Book Review of a Newer Poetry Book - 2008

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed. 2008. Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees: School Poems. Ill. by Sachiko Yoshikawa. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

“Contributed by well-known poets for young people (Jane Yolen, J. Patrick Lewis, Alice Schertle, among others), the poems in this bright compilation in the I Can Read! series describe a wide range of school experiences, from humorous scenes of hamsters on the loose to students’ dreaming up their own lines of verse. . .” This quote, from G. Engberg of Booklist, gives a compact description of Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees: School Poems, the newest anthology from Lee Bennett Hopkins. The book is full of poems that can be used across the curriculum, such as “Hamster Math” by Janet Settimo, “Art Class” by Leslie Danford Perkins, “Library” by J. Patrick Lewis, “Looking Through the Microscope” by Sharon Vargo, and “Spelling Bee” by Heidi Bee Roemer. There are many more as well, ranging from teachers to lunch to the school play.

As mentioned by Engberg above, Hamsters… is part of the I Can Read Book series. It is considered to be Level 2, which is “High-interest stories for developing readers.” (back cover) This is evidenced in the layout of the poems. Each is a two-page spread, with words and colorful illustrations interspersed on each. Students will enjoy reading the poems and/or looking at the illustrations by Sachiko Yoshikawa, which are prominent and colorful enough to captivate pre-readers (or those who still depend on contextual clues in order to comprehend the text).

Students can relate to the poems, as each deals with some aspect of the school day or classroom. I especially liked “Backpack Buddy,” below, because it captures the feeling of a child for his/her backpack – the one consistent connection to his/her home during the day.

Backpack Buddy
by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Zip it up. Off I ride,
everything I need inside. . .

sack of lunch, a permission note,
library books, a poem I wrote,
markers, folder, sticker stars,
a word list for our spelling bee. . .

Zip it up. Off I ride.
My backpack buddy and me.

Published in June of 2008, Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees: School Poems is a delightful addition to the many anthologies of Lee Bennett Hopkins. It should become a staple of not only school and public libraries but individual classrooms as well.

Engberg, G. (2008, June). Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees: School Poems. Booklist, 104(19/20), 83. Retrieved April 6, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.