My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States

Photo Credit: Barnes and Noble. http://www.barnesandnoble.com (accessed January 26, 2011).

Summary: This is an incredible poetry book which I would recommend to teachers for use in the social studies class. I cannot possibly summarize this book any better than Lee Bennett Hopkins did in the introduction of this book. Mr. Hopkins says:

My America, divided into eight sections, one for each unique region, captures the breadth, depth, and character of the United States. Prefacing each section are fascinating facts [and maps] about each state and the Capital.

Twenty new commissioned works appear along with a host of beloved poets… to bring the United States into a distinctive focus.

Stephen Alcorn’s powerful paintings add further dimension, interpreting the works with brilliant design, color and composition.

The reader will find a very helpful table of contents. It directs the reader to each individual poem and specifically identifies each of the eight sections: The Northeast States, The Capital, The southeast States, The Great Lakes States, The Plains States, The Mountain States, The Southwest States and The Pacific Coast States. This will be of tremendous help to a busy teacher who is looking for a poem about a specific area. At the end of the book, the reader will find an Index of Authors, an Index of Titles, and an Index of First Lines. This last index is a great addition. I can see it being used by a teacher who has used the book many times, knows how the poem begins but cannot remember the name of the poem.

Quality: Many of the poems rhyme. This makes for easy reading. Those that don’t rhyme have a good cadence about them. A reader could pick up a beat within most of these poems. Mr. Hopkins has done a great job arranging the poems so that there is a variety throughout the book. Some poems are long, some are short. Some have a lot of white space, others do not. Some are written on the left margin and others are centered. All of these varieties are likely to keep the reader interested.

Appeal: This book is, in my opinion, very appealing. It is likely to “extend and enrich a person’s insight or knowledge” (Goforth) about the area the poem is about. For example, a child from Austin, Texas might not know anything about the state of Nebraska but when reading Nebraska by Jon Swan, he or she will learn “there is no mountain within miles” and that travelers through Nebraska may “note with anger, the constant, level wind”. This type of information about various states and regions of the country are found throughout this book. The illustrations are also very appealing and provide supporting imagery for the poems.

Use: One of my favorites in this book is Washington, D.C. by Rebecca Kai Dotlich. I will only place a summary here (the last four paragraphs):

It’s here, in a place called Arlington,

where stars and stripes do fly;

where silent snow-white tombstones march

in rows where heroes lie.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier;

the changing of the guard.

the gardens and the galleries,

the tree-lined boulevards.

From around the world they came to touch

with tears and hushed acclaim

the sleek and sacred granite Wall

engraved with soldiers’ names.

On the east bank of the Potomac,

lies Washington, D.C.

the capital of our Nation

which stand for liberty.

I can see using this book with high school students for research topics. I can envision a lesson where students choose one of the paragraphs in a poem (or perhaps the entire poem) research the monuments, items, and climates of the places referred to in the poems.

References:

Goforth, F.S. 1998. Literature and the Lerner. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. (Information found fromVardell, Sylvia. 2011. TWU LS 5663 "Evaluating Poetry" Lecture Notes.)

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed. 2000. My America: a poetry atlas of the United States. Ill. Stephen Alcorn. New York: Simon Schuster. ISBN: 0-689-81247-7.

In Daddy's arms I am tall: African-American celebrating fathers

Photo Credit: Barnes and Noble. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (accessed January 27, 2011 using title of book as search term).

Summary: This book is an award winning compilation of poems from 11 poets. It won the 1998 Coretta Scott King Award which is awarded to African American authors and illustrators (ALA).  A short biographical notation about each poet is found at the back of the book and shows the variety of authors.  Many have won awards and most, although not all, are previously published.  As indicated by the title, all of the poems in this book describe, or are in some way about, African American fathers.  There is a lot of reference in the poems to the South and to the African heritage of the fathers for whom the poem is about. I have a mixed review of this book.  Several of the poems I found to be very appealing, especially poems like “Tickle Tickle”, “The Things in Black Men’s Closets” and “Her Daddy’s Hands”.

Quality: The poems do not, for the most part, rhyme. Most have nice beats to them and produce sensory images for the reader. There were a few poems where I, personally, had a hard time with a sensory image of my own and was thankful for the artist’s illustrations.  These poems include “Lightning Jumpshot”, “Black Father Man” and “Seeds”. I must confess that even with the artist’s illustrations, I was unable to truly connect emotionally with these poems and I dare say that intellectually I have a hard time understanding “Black Father Man” and “Seeds”.  I believe it may be because I am Caucasian.  I may be totally off track and I hope this doesn’t come across as sounding racist because I don’t mean it that way.  But I believe that this book is a good example of how a reader’s perspective plays a vital role in how poetry affects him or her.  I have a strong feeling that a person of African descent would better understand and connect with poems like “Black Father Man”, “Seeds” and “My Father’ Eyes” than readers whose forefathers were not enslaved in this country.

Appeal: For all of these reasons, I believe this poetry book is very appealing for a middle school or high school audience. The language of the poems could be easily understood by this level of student.  The topics of many of these poems are within the realm of prior knowledge and understanding of the student and those that aren’t are something that could be explored further in the classroom.  This book would be useful in a history class or sociology when discussing the era of Civil War or the Civil Rights movement. In a diverse classroom, I can see where this book could lead to some very candid and emotional conversation among children.

Use: The one poem I really liked and would use for a discussion on how different people from different backgrounds might have different rituals would be “The Things in Black Men’s Closets” by E. Ethelbert Miller. 

The things in Black Men’s Closets

On the top shelf

other closet

is the hat my father

wears on special occasions

it rests next to the large jar

he saves his pennies in

his head is always bare

when I see him walking

in the street

I once sat in his bedroom

watching him search

between sweaters and suits

looking for something missing

a tie perhaps

then he stopped

and slowly walked to the closet

took the hat from the shelf

I sat on the bed

studying his back

waiting for him to turn

and tell me who died

Introductory and Follow-Up Activity: Prior to reading this poem, I would give the students a homework assignment:  talk to your father (or some significant man in the family) about an item of personal significance in his closet; bring that item to school, if possible. I would read the poem and then lead a class discussion about the items of significance students brought or discussed with their fathers. I’d then lead the discussion to find out how different families let their children know about deaths in the family. My primary goal: for students to realize the diversity among people while at the same time realizing that all people share similar experiences and feelings.

References:
American Library Association (ALA). http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/index.cfm (accessed January 29, 2011)

Steptoe, Javaka, ed. 1997. In Daddy's arms I am tall: African-Americans celebrating fathers. Ill. Javaka Steptoe. New York: Lee & Low Books.

School Poems

Photo Credit:  Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/ (accessed January 21, 2011 using title as search term).



Summary: The cover of the book immediately draws ones attention to the book and the content is equally enticing. The book begins with a poem about the first day of school.  Within the first poem, the reader is introduced to various students with multi-cultural names such as Kwan, Cory, Laksmi and Max.  The illustrator provides a visual of these students as they enter the school bus on the first day of school.  From there, the reader is taken on a journey through the school year from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.   The titles of the poems tell this story, such as:

"Spelling"
"Math"
"The Class I Hate"
"Where the Custodian Can go"
"First Snow"
"Science Fair"
"Spring Me!"
"Field Trip"
"Class Picture"
"Last, First"

Appeal: Every poem in the book gives the poem's title and shows that the poem is written by one of the students identified in the first poem.  What a clever idea this is!  It is something that might be missed on a first reading of this book but should be noted in order to fully appreciate the appeal this book will have on young students.  By realizing that each poem is "written" by a student character in the book, student readers can identify with the writers.  This should "stimulate the emotions and imagination of the intended audience" (Goforth, 1998).  This emotional connection and the fact that all of the poems are part of the every day life experiences of children make this book highly appealing to children.

Quality: This book is superior in quality, in my opinion.  Sensory images are found at the turn of each page. Many of the poems are rhythmic.  For many poems, young students will be able to quickly identify the rhyming words.  For example, in "Math" the rhyming words are lake, cake, snake and mistake and in "Sandwich Trades" students can easily identify jelly, smelly, rye and pie. Other poems are very natural, in part, I believe, because they deal with such familiar topics for students.

Use: I would use this book in two ways.  First, I would use it throughout the year and match up various poems with events happening at that time of year in school or for feelings that students express during certain times of the year. For example, if a student were to tell me that he/she hates a certain class, I would read these two poems to them:

"The Class I Hate" by Fumi (really by Marilyn Singer and found early in the book)
A-tisket, a-tasket,
don't wanna shoot a basket,
or join a baseball team,
or walk the balance beam.
Would I care to climb a rope,
run, or tumble? One word: nope!
I don't even like to swim.
guess what class I hate. It's gym!

"The Class I Love" by Fumi (really by Marilyn Singer and coming later in the book)
Hickory, dickory, dock,
hurry up, hurry up, clock!
I want the time to pass
so I can get to class.
Here's the crazy thing:
I can cha-cha, rumba, swing,
do merengue, salsa, too.
there's no dance that I can't do.
Yes, I know what I once said.
But now I love, love, LOVE Phys. Ed.!

For the more generic poems, such as "Math" and "Art", I would read them often throughout the year as students were waiting in line for their teacher to pick them up or as openers before our lesson.  Then, at the end of the year, I would assign a poem to each student and have a performance of the entire book.  By doing this at the end of the year, I believe the students would realize how the book reflects an entire school year in poems.

References:

Goforth, F.S.  1998. Literature and the Lerner. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. (Information found from Vardell, Sylvia. 2011. TWU LS 5663 "Evaluating Poetry" Lecture Notes.)

Singer, Marilyn. 2008. First food fight this fall and other school poems. Ill. Sachiko Yoshikawa. New York: Sterling. ISBN: 978-1-4027-4145-6.