Module 4: Poetry Book Review - Biographical Poetry

TAKE IT TO THE HOOP, MAGIC JOHNSON By Quincy Troupe

(Troupe, Quincy. 2000. TAKE IT TO THE HOOP, MAGIC JOHNSON. Ill. by Shane W. Evans. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 0786824468)

In this poetic picture book, Quincy Troupe pays tribute to an athletic icon, Magic Johnson. In catchy and dazzling language, Troupe captures the “magic” of Magic Johnson through a series of seamlessly interconnected and untitled poems. Carefully selected descriptions, such as “neon name,” “electric space,” and “sho-nuff spaceman,” will easily capture readers’ attention and draw them into the magical world of this amazing basketball superstar. Troupe also does an amazing job of capturing Magic Johnson’s incredible movements through unique poetic action words such as “juke & dazzle,” “Shake ‘n Bake,” and “herk & jerk.” The majority of the poems do not rhyme, and it is the distinctive and magnetic language of the poems that will surely appeal to children as they dribble, shoot, and fly through space along with Magic Johnson.

An example of this captivating word choice can be seen in the following poem:

“magic” johnson, nicknamed “Windex”
way back in high school
‘cause you wiped the glass backboards so clean,
where you first juked & shook,
wiled your way to glory

The following poem also adds a bit of emotional impact to capture the glory surrounding a star as bright as Magic Johnson:

so “bad” you cartwheel the crowd
toward frenzy, wearing now your
electric smile, neon as your name

in victory, we suddenly sense your
glorious uplift, your urgent need to be
champion

& so we cheer with you,
rejoice with you for this
quicksilver, quicksilver,
quicksilver moment of fame

Bold fonts in varying sizes also draw the readers' attention to certain important words and phrases throughout the poems. For example, the word "champion" is written in larger text than the other words in the poem above. Additionally, Troupe repeats the phrase "so put the ball on the floor again, "magic"' in a very large font size on two separate pages, giving emphasis to this particular phrase.

The placement of the text on the page is also important in several of the poems, with the words mimicking the actions of dribbling, passing, and shooting. An example of this is the phrase "slide the dribble behind your back" being written at an angle from the top left corner of the page to the bottom right corner, imitating the ball's path.

Shane W. Evans’s vibrant drawings will also appeal to children. The colorful illustrations capture Johnson’s spectacular movements well, and Magic Johnson appears to almost fly off the page with a basketball in hand in a few of the illustrations. The high interest theme of this poetic book will appeal to sports fans of all ages.

Module 4: Poetry Book Review - Curriculum Connection (Science)

HOTEL DEEP: LIGHT VERSE FROM DARK WATER by Kurt Cyrus

(Cyrus, Kurt. 2005. HOTEL DEEP: LIGHT VERSE FROM DARK WATER. New York: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0152167714)

This poetry book offers a unique assortment of poems centered around the theme of a lost sardine exploring the fascinating and mysterious depths of the sea as it searches for its lost school of sardines. As the lonely little sardine searches for the place it belongs, it encounters a variety of strange, amazing, and frightening creatures. The fact that the poems in this book are untitled coupled with the sardine’s placement on every double page give this poetry book a story-like feel.

The book opens with an enchanting poetic invitation for readers to explore the underwater “hotel” of the sea:

At the crossroads of the deep,
A place to sleep. A place to hide.
A place to keep your eyes wide open.
Yes, we’re open! Come inside.

Cyrus uses carefully selected descriptive language and rhyming text to easily draw readers into the underwater world while extending their knowledge of the creatures that live there. Carefully chosen words in many of the poems allow the reader to experience the motion and activities of the sea in fresh and unique ways. For example, in describing the frantic movements of the school of sardines as a marlin makes its presence known, Cyrus refers to the “blur of sardines” as a “quicksilver blizzard.” Additionally, phrases such as “swirling seaweed curtain” and “the doorways of the sea“ will help readers visualize the ocean in new ways.

Several of the poems utilize unique placement of words on the page through rolling, spinning, crawling, and darting text to further solidify readers’ connection with the movements of the sea. For example, looping and spiraling text is used in a poem about a scared calico scallop that snaps it shell shut and takes a looping and swooping spiral journey back to the bottom of the sea.

Cyrus also cleverly uses the sounds of words to add interest to some of the poems. For example, children will enjoy hearing the sounds of the words in the following tongue twisting poem involving sea anemones:

The angulated wentletrap, in alabaster white,
Is one of many enemies to any sea anemone.
If it sees anemones, it always takes a bite.
(Anemones regenerate, so everything’s all right.)

Not only are Kurt Cyrus’s poems captivating, but the intricate paintings accompanying the poems also reveal amazing pieces of the underwater story. Children will enjoy examining the colorful and lifelike paintings, and spotting the lone sardine hidden in each painting will add to their delight.

HOTEL DEEP would tie in perfectly with a science lesson focusing on ocean life or underwater habitats. The poems could serve as excellent springboards for future study of a variety of fascinating ocean creatures and the interesting relationships between them. Also included at the back of the book is an illustrated glossary of the various sea life presented through the book.

Module 4: Poetry Break - Spring Poem

LISTEN FOR ME by Joyce Sidman
(Found in: Sidman, Joyce. 2005. SONG OF THE WATER BOATMAN AND OTHER POND POEMS. Ill. by Beckie Prange. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 9780618135479)

With the season of spring in full swing, LISTEN FOR ME is a great spring poem to share with children. This poem vividly describes the emergence of spring peepers (tree frogs) from the winter chill and their distinctive sound, which is one of the earliest signs of spring. The rich language, carefully selected descriptive words, and sense imagery used throughout the poem allow readers to experience the fresh and invigorating sights and sounds of the beginning of spring as if they were right there on the pond with the spring peepers on a warm night. Beckie Prange’s beautiful hand-colored woodcut illustration of several spring peepers in a dark nighttime pond depicts the text of the poem perfectly. Additionally, some factual information about spring peepers is also included with the poem, making it an ideal poem to pair with a science lesson.

INTRODUCTION: Prior to reading this poem, play an audio clip of spring peepers (for easy access to an audio clip of this sound, try http://www.naturesound.com/frogs/pages/peeper.html). Tell students that today you are going to read a spring poem to them, and you would like for them to be thinking about what they think the noise they just heard might be. To avoid giving the answer away, delay showing students the illustration until after the extension activity (listed below poem).

LISTEN FOR ME
By Joyce Sidman

Listen for me on a spring night,
on a wet night,

on a rainy night.
Listen for me on a still night,
For in the night, I sing.

That is when my heart thaws,
my skin thaws,
my hunger thaws.
That is when the world thaws,
and the air begins to ring.

I creep up from the cold pond,
the ice pond,
the winter pond.
I creep up from the chill pond,
to breathe the warming air.

I cling to the green reeds,
the damp reeds,
the muddy reeds.
I cling to the slim reeds;
my brothers are everywhere.

My throat swells with spring love,
with rain love,
with water love.
My throat swells with peeper love;
my song is high and sweet.

Listen for me on a spring night,
on a wet night,
on a rainy night.
Listen for me tonight, tonight,
and I’ll sing you to sleep.

EXTENSION: After reading the poem aloud, begin a discussion about the sounds students heard before the poem as well as what sound the poem is asking them to listen for. Once students begin guessing that the sounds must come from some type of frog, ask students to point out words from the poem that helped them reach this conclusion (such as “pond,” “reeds,” and “throat swells”). Since many young students may not be aware of what a peeper is, it might be necessary to explain that a spring peeper is a tree frog. Follow up this activity by showing students the poem’s illustration and reading the factual information on spring peepers that is included with the poem.

Module 3: Poetry Break - Poem That Does Not Rhyme

INVITATION FROM A MOLE By Alice Schertle
(Found in: Schertle, Alice. 1999. A LUCKY THING. Ill. by Wendell Minor. San Diego, CA: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0152005412)

INVITATION FROM A MOLE is an amazing poem that really capitalizes on the power of sense imagery. This poem does not rhyme, but readers will be hooked immediately by language that allows them to practically see, hear, taste, smell, and feel a mole’s world simply by reading the words of the poem. For example, readers will “smell / the sweet damp feet of mushrooms” and feel “the cold face of a stone” pressing against their cheeks with ease. Schertle uses no capitalization or punctuation in this poem, allowing readers to quietly focus on the strong sensory images evoked by the words. Also, Schertle cleverly utilizes line breaks and spaces to help convey meaning and draw the reader’s attention to important images. Wendell Minor provides a captivating painting of a mole, a worm, and a pencil in the dirt to accompany the poem. While Minor does a good job portraying the earthy world of a mole, the language of the poem itself is powerful enough that readers will have their own images from a mole’s perspective in mind.

INTRODUCTION: Since all kids love going outside, take them outside and tell them that today they are going to explore dirt and mud! Bring along shovels, rakes, and smocks or aprons to protect clothing and ask students to start digging and studying the earth. If the dirt is dry, try adding some water to it to see how it changes the way the dirt feels. Tell students to uses their senses to pay attention to what they see, feel, hear, and smell as they play with the dirt and mud. After students are cleaned up, write down what the students observed as a group and briefly discuss. Then tell them to close their eyes as you read the poem to them.

INVITATION FROM A MOLE
By Alice Schertle

come on down

live among worms awhile
taste dirt
on the tip of your tongue

smell
the sweet damp feet of mushrooms
listen to roots
reaching
deeper

press your cheek against
the cold face of a stone

wear the earth like a glove
close your eyes
wrap yourself in darkness

see

what you’re missing

EXTENSION: Since moles may be somewhat unfamiliar to students, this poem could launch an interesting investigation into moles and their characteristics and habitats. Additionally, the illustration that accompanies this poem appears to be of a unique type of mole called a star-nosed mole. Children will most likely be very curious about this mole’s distinctive nose, and they may enjoy reading further about this type of mole and exploring real photographs of star-nosed moles online. Pictures of star-nosed moles can easily be found online (such as the images on the following websites: http://www.livescience.com/imageoftheday/siod_050207.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star-nosed_mole). Finally, after listening to INVITATION FROM A MOLE, children may be motivated to write their own unique animal poems following the “Invitation from a ______” format. For example, students may choose to write invitation poems from a hummingbird’s perspective or a sloth’s perspective. Children might really enjoy writing poems from interesting animals’ perspectives, and listening to everyone’s poems to “see what you’re missing” could be a lot of fun!

Module 3: Poetry Book Review - Verse Novel

LOCOMOTION by Jacqueline Woodson

(Woodson, Jacqueline. 2003. LOCOMOTION. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN 0399231153)

In this touching verse novel, Jacqueline Woodson tells an incredible story through a series of poems written from the perspective of a fictional young African American boy. The fictional young poet, Lonnie Collins Motion, is struggling to cope with the death of his parents, separation from his younger sister, a new foster family, tumultuous relationships with peers, and his own budding talent as a poet in school. While the story revealed through Lonnie’s poems can be overwhelmingly tragic and heartbreaking at times, an underlying current of hope and promise of good things to come is also revealed. An example of the sadness shared in this book comes from the poem titled EPITAPH POEM:

EPITAPH POEM
By Jacqueline Woodson

for Mama

Liliana C. Motion
Born in October
died in December
But that’s not all
that I remember.

Balancing this sadness is an element of hope that develops throughout the poems. The following lines from Woodson’s poem LILI’S NEW MAMA’S HOUSE are a great example of this optimism: “God’s in this room, I whisper to Lili. / She looks at me a minute without saying anything. / Then she smiles. / God is everywhere, I say. / And with the sun coming in the room that way / and my sister smiling so big and the plate / of cookies there if you want them, just take one / at a time and chew it slow / I feel Him, right there beside us.”

Another major theme present in LOCOMOTION is Lonnie’s developing poetic talent. Lonnie frequently talks about Ms. Marcus, a teacher who attempts to nurture his talent, and he describes his thoughts about writing poetry as well as explaining many different forms of poetry in his writing. The poem titled LINE BREAK POEM shows readers what Lonnie is learning about poetry:

LINE BREAK POEM
By Jacqueline Woodson

Ms. Marcus
says
line breaks help
us figure out
what matters
to the poet
Don’t jumble your ideas
Ms. Marcus says
Every line
should count.

The poems in LOCOMOTION are mostly sequenced in order of occurrence in Lonnie’s life, with some of the poems flashing back to pivotal moments in his young life. The majority of poems do not rhyme, although some do. Lonnie uses numerous different forms of poetry, including haiku, free verse, sonnet, epistle poem, and a list poem. Figurative language is also present in some of the poems, and an example of figurative language can be found in the following lines of the poem POEM BOOK: “But when Miss Edna’s voice comes on, the ideas in my / head go out like a candle and all you see left is this little / string of smoke that disappears real quick / before I even have a chance to find out / what it’s trying to say.”

All in all, LOCOMOTION does an outstanding job illuminating both the good and bad realities of life. Children will be able to relate to Lonnie’s poetry, whether the poems cover serious topics or a child’s everyday experiences with school and peers. Since Lonnie does such a great job of describing his thoughts and feelings about writing poetry in a manner with which children can relate to, LOCOMOTION is an excellent choice for young aspiring writers and poets. Not only does LOCOMOTION tell a young boy’s riveting tale in a unique way, but it also serves as an excellent example for children of how poetry can offer healing and solace during difficult times.