Module 4: Book Review 12-Biographical Poetry

 How I Discovered Poetry

Bibliography

Nelson, M., & Hooper, H. (2014) How I Discovered Poetry. New York: Dial Books. ISBN 9780803733046

Summary  

In this beautifully written story by poet Marilyn Nelson, readers embark on a ten-year journey of her younger self and her discovery of poetry.  In the ten years, readers share in some of Nelson’s life lessons on friendship, fears, loss, moves, and race. Through simple, yet skillful poetic pieces, Nelson gives her audience snapshots of family life and cultural change during the Civil Rights era and how she dealt with being the first or only African American student in her class.  Through these poems, readers begin to experience the change of Nelson into becoming the poet that she is today. 

Analysis

In the book How I Discovered Poetry, there are fifty unrhymed sonnets that share the story of a poet and how she came to be.  Told by a “speaker,” and not specifically Nelson, the sonnets talk about a life like hers.  Each one, when read, has the voice of a young girl describing a specific time in her life that is important to her.  Throughout the story, readers can make connections to times in Nelson’s life that were important and memorable.  For example, the poem Pink Menace shares about the speaker’s good luck charms and how they help with no tragic catastrophes, with a catastrophe being a hydrogen bomb.  Memories like those are shared in this story because readers have had similar experiences to those.

All the sonnets in the story have familiar and relatable childhood experiences, which makes this book ideal for kids, ages 8 to 11.  There are laughs and challenging situations within this book that can be relatable to kids and kids of color, but overall, the reader develops growth.  Throughout the book, each page has a short story that adds to the whole.  Readers begin to grow and understand life just as Nelson did in this book.  Connections are important in this story because that is what makes it appealing to the audience.  This book is a great read and flows naturally.  Experience growth in a ten-year span with Nelson through her poems and enjoy the beauty of the language. 

This is a fantastic book to share with students.  It is a remarkable American story about growth through one of the most difficult eras.  Readers learn so much about one poet and how she became the writer she is today. 

Excerpt

Pink Menace

The Bomb Drill bell is not the Fire Drill bell
or the Tornado bell or the Recess
bell or the bell that says Time to Go Home.
Everybody's motto is Be Prepared,
so we practice Tragic Catastrophes,
hoping they won't come. (Keep your fingers crossed.)
My many secret good-luck rituals seem to be working okay. (Knock on wood.)
I never step on cracks in the sidewalk:
America’s safe from The Red Menace.
I touch a finger to the car window
whenever we drive over railroad tracks:
the Menace turns pink and fuzzy. At night,
I'm asleep before the end of my blessing list. 

Use

This poem can be used with a show and tell day.  Allow students to bring in an item that is a good luck charm or an item that keeps them safe.  Give students the opportunity to show and talk about their item they brought in and how and when they use it.  Allow discussion with one another when everyone has shared. 

Module 4: Book Review 11-Social Studies Poetry

 Cowboys: Voices in the Western Wind

Bibliography

Harrison, D.L., Burr, D. (2012) Cowboys: Voices in the Western Wind. Pennsylvania: WordSong. ISBN 9781590788776

Summary

Saddle up and take a ride with the cowboys on a cattle drive to Abilene in this spectacular poetry collection.  Take part in branding cattle, mending fences, a burning sun, Cookie’s cooking, and even a stampede to get you started.  Join David L. Harrison and his twenty-two poems that share the adventures of cowboys driving three thousand longhorns up to Abilene.  Imagine what life was like through the detailed and vivid paintings by Dan Burr that pair well with each poem. Immerse yourself in each poem and illustration this story has to offer about the life of a cowboy.  

Analysis

In this story, readers experience what life was like for cowboys during the American Frontier.  Through twenty-two free verse poems, we learn about the struggles, hardships, and challenges cowboys faced during that era.  The story shares the voices of these cowboys written in first person and in the language a cowboy would speak.  From the first poem, Sign Me Up, readers experience that language immediately, “Every year I say I’m quit/ had my fill’a drivin’ cows to Abilene/ Sign me up again/ I reckon not.”  Other poems in the book are written for two people like in Makes Perfect and Prairie News, and still share the language a cowboy would speak. 

This book also does an excellent job at igniting the senses.  From the sights, sounds, and smells channeled in several of the poems, readers get to truly experience the survival of life on the drive. The poem, The Bunkhouse, brings about typical smells and sights cowboys faced, “It’s nice to have a bunkhouse/ in case you’re partial to smellin’ sweat/ boots trackin’ cow manure/ and lamps burnin’ skunk fat oil.”  With these poems, readers are planted in a part of America’s past that tends to draw the interest of many adults and kids. 

This is the perfect book to share with students that are a little older.  Grades 4^th through 7^th would really enjoy the language and illustrations of this story and is ideal for a social studies classroom.  Harrison and Burr collaborated nicely and created a book that is sure to be used and read by many.  Burr’s illustrations which are paintings are so life-like that they pull readers into each scene and depict true and real emotions of the cowboys. 

Cowboys: Voices in the Western Wind is a marvelous book to read.  It is a poetry collection that teaches readers about what life was like as a cowboy and on the American Frontier.  Take in a history lesson with just twenty-two short poems and learn about branding, cowboy attire, fears and thoughts had during a stampede, and so much more.  

Excerpt

First day out, fifteen miles,
one thousand miles to go.
 
One thousand miles
of burnin’ sun,
swollen rivers,
stampedes, wolves,
three thousand cows,
fifteen men,
one thousand miles to go.
 
Up from Texas headed north,
next hot bath two months away.
Half-wild longhorns graze the trail,
not too fast, not too slow,
cows are money, pounds are dollars,
make the rancher rich and happy,
one thousand miles to go.
 
Someone has to walk these critters,
lead the way, guard their rear.
Someone has to round up strays,
watch for danger in the night,
work till horse and rider drop,
one thousand miles to go.
 
From Texas through the Indian lands
clear to Abilene.
We can't wait to get there,
and we've only just begun. 

Use

This entire book is a history lesson in itself.  This specific poem though would be used in a lesson to teach about the journey of a cattle drive.  It would be used to teach about maps and mileage to students as well as different landforms cowboys came across on their journey across the land. 

Module 4: Book Review 10-Science Poetry

 Face Bug: poems

Bibliography

Lewis, J.P., Murphy, K., Siskind, F.B. (2013) Face Bug. Pennsylvania: WordSong. ISBN 9781590789254

Summary

In the story Face Bug, embark on the eye-popping closeup’s of fourteen different critters during the grand opening of The Face Bug Museum.  Marvel in the poetry, illustrations, and photographs that are compiled wonderfully in this piece by Lewis, Siskind, and Murphy, and be immersed in the facts that are incorporated into the fun rhythm and rhyme of each poem.  Enjoy each page not only with startling closeup’s of each bug, but also take part in the black and white drawings of each bug’s adventure throughout the museum.  Take part in learning so much more about bugs that you may have never known about or learn new facts about the one’s you did.  

Analysis

In Face Bug by J. Patrick Lewis, readers are given a whole new appreciation to bugs with poems that incorporate fun information about fourteen different critters.  In this informational piece, Lewis uses a combination of rhyme, rhythm, and sight imagery to keep readers hooked and engaged in the book.  Each rhyming poem flows naturally and incorporates new facts about the creatures and pairs it with a stunning photo of the bug by Frederic Siskind. Take for example the poem Nursery Web Spider that begins with “eight black eyes in a whiskery face/eight round eyes in a dark crawl space/ that never bother blinking back/ could give a kid a heart attack!” and pairs it with a close-up photo of the spider and the eight, black, round eyes and whiskery face.  The photographs alone will heighten student’s interest and learning of the insect and information in the book. 

Lewis took an interesting and difficult topic to study and learn and made it kid friendly.  Grades 1^st through 4^th have the privilege to learn about bugs in a different and unique way.  The black and white ink drawings by Kelly Murphy add humor to the text as well as highlight the facts from the poem.  Kids also get to experience the Face Bug museum with two beetles, as they make their way through the grand opening, each exhibit, and finally to the gift shop and food court.  This adds delight to this nonfiction piece and makes it completely different from any other nonfiction text. 

Included at the back of the book is a “And Now a Word from Our Bugs” section.  This backmatter includes further information of each bug in a detailed paragraph and a smaller colored photograph. This provides a deeper understanding of the insect after reading through each poem in the book and gives readers the opportunity to learn more. 

This book is perfect for readers who are bug-lovers, curious to know more about critters, and even science enthusiasts.  It combines facts, humor, and poetry all into one piece.   

Excerpt

Pearl Crescent Butterfly

Sipping on a black-eyed Susan----

Any

     flower

nectars

            ooze

                      in

(Have to have my Insect Ale!)----

I am one Pearl Crescent male,

Perfect match for a million cousins,

Multiplying by the dozens.

 

If it’s summer, here they come,

Females

       smaller

              than

                     a

                         thumb,

Laying eggs on aster plants.

Sister Pearl, if there’s a chance

I should fall asleep, would you

Kindly brush away the dew?

Use

This is a great introductory poem into a butterfly unit for younger students.  Use it to begin teaching about the butterfly life cycle, how they eat, and places they live.  This poem can lead to endless teaching possibilities on butterflies, especially on the pearl crescent butterfly.