Dark Emperor
Bibliographic Data:
Joyce Sidman. Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night. Ill. Rick Allen. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. 2010.
ISBN 978-0-547-15228-8
Summary:
This is a collection of poems about creatures that lurk and stir in the night. Each poem concentrates on one animal or plant that is active during the night, giving the reader a brief description of the activities. After each poem there is a section that goes into more detail about the given topic.
Critical Analysis:
The animals and plants come to life during the descriptive poems. Even young readers can image the creatures as the poem is read. The details in the poem bring out children's curiosity about the creature and the author delivers with the additional facts next to the illustration. As students read they imagine the animal or plant in their mind, then the illustration affirms what they were picturing in their minds. The bright colors of the creatures are darkened with the thick black outlining that brings a sense of night to the illustrations.
Review Excerpt:
BOOKLIST review: "Allen explains his elaborate, linoleum-block printmaking technique, and each atmospheric image shows the creatures and the dense, dark forest with astonishing clarity."
Awards and Honors:
Newbery Honor Books: 2011
Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2010
Notable Children's Books: 2011
Connections:
Read a poem aloud, without telling the title, and then students can guess which animal or plant is being described.
Students can write their own informational poem about anything being studied in science, such as planets or rain forest animals.
Students write and illustrate a poem about animals and plants that are active during the day.
Dutch Sneakers and Flea Keepers
Bibliographic Data:
Calef Brown. Dutch Sneakers and Flea-Keepers: 14 more stories. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. 2000
ISBN 0-618-05183
Summary:
This is a collection of fourteen quirky poems that make children laugh. They enjoy hearing the tales of the rockin' roll grandma, bad teeth, the tattlesnake and many others. Although the poems are not connected in content, they are connected by their humorous nature.
Critical Analysis:
This collection of poems is a greater "starter" book to present to younger readers. The poems are short with easy to read words that will interest children. The topics are high interest and identifiable to even the youngest of readers. The illustrations are very bright and catch children's eyes. The simplicity of the illustrations are almost childlike in nature.
Review Excerpt:
BOOKLIST review "In zany, ebullient verse and stylish, wildly angled paintings, Brown presents an irresistible roundup of eccentrics."
Connections:
Teacher reads Mysterious Fish aloud to the students without showing them the illustration, and then students draw what they think the fish looks like. They can then compare and contrast their illustration with the one in the book and from other students
Writing prompts for students:
Would you wear Dutch sneakers? Why or why not?
Would you be a flea keeper? Why or why not?
Where would you go if you could float away on a bubble gum bubble?
Would Olf make a good pirate captain? Why or why not?
Diamond Willow
Bibliographic Data:
Helen Frost. Diamond Willow. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. 2008.
ISBN 0-590-44357-7
Summary:
Willow just wants everyone to notice she is growing up and not a little girl anymore. Her story is told mostly through diamond shaped poems that have hidden messages in bold text. She wants to be able to do things on her own, like mushing with the dogs. Finally she gets her chance and is responsible for taking the dogs to her grandparent’s house all by herself. She finds herself in trouble after injuring Roxy, the best dog, on the way home. She needs a friend and tries to reach out but is disappointed. With time, she finds strength in herself and her dog.
Critical Analysis:
This is an interesting way to write a story. Many students do not think of poetry as a way to tell an extended story, but this book shows them it can be done. This is like an epic poem. This shows younger readers that poems are more than just silly, rhymes on one page stories. Poetry can tell the story of a person's life in an imaginative and creative way. The hidden messages are a makeshift summary of the entire story. Although the messages are not detailed, they still give a basic outline for the reader to follow.
Review Excerpt:
BOOKLIST review: "Frost, who spent years teaching in Alaska, blends the young teen’s viewpoint with a strong sense of place and culture."
Connections:
Students write their own poem with a hidden message.
Show students how important it is to write details in their stories by comparing the hidden message to the whole poem.
No comments:
Post a Comment