Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices

Citation

Janeczko, Paul B., and Melissa Sweet. Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices. [New York]: Harper Collins, 2001. ISBN 0688162517

Poetic Elements

The very nature of this entire collection is based upon the poetic element of personification, in that each of the poems is written from the perspective of an inanimate object. This compilation is meaningful in that the poems selected, though all from different poets and written in different years, all seem to fit together so well. The personification of the winter wind “...shaking the door with both my fists...” and the washing machine that will “...change my song as the cycle moves along...” will animate the reader while rhyming lines such as “...sounds wound round...” will delight the ears. There are numerous similes throughout the collection, among them “...for like puppies who warm each other all night you will warm us and we will warm your hands...” and “...a tangled weave, rough and aged like wooden lace...” Young readers will enjoy the imagery created with the words and will be able to appreciate the emotions of these inanimate objects as they become relatable in their different voices.

Appeal and Overall Quality

This collection of poems is interesting for many reasons, one of which is the variety of stanza patterns and rhythm contained within. Here readers can visit with poetry in the form of couplets, quatrains, and even dabble with some concrete poetry. It's a nice mix of several styles. Given that this is a collection of previously published poetry written from the perspective of various inanimate objects, Janeczko offers an introduction that explains his motivations for putting together this collection of poetry. He also uses this intro to encourage kids to use their own imaginations and to “Let that new voice sing.” The illustrations are eye catching in their sweet, whimsical way and children are as likely to pick up the poetry because the pictures look friendly and comfortable as they are for the words inside.

Spotlight Poem

The Vacuum Cleaner's Revenge

I munch. I crunch.

I zoom. I roar.

I clatter-clack

Across the floor.

I swallow twigs.

I slurp dead bugs.

I suck the cat hair

From the rugs.

My stomach full

Of dirt and dust

I gulp another

Pizza crust.

A tiresome life-

All work, no play-

I think I'll swallow you today!

Follow-Up Activity

This would be a fun poem to use when working on personification and the poetic element of onomatopoeia. It's also handy for looking at form, with its couplet stanza pattern. I would have the students read through it with each student taking a different couplet and reading round robin. I would then have the students work in pairs, picking an inanimate object that they'd like to write about. I would suggest that they brainstorm all of the sounds they could imagine this item making, and what kinds of things it might do. From there they could work to combine the action ideas with the onomatopoeia to create a poem in a similar style.

Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These well-chosen verses represent what Janeczko (Very Best [Almost] Friends) calls "persona or mask poems" each written in the voice of an object or animal. Bobbi Katz's washing machine sings its washing songs "Blub-blub-a-dubba" while Patricia Hubbell's vacuum cleaner complains, "I swallow twigs./ I slurp dead bugs," and finally threatens, "I think I'll swallow you today!" Informally organized around various topics, the volume begins with poems about wind and weather and ends with works about insects and animals. For the most part, the poems, including selections by Douglas Florian, Jane Yolen and Karla Kuskin, are effectively matched by Sweet's (Bat Jamboree) playful and cartoony watercolors. The light mood of the illustrations, however, jars with slightly darker poems. In Nina Nyhart's "Scarecrow Dreams," for example, five crows perch on a wary scarecrow's shoulder as he describes convincing the farmer to put away his gun and then feels "a step on my shoulder,/ the first peck in my eye." Nonetheless, this collection contains well-crafted poetry that surprises with its deft wordplay and original points of view. All ages.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Janeczko's collection of "persona" or "mask" poems-poems written in voices of nonhuman things-is varied in topic, mood, and quality. The selector has included many crackerjack poets, such as Karla Kuskin, Bobbi Katz, Lillian Moore, and Douglas Florian, and a few whose names are not as familiar. Most of the selections have been taken from other anthologies. Whether thoughtful or humorous in nature, many of them are on-target descriptions of a variety of unrelated objects-a kite, roots, a sky-blue crayon, a vacuum cleaner, a pair of red gloves, the winter wind. The cleverness of the best of these descriptions voiced by inanimate narrators might entice young people to try to create some similar verses of their own. Sweet's bright, colorful watercolors in a flat cartoon style depict full- and double-page scenes and borders that feature critters and objects from the poems. Consider this one for classroom read-alouds.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. As Janeczko explains in his introduction, this collection of 27 poems is "something like wearing a Halloween costume or playing a part in a school play," because the poems have all been written in the voice of an object or an animal--a seashell, a cat, a tree. The imaginative language is simple yet rich in image and metaphor. Madeleine Comora's "Roots" speaks volumes: "Roots like ours, course and strong / as a grandmother's fingers." Sometimes the poetry sparkles, sweeps us along, or makes us laugh, as in the title poem about dirty clothes by Marcy Barack Black: "Ignore me now / on the floor / By the door. / But you'll notice / when I swell / By my smell." There's great variety in poetic mood and form--brisk couplets, thoughtful haiku, funny concrete poems. In Peggy B. Levitt's "Mosquito's Song" the word puncture is spelled out vertically, letter by letter, ending, appropriately, in an exclamation point. Melissa Sweet's watercolors are light and airy, but never too slight. Some are full-page, some thumbnail size; and all are hugely appealing, whether dancing comically across the page or bordering the text. They'll draw children into words that resonate with joy and, sometimes, deeper meaning, words that will remind them that there's more than one way to experience the world. 

The Palm of my Heart: Poetry by African American Children

Citation

Adedjouma, Davida, and R. Christie Gregory. The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children. New York: Lee & Low Books, 1996. ISBN 1880000768

Poetic Elements

Given that this collection of poetry was written during a series of workshops, there are ready examples of many poetic elements for discussion and emulation. Some of the poems feature use of repetition, either of a word or of an entire phrase. In one poem it reads that “...Black is beautiful...as beautiful as white people...beautiful as April...” In another we find “...Black is a heart...the heart is an African symbol of life...and life is good...life is good...” There are also numerous examples of personification, like when black spirit is compared to something that “...turns and churns...it is energetic and eternal...” and black culture is described as a “...secret shared in the night...” The auditory and visual imagery is nicely brought to life through use of similes and metaphors and, while none of the poems are actually titled, they are all tied together by the fact that they each have the word 'black' in them somewhere.

Appeal and Overall Quality

This is a unique collection of poetry that tells about different aspects of life through the eyes of African-American children. The editor's note at the beginning of the book gives the reader background on how these 20 poems came to be. It helps prepare the reader for what they are about to take part in. Following that, the introduction by Lucille Clifton is particularly meaningful. Lucille Clifton was an African-American poet and the poet laureate of Maryland from 1979-1985. Her words of encouragement on how meaningful the word 'black' has become adds even more importance to the words the students wrote. The end of the book contains a page with information about the poets. It is nice to be able to get a little snapshot of each of these children, and it helps the reader be able to picture who it was writing each of the poems. The broad strokes of the illustrations add a beautiful dimension to the poems, and the rich, vibrant texture of the acrylics and colored pencils join together with the words to create an easy to read collection. It is one that can be revisited and have more meaning found with each reading.

Spotlight Poem

I would choose to use the following poem...

Black is the color of some people

but people are different

differences are good because

no one else says the

same things as you.

Follow-Up Activity

I would use this poem in a discussion of diversity. After reading this poem together we would talk about ways that people can be different and why being different is a good thing. I would then invite the students to write a poem about something that makes them different and either read it to the class or put it together in a class book.

Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 4. A collection of poems by 20 children between the ages of 6 and 14, with introductory notes by Lucille Clifton. Christie interprets the selections with passionate (though somewhat scary in their expressive distortion) acrylic-and-pencil illustrations that could stand alone as a lively introduction to modern art. The poems were created during a community workshop designed to "introduce children to the techniques of image and metaphor, narrative and dialogue, and then set them free to explore their own lives, feelings and imaginations." Occasionally these goals are reached, as when Thelma Louise Lee writes of "my brother?trying to wash dishes/and me?talking too much, me hitting/my cousin (not meaning to, really),/me playing basketball and/calling all the shots." However most of the short poems, printed with boldface emphasizing certain words (Black, family, freedom) lack original imagery and come across as slogans rather than as personal voices. Facilitators of "everybody's an author" writing classes seeking a range of examples may be interested in purchasing The Palm of My Heart. Stronger writing and a broader range of topics can be found in June Jordan and Terri Bush's Voice of the Children (Holt, 1970; o.p.)?Karen MacDonald, Teaticket Elementary School, MA

From Booklist

Ages 6^-10. These 20 poems, the product of a writing workshop for children, express pride and joy in the black experience. Most of the pieces are very short, but their brevity does not dilute the potency of the heartfelt messages delivered in that direct way children have. Christie's long, angular images are reminiscent of Masai warriors with long graceful necks, wearing pride in their postures. The acrylic-and-pen renderings never outpace the simple, humble passages that reflect children who have discovered the power of the written word and their own inner strength.

From Kirkus Reviews

A collection of works, subtitled ``Poetry by African American Children,'' that showcases an exciting new artist whose style is unique and fully realized. The 20 pieces that Adedjouma gathered from writing workshops are not poems but thoughts, musings, and statements occasionally infused by a poetical phrase or notion. The themes are arranged seamlessly, and the selections are life-affirming, brimming with self-awareness, and written in a celebration of African American culture. The real story here is the glorious art by picture-book newcomer Christie, who displays a fine-arts sensibility that is incorporated into his illustrations, looking as if the influence of African art has been distilled through Klee and Picasso in the 1920s, with a touch of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Yet Christie's art remains all his own. Elongated limbs and abstract backgrounds emphasize the skill of his portraiture, drawing viewers to the astoundingly accomplished painting of individual faces. His interpretations of the text elevate its feeble nature and allow every page and double-spread to convey a distinct story, mood, or tribute to the culture. With an introduction by Lucille Clifton. (Picture book. 4-8) --

Mirror Mirror

Citation

Singer, Marilyn, and Josee Masse. Mirror Mirror. Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated, 2010. ISBN 0525479015

Poetic Elements

The form of the poetry, in all of its innovation is amazing. To be able to write a poem that reads one way through the first stanza and then reverses itself in the next and actually makes sense is quite an accomplishment. Yet, within this new form, the poet is able to portray different perspectives from the fairy tale motif while lavishing the reader with imagery and rhyme. Descriptions of berries that are “...juicy and sweet...” and Rapunzel's hair as “...all that pale, tangled, dangling hair...” create rich pictures in the mind and a scent of “...fragrant green air...” is brought to mind when you read of Jack and the Beanstalk. The personification is vividly portrayed in Longing for Beauty when we read that “...a moist muzzle can welcome a rose...” and “...a hairy ear can prize a nightingale, singing...” The beauty of this is the personification stays true when you read the reverso of it and it's suddenly “...a rose can welcome a moist muzzle...” and “...a nightingale singing, can prize a hairy ear...” The reader gets to enjoy the poetic elements the first time through and see it present, again, in the reverso. That's part of what makes the poetry so exciting to read.

Appeal and Overall Quality

There really isn't much that wouldn't draw in a reader to this form of poetry. She's written a great collection of perspective poetry, even if it weren't in reverso form. The fact that it is in reverso form is pretty amazing. The illustrations are just as important to this collection as the words, and without Josee Masse's illustrations I really don't know that it would have the same effect. The pages are split in half, both the pages with the words and the pages with the illustrations. The color scheme stays the same for the words of the poems, with one perspective consistently in blue, and the other in red. The illustrations are richly colored, and one half depicts what is happening in the first poem, while the other shows the reverso. The beautiful seamlessness of these split illustrations is, well, lovely. The words and the illustrations are appealing to children of all ages. The younger set will love the different perspectives, while the older students will attempt to emulate the style in their own poetry. To this end, the poet has an explanation of the reverso at the end of the book and encourages readers to try their own. I don't think it will take much prodding to get students to try!

Spotlight Poem

In the Hood

In my hood,                                          After all, Grandma's waiting,

skipping through the wood,                 mustn't dawdle...

carrying a basket,                                 But a girl!

picking berries to eat-                          What a treat-

juicy and sweet                                    juicy and sweet,

what a treat!                                         picking berries to eat,

But a girl                                              carrying a basket,

mustn't dawdle.                                    skipping through the wood

After all, Grandma's waiting.               In my 'hood.

Follow-Up Activity

I really think that any of these reverso poems would be fabulous as a spotlight poem, but I just picked the one that I liked best! I think this lends itself to a duet interpretation, with one person reading it as Little Red Riding Hood and the other as The Big Bad Wolf. I would also lead the group in attempting to write a reverso poem as a class. Depending on the success we had as a class, I would invite the students to attempt one with a partner and, finally, on their own. What a unique concept to bring to writing poetry! It really makes one consider word choice and meaning.

Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 3–6—This appealing collection based on fairy tales is a marvel to read. It is particularly noteworthy because the poems are read in two ways: up and down. They are reverse images of themselves and work equally well in both directions. "Mirror Mirror" is chilling in that Snow White, who is looking after the Seven Dwarves, narrates the first poem of the pair. Read in reverse, it is the wicked queen who is enticing Snow White to eat the apple that will put her to sleep forever. "In the Hood" is as crafty as the wolf who tells of his delightful anticipation of eating Red Riding Hood. The mirrored poem is Red Riding Hood reminding herself not to dally since Grandma awaits. The vibrant artwork is painterly yet unfussy and offers hints to the characters who are narrating the poems. An endnote shows children how to create a "reverse" poem. This is a remarkably clever and versatile book that would work in any poetry or fairy-tale unit. A must-have for any library.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* This ingenious book of reversos, or poems which have one meaning when read down the page and perhaps an altogether different meaning when read up the page, toys with and reinvents oh-so-familiar stories and characters, from Cinderella to the Ugly Duckling. The five opening lines of the Goldilocks reverso read: “Asleep in cub’s bed / Blonde / startled by / Bears, / the headline read.” Running down the page side-by-side with this poem is a second, which ends with: “Next day / the headline read: / Bears startled / by blonde / asleep in cub’s bed.” The 14 pairs of poems—easily distinguished by different fonts and background colors—allow changes only in punctuation, capitalization, and line breaks, as Singer explains in an author’s note about her invented poetic form. “It is a form that is both challenging and fun—rather like creating and solving a puzzle.” Singer also issues an invitation for readers to try to write their own reversos on any topic. Matching the cleverness of the text, Masse’s deep-hued paintings create split images that reflect the twisted meaning of the irreverently witty poems and brilliantly employ artistic elements of form and shape—Cinderella’s clock on one side morphs to the moon on the other. A must-purchase that will have readers marveling over a visual and verbal feast. Grades 2-5.

Awards for Mirror Mirror:

ALA Notable Book

New York Public Library's Best 100 Children's Books of 2010

Chicago Public Library Best of the Best Books 2010

Booklist Editors Choice

Bank Street College of Education Best Books of the Year

Washington Post Top 15 Children’s Books of 2010

Horn Book Fanfare Book

Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Books of 2010

Time Out New York Kids's 50 Best Books for Kids

Pieces: A Year in Poems & Quilts

Citation

Hines, Anna Grossnickle. Pieces: A Year in Poems & Quilts. New York: Greenwillow Books, 2001. ISBN 0060559608

Poetic Elements

This poet has richly combined and reflected the imagery of her words with the quilted illustrations in the book. The poems themselves cover the seasons of the year and are dripping with figurative language, alliteration, and imagery. Lines such as “...bursting out on bare, brown branches...” and “...bright, bold, biting, busy green...” are indicative of the alliteration that is present throughout many of the poems. Personification is beautifully described as “...the creek bubbles in celebration...”, “...green sleeps in winter...”, and “...trees are wearing scarlet gowns and golden crowns...” The poet doesn't follow specific rhyme patterns in her poetry, but there is rhyme present in some of them. She uses the placement of the words themselves on the page to convey more meaning to the words. In To Each His Own she has the words scattered over the page to look like leaves falling through the air, which is a thoughtful display that adds visual meaning to the words.

Appeal and Overall Quality

One of the neatest aspects to this book of poetry is that the poet, clearly a creative person by nature, also made a quilt square to go with each poem. She chose the colors and the layout for each illustrative quilt piece, and the thought that went into the color scheme, the picture, and the design is evident. The colors in the illustrations change from whites, to greens, to browns and reds, back to whites as the poems themselves move through the season and through the year. An added bonus to this book is an explanation at the end of how the poet was led to participate in such a project. It also has a selected biography that points towards more information on quilting. Many of the illustrations show the material laid out and displayed, but not sewn, on one side of the page while the opposite page shows the final result all sewn together. Readers will appreciate the beauty of the words and the poetry, but there is ample room for discussion and conversation regarding the accompanying illustrations.

Spotlight Poem

Do You Know Green?

Green sleeps in winter

waiting

quiet

still

beneath the snow

and last year's stems

and old dead leaves

resting up for spring

and then...

Green comes...

tickling the tips

of twiggy tree fingers

Psst!

Psst! Psst!

poking up as tiny

slips of baby grass

Ping!

Ping! Ping!

springing up as coiled

skunk cabbage leaves

Pop!

Pop! Pop!

bursting out on bare

brown branches

Pow!

Pow! Pow!

Brand new baby yellow green

bright bold biting busy green

until it seems

everywhere one goes

green grows.

Follow Up Activity

The book lends itself to a discussion on the seasons and the changes that accompany each season...the colors, the physical changes, etc. I would present this poem to the class and read it out loud first. Then I would have them read it with me in a choral setting. Finally, I would have them read it in small groups, with some reading the sound effects (Pop! Ping! Psst!) while others read the other lines. We would focus on the rich and energetic verbs, onomatopoeia, and personification before asking them to write one in a similar fashion about their own favorite color.

Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a series of quilted designs worthy of exhibition, Hines (My Own Big Bed) illustrates the theme of this deceptively simple, unique collection of poems: "Pieces of the seasons/ appear and disappear/ in a patchwork pattern/ making up a year." Her language, both playful and adroit, allows readers to see familiar seasonal changes anew. "Good Heavens," for instance, depicts a spring lawn as "astronomical/ with dandelion blooms" that fill the green sky with "a thousand suns/ and then/ a thousand moons." Hines varies her quilt designs as often as she varies her poems' rhythm and rhyme schemes. In one of the longer poems, "Do You Know Green?," the words trickle down the page, much like the light that filters through the trees in the accompanying quilt; both the poem's construction and the long vertical tree trunks emphasize the forest's height and grandeur. Meanwhile, abstract quilts like the one featuring hundreds of flowered squares in "Misplaced?" stress frivolity--in this case, a joke involving a flowerbed where "bloomers are not sleepyheads." An appendix explains Hines's meticulous quilting process. Wearing two hats, Hines takes her quilter's stash of fabric swatches and her wordsmith's metaphors for memories of the seasons, and pieces together a unified, artistic whole. An outstanding book for aspiring quilters or anyone at all. Ages 5-up.

From School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-Hines has illustrated her mostly free-verse poems about the seasons with quilts. The selections, which describe weather, gardens, and animals, are set against her patchwork designs. The fabric art, done in a broad range of colors, are mostly representational, picturing animals and landscapes. While a few are striking, those that depend on a fabric's print or the quilting pattern come across flatly in reproduction. The poems are nicely descriptive, but not distinguished. The most interesting part for readers may be the two pages at the end that describe the quilting process, with a short bibliography. The quilts in the book are Hines's first, and took her several years to complete. They will certainly inspire young quilters or artists to try something similar, but as a collection of illustrated poems, Pieces fails to stand out.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA

From Booklist

Ages 5-9. This lovely book combines the intricacies of quilting with the wonders of the changing seasons. Though it is older readers and adults who will appreciate the skill that has gone into the artwork, children will simply revel in the colorful pictures that make up Hines' quilted squares. For the spring, a rippled quilt in melting-snow shades of white and blue captures the watery beauty of the season. In autumn, reds, golds, and browns show leaves "as pretty as snowflakes." Perhaps the most powerful spread is a winter scene in which naked limbs of trees and dark, flowered underbrush are set against a background of white. With such impressive pictures, its easy to lose sight of the poems, but they are quite nice in their simplicity: "Sometimes in winter / while I'm sleeping / through the night / inside the house / all snug and tight, / outside / the world is turning white." A two-page spread at the book's conclusion tells "the story behind the quilts," detailing in words and photos how they were made. A bibliography is appended. A thoughtful, lovely offering. Ilene Cooper

Meow Ruff

Citation

Sidman, Joyce, and Michelle Berg. Meow Ruff. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. ISBN 0618448942

Poetic Elements

Concrete poetry or shape poetry is defined as “...poetry in which the typographical arrangement of words is as important in conveying the intended effect as the conventional elements of the poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm, rhyme and so on...” Joyce Sidman does a convincing job with this book. Her spacing of words and size of font throughout this story does, indeed, affect the emotional impact and visually convey the meaning of the words in this story about a friendship between a dog and a cat. It is an impressive work of art to see the tree written in the shape of a tree and composed of poetry describing the same tree. Potentially overwhelming to younger readers with the crush of words on a page, this can be a fantastic shared experience for a parent or teacher to guide them through the story and point out pieces of poetry along the way.

Appeal and Overall Quality

This book is visually stunning, and to read how the poet herself laid out what she wanted on the page before turning it over to the illustrator makes it even more impressive. The developing storm is shown in the color and consistency of the clouds, at first a “...plump bright dome of sugary white sky-muffin...” floating off in one corner of the page to “...Cloudburst...” and “...Kaboom...” each colored darkly and stretched as a single word across a two-page spread. Children will appreciate the pleasing and simple color scheme of blues, greens, and browns while adults and older students will be able to discern the thoughtful correlation between the arrangement and layout of the words. One of my favorite pieces to follow throughout the book was the picnic table and how it changed purpose as the storm moved in, going from a “...platform for picnics and crumbs and ants...” to a “...platform that's splotting and splatting and dripping...”

As a side note, I will freely admit to the fact that I instantly disliked this story beginning on page 4, when the cat is dumped on the street. As a “mom” to two rescued dogs I had a reaction to an animal being dumped. I kept reading, though, and could appreciate that the cat had found a friend and a new home by the end of the story. Finding that Joyce Sidman had previously won the ASPCA Henry Bergh Children's Book Award which is given “honoring books that promote humane and compassionate respect for all creatures” made me a little more surprised to find an animal being abandoned in her book of concrete poetry.

Spotlight Poem

The book, in its entirety, would be used to teach concrete poetry, or really any two page spread from the book could be used to narrow focus down to certain aspects.

Follow Up Activity

I found a great website, called poetry4kids.com, that guides children through the experience of writing concrete poetry. Poet Kenn Nesbitt owns the website, and his is a great resource for any type of poetry. His explanation of concrete poetry, however, is geared for kids and easy to understand for someone just learning about the concept. We would study the book Meow Ruff, look to Kenn's website for further explanation, and then attempt to write our own concrete poetry, either as individuals or in groups.

Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4–Using concrete poetry as the vehicle, Sidman relates a simple story. A small dog escapes from its house and a little cat is abandoned at curbside. These natural enemies meet at a neighborhood park where, forced to wait out a thunderstorm under a picnic table, they take comfort in huddling together and later emerge as buddies. The adjective-loaded unrhymed verse is actually a series of descriptive phrases that have been compressed and arranged to create elements of the artwork. For example, the words large/white steamy/bread loaves rising/in the sun's bright heat/a billowing batch/of cumulus are printed in white and presented in the shape of a cloud, while patchwork, rabbit-nibbled, mower-cropped, wind-whispered grass fills a green border along the bottom of the page. Computer-generated cartoon graphics of the cat, dog, three crows, and other animals are set against a sky-blue background. Some details (the dog's tail and ears; a bird's wings) have gray-toned shadows that indicate movement. Some of the language is creative, and the beat is catchy, but occasionally the crowded monochromatic text is difficult to read, and many of the pages are cluttered with words and graphics. Joan Bransfield Graham's Flicker Flash (1999) and Splish Splash (1994, both Houghton) and J. Patrick Lewis's Doodle Dandies (S & S, 1998) are better examples of concrete poetry for the same age group.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 1-3. It's typically said of picture books that art and text are inseparable, but the truth of that has rarely been more evident than it is in this introduction to concrete poetry--which, unlike most books about the form, doesn't just collect unrelated poems, but tells a story through them. With the same creativity of expression that marked Song of the Waterboatman (2005), a 2006 Caldecott Honor Book, Sidman develops a simple tale about a cat and dog trapped in a rainstorm, coding much of the substance right into the physical landscape. Indicating the coming downpour, for instance, cloud-poems build from a single word (wisp) to free verse dense with ominous imagery ("Thunder-plumped seething mass of gloomy fuming"); raindrop-poems, descending vertically from the clouds, intensifying from the merest "drips" to "monster splats" to "stinging ropes of water." Berg, who created the pictures digitally and is also the book's graphic designer, intelligently showcases the concept of words as building blocks in a stylized landscape of flat colors, two-dimensional forms, and wildly mutating typefaces. A novel entree to concrete poetry for children not ready for Paul Janeczko's fine A Poke in the I (2001), offering a glimpse of the world as a poet sees it: in images cloaked in words. Jennifer Mattson

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

Citation

Fleischman, Paul, and Eric Beddows. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. New York: Harper & Row, 1988. ISBN 0064460932

Poetic Elements

This Newbery Award winner is an exciting anthology that invites the readers to act out the words they are reading. A collection of poetry built around insects, Fleischman takes the reader on a tour of the insect world, utilizing alliteration, rhythm, and imagery along the way. Lines such as “...fireflies flickering, flitting, flashing...”, “...glimmering, gleaming, glowing...”, and “...tortuous, twisty, and turny...” are just a taste of the fun he has with words in this book of poetry. The rich language of “...Insect calligraphers practicing penmanship...” are pleasing to the reader and evoke an image in the mind. The poems tend to follow a pattern of shared refrains and individual lines that rhyme. The poetry is easy to read and full of information on each of the types of insects contained within. The fact that it is meant to be read in two voices and shared with someone else to gain the full meaning of the poem makes it stand out from other anthologies of its kind.

Appeal and Overall Quality

The poet wisely explains his motive at the beginning of the book with this note located on the page following the Table of Contents...

“The following poems were written to be read aloud by two readers at once, one taking the left- hand part, the other taking the right-hand part. The poems should be read from top to bottom, the two parts meshing as in a musical duet. When both readers have lines at the same horizontal level, those lines are to be spoken simultaneously.”

What forethought to explain how best to appreciate his poetry! I'm not surprised that he took the time to explain this to the reader since it is so clear that he took careful though to both of the voices in each of the poems. Constructing these poems, deciding the wording and placement, and when to have lines as solos or duets demonstrates a precise nature. The black and white pencil drawings are a fabulous addition to the poems but definitely secondary to the poems themselves. The simple nature of the drawings do not take away from or overshadow the poet's words. Readers will find themselves going back to read each voice on its own and then reading the poem again with the voices interacting. The possibilities are endless for how to read this exciting collection!

Spotlight Poem

Honeybees

Being a bee                                                           Being a bee

                                                                              is a joy.

is a pain.

                                                                              I'm a queen

I'm a worker

I'll gladly explain.                                                  I'll gladly explain.

                                                                              Upon rising, I'm fed

                                                                              by my royal attendants,

I'm up at dawn, guarding

the hive's narrow entrance

                                                                              I'm bathed

then I take out

the hive's morning trash

                                                                              then I'm groomed.

then I put in an hour

making wax,

without two minutes' time

to sit still and relax.

                                                                             The rest of my day

                                                                             is quite simply set forth:

Then I might collect nectar

from the field

three miles north

                                                                             I lay eggs,

or perhaps I'm on

larva detail

                                                                             by the hundred.

feeding the grubs

in their cells,

wishing that I were still

helpless and pale.

                                                                              I'm loved and I'm lauded,

                                                                              I'm outranked by none.

Then I pack combs with

pollen—not my idea of fun.

                                                                             When I've done

                                                                              enough laying  

Then, weary, I strive

                                                                              I retire

to patch up any cracks

in the hive.

                                                                              for the rest of the day.

The I build some new cells,

slaving away at

enlarging this Hell,

dreading the sight

of another sunrise,

wondering why we don't

all unionize.

Truly, a bee's is the                                               Truly, a bee's is the

worst                                                                     best

of all lives.                                                            of all lives.

Follow Up Activity

This poem just cries out to be reenacted by students. There is great potential for an animated portrayal of the queen bee's experience versus that of a worker bee. Students could perform this either in groups or even one person could perform both parts, changing between voices and demeanor as they read. There are so many possibilities, and I think that even young students will enjoy performing this for friends and family.

Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Winner of the 1989 Newbery Award, Joyful Noise is a children's book of poetry about insects that was designed for two readers to enjoy together. On each page are two columns of verse for children to alternate reading aloud about the lives of six-legged creatures ranging from fireflies writing in the sky to a love affair between two lice, crickets eating pie crumbs and the single day in the life of a mayfly. Charming large scale soft-pencil illustrations enhance the comical, easy-to-read text. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up In this collection of 14 ``Poems for Two Voices'' about insects, Fleisch man surpasses its companion volume, I Am Phoenix (Harper, 1985). He has combined the elements of sound and meaning to create clear, lively images of a variety of insects. Elements of repetition, onomatopoeia, and alliteration are effectively used to create a character for each of these creatures, with fireflies ``Flickering, flitting, flashing'' and mayflies ``lying, dy ing,'' which make these poems a joy for reading aloud. In addition, elements of personality, both fictional and real, are presented with charming effect. The love lorn moth who yearns for the lightbulb and the book lice who overcome their differing ``tastes'' represent the lighter side, while the digger wasp's reflection on the home it digs for children it will never see and ``Requiem,'' written for the victims of ``Fall's first killing frost,'' represent real behaviors. Beddows uses personified black- and-white drawings to capture the feeling of the poems, including a sultry queen honeybee reclining on her couch. This book can join Bugs (Viking, 1976) by Mary Ann Hoberman and Never Say Ugh! to a Bug (Greenwillow, 1979) by Norma Farber as proof that insects are indeed the stuff of poetry.

George Washington's Teeth

Citation

Chandra, Deborah, Madeleine Comora, and Brock Cole. George Washington's Teeth. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2003. ISBN 0312376049

Poetic Elements

The adorable rhyming verse picture book pays homage to our first president and tells of his struggles with dental hygiene in a way that children young and old will appreciate. The words are organized into four line stanzas and follow an ABCB pattern that is consistent throughout. There is alliteration littered throughout with phrases such as “...springs snapped...”, “...desk drawers...”, and “...pantry, parlors, halls...” but the focus lays squarely on the form.

Appeal and Overall Quality

This book is interesting in many ways. It gives a fascinating overview of the dental struggles faced by our first president, and it does so by referencing events from history that we would most certainly be familiar with already. The authors placed a timeline at the end of the book that list important events in George Washington's life, such as crossing the Delaware, the Revolutionary War, and becoming the nation's first president. However, this timeline provides status and updates to what was going on in his mouth at that moment in history. This provides a unique “dental” perspective on important historical events from our history. All of these revelations are drawn from his own letters, diaries, and accounts. The fun, slightly cartoonish illustrations follow the layout of the stanzas, with perhaps one illustration for the page or separate illustrations for each line of the stanza spread out over the two page canvas. Children will enjoy the lyrical quality with which the story is told, and they will most definitely appreciate this new information on our first president while underlining the importance of excellent dental hygiene!

Spotlight Poem

There is no single portion of this poem that I would use in isolation...I would use the entire book. It's an easy enough read

Follow-Up Activity

This book could be read just for fun, but it most certainly lends itself to a unit on presidents, dental hygiene, or even math as you could have the students count backwards as George Washington continues to lose teeth. The imagery and force of the words used to tell the story lend themselves to allowing the students to act out this book. I could see this up on stage with a narrator reading while other students act out the parts of George, Martha, the soldiers, his dentist, etc...what fun they would have!

Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In a clever approach to history, Chandra and Comora string together spry stanzas describing the dental difficulties that plagued George Washington. Rhyming verse explains how the general's rotten teeth gradually fall out during the Revolutionary War: "George crossed the icy Delaware/ With nine teeth in his mouth./ In that cold and pitchy dark,/ Two more teeth came out!" Cole complements this verse by rendering a sly watercolor twist on Emanuel Leutze's famous painting George Washington Crossing the Delaware, in a full-spread treatment: Washington still stands in quiet dignity, but the boatmen are grinning. By the time Washington is elected president, just two teeth remain in his mouth. Kids will love the details, such as the way Washington uses a pair of his molars to fashion a mold from which the dentist makes a set of dentures (these are carved from hippopotamus ivory, and even shown, in a photograph in the afterword). Infusing his bustling watercolor vignettes with comic hyperbole, Cole easily keeps pace with the lighthearted narrative. One especially funny image shows the president sprawled on the floor, legs in the air, after viewing a newly painted portrait ("George stood up to have a look-/ He fell back on his fanny./ `It doesn't look like me!' he roared./ `It looks like Martha's granny!' "). An annotated timeline at the end includes quotes from the leader's letters and diaries chronicling his relentless efforts to hide his dental problems and the extent to which they caused him chronic pain and embarrassment. A highly palatable historical morsel. All ages.

Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* K-Gr. 3. Second only to kids' curiosity about George Washington and the cherry tree may be their interest in his teeth. Did the prez wear wooden dentures? Chandra and Comora set the record straight with wit, verve, and a generous amount of sympathy for poor Washington and his dental woes. Unfurling smoothly against a backdrop of Washington's career as soldier and president, the tale goes forward in sprightly, read-aloud rhyme that never falters: "Poor George has two teeth in his mouth / The day the votes came in. / The people had a President /But one afraid to grin." And illustrator Cole is at his absolute best here, totally at ease with human gesture and expression. Each spread is a tableau-like scene (or scenes) filled with costumed characters busily engaged in humorously visualizing the actual history. The color palette and energy of the art harks back to Cole's Buttons (1999), but there's much more detail and movement in these pictures, which work well as amusing preparation for the more sedately illustrated, annotated time line of George's dental decay that precedes a full roundup of historical sources the authors used in telling the tale. This is history for youngsters that will stick; it's wild and fun and factual, without a trace of mockery.

“A highly palatable historical morsel.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“This accurate and intriguing slice of history should find a place in any elementary school library.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

“. . . breezy, sympathetic, carefully researched vignette . . . [one] that will have readers feeling the great man’s pain—and never looking at his painted visage the same way again.”—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“Illustrator Cole is at his absolute best here, totally at ease with the human gesture and expression. . . . This is history for youngsters that will stick; it’s wild and fun and factual, without a trace of mockery.”—Booklist, Starred Review

“[A] carefully researched, very funny, charmingly illustrated picture book that works to humanize a larger-than-life historical figure and in turn, history itself. Brilliant!”—Amazon.com