Non-Fiction Monday:Self-Portrait with Seven Fingers: The life of Marc Chagall in Verse

by J. Patrick Lewis & Jane Yolen. 40 p. The Creative Company, August, 2011. 9781568562110. (Purchased)

Two premier poets team up again, this time they use fourteen of Marc Chagall's paintings as inspiration for poems depicting various stages in his life. Full-page, full-color, fully annotated reproductions reside opposite a poem, which bears the name of the painting. Pale-tinted text boxes below each poem provide more information about the artist's life in prose and below that, if necessary are definitions of the Hebrew or Yiddish words used above. Several black and white photographs are also reproduced. The final page lists works that the authors consulted.

What a creative and intriguing biography! I was a bit surprised by the copyright date of 2011. How had I missed this? I don't remember what prompted me to put this in my school library book order, but I'm glad I did. It might lend itself to lovely cross-curricular collaboration with the art teacher, not necessarily biographical but perhaps having students choose a painting of an artist or artistic movement being studies and composing poetry along with a bit of additional research. Or, the book can be part of a literature circle with a verse biography theme, joining books by Marilyn Nelson (A Wreath for Emmett Till; Carver: a life in poems), Margarita Engle (Poet Slave of Cuba), Carmen T. Bernier-Grand (Frida: Viva la Vida!), or Carole Boston Weatherford (Becoming Billie Holiday). 

Of course, it can be enjoyed all on its own and certainly deserves space in the poetry collection.

Non-Fiction Monday is being hosted this week by A Wrung Sponge.

Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It: false apology poems by Gail Carson Levine

80 p. HarperCollins Publisher, March, 2012. 978--6178256. (Purchased)

40 short, mostly humorous, mostly irreverent false apology poems modeled after William Carlos Williams' "This is Just to Say." I laughed out loud at quite a few; groaned over some and scratched my head over others. Kids will have fun with these.

Poems plus black and white illustrations may beg comparison to Shel Silverstein, but these flights of fancy lean more towards Quentin Blake (thankfully) with a dash of Boynton.

National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry: 200 poems with photographs that squeak, soar, and roar!

Edited by J. Patrick Lewis, U.S. Children's Poet Laureate. 185 p. National Geographic Society, September, 2012. 9781426310096. (Purchased)

This hefty volume is simply gorgeous and an absolute must-have. I bought this for my school library and I suspected that I would be getting one for my home as well when I ordered it. I hoped that I would be satisfied having read my school's copy, but there's no reading this just once. Nope. I want one for home.

The 200 poems are divided into 9 sections, an introductory, "Welcome to the World," "the big one," "the little ones," "the winged ones," etc. Not exactly the classification that my fifth graders are learning, eh? Sometimes there's just one poem on a page, sometimes more. Some animals seem to inspire several poems. Horses, I can see with four poems. They are magnificent, awe-inspring animals. Pigs? Who knew they inspired four poets as well?

The photographs are spectacular and plentiful, sometimes single-page spread, sometimes double and occasionally 3/4. Each one brings the reader pretty up close and personal with the subject in full color. I will admit to paying a bit more attention to the photos, than the poems. This is not a book to rush through.

The last section, aptly named, "Final Thought," requests the reader's promise to respect the planet and work to preserve it. This is followed by two pages about writing poetry: forms and suggestions. A selected bibliography, title index, poet index, first line index, and subject index is followed by text credits and photo credits.

Lovely, lovely.

Cat Talk by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest

Illustrated by Barry Moser. 32 p. HarperCollins Publishers, March 19, 2013. 9780060279783. (Purchased.)

When I spied the cover of this at my favorite indy children's book store, several bells rang at once. I thought I had seen a review. Then, hey, a book of cat poems! And, hey, a Patricia MacLachlan book! But frankly, what clinched the sale was the fact that Barry Moser illustrated it. I have been a fan of his forever, but I especially like his own pet books, the books he wrote with his granddaughter, My Dog Rosie; My Cats Nick and Nora and Our New Puppy.

Thirteen cats weigh in in thirteen poems from a tom cat who reluctantly allows himself to be adopted to a reluctant mouser in a barn who has a secret best friend, through a diva Persian and a grey cat whose owner just wore a white dress. The poems are free-verse and the illustrations are 3/4-page to double page spreads. A pleasing collection for cat fanciers.

Follow Follow: a book of reverso poems by Marilyn Singer

Companion to Mirror Mirror. 32 p. Dial Books for Young Readers/ Penguin Group (USA) Inc., February, 2013. 9780803737693. (Purchased.)

I fell so completely in love with Mirror Mirror when it released, (Dial, 2010) that I ordered Follow Follow as soon as I learned of it. In Mirror Mirror, poet Marilyn Singer debuts her collection of reversos, a form that she created in which the poems are read two ways: down and then up (well, actually down again because it's retyped). The same words, with minor punctuation changes change the meaning of the poem. So cool.

Another reason for loving this book is that they are all centered around fairy and folk tales. You know, the ones that kids should be growing up listening to, but somehow grow up thinking that Disney "wrote" The Little Mermaid. Sigh. I will resist a rant here.

In Mirror Mirror, the poems were about more mainstream tales. In Follow Follow, the poet spreads out a bit to include Aladdin, the Golden Goose The Nightingale and the Twelve Dancing Princesses along with more familiar ones like Tortoise and Hare, Emperor's New Clothes and Little Mermaid.

Disney's butchering bowdlerization of Andersen's tale is particularly irksome to me because I had a collection that was well thumbed by me growing up. The mermaid's choice(s) always baffled me. I don't think I ever would've given up my voice to walk on legs that would feel like knives slicing me for any boy; but if I did and had a chance to get it all back by killing them in their sleep...? 

I particularly liked The Little Mermaid's Choice.

For love,
give up your voice.
Don't 
think twice.
On the shore,
be in his shadow.
Don't 
keep your home
in the unruly sea.
Be docile.
You can't 
catch him
playing
"You'll never catch me!"

reversed, it reads

You'll never catch me
playing'"Catch him."
You can't
be docile
in the unruly sea.
Keep your home.
Don't 
be his shadow
on the shore.
Think twice!
Don't
give up your voice
for love.

I think that students will be as tickled over this collection as they were over the first.

Forest Has a Song

Poems by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. Illustrated by Robbin Gourley. 32 p. Clarion Books/ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, March 26, 2013. 9780618843497. (Finished copy provided by publisher.)

Even though I live in northern Bergen County, in New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the Union, I am lucky in that I live in a town that abuts a reservoir and the watershed land is (a long) walking distance from my home. I don't get out there enough, but the option is always there. Happily, my sons regularly rode their bikes along the deer trails and also enjoy camping, hiking and being outdoors, in general. 

There's a creek that runs along the field at my school. Fifth graders go on several nature walks down by the creek with the naturalist from the town's rather large nature center as part of the science curriculum. Sixth graders study earth science and attend a three day environmental field trip. There is also a thriving garden club. So the students at my school have regular access to nature should they choose to get outside.

Luckily for them that do and them that don't, this book will be available in our school library as soon as I finish reviewing it. These 26 poems are the perfect antidote for NDD, Nature Deficit Disorder or even poetry avoidance. This gorgeous collection quietly invites young readers to get outside, to observe, to listen and smell.

A young girl hears a pinecone fall and views that and the spicy breeze emanating from the forest as an invitation to visit in the first poem. We follow this girl and her dog through the seasons as she notes the delights that wait to be discovered. Some of my favorites are:

Forest News
I stop to read 
the Forest News
in mud or fallen snow.
Articles are printed 
by critters on the go.

Foxes pass.
Dear run through.
Turkeys scratch
fort hidden food.
Young raccoons
drink sips of creek.
Mouse and hawk
play hide-and-seek.
Here a possum
whiskery-wild
climbs a tree trunk
with her child.
And in this place
while people sleep
a rabbit hops.
A housecat creeps.

Scribble hints
in footprints
tell about the day.
I stop to read
the Forest News
before it's worn away.

I'm not sure what the rules are for sharing entire poems, so I will just share the titles of the others that tickled me - Fossil; Proposal; Lichens; Woodpecker; and Colorful Actor. But really, each poem offers unique moments to contemplate. 

Teachers, looking for lovely examples to teach the concept of imagery?  Did I mention poetry avoidance? Do you have students who hate poetry? This collection is an evocative mix of bite-sized and longer poems. Each poem is accompanied by lovely,watery illustrations that complement and don't distract from the verse. 

Use of this book need not be limited to use by language arts teachers. Science teachers! Why not incorporate this book in your unit on biomes, or seasons? Why not incorporate poetry into the curriculum regularly? (Take a look at Joyce Sidman's work. I shared Ubiquitous with the seventh grade science teacher, who was delighted to incorporate it into one of her units. But why stop there?)

Bear with me.

Ms. Ludwig VanDerwater presents workshops and presented at a conference last summer that my superintendent happened to attend. She was so impressed by her ideas that she hired her to come to our district, one day at the elementary school and one day at the middle school. 

What a day she had at our school! She started during morning meeting time with a presentation on using poetry across the curriculum. She managed to cram more ideas into 25 minutes than I've gotten from workshops of any length from an hour to a half-day to full-day. One idea that stayed with me since was the suggestion that teachers consider asking the student to compose a poem as an assessment tool. She pointed out that students who can successfully incorporate the learning objective into a poem have mastered the idea. 

I found myself nodding.

She then visited class after class throughout the day and got students writing poetry! And they were excited by it! And their poems were good!

Was I predisposed to liking this debut because of my experience with the workshop and class observation? I won't deny that I was impressed. The poet is passionate and generous. (Visit her website.) Even I, with my tin ear, was able to appreciate the rhyme schemes she pointed out.

This collection is an impressive debut. One of my first thoughts after reading the book was that fifth graders could compose poems after one of their nature walks with Mr. Mark, or that the sixth graders could write poems when they return from their Greenkill trip (they're leaving early tomorrow morning). The teachers could bind them into an anthology or publish them on the school website. Asking students to write a poem is asking them to reflect; it's asking them to dig deep; and, it gives them the time to create and make meaningful connections. 

April is National Poetry Month

Wow, it's April, 2013 already! Holy cow! The year is 1/4 over! How did that happen? And, it's Poetry Month! What will I do? And it's April 2, so I missed my chance to do something about poetry every day in April. Wait. No I didn't. I reviewed Brick by Brick yesterday. Phew! I'm good.

I also contributed some book spine poems over the past month and Travis has posted the gallery over at 100 Scope Notes. Go check it out. There are some great poems.

I will be the first to admit that my blog has no theme. I like to think it reflects my desire to read across age groups and genres in order to be a good school librarian and provide effective reader's advisory. But, I'm just distractible and disorganized. My intentions are good. I have read four poetry books recently in anticipation of the month, but sadly, my reviewing has been spotty despite my best intentions. We'll see. No promises.

Happy poetry month! Keep a poem in your pocket!

PS: I swiped the image above from Poets.org, a truly marvelous resource for anyone interested in poetry. Please visit it.