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. 

Poetry Review #44

How to Read a Book

Author: Kwame Alexander
Format: Audiobook 

Publisher: HarperAudio, 2019

ASIN: B07MXP96N5

Narrator: Kwame Alexander

Reading Ages: 4 - 8 years

Genre: Children's Poetry, Story in Verse

I Gave This Book 4 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 4 Roars? This is a lovely book about books. I think the audio version worked really well for this piece of poetry. I would recommend it wholeheartedly. 

Poetic Elements: The words are beautiful and well chosen to make reading a book sound like a magical experience. 

“Award-winning poet Alexander compares reading a book to peeling the gentle skin of a clementine, digging into its juiciness, enjoying it ‘piece by piece, part by part,’ until you can ‘watch a novel world unfurl right before your eyes.’ And who better to illustrate this delicious poem than Caldecott Honoree Sweet. The artwork is done in watercolor, gouache, mixed media, handmade and vintage papers, and found objects, including old book covers and a paint can lid. Not a splash of color, a piece of paper, or a line is out of place. Starting with the initial collage that incorporates the building blocks of reading (the letters A to Z) and the lines from a poem by Nikki Giovanni that careful readers will have to pay attention to see, the tone is set. ‘So get/real cozy/between/the covers/And let your/fingers wonder/as they wander…’ for there is much to relish in this poem and its exuberant images. ‘Squeeze/every morsel/of each plump line/until the last/drop of magic/drips from the infinite sky.’ The book includes a note from both the poet and the artist. VERDICT A beautiful book not to be rushed through, but to be enjoyed morsel by tasty morsel.”

~~ Lucia Acosta, Children's Literature Specialist

Appeal: A big part of the appeal of this poem is the love of books and reading. It is just that simple for the listener. If you connect with books, this poem will resonate with you.

“[This] love poem to literacy conjures up startling, luscious images...By turns dreamy and ecstatic.”

~~ Publishers Weekly, Review

Overall Quality: The illustrator of the physical version of this book was Melissa Sweet. However, I just think for me, the audio version created it's own imagery in the listener's head.  

Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award 2020

Connections:

Spotlight Poem -

“Find a tree - a black tupelo or dawn redwood will do - and plant yourself. It’s okay if you prefer a stoop, like Langston Hughes.”

~~ Kwame Alexander

Sharing - I like the idea of introducing this poem as part of an awareness of poetry awards. I would suggest that after listening to the audio version, watching the 2020 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Ceremony with Winner Kwame Alexander would be a great way to expose children to poetry awards. 

Activity: Children will also enjoy the book being read to them. HowTo Read A Book 

Poetry Friday!

Check Out:

Heidi at my juicy little universe

Poetry Friday schedule can be found at 

A Year of Reading

Another great poetry resource:

The Poetry Foundation

"The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library."

~~ Albert Einstein

Poetry Friday!

Check Out:

Kat at Kathryn Apel

Poetry Friday schedule can be found at 

A Year of Reading

"The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library."

~~ Albert Einstein

Poetry Review #43

Poetry for Kids: William Shakespeare

Author: William Shakespeare
Editor: Dr. Marguerite Tassi
Illustrator: Merce Lopez
Publisher: MoonDance Press, 2018
ISBN: 978-1633225046
Reading Ages: 8-12 years
Genre: Children's Literary Biography,                             Children’s Poetry, Shared Poetry                        Reading

I Gave This Book 4 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 4 Roars? I love the idea of this book. It is wonderful for younger thespians interested in Shakespeare. The dramatic dialogue and poetry in this collection are perfect for shared poetry reading sessions. I do think that some readers will have a difficult time with the meanings and comprehension. 

Poetic Elements: It's Shakespeare! Sonnets anyone? (Little songs or sonetto, from the Latin word sonus meaning a sound.) You can find the 14 lines, a particular rhyming scheme, Iambic pentameter, and a volta or the turn from the problem to the solution in many of the selections the editor used. 

"An enticing entree to the glories of Shakespeare's verse." 

~~ Kirkus Reviews

Appeal: The editor wisely pulled selections that might appeal to younger readers. However, there are some selections that lean heavily into romantic love such as “Let Me Not to The Marriage of True Minds,” and “Why Light Is Light, if Silvia Be Not Seen?,” and of course “O Romeo, Romeo, Wherefore Art Thou Romeo?” 

Overall Quality: The selected poems are rich, vibrant and very appealing. Children interested in Shakespeare will love the collection.  

 "A richly illustrated selection of 31 poems and excerpts from Shakespeare's most popular works. The selected writings provide a fantastic scope of Shakespeare's oeuvre. ... López's illustrations are intricate, dramatic, and moody; they help bring life and meaning to the words." 

~~ School Library Journal

Layout: The book has an introduction, poems, What William was Thinking section and an index. At the end of each poem there is also a short definition of difficult words.

Connections:
Spotlight Poem -

“Round About The Cauldron Go” 

(Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I)

"Round about the cauldron go;

In the poison’d entrails throw.

Toad, that under cold stone

Days and nights hast thirty one

Swelter’d venom sleeping got,

Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.

Double, double toil and trouble;

Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

Fillet of a fenny snake,

In the cauldron boil and bake;

Eye of newt, and toe of frog,

Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,

Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,

Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,

For a charm of powerful trouble,

Like a hell-broth boil and bubble." 

~~William Shakespeare

Sharing - This would be perfect for performance poetry.

Activity - Shakespeare for Kids

Poetry Friday!

Check Out:

Karen at Karen Edmisten

Poetry Friday schedule can be found at 

A Year of Reading

"The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library."

~~ Albert Einstein

Poetry Review # 42

Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty

Author: Linda Glaser
Illustrator: Claire A. Nivola
Publisher: HMH Books for 

                    Young Readers, 2013

ISBN:978-0544105089
Reading Ages: 4 - 7 years
Genre: Children's Poetry, Immigration, Children's Sociology, Picture Book

I Gave This Book 5 Roars! 🦁🦁🦁🦁🦁

Why 5 Roars? This is a beautifully written book that should be in every library and classroom. It is hard to find anything negative to say about a wealthy woman that gave her voice to the poor and brought immigration into the light.       

Poetic Elements: This is a free-verse biography written for children. It is about Emma Lazarus, the poet that wrote "The New Colossus." This poem became one of the most recognized and honored poems in America. Both the free verse biography about Emma and Emma's poem are found in this work.

The biography does not rhyme but does have a rhythmic feel that brings Emma to life in a way that I think Emma would appreciate.   

Appeal: Children whose families are immigrants can relate to the experience of being in a new country or culture.  

“ The pictures, with their slight folk-art feel, capture both the time and action of the story, while the text illuminates the woman. An author’s note and the full text of the poem complete the book. A worthwhile addition for most collections." 

~~School Library Journal

Overall Quality: The art work is lovely and fits with the biography's time period. It does not distract from the story but adds a distinct charm and a certain fascination to New York and its diversity.

"Nivola’s watercolor-and-gouache paintings are rich in color and detail, showing the elegant streets and homes of 19th-century New York City as well as its settlement houses. Line, pattern and a sense of place give young readers a rich vision of the "golden door" by which "your tired, your poor, / Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" came to this country. Nicely done, enabling even young children to see how the poem and the statue came together."

~~Kirkus

Layout: The author's note and poem "The New Colossus" are located in the back of the book. It is such a large part of the importance of this work.

Connections:
Spotlight Poem -

"Even when Emma was all grown up,

and by then a well-known writer

she still only knew people

who had plenty of everything."

~~Emma's Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Liberty

"Give me your tired, your poor

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . . "

~~ The New Colossus

Sharing - This would be a great book to read before taking children to New York, or a visit to the Statue of Liberty. 

Activity - The Statue of Liberty