Module 4 - Biographical Poetry

Photo Source:  Amazon. www.amazon.com (accessed March 16, 2011).

Summary: This is one of the most amazing books I have read in any of my classes at TWU.  I am so glad I was exposed to this unique piece of literature. I am not alone in thinking it is awesome.  This book was a 2002 Newberry Medal Honor Book and was a 2002 Coretta Scott King Award Honor book.  The book begins to explain Carver’s life when he is an infant (1864) and ends when he is an infirm, old man (1943).  I admit to not knowing much about George W. Carver’s life but this book teaches me a lot.  For example, he had a brother named Jim, he believed in God and reincarnation, his nickname was Doc, and much, much more.

One very helpful aspect of the book is the photographs that often appear at the end of a poem.  These photographs provide a timeline of the events of George W. Carver’s life.  Additionally, they provide information to help clarify a poem which might otherwise not make sense to someone unfamiliar with Mr. Carver’s life.

Quality: The book consists of poems that are free verse, for the most part.  There is not a lot of rhythm or beat to the poems but such is not necessary for the enjoyment of this book.  I assume most of these poems were stand alone poems when originally published but Ms. Nelson has woven the poems together in such a way I have a hard time imagining the poems on their own. All of the poems are of great quality with vocabulary that can be easily understood.  As an overall book, I was very impressed with the poem quality for children from grades 4 and up.  I was, however, disappointed that one particular poem, “Goliath”, was included in the book.  The addition of this poem makes it difficult, if not impossible, to recommend this book to younger children.  This poem vividly describes the lynching of a black man where his penis is cut off and stuffed into his mouth. This creates a mental image that is simply too much for young children, in my opinion.

I wish there had been more information about each of the poems and how the concept of this book came about.  It is hard to determine if this is merely a compilation of poems by Ms. Nelson or if it is a partial compilation with original poems written to “fill in the blanks” to create a full biography. There is a list of poems in the back of the book along with a statement of when various poems were first published.  From this, I can determine that 36 of the 59 poems in the book were previously published.  One would assume that any of the poems not previously published are written by Ms. Nelson but some of the poems indicate that the author might be someone else.  I wish Ms. Nelson had written a preface to the book to explain more about the origin of the poems and which, if any, of the poems are written by her. This would be the one thing that could have made this great book even greater.

Appeal: This book will appeal to students who are reluctant readers in the same way verse novels appeal to these students.  There is a lot of white space so it will appear to students to be easier reading.  It provides a lot of information in a limited amount of words.  It will appeal to teachers because it provides so much more information about George Washington Carver than the typical biography that seems to focus only on his work with peanuts.  This book provides the true picture of the man as well as those around him.  One poem, “My People”, gives the reader a good visual description of George Washington Carver.  It also tells the reader how others felt about him and the prejudice that he must have lived with.  Here is only the first portion of the poem.  It is my favorite in the book.

My People

Strutting around here acting all humble,

when everybody knows

he’s the only one here

got a master’s degree

from a white man’s college.

Everybody knows his salary

is double ours. He’s got two singles

in Rockefeller Hall; the rest of us

bachelors share doubles. The extra room

is for his “collections.”

A pile of you-know-what,

if you ask me.

All that face politeness, that white accent.

He thinks he’s better than us.

Wears those mismatched suits every day, too:

white men’s castoffs with the sleeves too short,

the trousers all bagged out at the knees.

Use: In addition to using this book for a biography report, a teacher could use this book during any units on subjects such as slavery, civil rights, black history month, and famous American scientists.

• An entire class could do choral reading of the entire book with students being given one or two poems each to read aloud.  A class discussion could follow many of these readings.
• Students could follow each reading but placing pins on the map where certain events took place.
• Students could do additional research about various topics mentioned in the poems, such as research into the Ku Klux Klan, Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee Airment, Chicago’s World Fair, and other things
• It would be a great challenge for high school students to create a book similar.  They could write a book of poems describing their own lives.  They could do interviews with grandparents or other individuals and write a poetry book describing the lives of those individuals.  For the really bright and bold, students could attempt to find other poetry to be woven together to tell the biographical story of some historical figure.

References:

American Library Association. http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/emiert/cskbookawards/recipients.cfm (accessed March 18, 2011).

Nelson, Marilyn. 2001.Carver: a life in poems. Ashville, NC: Front Street. ISBN: 1-886910-53-7.

Module 4 - Poetry and Social Studies

Photo Source:  Scanned image of cover of A revolutionary field trip: poems of Colonial America.

Summary: This is a wonderfully written and illustrated book for younger students learning about Colonial America.  It takes students on a field trip with a teacher, Mrs. Brown.  While reading this book, I was reminded of field trips I have actually taken to historical sites where the people are dressed in period clothing and are recreating the daily lives of people who lived during that period of time.  Students who have never been on that type of field trip will miss that connection with previous events in their lives but the book will be meaningful to them nonetheless.

The book begins with a table of contents that is very helpful for a teacher looking for one or two poems about specific events in colonial life.  The first poem, “The Revolutionary Mrs. Brown”, lays the foundation of the book; that is, the idea that the students in the book are going on a field trip with their teacher, Mrs. Brown.  The remainder of the book does not appear to have any sort of special order to it, with the exception of the last poem, “History”.  The poems are simply ones that delve into the daily lives of people living during the early part of our American history. “History” wraps it all up in the last line by stating in the words of a student “I’m ready to go back again!”. 

A wonderful feature of the book, especially when thinking of this as a book that will support the curriculum, is the glossary at the back of the book.  It contains over 75 definitions for words used in the book.  The glossary will be an invaluable tool for students using this book.  Many of the words are unknown to students.  For example, “scuppernongs” is native grapes.  Who knew?

Quality: All of the poems have a good rhythm to them that children will like.  For the poems that rhyme, the rhymes seem natural, not forced.  There is more than rhythm and rhyme in these poems. There are actual sounds that students will recognize and enjoy.  Some examples include:

• “Clang, clang!  the anvl rings.” from “Blacksmith Shop”
•  “to drum rat-ta-tatting, up and down--“ from “The Revolutionary Mrs. Brown”
• “boom    boom    boom    boom” from “Powwow”

Appeal: This book will appeal to teachers and students alike.  Teachers can use it as a teaching tool and children will enjoy the poems that take them on a mini adventure.  With the help of the glossary for unfamiliar words such as “pickadill” and “flummery”, the language of the poems will be understood by children.  The meanings of words children are unfamiliar with can be decoded by focusing on the accompanying illustrations as well. An example is found in “Ann at the churn”.  Most children will not know what it means to churn butter.  The illustrations showing the children churning the butter will be sufficient to give students the information they need to truly understand the poem.

The poems will especially enhance the knowledge of the students.  For example, the students will learn from reading “Signing the Declaration” that writing with quills was difficult.  They will learn from “Searing Poor George” and “Sarah Spins” that Colonial people had to get the wool from sheep and spin it into yarn in order to have yarn to make garments.  All of the poems in the book provide some information about Colonial life that children can learn from.

Use: When reading this book, I littered the pages with sticky notes and suggestions of ways teachers can use this book.  My first sticky note was placed on the poem “Wooden Horse”.  In this poem there is a line where Mrs. Brown says “I wonder what this horse has seen”.  The children then respond with a few ideas.  I can just envision a teacher bringing in a toy horse of some kind into the classroom at the end of a unit on Colonial times and asking students to pretend this horse was a toy during that time period and asking students to write a paper on what they think this toy horse has seen.

Other examples of ways teachers can use this book:

• Using “Blacksmith Shop” to introduce vocabulary words like anvil, blacksmith, forge, bellows and poker. 
• Combining “Corn Planting” with other Native American poetry or pulling it from this book as a stand alone poem to use during a unit on Native Americans.  It could also be used with a unit on spring planting.
• “Muster Drum” with its strong sound of the drums going “Rat a tat tat RAT TAT” simply screams out for a choral reading while “Dream Catcher” screams out for an art project - dream catchers, of course.
• “James Eats Chomp” would be a wonderful poem to use to finish up a unit on Colonial American life.  The teacher can bring it various foods mentioned in the poem such as snickerdoodles, hush puppies, scuppernongs (grapes), and pemmican (jerky).

Overall, I think this is a wonderful book.  I don’t have it in my library but hope to add it soon.

References:

Katz, Susan. 2004. A revolutionary field trip: poems of Colonial America. Ill. R. W. Alley. New York: Simon  Schuster. ISBN: 0-689-84004-7.

Module 3 - 2011 Poetry Book

Photo Source: Center for the Art of Translation Blog. 2011. http://www.catranslation.org/blogpost/introducing-cyclops-wearing-flip-flops (accessed March 2, 2011).

Summary

Cyclops wearing flip flops is the eighth book of poetry published by the Center for the Art of Translation’s program known as Poetry Inside Out. Poetry Inside Out (PIO) is a 16-session school program where students are taught poetry through the translation of foreign poems. It began in 2000, “bringing the poetries of Spain and Latin America to Spanish bilingual and immersion classrooms.” It has now expanded into 19 languages and is taught to elementary, middle and high school students.

The book contains the poetry of the PIO students in a session-by-session look at how the PIO program works. The information given about each session is fascinating and provides just enough information to make an educator want more. Specifically, the book leaves the reader wanting to see the Translator’s Glossaries, referred to throughout the book as being integral to the program. If the Translator’s Glossaries were readily available, a teacher could re-create the project without the need of the PIO professionals. Instead, it appears the only way to get the information necessary to teach the program would be bring the PIO residency program to your school or attend Professional Development and/or workshops presented by PIO.

Quality & Use

This book is different from the other books I have reviewed. This is not a book I would recommend for reading among the general student population. I see this book as being on the “Professional” shelf in a school library for teachers to use as part of their own professional development. Even without the benefit of the Translator’s Glossaries, the book contains ideas that a teacher would be very useful. If it were to be read by the general student population, I believe it could be used as a good example of how student’s poetry writing can evolve over the course of time.

 Before talking further about the great qualities of this book, I must comment on one area that I found disappointing; that is the book’s table of contents. The table of contents is broken up into five sections. While these five sections are designated in the book, it is the session-by-session concept that I noticed most. The table of contents lists these sessions but does not identify them as such. For example, Session 6 is titled “A Nest Built of Lines”. It is in the second section of the book titled “Building a House of Words”. The entry in the table of contents is:

                II. Building a House of Words

                A nest built of Lines: Quatrains 46

                El nido 48

                Alfredo Espino (Spanish)

I believe it would be an improvement if the table of contents stated:

                II. Building a House of Words

                Session 6: A Nest Built of Lines: Quantrains 46

                El nido 48

                Alfredo Espino (Spanish)

I realize this is a minor change but in my opinion the session information is so important to the book that the lack of the information in the table of contents is a major drawback. I believe such an addition would make the book more user friendly.

Except for the table of contents, I found this book to be of good quality. There is so much information about poetry and how to help children evolve in their writing of poetry. It also gives great definitions of different types of poetry as well as examples of ways to engage children in the poetry writing experience. One example I particularly liked is found in Session 9: Renga Round the World which has students writing a “collaborative series of tanka”, known as renga. In doing so, one student writes a traditional haiku 5-7-5 syllable poem then passes his or her paper to another student. That student then adds two seven-syllable lines to finish the tanka and then starts another new tanka (by writing a 5-7-5 haiku). This new tanka is then passed along to another student. This renga can go on and on this way. Prior to reading this, I had never heard of the poetic forms of tanka and renga. Even if I had known about this type of poetry, I would not have thought about using it in this round the world format. This type of information is a perfect example of why this book should be on the school libraries professional shelf.

Appeal

The poetry itself is very appealing. Since the translated poems are all written by children, the language contained in them is very child friendly and speaks to things children know. The book also provides a good example to teachers as to how students can transform their work over the course of a semester. Teachers could certainly share this poetry with their students to provide them with examples of how capable students at their grade level can be if they work at their poetry week after week. For example, an original student poem in Session One of PIO is very much a translation of the original poem, Ciudad de cielo, a las cuatro by Maria Luisa Artecona de Thompson:

Fire and Water

Translated by the Author, Luana Cardenas, 4th grade (who wrote original in Spanish)

For a minute, I am fire

For an instant, I am water

For a second, I am no one’s

If they shut me down, if they turn me on

For a moment, I am air

For a moment, I am dirt

For a moment, I am no one’s

If they leave me, if they free me

For a second, I save in my memory

The forgotten dream, if it passes

Through the inferno while the sky

Waits for me impatient.

By Session 16, the students are translating the Sonnets of William Shakespeare and are writing wonderful sonnets of their own, such as this one:

Cold Breezy Nights

Stacy Hu, 4th grade

Cold breezy nights are abandoned

Trees are lazily blowing in the crisp breeze

Branches are breaking off of oaks

Tsunamis are swimming to shore

Nature is in the bearing cold world

Winds are forming up in the pretty sky

Suns are beaming bright rays on earth

Imagination is swirling everywhere in your mind

Ships are bringing goods to places you’ve never visited

People are in lost forests, like being in mazes

Plants are growing in the Autumn

Rivers are ending at endless waterfalls

Clouds are raining puddles

But last, nothing is doing nothing at all

Although these poems are written by different students, they are both written by students in 4th grade. The transformation of the skill in poetry writing from the first session to the sixteenth session is inspiring.

References:

Center for the Art of Translation. 2011. Cyclops wearing flip flops. 2011. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-1-931883-18-4.

Center for the Art of Translation Blog. 2011. http://www.catranslation.org/blogpost/introducing-cyclops-wearing-flip-flops (accessed March 2, 2011).

Module 3 - Haiku Poetry

Photo Source:  Amazon Website. 2011. http://www.amazon.com (accessed February 22, 2011, using title as search term).

Summary: Stone bench in an empty park is a book of poetry selected by Paul B. Janeczo with photographic pictures by Henri Silberman. This book of poetry is all about finding the beauty and nature in the city. All of the poems and paragraphs relate to things seen in big cities like New York, London and Los Angeles. There are many well known poet’s poems in this book. These include poems by Myra Cohn Livingston, Nikki Grimes, J. Patrick Lewis, and Jane Yolen. The book also contains many other poets whose name I do not recognize. This mix of known and unknown poets is a sign of a quality poetry collection.

The book provides the reader with an introduction as to the history of haiku poems and the qualities that make a poem a haiku. Acknowledgements are located at the back of the book, giving information on the poet who wrote each poem. If the poem is found in another book, information is provided to locate that book.

Quality: The poems within this book are pretty amazing although I must admit that I might not have recognized some as haiku poems if I wasn’t told they were haiku. I always believed that haiku poetry had to follow a specific format of 17 syllables (three lines, with a 5-7-5 format). These haiku poems do not always follow that format. For example, a poem by Anita Wintz:

full moon shining

squeezes between skyscrapers

f

l

u

o

r

e

s

c

e

n

t

Once I overcame my belief in the strict formatting of the haiku, I came to really enjoy these poems although I realize that the poems that fit the strict format of a haiku are my favorite. The sound of these poems is so appealing. For anyone who has been to the city, these poems will bring a smile to his or her face. They will remind the reader of special times spent in the city by producing sensory images for the reader. One of my favorite, by Jane Yolen:

Ice-cream wrappers bloom

In overflowing baskets.

Summer in the park.

There is also a lot of detailed descriptions found in the poems. For example, Myra Linvingston talks about fences and concrete walls in two of her poems, there is talk of cranes in the poetry of Erica Silverman and J. Patrick Lewis, and other poets talk about flower stands, news stands, carousel horses and guys beating plastic paint pails as drums. All of these things one will only find in the city. The idea of presenting these city items and events in a poem is a unique and fresh idea from the other poetry I have seen.

Appeal: While I find this book fascinating and a joy to read, I do not think it would appeal to elementary or middle school age students unless those students live in a city. Not all of the poems in this book relate to familiar childhood experiences of all children. For example, the first poem by David E. LeCount refers to the “bridge toll-booth” and the second poem by Cor van den Heuvel refers to a newsstand. While these are interesting subjects to an adult who know something about them, I think the meaning of the poem will be lost on many children. I would read this book with high school students. If they are unfamiliar with the topic of one of the poems, they have the maturity to learn more about the particular topic on their own without major adult intervention. These poems would extend a high school students knowledge of life in the city.

Use: I would recommend this book to a high school photography teacher or art teacher. At the beginning of the book, the photographer wrote a note explaining how the poems were not written based on the pictures but instead he had to find the pictures that would fit with the poetry. As he says, he “let the haiku guide” him. This would be a good example to art students of letting poetry guide them in their art. After reading this, students could find other poetry and create their own interpretation of the poem either through photographs or other media.

References:

Janeczko, Paul B. ed. 2000. Stone bench in an empty park. Ill. Henri Silberman. New York: orchard Books. ISBN: 0-531-33259-4

Module 3 - Verse Novel

Photo Source:  Jennifer Roy's Website. 2011. http://www.jenniferroy.com/ (accessed February 22, 2011).

Summary: Yellow Star is a verse novel told in the narrative voice of a young child, Syvia Perlmutter. This is a historical fiction verse novel. Syvia Perlmutter was the author’s aunt. She was 4 ½ years old when World War II started and was one day short of her 10th birthday when it ended. All that happened to her and her family in between is written in this amazing 227 page novel. This novel has most of what all verse novels usually have: linear format, narrative style, realistic and candid, intense situations, emotional connections, informal/colloquial language, told from the first person’s point of view, and a strong sense of voice (Vardell). The only thing not typical about this verse novel is that it does not have multiple narrators. In addition to all of these things that make this a great verse novel, it contains some excellent stand alone poems. Here is just an example of one such poem and it is my favorite in the book:

The Pear

What if the Germans come into the yard?

What if the are looking out the window

of one of the buildings?

What if someone sees me?

I am drawn to the tree

like a bee to honey.

Closer.

Closer.

I can touch the tree branches now.

I reach up and grasp the pear.

Its skin is yellow green,

ripe.

I twist it a bit, and the pear

pops off its branch

into my hand.

It is solid, smooth,

real.

There is no stopping now.

At this moment there are no Germans,

no worries.

There is only me and this pear.

I take a bite.

Cool, juicy, sweet.

Perfect.

Delicious!

I eat some more.

My hand gets a little sticky,

but I don’t care.

I am out in the sunshine

eating a pear,

just like any normal girl

who isn’t Jewish in Poland

on a regular day.

Suddenly I realize where I am,

what I am doing.

I had better get inside.

I am about to run back,

when I spot another pear on the tree,

a little smaller than my pear,

a little greener.

I think of Dora, and I grab it,

then turn and run

back to the building

with a pear in each hand.

Through the door,

down the hallway,

down the stairs,

into the cellar.

(Yellow Star, p. 168-170)

Quality: When examining this book against F. S. Goforth’s Selection and Evaluation Criteria, I find it to be of very good quality even though some of the evaluation criteria does not apply. One of the main items that makes this book such a good quality verse novel is the sensory images within the writing. For example, this portion of a poem that describes an event when the Germans came to move the Jews out of the ghetto and into the trains that would take the Jews to the concentration camps:

We start walking.

Papa and Mother.

Dora and me between them.

One family

among hundreds

being swept along with the tide,

sea of innocents simply

following orders

as dawn breaks

and the sun begins to rise.

(Yellow Star, a portion of “It is Time”, pg. 111-113).

There are many other examples like this throughout the book. As I read, I peppered the pages with my notes of “sense of surprise”, “powerful and thought provoking”, “imagery”, and “good, descriptive”. While there is no rhyming to these poems, there is a natural cadence to the writing. In some parts of the book, I found myself reading it as if it were any other novel. At other points in the book, I found myself pausing and reading the lines as if they could be stand alone poetry. Ms. Roy uses the language of Syvia in a way that gives the reader a real sense of what it was like, physically and emotionally, to be a Jew in Poland during World War II.

Appeal: This book will be very appealing to older elementary students and middle school students who are just beginning to understand the issues surrounding World War II and the plight of the Jewish people. Because it is told from a child’s perspective, it is likely to retain their attention much more than a typical non-fiction book on the subject would. Although the topic of war and genocide is, thankfully, not something today’s American children will be familiar with, the topic will be interesting to them. In addition to the tragedy of war, this novel is about the love and closeness Syvia has with her father, mother and sister. Many children will have familiar experiences and feelings as it relates to parents and siblings. The age group reading this novel will likely have only limited knowledge of the atrocities of the German army, therefore this novel will expand their knowledge base and enlighten children in ways that other books might not. Overall, this book rates high on the appeal scale!

Use: This book is one that should be read aloud to children by an adult who can really give strong voice to the reading. I would not recommend that it be read by students in the class because much of the voice of Syvia would be lost in the ever changing sound of different children’s voices. It would be best if read in conjunction with a unit on World War II. This book could be paired well with a lesson on Google Earth where the students could do searches on the places mentioned in the book. It would also work well with other research projects related to the Holocaust or World War II.

References:

Goforth, F.S. 1998. Literature and the Learner. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Roy, Jennifer. 2006. Yellow Star. New York: Marshall Cavindish.

Vardell, Sylvia. 2011. “Verse Novels for Young Adults”. Lecture Notes for Texas Woman’s University, LS 5663 Poetry.

Module 2 - Chocolate Dreams

Photo Source: Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/ (accessed February 12, 2011, using title as search term).

Summary: Chocolate Dreams is a book of poems written by Arnold Adoff, the 1988 NCTE award winner.  The poems are all about chocolate and the book is illustrated by Turi MacCombie with beautiful pictures of chocolate desserts and other chocolate things. While the book is not as vibrant as it might be if published today, it is still a beautiful book that will capture a reader’s attention. There is no table of contents in this book.  It begins very simply with a letter to the reader encouraging him or her to each chocolate while reading the pages. 

The most noticeable thing about Mr. Adoff’s poetry is the use of white space.  The information about Mr. Adoff at the end of the book tells us that the use of white space is very important to his work. He believes in making “music with words and space”.  Everything he writes, including his dedication and letter to reader at the beginning of the book, has unusual and unique use of the white space on the page.

Quality: The poems in the book have a familiar quality to them as most readers will understand and share Mr. Adoff’s love of chocolate.  The poems have concrete meaning, with experiences that are likely to be part of the reader’s life at one time or another.  Take for example the poem “I Love My Mom. I Love My Pop. I Love My Dog. I Love My Sheep.” where Mr. Adoff describes the necessity of eating the top off of a chocolate covered cherry so that you can get your tongue into the center and lick the center filling. 

These poems do not rhyme and are hard for me to describe.  They have a cadence to them that comes in large part because of the way they are typeset; the way in which the white space is used. At first, I did not like this about the book and it was only after several readings that I began to appreciate the brilliance of Mr. Adoff’s writing. Some, that I would never have described as poems, are the ones I like best and that evoke great sensory images.  For example, “The Straw” tells a tale of the straw being invented by a boy who fell into a vat of chocolate milk.  In the end, he meets his demise by falling into a milk carton-making machine and ends up in pieces all over the world.

Appeal: I believe this book of poetry should be shared with high school students.  I don’t think children younger than high school age will understand the cleverness of Mr. Adoff’s writing.  Younger children will not understand much of the vocabulary or references made in the book.  For the high school student, however, I believe this book would be very appealing. 

My Favorite: My favorite is Mr. Adoff’s version of Hansel and Gretel.  It is rather long so I will only include an excerpt of the end of the poem; but to explain, Mr. Adoff creates a situation where Hansel and Gretel are captured by a wicked witch who only feeds them broccoli and apple juice; they get very strong and finally escape to return home.  Here is the remainder of the poem:

“Life In the Forest, Or: Bad News… Good News… Bad News …”

Upon hearing the wondrous tale of their

broccoli behavior and escape, their

parents vow to buy only broccoli and

apple juice forevermore. And

                                                   Hansel

                                                        and

                                                    Gretel

are put to work chopping wood to pay

for all this green goodness. Healthy

and tired and sad, they fall asleep

each night so hungry for a brown morsel

of mouth-melting chocolate … thinking of

the candy house in the forest… and the

kindly face

                of the

smiling

witch.

Use:  I think I would use this book with high school students to showcase how creative they can be in their own writing.  I would show students that through the use of white space in writing, different effects can be created.  This is also a good book to showcase how poetry can be created without the need of rhyming terms. 

I also think that because of the use of white space, different student might give a different oral interpretation of each poem.  It would be interesting to separate students into groups of two.  Give each pair the same poem with an assignment to individually review the poem and give an oral reading of the poem. I anticipate that the rhythm and cadence might be different for each individual.  If so, it would be a good exercise to show how poems can affect individuals in different ways.

References:

Adoff, Arnold. 1989. Chocolate Dreams. Ill. Turi MacCombie. New York, N.Y.: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books. ISBN: 0-688-06822-7.

Module 2 - Yum! MmMm! Qué rico!: America’s Sproutings

Photo Source:  Barnes and Noble Website. http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (accessed February 12, 2011 using title as search term).

Summary: Yum! İMmMm! İQué rico!: America’s Sproutings is a book of haiku poetry written by Pat Mora with beautiful pictures by Rafael López. Each haiku poem is about a food that is native to Central and South America. In addition to the haiku poems contained within the book, Mrs. Mora has written information about the origins of each food.

Quality: Throughout this book, the sensory images run rampant. Mrs. Mora uses the language of her poetry to evoke the reader’s senses throughout the book. The illustrations grab the reader with beautiful, simple pictures in vibrant colors. Each illustration perfectly fits with the poem and the description being given of the food item. Mrs. Mora continues the appeal to the reader’s sense of smell, taste and touch by the words she chooses. Here are some examples of the sensory language for each food:

                Chile - Dad “laughs when tears fill his eyes”

                Chocolate - “brown magic melts on your tongue”

                Peanut - “smear nutty butter”

                Pineapple - “a stiff, spiky hat on thick prickly skin”

                Tomato - “squirts seedy, juicy splatter”

The foods showcased in this book are ones that are likely familiar to the reader. In the seventeen short syllables of a haiku poem, Mrs. Mora manages to perfectly describe the food and illicit fond memories for the reader. In addition to the poems, Mrs. Mora provides a paragraph about each food’s origin and history that is well researched as indicated in the front of the book where Mrs. Mora lists her sources of information for the book. The poems and information provided in the book are consistent in quality throughout.

There is no table of contents, index or topical headings to direct the reader; however, the poems appear in alphabetical order of the foods described.

Appeal: I believe this book will appeal to children and teachers alike. Children will like the vibrant color and the simplicity of a haiku poems. Most children will be familiar with the foods of this book. Some foods may be a bit unfamiliar, such as papaya and vanilla. The addition the descriptive paragraph to go along with each poem, will extend and enrich a student’s knowledge of each food item. The language used by Mrs. Mora is simplistic enough to allow this book to be used with even young children. The sensory language will stimulate the emotions of the reader. I can see teachers using this book for classroom lessons and students using this for specific research projects as well as non-structured learning.

My favorite: It is so hard to pick a favorite. I have several and I will say that I can’t imagine these poems without the illustrations. They bring the poems to life. I chose the poem “Cranberry” to list in this review as my favorite because even without the illustrations, Mrs. Mora’s words create all the imagery needed.

“Cranberry”

Marsh-floating hard bead

Simmers then POPS! In hot pot.

Scarlet fireworks.

Use: Because this book has three clear sections to it: the haiku poems, the illustrations and the paragraph describing the subject of the haiku, I can see using this book for a collaborative lesson with a librarian, an English teacher and an Art teacher. The librarian could read the book in the library and have students chose various topics to write a haiku about. The English teacher could then have the students do research about the topic of their haiku poem. The art teacher could have students provide the illustration. All items could come together to create a class book to be displayed during poetry month in April.

References:

Mora, Pat. 2007. Yum! İMmMm! İQué rico!: America’s Sproutings. Ill. Rafael López. New York, N.Y.: Lee & Low Books, Inc. ISBN: 978-1-58430-271-1