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.
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