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.