Stampede!: Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Salas, Laura Purdie. 2009. STAMPEDE!:POEMS TO CELEBRATE THE WILD SIDE OF SCHOOL. Ill. by Steven Salerno. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN: 9180618914883.
2. SUMMARY & CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In this collection of eighteen poems about kids and school, the author and illustrator are expertly paired. The poems, in first person rhymes, feature kids at school who are compared to various animals. The pictures, in bold primary colors mirror the playfulness of the text. The text is amusing and accurately captures some classic elementary school antics, like a playground swarming with busy kids (bees), and how maze-like a school can feel to a new student, (mouse), or the student (turtle) who didn't do his homework and wants to disappear before the teacher calls on him. Each poem is a short, light-hearted, portrayal of kids at school that any elementary student will find familiar and amusing.
3. POEM & CONNECTIONS
My pencil scrapes across the paper/I'm such a lousy letter-shaper/My hand's as clumsy as a claw/My letters land like scattered straw/Erasing leaves a dusty patch/My writing looks like chicken scratch.
In this poem entitled "Printer Problems," the boy on the page seems to have a beak! This is a great example of an extended metaphor, as well as alliteration. A great book for teaching metaphor and simile. I would use this book to facilitate a discussion about the various emotions and anxieties that are common in a variety of school situations.
City I Love: Poems
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2009. CITY I LOVE: POEMS. ILL. by Marcellus Hall. New York: Abrams. ISBN: 9780810983274.
2. SUMMARY & CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Lee Bennett Hopkins celebrates city life in this collection of eighteen poems. A dog with a backpack and a little blue bird are shown in each picture traveling the globe and visiting various cities identified in the pictures, by their famous landmarks. It is interesting to note that the text does not mention the name of any particular city, the poems are about city life in general. So the illustrations add another dimension to the book, not only is it about city life, but it is about specific cities around the world. The poem, "Winter," if read outside the context of the book, makes no reference to cities or city life. Within the context of the book, however, the illustration depicts the city of Moscow in winter. The brush and in watercolor illustrations have a retro look to them and the endpapers show an illustrated map with the various cities that are featured in the illustrations throughout the book.
This book is kind of an "ode" to city life, and any child who lives in a city will connect with these poems and maybe even gain a deeper appreciation for her surroundings.
This book is kind of an "ode" to city life, and any child who lives in a city will connect with these poems and maybe even gain a deeper appreciation for her surroundings.
3. POEM & CONNECTIONS
The poem, "Sing a Song of Cities," reads like a song with a chorus or chant that repeats, "Sing a song of cities/If you do/Cities will sing back/ To you." Like most of the poems in this collection, this poem is a short rhyme that demonstrates the author's enthusiastic love for cities.
This collection would work well for a geography lesson. Students could match pictures of city landmarks like the Eiffel Tower with its location on the map.
This collection would work well for a geography lesson. Students could match pictures of city landmarks like the Eiffel Tower with its location on the map.
Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Giovanni, Nikki, editor. 2008. HIP HOP SPEAKS TO CHILDREN: A CELEBRATION OF POETRY WITH A BEAT. Naperville: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. ISBN: 9781402210488.
2. SUMMARY & CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Nikki Giovanni, in her introduction to this one of a kind collection, defines hip hop as "poetry with a beat," "the language of the people,... language that is spoken on the porches and street corners of cities around the world," in the same way that opera told the everyday stories of people's lives in the city squares. The introduction gives a brief history of how rhythm and poetry sustained people throughout history and how it was and is an integral part of the human experience. She discusses how the African drum songs served as a means of communication between the slaves, and how when drumming was outlawed hamboning was born. She explains that hip hop was born as a result of the economic hard times of the 1970's, the "era of meanness," as she puts it, when the budget for music and art programs was slashed and kids "struck back" with break dancing and hip hop music.
The book includes over 50 poems and songs and the CD has 30 tracks, some read and performed by the authors. An amazing variety, from Langston Hughes, to Kanye West, this book and CD ranges from the whimsical "Dat Dere" about a child's crazy curiosity of the word around him, to the deep and somber poem by Claude McKay entitled, "If We Must Die. Langston Hughes introduces his poem, "Dream Boogie," and explains that it is inspired by Be Bop music of the 1940's. Each poem or song is illustrated by one of the six illustrators who contributed to this book. The illustrations are bold, playful, dark, happy, sad, depending on the poem.
Giovanni provides a brief biography of each contributor, including the illustrators, in the back of the book.
Nikki Giovanni, in her introduction to this one of a kind collection, defines hip hop as "poetry with a beat," "the language of the people,... language that is spoken on the porches and street corners of cities around the world," in the same way that opera told the everyday stories of people's lives in the city squares. The introduction gives a brief history of how rhythm and poetry sustained people throughout history and how it was and is an integral part of the human experience. She discusses how the African drum songs served as a means of communication between the slaves, and how when drumming was outlawed hamboning was born. She explains that hip hop was born as a result of the economic hard times of the 1970's, the "era of meanness," as she puts it, when the budget for music and art programs was slashed and kids "struck back" with break dancing and hip hop music.
The book includes over 50 poems and songs and the CD has 30 tracks, some read and performed by the authors. An amazing variety, from Langston Hughes, to Kanye West, this book and CD ranges from the whimsical "Dat Dere" about a child's crazy curiosity of the word around him, to the deep and somber poem by Claude McKay entitled, "If We Must Die. Langston Hughes introduces his poem, "Dream Boogie," and explains that it is inspired by Be Bop music of the 1940's. Each poem or song is illustrated by one of the six illustrators who contributed to this book. The illustrations are bold, playful, dark, happy, sad, depending on the poem.
Giovanni provides a brief biography of each contributor, including the illustrators, in the back of the book.
3. POEM & CONNECTIONS
The poems in the collection can be a lesson in rhythm, American history, poetry, music,
contemporary urban culture, to name a few. I read the poem "Books," to preschoolers on a library visit to spark their enthusiasm for BOOKS! "I've got/books on the bunk bed/books on the chair/books on the couch/ And every old where..."
This book could also be used to teach the oral presentation of poetry.
The poems in the collection can be a lesson in rhythm, American history, poetry, music,
contemporary urban culture, to name a few. I read the poem "Books," to preschoolers on a library visit to spark their enthusiasm for BOOKS! "I've got/books on the bunk bed/books on the chair/books on the couch/ And every old where..."
This book could also be used to teach the oral presentation of poetry.
