Sky Magic

Citation

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, and Mariusz Stawarski. Sky Magic: Poems. New York: Dutton Children's Books, 2009. ISBN: 0525476820 

Poetic Elements

This collection of poems compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins takes readers from sunrise to sunset and explores the intricacies and imaginings of various portions of our sky. The selected poems are beautiful and, though written each by a different poet, seem to meld together in a lovely read of our sun and sky. While there is no set rhyme scheme to the book, there are varying groupings of stanzas and verse, and a few of the poems utilize end rhyme in their style. Each brief free verse is rich in imagery. Some examples of simile are present in lines such as “...Like a fresh loaf, sun rises...” and “...pitched it like a fastball toward the sky...”. Metaphors are easy to pick out with “...I am the candle on your cake...I am the twinkle in your eye...”. Perhaps the most heavily used style element is personification. The moon, the sun, the stars are all given human qualities. In one poem, “...Moon writes a falling-into-dreams poem” and that same poem also describes “...spiders swaying...snails scribbling...”. The last line is also a prime example of alliteration. The senses are appealed to with various scenes of imagery such as the one describing the sunrise as a “...fresh loaf...golden crust” and how a boy, in holding the moon “...rubbed it with his thumb, and felt its silver coolness on his palm...”. The fact that Lee Bennett Hopkins selected such a diverse group of poets, all incredibly talented in their use of poetic elements and imagery, and put together such a fine collection of poetry speaks well to his own abilities to discern fine poetry.

Appeal and Overall Quality

The poems are highly consistent in their quality. They are each thoughtfully crafted and illustrated. There is a nice mix of new poets and more well-known poets, and the total effect of the poetry compilation is to make the sun, the moon, the sky itself something stimulating and interesting to read about. Who hasn't looked up into the sky and felt a sense of wonderment at the millions of stars, or awe at the beauty of a particular sunset? One of the poems in the book describes how a boy happens upon the moon, fallen out of the sky, and how the boy pitches it “like a fastball” back into the sky. The imagination of boys young and old can connect to that and the emotions of getting to hold the moon in your hand. Each poem evokes a different emotion or mood, whether meant to be fresh and awake, or calm and quiet.

Layout

This book is an anthology of poems that describe various aspects of the sky. In reading the table of contents you see that there are several contributions by notable poets such as Tennessee Williams and Carl Sandburg, but there are just as many poems by newer poets. The majority of the poems were reprinted with permission and have been published before. Each poem is spread out over two pages, and each beautiful, full-page illustration completes the words of the poem, whether through color scheme or varying hues. One poem in particular, called Song, talks on one side of the page about singing to the sun. On the other side of the page it talks about singing to the moon. The illustration for this poem was so striking to me. On the side that talked about singing to the sun the colors were warm shades of orange, yellow, and brown. The side describing singing to the moon was completed in blues, greys, and black. The thing I found most interesting about the illustration was that the picture was split right down the middle of the page, right down to the cruise ship that was smack in the middle of the illustration, half in sunlight and half in moonlight. I enoyed this book immensely, both for the quality of the poems and the connection of the illustrations to the words.

Spotlight Poem

Legends

In the language of stars

lie stories of old

brilliant legends

told; retold.

Spelling out sagas,

spilling out light,

a mythical manuscript

filling the night.

-Avis Harley

Follow-Up Activity

I would use this poem as an introduction to a unit on constellations, or even as an introduction to mythology. There is so much hidden in this poem about how constellations came to be named and who is represented amongst the stars. This would be a great opening to a discussion of what the students know and what they would like to know. Coincidentally, there are several other fabulous poems that could be used from this compilation. At the end of our unit on constellations or mythology I would encourage my students to write their own poem about someone who is represented amongst the stars.

Reviews

"This mesmerizing picture-book poetry compilation takes in the whole sky, from sunrise to the nighttime stars...each poem conveys the sense of wonder and awe people often feel when considering the cosmos..." --Horn Book, starred review