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A spring feast of poetry kids will eat up
When I asked my four year old what a poem was, he quickly replied, "A short story." From this, I take it that he knows, at least, that a poem has a different form and is typically shorter than stories. Poetry can indeed be difficult to explain to children. Rhymed verse is a cinch, but, of course, poetry is more than that and doesn't always rhyme. What's more, poetry for children is a specialty in itself. A couple of hundred years ago, it was tedious stuff whose goal was to instill religious and moral values. Then, thankfully, along came the likes of Robert Louis Stevenson, Lewis Carroll, and Edward Lear, who added fun along with puns. Nowadays, some of the best children's poetry is full of whimsical spontaneity, exhibited by masters such as Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein. In honor of National Poetry Month this April, I've decided to incorporate some poetry into my son's nighttime reading routine so we can further refine his sense of verse. Here are some of the new collections we'll be dipping into. |
REVIEWS BY ALICE CARY
Topping our list is Jeff Moss's Bone Poems, a rhyming-licious collection of poems inspired by the bones of dinosaurs and early mammals at the American Museum of Natural History, near the author's New York City home. The book is rip-roaring fun, as you can tell from this excerpt from "America, the Beautiful Home of Dinosaurs":
Skies were beautiful and spacious But there were no deer or antelope at play. Yet Triceratops were roaming Through the hills of old Wyoming -- There were dinosaurs throughout the U.S.A.
By Jeff Moss Illustrated by Tom Leigh Workman, $14.95 All ages ISBN 076110884X
By Philippa-Alys Browne Charlesbridge, $14.95 Ages 4-8 ISBN 0881066982
By Judy Sierra Gulliver Books/Harcourt, $16 Ages 3-7 ISBN 0152010068
By Douglas Florian Harcourt, $16 Ages 5-10 ISBN 0152013067
There's quite a menagerie in Mary Ann Hoberman's The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems, as well as plenty of other topics, too, including snow, ice skating, cookies, and a spirited "Birthday Bus." This is a superb introduction to poetry, filled with short, upbeat poems and fanciful watercolors by Betty Fraser.
By Mary Ann Hoberman Browndeer/Harcourt, $20 Ages 4-8 ISBN 0152001115 Lillian Morrison's I Scream, You Scream: A Feast of Food Rhymes is full of poems plus tongue twisters, street cries, and mock blessings. Take this little book along the next time you're eating with a bunch of young middle-graders and the kids will chant: "What's cookin', good lookin'?/Whatcha mean, jelly bean?/Don't give me no lip, potato chip./Shut up, ketchup./I'm the boss, applesauce./It's your fault, garlic salt."
By Lillian Morrison Illustrated by Nancy Dunaway All ages August House, $12.95 ISBN 0874834953
By Frank Asch Harcourt, $18 Ages 5-9 ISBN 0152006761 You'll find an exquisite blend of text and illustrations in Grassroots, with poems by Carl Sandburg and luminous watercolors by Wendell Minor. Like Sandburg, Minor was born in Illinois, and this book is his tribute to the great poet's words and their common midwestern heritage. As Minor explains at the end of the book: "The seasons of the heartland will be with me always./So, too, will the beautifully descriptive words of Carl Sandburg./Though we are of different seasons, we share a love of the land/and are bound together by our grassroots." Readers will be equally moved by the musings and images of prairies, steam engines, buffalo, a steamboat, farms, and haystacks.
By Carl Sandburg Illustrated by Wendell Minor Browndeer/Harcourt, $18 All ages ISBN 0152000828 Emotions on the line Give a young child a boost with I Like Being Me: Poems for Children About Feeling Special, Appreciating Others, and Getting Along. Judy Lalli has written 26 short, rhyming poems with titles like "Mistakes Can Be Good" and "When I'm Cranky," each accompanied by black-and-white photographs of children by Douglas L. Mason-Fry. This little book might be good to share with a child having a low moment.
Poems for Children About Feeling Special, Appreciating Others, and Getting Along By Judy Lalli Free Spirit, $8.95 Ages 4-8 ISBN 1575420252
By Ralph Fletcher Aladdin, $4.99 Teenagers ISBN 0689819765 Alice Cary is a book reviewer in Groton, Massachusetts.
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Animals, existing and extinct
Should you be struck by a yak attack, turn to Elephants and Emus and Other Animal Rhymes,
collected and illustrated by Philippa-Alys Browne. Browne lives and works in Zimbabwe, and the African influences are apparent in her lively, colorful watercolors of beasts such as bears, lions, pelicans, and snakes. The poetry in this slim collection includes works from some well-known poets such as Ogden Nash and A. A. Milne.
Take a refreshing plunge into Judy Sierra's Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems. The poems follow the lives of chicks in a colony of emperor penguins, from birth ("A Hatchling's Song") to antics that include "Penguins' First Swim" and "Belly Sliding." "Predator Riddles" describe the perils of killer whales and leopard seals. Adding to the fun are the bright, lively illustrations of Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey.
The art is more sophisticated, yet full of jest, in Douglas Florian's Insectlopedia, featuring interesting effects from watercolors on primed paper bags with collage. Three crickets, for instance, appear to be fiddling around a crescent moon. Florian has a fondness for creatures of all kinds, as shown in previous companion books Beast Feast, On the Wing, and In the Swim. These poems are witty -- "The Inchworm" is one long line arching across the page, while "The Locusts" begins: "Hocus/pocus/We are locusts./On your farm/We swarm."
Verses diverses
If you need to calm down the food-frenzied crowd, I highly recommend Frank Asch's intriguing Cactus Poems. Asch's poems about desert flora and fauna, including bobcats, coyotes, "Lizards in Love," and rattlesnakes are accompanied by breathtaking photography by Ted Levin, whose nature photographs and articles have appeared in National Geographic Traveler and Audubon. Levin also includes informative nature notes at the end of the book.
Teens will definitely take heart from Ralph Fletcher's insightful collection of poems about love, Room Enough for Love. Adolescence is a time when many turn to poetry to try to understand the barrage of emotions assaulting them. At the end of "Playing with Fire," for instance, Fletcher writes: "You said you/loved me/but when/I saw your face/I understood/we were just/playing/with that word." Whether a teen is admiring another from afar, in the middle of a relationship, or breaking up, words of comfort await in this book. This is a book that will appeal to boys as well as girls.