Poetry Book Review: "Hopkins Collection"

Citation:

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, and Marcellus Hall. 2009. City I love. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers in association with the Field Museum. ISBN: 9780810983774.

Review:

Hopkins uses many techniques with her poetry. In City I Love, Hopkins uses different aspects of cities from all around the word to display various exciting themes. With her descriptive words she expresses city features such as skyscrapers, taxis, subways, etc. This poetry book shows different elements from famous cities that children will be able to identify with. Hopkins shows these big city elements with simple one-word poem lines. This poetry book helps students to connect with different environments, people and places.

Excerpt: "City Lights"

Blazing lights

flicker
flash
glitter
gleam
twinkle
sparkle
bedazzle
beam

so

brilliantly
bright.

Reasons
why
city
stays
awake
all
night.

Introducing the Poem:

With the illustrations behind this poem, children will be able to easily connect and imagine what the poetry is trying to read to them. The child's imagination will definitely open up. This would be a great poem to show to the students while they are learning about different cultures or places around the world. Children will be excited about different people and the different places they come from. Many of these poems can illustrate happiness within something mysterious.

Poetry Book Review: "African American Poetry"

Citation:
Giovanni, Nikki, and Ashley Bryan. 1996. The sun is so quiet. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN: 0805041192.

Review:
The Sun is So Quiet shows a group of simple individual poems illustrating themes of seasons and parts of the day. Some include the winter, summer, and other show themes about daytime and night time. This poem shows metaphors and similes that children will be able to grasp. The poet, Giovanni, uses descriptive words that illuminate her poetry into everyday themes. Children will be able to identify with her poetry because it is so simple yet connective.

Excerpt: "The Stars"

Across the dark and quiet sky
When sunbeams have to go to bed
The stars peep out and sparkle up
Occasionally they fall

They dance the ballet of the night
They pirouette and and boogiedown
In the blue and red and blue-white dress
They hustle through the night

The fairies play among the stars
They ride on carpets of gold dust
And dawn's gray fingers shake them off
Occasionally they fall

Introducing the Poem:

I think this poem shows illustrates stars in a beautiful and magical way. Children will be able to relate to this poem because it shows a great deal of description. I would introduce this poem before nap time because it would give that dream-like feel to children. It could also be introduced to create imagination for the children. Many poems in this book can be introduced at different times during the year. Some deal with snowflakes and others about rainbows. Giovanni has a great skill of taking an intense theme (rainbows) and explaining it into a simple, creative poem. Many of these poems can be introduced to children to help there understanding of seasons.

Poetry Book Review: "School Poetry"

Citation:
Prelutsky, Jack, and Doug Cushman. 2006. What a day it was at school!: poems. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 9780060823351.

Review:
What a Day it Was at School! is a fun and exciting poetry book detailing the different elements of school. The main character is illustrated as a cat instead of a child which opens up the imagination. Different aspects described are doing homework, going on field trips, the cafeteria, show and tell, and different subjects within the curriculum. What a Day it Was at School! also gives detailed illustrations that are slightly exaggerated from normal life; this creates more imagination to the reader. There is a simple rhythm which gives an easy meter for reading. Some lines include alliteration which is fun for kids. This book of poetry is also very descriptive which gives senses such as sight and sound. This poetry book is a fluent story book; Each page shows a fun and excited part of going to school.

Excerpt: "I Drew a Yellow Unicorn"

I drew a yellow unicorn,
Complete with polka dots,
A seven-legged elephant,
A pig with purple spots,
The sky was full of furry fish
All flying upside down.
An octopus was dressed in plaid,
A camel wore a crown.

I drew a green rhinoceros
That floated on the breeze,
Some bees as big as basketballs,
And blue spaghetti trees.
The penguins wore pajamas,
And a carrot flew a kite...
My teacher says it's beautiful-
I think my teacher's right.

Introducing the Poem:
I would show this poem from What a Day it Was at School! to the children because it opens up the child's imagination. It also keeps them excited about school. I chose the artistic poem from the rest (math, science, etc.) because it describes how the character in the poem is artistic and inventive. This would be a great poem to present before art class or a time devoted to arts and crafts for kids. It could also be shown to increase the reader's imagination. There is also a poem that describes going to the library which would be a great way to introduce the children to the library. At the end of What a Day it Was at School! is a poem about kids writing poems. This poetry book has many aspects of school life that are helpful to children and would open their minds to having fun at school.

Subject Change!

This blog will now be supporting the Library Science course of Poetry for Young Adults to better support my understanding of the subject matter. Look here for continuing information about poetry during this spring semester!