Complete Bibliography of Books Cited Fall 2008/2009

Berry, James, and Shelly Hehenberger. (1999). Isn't My Name Magical? Sister and Brother Poems. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Burg, Brad. 2002. Outside the Lines: Poetry at Play. Ill. by Rebecca Gibbon. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

Florian, Douglas. 1993. Monster Motel. Ill. by Douglas Florian. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, Publishers.

Florian, Douglas. 2006. Handsprings: Poems and Paintings. Ill. by Douglas Florian. Greenwillow Books: New York.

Franco, Betsy. 2003. Mathematickles! Ill. by Steven Salerno. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division.

George, Kristine O’Connell. 2001. Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems. Ill. by Kate Kiesler. New York: Clarion Books.

Glenn, Mel. 1997. The Taking of Room 114: A Hostage Drama in Poems. New York: Lodestar Books.

Greenfield, Eloise. 2009. Brothers & Sisters: Family Poems. Ill. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. New York: Amistad, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Hoberman, Mary Ann. 1998. The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems. Ill. by Betty Fraser. San Diego, CA: Browndeer Press.

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

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed. 2008. Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees: School Poems. Ill. by Sachiko Yoshikawa. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. (used for both a book review and a poetry break)

Janeczko, Paul B., ed. 2001. Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices. Ill. by Melissa Sweet. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Nelson, Marilyn. 2001. Carver: A Life in Poems. Photo for poem by Eric Long. Asheville, North Carolina: Front Street.

Nye, Naomi Shihab, ed. 2000. Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets. Ill. by Ashley Bryan. New York: Greenwillow Books, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Nye, Naomi S. 2005. A Maze Me: Poems for Girls. Ill. by Terre Maher. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books.

Prelutsky, Jack. 1996. a Pizza the size of the Sun. Ill. by James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Winters, Kay. 1996. Did You See What I Saw? Poems about School. Ill. by Martha Weston. New York: Penguin Books, USA, Inc.

Poetry Break with a Poem Written by a Child

Poetry Break with “Pictures” by Lori Herrell

Nye, Naomi Shihab, ed. 2000. Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets. Ill. by Ashley Bryan. New York: Greenwillow Books, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Introduction: Ask students to think of what is outside of the window(s) in their rooms, and allow students to respond. Explain to the students that the following poem was written by a young person, just like them, from any grade between Kindergarten and 12th (the book did not specify). Read “Pictures” at least twice.

Pictures

There are three windows in my room.
Nobody understands
my windows unless they
see them.

One holds
the entire upper floor
of my mother’s
scarlet Japanese maple
tree.
And some of the backyard
and the snow-white
garden gate
wedged between the overly
abundant green hedge.

Another window frames
the tightrope
where my bushy-tailed
acrobat friends
scurry along,
giving no thought to the fact
that down below awaits
not a circus net,
but a sidewalk.

My third window
can be my favorite
when I look down to see
my father
and mother
in the early morning sun
sitting on the patio
with their cups
of coffee.

Extension: Project the poem on an overhead or document projector so that the students can read the words themselves. On a sheet of drawing paper, ask each student to draw the following: one or more pictures of what is seen from the windows in the poem; as a follow-up exercise, if time permits, have the students draw what is seen from their own windows. Place a copy of the poem, along with the illustrations, in a classroom book for all to enjoy.

Book Review of a Compilation by Paul Janeczko

Janeczko, Paul B., ed. 2001. Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices. Ill. by Melissa Sweet. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.

Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices, compiled by Paul B. Janeczko, is a collection of mask poems. A mask poem is a poem written from the viewpoint of an animal, an inanimate object, or some aspect of nature. Mr. Janeczko includes poems from the viewpoints of a vacuum cleaner, a seashell, a washing machine, a dirty laundry pile, a maple tree, a bear, and a snowflake, as well as many others. The poems utilize both rhyme (i.e. “Job Satisfaction” by John Collis) and free verse form (i.e. “Prayer of a Snowflake” by Cynthia Pederson), and include several shape poems (i.e. “The Mosquito’s Song” by Peggy B. Leavitt). A rhyming poem that I found especially appealing is “Cat Speak” by Bobbi Katz.

Cat Speak

“Here, kitty, kitty!”
Imagine that!
Where did they learn to speak to a cat?
Annoying me while I’m taking my ease
in my blue comfy chair in the sun,
if you please.
Annoying me when I’m taking a nap!
Picking me up to plop on a lap!
They have things in a terrible muddle.
I’ll decide with whom I’ll cuddle.
Perhaps I’ll let them stroke my fur,
and when I wish, perhaps I’ll purr.
Perhaps I’ll brush against a leg.
But I give the orders, and I don’t beg.

Melissa Sweet’s illustrations of each poem bring out the subject with cheerful or dark colors, depending on the poem’s nature. Many of the poems contain multiple illustrations, showing the action of the poem or variants of the subject. All of the poems in the collection are appealing to the reader – some are very straightforward and some have more hidden meanings, making them appropriate for all elementary and middle school ages.

Paul Janeczko and Melissa Sweet have teamed together to bring a delightful book to students, teachers, and librarians in Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices. As stated by School Library Journal, “Whether thoughtful or humorous in nature, many of [the poems] are on-target descriptions of a variety of unrelated objects. . . .” With this in mind, Dirty Laundry Pile can be used for pleasure reading, or as a springboard for helping students learn not only to identify mask poems but to write a mask poem themselves.

Jones, T., Toth, L., Charnizon, M., Grabarek, D., Larkins, J., & Scheps, S. (2001, August). Dirty Laundry Pile (Book Review). School Library Journal, 47(8), 169. Retrieved April 16, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.

Poetry Break with a Difficult Subject in Children’s Lives

Poetry Break with “New Brothers” by Eloise Greenfield

Greenfield, Eloise. 2009. Brothers & Sisters: Family Poems. Ill. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. New York: Amistad, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Introduction: Ask students to think of a time in their lives when things weren’t going too well. Talk to your students about a difficult time in your own life (they love to hear about you, too). Let them know that everyone experiences hard times every now and then, and that you would like to read a poem about two “brothers”. Read “New Brothers”.

New Brothers

We had to get used to each other.
Just because my mother
married his father, it didn’t mean
we were a perfect pair.
I eyed him and he eyed me,
trying to find out
which one wanted to be
the most important, the smartest,
the funniest, the best.
It was a tie.
Now, we’re okay
and pretty much into
this brother thing.

Extension: Ask if anyone would like to share a difficult time he/she has gone through (if anyone will, it is good for children to know that others have problems just as they do). Have the students write a paragraph about their experience, and then work with each to put it into poetry form. This can include rewriting; weeding out unnecessary wording; finding a good place for the ends of lines and white space, etc. The students can share the poems if desired, or just paste them into their personal journals.

Poetry Break with a Poem with a Refrain

Poetry Break with “Rat for Lunch!”

Prelutsky, Jack. 1996. a Pizza the size of the Sun. Ill. by James Stevenson. New York: Greenwillow Books.

Introduction: Give an overview of Jack Prelutsky, especially since this poem is fairly silly, and explain that he writes all kinds of poems. Print out a picture of Mr. Prelutsky, show it to the students, and begin a poet biography board. Write out some facts about Mr. Prelutsky (i.e. he loves baseball, he loves frogs, he likes to eat out, he attends the opera and symphony, he was once a cab driver, he likes to create games); have several students choose a fact to read out loud and then attach to the board. Explain that some poems have a refrain, or repeated section, and that you would like the class to read the refrain of this poem when indicated. Display the refrain on the whiteboard or overhead projector (or the entire poem if you wish). Read through the refrain with the class. When they are comfortable, indicate to the class when to read as you read the verses. Read “Rat for Lunch!”

Rat for Lunch!

Refrain:
Rat for lunch! Rat for lunch!
Yum! Delicious! Munch munch munch!
One by one or by the bunch –
Rat, oh rat, oh rat for lunch!

Scrambled slug in salty slime
is our choice at breakfast time,
but for lunch, we say to you,
nothing but a rat will do.

Refrain:
Rat for lunch! Rat for lunch!
Yum! Delicious! Munch munch munch!
One by one or by the bunch –
Rat, oh rat, oh rat for lunch!

For our snack each afternoon,
we chew bits of baked baboon,
curried squirrel, buttered bat,
but for lunch it must be rat.

Refrain:
Rat for lunch! Rat for lunch!
Yum! Delicious! Munch munch munch!
One by one or by the bunch –
Rat, oh rat, oh rat for lunch!

In the evening we may dine
on fillet of porcupine,
buzzard gizzard, lizard chops,
but for lunch a rat is tops.

Refrain:
Rat for lunch! Rat for lunch!
Yum! Delicious! Munch munch munch!
One by one or by the bunch –
Rat, oh rat, oh rat for lunch!

Rat, we love you steamed or stewed,
blackened, broiled, or barbecued.
Pickled, poached, or fried in fat,
there is nothing like a rat.

Refrain:
Rat for lunch! Rat for lunch!
Yum! Delicious! Munch munch munch!
One by one or by the bunch –
Rat, oh rat, oh rat for lunch!

Extension: Read the poem several times. Ask the children to respond to it – there are no right or wrong answers, just find out what the students think about the poem. Pass out other books by Jack Prelutsky (that are already in the classroom or checked out from the library) and ask the students to look through them and find a poem that they like. Ask each student to copy the poem onto a piece of paper and attach it to the poet biography board to complete the display.

Poetry Break with a Poem Published 2008/2009

Poetry Break with “Maps” by Jane Yolen

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

Age Group: Elementary

Introduction: Have on hand at least one topographical globe, more if you can borrow them from other teachers, and a map of your city or county. Allow the students to explore the surface of the globe(s), tracing the bumps for the mountains, rivers, etc. Hang the city/county map on the wall and allow the students to put some kind of marker on the street on which they live (teachers may not personally want to give out this information), or on a favorite spot if preferred. Locate the school and see the distance from the school to the other markers. Read “Maps”.

Maps

We are making maps:
maps of our classroom,
maps of our school,
maps of our town.
We let our fingers walk
the straight lines
from window to door,
down school hallways
that gently curve,
along town streets
as crooked as question marks.
We trace old rail lines,
the bumps of mountains,
a blue swirl of river,
the broad turnpike lanes.
You can walk like that all day
and never get tired.

Extension: Have students make a map of one of the images suggested in the poem: the classroom, the school, or the town. Have white paper, construction paper, scissors, map colors, glue, pencils, etc., on hand and encourage the students to be creative. Some may want to tape together several sheets of paper for the map; some may want to draw the map; some may want to cut out landmarks such as trees or desks from the construction paper. At the end of the time period, have the students who would like to present their maps and allow the other students to guess what was illustrated. Then post the maps outside the classroom door with the original poem “Maps” alongside.

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.