow, prevent illness, or keep rivers from flooding. But we still believe in the power of the words themselves. Why else would we pray, sing, or write? Finding phrases to match the emotion inside us still brings an explosive, soaring joy.

I wrote these poems for comfort, for understanding, for hope: to remind myself of things I keep learning and forgetting and learning again. They're about repairing friendship, slowing down time, understanding happiness, facing the worst kind of loss. They are words to speak in the face of loneliness, fear, delight, or confusion.

I hope they work for you. I hope you're inspired to write some of your own--and chant them, in your own voice.”

~~ Joyce Sidman

Appeal: Common items turn into metaphors for loss, there is repetition and alliteration that adds interest, and the author has a clear relationship with the natural world that is very obvious in this collection.  

"An evocative book that pulls readers to a special place--their hearts." 

~~ Booklist, review

Overall Quality: The poetry collection would be a great addition to a young adult library. It would also make a great resource for students struggling with difficult topics. The author handles the subject matter with humor, hope, and a deep sense of spiritual respect for the healing power of words.     

"Each poem speaks directly from Sidman's heart to the reader's, addressing subjects of deep importance . . . Zagarenski's illustrations beautifully extend the poems with her dreamy style and deft use of white space, symbolism, and images from Sidman's text."

~~ The Horn Book Magazine

Claudia Lewis Award (2014)

Layout: The book is divided into four parts: Chants & Charms, Spells & Invocations, Laments & Remembrances, and Praise Songs & Blessings.

Connections:
Spotlight Poem - 

Song of Bravery

This one’s not a sure thing.

I’m not bound to win.

I don’t think I’ll ace it this time.

I won’t break a leg,

make my own luck,

or reach the stars.

The sun is not shining on me today.

The force is not strong.

Before the day is out,

I’ll taste the grit of dust.

Maybe I didn’t do all I could.

Or maybe I did

but there were others who did more.

Maybe I’ll never know.

But here I go—

blood flowing dutifully

from heart to hands and back again—

here I go, stepping out

through the door

of my own shadow:

into the glare of the arena

to face the lions.

~~ Joyce Sidman

Sharing/Activity - I like the readers guide provided by Joyce Sidman for sharing this collection. These teaching suggestions are for grades 6-9.