SCIENCE POETRY
Incredible Inventions
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. (Ed.). 2009. INCREDIBLE INVENTIONS. ill. by Julia Sarcone Roach. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 978006087246.
2. SUMMARY AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In the seventeen poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, readers learn about the who, the when, and sometimes the why of various inventions through clever poems and a brief explanation in the back of the book. From the Ferris Wheel to Kitty Litter, a variety of inventions are illustrated with bright colors and playful paintings that creatively support the informative and entertaining text. The poetic styles include concrete, as in the poem about the invention of the straw, to couplets as in the poem, "Brushes Rule," to free verse as in the poem, "Basketball Seasons." The poems are presented in the chronological order in which they were invented, and a time line with a simple drawing of each invention is provided along the bottom of the last four pages. This is a book that children will enjoy because the poems are light-hearted yet informative, and they enlighten the reader about everyday things like Popsicles, fig newtons, hairbrushes and Velcro, to name a few! Hopkins invited an all-star cast of contributing poets like Kristine O'Connell George, Alice Schertle,and Marilyn Singer. Julia Sarcone-Roach's double-paged illustrations are lively and whimsical; a perfect match to the poems. My favorite is the illustrations for the poem, "Brushes Rule," by Constance Andrea Keremes. On a red and pink watercolor checkerboard, Roach painted heads with a variety of hairstyles alternated with hairbrushes of different styles and spray bottles of hair products which perfectly illustrate the poem: "Time was when fingers did the trick,/Pat this, part that, do it quick./ But hair's no simple thing today,/You have to get gel, highlight, and spray..."
In the seventeen poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, readers learn about the who, the when, and sometimes the why of various inventions through clever poems and a brief explanation in the back of the book. From the Ferris Wheel to Kitty Litter, a variety of inventions are illustrated with bright colors and playful paintings that creatively support the informative and entertaining text. The poetic styles include concrete, as in the poem about the invention of the straw, to couplets as in the poem, "Brushes Rule," to free verse as in the poem, "Basketball Seasons." The poems are presented in the chronological order in which they were invented, and a time line with a simple drawing of each invention is provided along the bottom of the last four pages. This is a book that children will enjoy because the poems are light-hearted yet informative, and they enlighten the reader about everyday things like Popsicles, fig newtons, hairbrushes and Velcro, to name a few! Hopkins invited an all-star cast of contributing poets like Kristine O'Connell George, Alice Schertle,and Marilyn Singer. Julia Sarcone-Roach's double-paged illustrations are lively and whimsical; a perfect match to the poems. My favorite is the illustrations for the poem, "Brushes Rule," by Constance Andrea Keremes. On a red and pink watercolor checkerboard, Roach painted heads with a variety of hairstyles alternated with hairbrushes of different styles and spray bottles of hair products which perfectly illustrate the poem: "Time was when fingers did the trick,/Pat this, part that, do it quick./ But hair's no simple thing today,/You have to get gel, highlight, and spray..."
3. POEM AND CONNECTIONS
Maria Fleming's "Velcro," is a good poem to dramatize: "Buttons? Bah!/Buckles? Please./Neither has/my strength, my ease./ I sneer at snaps./the lowly lace./They lack my lock,/my fierce embrace./Just try to name/a greater gripper./(Don't even think/of saying zipper.) This poem could be read aloud by the teacher and the children could be asked to guess what it is about. The poem Band-Aid would also work well as a sort of riddle: "Rosebud of blood/Bubbles and smears./I brush the mud/And dry my tears./Thankful I have that peace of tape/From Mom or Dad/For cut and scrape..."
Students could choose three common items of their choice to research and create poems and drawings similar to those in this book. Children could be asked to find examples of alliteration, rhyme and other poetic devices.
Maria Fleming's "Velcro," is a good poem to dramatize: "Buttons? Bah!/Buckles? Please./Neither has/my strength, my ease./ I sneer at snaps./the lowly lace./They lack my lock,/my fierce embrace./Just try to name/a greater gripper./(Don't even think/of saying zipper.) This poem could be read aloud by the teacher and the children could be asked to guess what it is about. The poem Band-Aid would also work well as a sort of riddle: "Rosebud of blood/Bubbles and smears./I brush the mud/And dry my tears./Thankful I have that peace of tape/From Mom or Dad/For cut and scrape..."
Students could choose three common items of their choice to research and create poems and drawings similar to those in this book. Children could be asked to find examples of alliteration, rhyme and other poetic devices.
SOCIAL STUDIES POETRY
The Brothers' War: Civil War Voices in Verse.
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lewis, J. Patrick. 2007. THE BROTHERS' WAR: CIVIL WAR VOICES IN VERSE. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic. ISBN: 9781426300370.
2. SUMMARY AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS
J. Patrick Lewis wrote these poems using a variety of points of view with the intention of presenting the "emotional side" side of the war experience. To reach this end, there are poems written as sonnets, by the voice of a father fearful for his soldier son's life, and letter back from the son describing his harrowing experiences of the battlefield. There is a poem written from the point of view of the ex-slave and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass.
There are eleven poems, each accompanied by a photograph taken by a group of Civil War photographers hired by Matthew Brady, an established photographer who had gained notoriety by portraits he had taken of famous people. Lewis includes a section of notes on the photography where he explains Brady's project and the arduous process involved in capturing the photos. The book's design is fitting for the era and the photographs. Each poem is written on yellowed paper that is roughly framed. The typeset of the title words looks antique, lending an authentic quality to the poems.
J. Patrick Lewis wrote these poems using a variety of points of view with the intention of presenting the "emotional side" side of the war experience. To reach this end, there are poems written as sonnets, by the voice of a father fearful for his soldier son's life, and letter back from the son describing his harrowing experiences of the battlefield. There is a poem written from the point of view of the ex-slave and abolitionist, Frederick Douglass.
There are eleven poems, each accompanied by a photograph taken by a group of Civil War photographers hired by Matthew Brady, an established photographer who had gained notoriety by portraits he had taken of famous people. Lewis includes a section of notes on the photography where he explains Brady's project and the arduous process involved in capturing the photos. The book's design is fitting for the era and the photographs. Each poem is written on yellowed paper that is roughly framed. The typeset of the title words looks antique, lending an authentic quality to the poems.
3. POEM AND CONNECTIONS
The poem "I can make Georgia Howl: William Tecumseh Sherman on his March to the Sea. November 15-December 21, 1864," conveys Sherman's bravado and his unapologetic justification for destruction: "From Atlanta to Savannah/In a winter month or more/Was a march called devastation/Like they've never seen before./They called it a destruction/Razed by sixty-thousand blues/To the city of Savannah-/Righteousness's wrecking crews. Though by tactics were in question,/And I mapped a rugged route,/No one second-guessed the outcome/'Cause it never was in doubt..."
The accompanying photograph shows Union soldiers dismantling a rail line, with a brief explanation by the author about how Sherman made his men destroy buildings, railroads, bridges and crops as a strategy to weaken the enemy.
The poem, "Blood of our Fathers, Blood of our Sons," is narrated by a young soldier who fought in Bull Run and recounts a terrible scene in which a father and son face each other in battle. In the notes, Lewis explains that it was not uncommon for members of the same family to fight on opposing sides, and sometimes even face each other in combat. The young narrator of this poem says: "...By what outrageous powers of circumstance/Do men take arms against their very own?/
The Yankee sergeant's bullet snapped the bone./Roy Pugh, his Rebel son, had little chance./Distraught, the sergeant rolled him on his side./Roy whispered, "Father...Why?" before he died." the photographis a portrait of a very young man in uniform holding a musket.
This book, appropriate for middle school to high school students is an excellent introduction to the study of the American Civil War. The notes to the poems are very informative and the multiple points of view can give students a broader idea of how the war affected every American who died or lived through it.
Students can be asked to read Civil War diaries and write poems in the voice of a variety of people involved in the war like Union and Confederate soldiers, parents or wives of soldiers, slaves, maybe even from the perspective of an animal like a horse.
The poem "I can make Georgia Howl: William Tecumseh Sherman on his March to the Sea. November 15-December 21, 1864," conveys Sherman's bravado and his unapologetic justification for destruction: "From Atlanta to Savannah/In a winter month or more/Was a march called devastation/Like they've never seen before./They called it a destruction/Razed by sixty-thousand blues/To the city of Savannah-/Righteousness's wrecking crews. Though by tactics were in question,/And I mapped a rugged route,/No one second-guessed the outcome/'Cause it never was in doubt..."
The accompanying photograph shows Union soldiers dismantling a rail line, with a brief explanation by the author about how Sherman made his men destroy buildings, railroads, bridges and crops as a strategy to weaken the enemy.
The poem, "Blood of our Fathers, Blood of our Sons," is narrated by a young soldier who fought in Bull Run and recounts a terrible scene in which a father and son face each other in battle. In the notes, Lewis explains that it was not uncommon for members of the same family to fight on opposing sides, and sometimes even face each other in combat. The young narrator of this poem says: "...By what outrageous powers of circumstance/Do men take arms against their very own?/
The Yankee sergeant's bullet snapped the bone./Roy Pugh, his Rebel son, had little chance./Distraught, the sergeant rolled him on his side./Roy whispered, "Father...Why?" before he died." the photographis a portrait of a very young man in uniform holding a musket.
This book, appropriate for middle school to high school students is an excellent introduction to the study of the American Civil War. The notes to the poems are very informative and the multiple points of view can give students a broader idea of how the war affected every American who died or lived through it.
Students can be asked to read Civil War diaries and write poems in the voice of a variety of people involved in the war like Union and Confederate soldiers, parents or wives of soldiers, slaves, maybe even from the perspective of an animal like a horse.
BIOGRAPHICAL POETRY
A Wreath for Emmett Till
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Nelson, Marilyn. 2005. A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL. Ill. by Phillipe Lardy. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 9780618397525.
2. SUMMARY AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Marilyn Nelson, in the introduction to this poem explains how focusing on the strict form of the poem "became a kind of insulation, a way of protecting myself from the intense pain of the subject matter..." The form is called a crown of sonnets which is a sequence of fifteen interlinked sonnets; the last sonnet is made up of the first lines of the preceding fourteen. The first letter from each line in the last sonnet spells "RIP Emmet L Till."
The subject matter of this poem is Emmett Louis Till, a fourteen year old boy who was savagely beaten and lynched in 1955 in Mississippi, by white men. To use the word intense to describe this book is a vast understatement. Paired with rich and disturbing images by Phillipe Lardy, the poems have an almost other-worldly power that evokes a primal awareness of evil. Thankfully, both the author and illustrator provide detailed notes which, in the author's case, explain the many literary and historical references made in the poems. There are references to the Trojan War, Jesus Christ, Shakespeare, FDR, Billie Holiday, the World Trade Center, and many more. The artists explains her use of color to "emphasize the contrast between the delicate and decorative natural elements, such as flowers, with the sheer horror of the crime." Indeed the red is disturbing and the "interludes of green" have a soothing or calming effect.
This is a book for upper middle school students through adult. It is a sophisticated and devastating piece that makes this tragedy, which remains unknown to many, hauntingly unforgettable. Students will be interested to learn that Emmett Till's murder and his killers' acquittal, happened just months before Rosa Park's bus incident.
Marilyn Nelson, in the introduction to this poem explains how focusing on the strict form of the poem "became a kind of insulation, a way of protecting myself from the intense pain of the subject matter..." The form is called a crown of sonnets which is a sequence of fifteen interlinked sonnets; the last sonnet is made up of the first lines of the preceding fourteen. The first letter from each line in the last sonnet spells "RIP Emmet L Till."
The subject matter of this poem is Emmett Louis Till, a fourteen year old boy who was savagely beaten and lynched in 1955 in Mississippi, by white men. To use the word intense to describe this book is a vast understatement. Paired with rich and disturbing images by Phillipe Lardy, the poems have an almost other-worldly power that evokes a primal awareness of evil. Thankfully, both the author and illustrator provide detailed notes which, in the author's case, explain the many literary and historical references made in the poems. There are references to the Trojan War, Jesus Christ, Shakespeare, FDR, Billie Holiday, the World Trade Center, and many more. The artists explains her use of color to "emphasize the contrast between the delicate and decorative natural elements, such as flowers, with the sheer horror of the crime." Indeed the red is disturbing and the "interludes of green" have a soothing or calming effect.
This is a book for upper middle school students through adult. It is a sophisticated and devastating piece that makes this tragedy, which remains unknown to many, hauntingly unforgettable. Students will be interested to learn that Emmett Till's murder and his killers' acquittal, happened just months before Rosa Park's bus incident.
3. POEM AND CONNECTIONS
This book would pair well with Nikki Giovanni's book, Rosa, because it will be the first time many people will learn about Emmett Till in the context of the Civil Rights movement and the emotional climate that was created by his death. The first sonnet reads:
This book would pair well with Nikki Giovanni's book, Rosa, because it will be the first time many people will learn about Emmett Till in the context of the Civil Rights movement and the emotional climate that was created by his death. The first sonnet reads:
"Rosemary for remembrance, Shakespeare wrote:
a speech for poor Ophelia, who went mad
when her love killed her father, Flowers had
a language then. Rose petals in a note
said, I love you; a sheaf of bearded oat
said, Your music enchants me. Goldenrod:
Be careful. Weeping Willow twigs: I'm sad.
What should my wreath for Emmett Till denote?
First, heliotrope, for Justice shall be done.
Daisies and white lilacs, for Innocence.
Then mandrake: Horror (wearing a white hood,
or bare-faced, laughing). For grief, more than one,
for one is not enough: rue, yew, cypress...."
This book could be used to study the Civil Rights movement. Students can be asked to research newspaper articles written about the incident and the events that took place that led to the beginning of the civil rights movement.
Students could select one historical or literary reference from one of the poems and research it's origin and meaning.
The song, Strange Fruit, sung by Billie Holiday, could be used to introduce the book and illustrate how another poem was written about the horrors of lynching using the metaphor of trees and plants.
a speech for poor Ophelia, who went mad
when her love killed her father, Flowers had
a language then. Rose petals in a note
said, I love you; a sheaf of bearded oat
said, Your music enchants me. Goldenrod:
Be careful. Weeping Willow twigs: I'm sad.
What should my wreath for Emmett Till denote?
First, heliotrope, for Justice shall be done.
Daisies and white lilacs, for Innocence.
Then mandrake: Horror (wearing a white hood,
or bare-faced, laughing). For grief, more than one,
for one is not enough: rue, yew, cypress...."
This book could be used to study the Civil Rights movement. Students can be asked to research newspaper articles written about the incident and the events that took place that led to the beginning of the civil rights movement.
Students could select one historical or literary reference from one of the poems and research it's origin and meaning.
The song, Strange Fruit, sung by Billie Holiday, could be used to introduce the book and illustrate how another poem was written about the horrors of lynching using the metaphor of trees and plants.
