Poetry Book Review: Hopkins Anthology

Book Review: My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, and Stephen Alcorn. 2000. My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States. New York: Simon & Schuster.

As a geography enthusiast, I greatly enjoyed this book. It contains a collection of 50 poems, compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins, divided by states into eight geographical regions. Each section heading gives information on the states within that geographical area, such as the state bird/flower, the capital, when it became a state (and what number), and a fact about that state. The poetry within each section may be about a specific state, a land formation, or simply something that can be found within that region such as a landmark or a type of tree.

Coupled with the illustrations of Stephen Alcorn (also the illustrator of the anthology Hoofbeats, Claws and Rippled Fins: Creature Poems, compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins as well), the poems found in this book would appeal to all ages; the subjects of the poems range from lighthouses and seagulls to poems with subjects that will be recognized by older students, such as John F. Kennedy. Many of the poems also employ thought-provoking themes, such as in “Until We Built a Cabin” by Aileen Fisher. The main point of this poem is that the reader had no idea that there were so many stars that could not be seen until he/she traveled out of the city.

These poems employ both free verse and rhymes, and each evokes images of the different places that can be visited throughout the great and majestic land of the United States of America. According to J. Fleishhacker of School Library Journal, “This sweeping epic of 50 poems celebrates the diversity, beauty, and spirit of our nation.” (Fleishhacker, 2004)

One of my favorites from My America is “Grandpa’s Trees” by Barbara M. Hales (Plains States Section). This poem speaks to me because, like the grandfather in the poem, my father planted many trees when he built his house in the middle of open pastureland.

Grandpa’s Trees

My grandpa built a farmhouse
Half a century ago.
On Arbor Day he planted trees
In one long tidy row.

He says they looked like beanpoles,
So leafless, frail, and small.
He tended them those early years
Though they gave no shade at all.

Today I counted forty trees
Tall-grown and sturdy-stout.
Their branches hug each other
As the wind blows them about.

They’ve sheltered Grandpa’s farmhouse
In every sort of weather.
To me, they’re friendly giants
Holding earth and sky together.

Fleishhacker, J. (2004, January). My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States (Book). School Library Journal, 50(1), 80-80. Retrieved February 2, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.