POEM IN YOUR POCKET FOR YOUNG POETS by Bruno Navasky

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: Poems to tear out

Featured Book: Navasky, Bruno. 2011. Poem in Your Pocket for Young Poets; 100 Poems to Rip Out & Read. Abrams.

What a fun way to end Poetry Tag—with a poetry collection kids can manipulate and make their own. The Academy of American Poets has a new poetry book out for young people-- that's totally rippable! Open the hard cover and inside is a pad of paper with each page containing a poem-- 100 poems in total-- each page designed to be ripped out like a tear-off calendar. Very fun! (The book is also available for purchase as a hardback with pages that are bound-- and aren't designed to be ripped out!)







The 100 poems are primarily by published for an adult audience, but are chosen with appeal to young readers (particularly tweens and teens) in mind. For example,

Substantial Planes
by A. R. Ammons

It doesn't
matter

to me
if

poems mean
nothing:

there's no
floor

to the
universe

and yet
one

walks the
floor.

Doesn't that have great kid appeal?!
Perhaps this will prompt young readers to take the poem with them, learn it/share it, build their own personal collections of favorite poems, tuck a favorite in their pockets, or look for another poem just like the one they love. 



Perhaps this will also prompt you to look for the next poetry book to tag and share. An anthology? A picture book collection? A new one? An old favorite? Keep the momentum going all year long.

Tag, you’re it!

[That’s it! Thus ends National Poetry Month. But don’t stop now. You can share a poem a day any month with the e-book, PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, downloadable at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone for only 99 cents.]


Image credit: Photo Source: Center for the Art of Translation Blog.

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

CYCLOPS WEARING FLIP FLOPS

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: Getting the poetry out there

Guest Reviewer: Tina Shands

Featured Book: Simon, John Oliver. 2011. Cyclops Wearing Flip Flops; The Best of Poetry Inside Out. San Francisco: The Center for the Art of Translation.

Tina writes: Cyclops Wearing Flip Flops is the eighth book of poetry published by the Center for the Art of Translation’s program known as Poetry Inside Out. Poetry Inside Out (PIO) is a 16-session school program where students are taught poetry through the translation of foreign poems. It began in 2000, “bringing the poetries of Spain and Latin America to Spanish bilingual and immersion classrooms.” It has now expanded into 19 languages and is taught to elementary, middle and high school students.

The book contains the poetry of the PIO students in a session-by-session look at how the PIO program works. The information given about each session is fascinating and provides just enough guidance to make an educator want more. Specifically, the book leaves the reader wanting to see the Translator’s Glossaries, referred to throughout the book as being integral to the program. If the Translator’s Glossaries were readily available, a teacher could re-create the project without the need of the PIO professionals. Instead, it appears the only way to get the information necessary to teach the program would be bring the PIO residency program to your school or attend Professional Development and/or workshops presented by PIO.

This book is different from the other books I have reviewed. This is not a book I would recommend for reading among the general student population. I see this book as being on the “Professional” shelf in a school library for teachers to use as part of their own professional development. Even without the benefit of the Translator’s Glossaries, the book contains ideas that a teacher would find very useful. If it were to be read by the general student population, I believe it could be used as a good example of how student’s poetry writing can evolve over the course of time.

Before talking further about the great qualities of this book, I must comment on one area that I found disappointing; that is the book’s table of contents. The table of contents is broken up into five sections. While these five sections are designated in the book, it is the session-by-session concept that I noticed most. The table of contents lists these sessions, but does not identify them as such. For example, Session 6 is titled “A Nest Built of Lines”. It is in the second section of the book titled “Building a House of Words”. The entry in the table of contents is:

II. Building a House of Words
A nest built of Lines: Quatrains 46
El nido 48
Alfredo Espino (Spanish)

I believe it would be an improvement if the table of contents stated:

II. Building a House of Words
Session 6: A Nest Built of Lines: Quatrains 46
El nido 48
Alfredo Espino (Spanish)

I realize this is a minor change, but in my opinion the session information is so important to the book that the lack of the information in the table of contents is a major drawback. I believe such an addition would make the book more user friendly.

Except for the table of contents, I found this book to be of good quality. There is so much information about poetry and how to help children evolve in their writing of poetry. It also gives great definitions of different types of poetry as well as examples of ways to engage children in the poetry writing experience.

One example I particularly liked is found in Session 9: “Renga Round the World” which has students writing a “collaborative series of tanka” known as renga. In doing so, one student writes a traditional haiku 5-7-5 syllable poem then passes his or her paper to another student. That student then adds two seven-syllable lines to finish the tanka and then starts another new tanka (by writing a 5-7-5 haiku). This new tanka is then passed along to another student . This renga can go on and on this way. Prior to reading this, I had never heard of the poetic forms of tanka and renga. Even if I had known about this type of poetry, I would not have thought about using it in this round the world format. This type of information is a perfect example of why this book should be on school libraries' professional shelf.

The poetry itself is very appealing. Since the translated poems are all written by children, the language contained in them is very child friendly and speaks to things children know. The book also provides a good example to teachers as to how students can transform their work over the course of a semester. Teachers could certainly share this poetry with their students to provide them with examples of how capable students at their grade level can be if they work at their poetry week after week. For example, an original student poem in Session One of PIO is very much a translation of the original poem, Ciudad de cielo, a las cuatro by Maria Luisa Artecona de Thompson:

Fire and Water
Translated by the Author, Luana Cardenas, 4th grade
(who wrote the original in Spanish)

For a minute, I am fire
For an instant, I am water
For a second, I am no one’s
If they shut me down, if they turn me on
For a moment, I am air
For a moment, I am dirt
For a moment, I am no one’s
If they leave me, if they free me
For a second, I save in my memory
The forgotten dream, if it passes
Through the inferno while the sky
Waits for me impatient.

By Session 16, the students are translating the Sonnets of William Shakespeare and are writing wonderful sonnets of their own, such as this one:

Cold Breezy Nights
Stacy Hu, 4th grade

Cold breezy nights are abandoned
Trees are lazily blowing in the crisp breeze
Branches are breaking off of oaks
Tsunamis are swimming to shore
Nature is in the bearing cold world
Winds are forming up in the pretty sky
Suns are beaming bright rays on earth
Imagination is swirling everywhere in your mind
Ships are bringing goods to places you’ve never visited
People are in lost forests, like being in mazes
Plants are growing in the Autumn
Rivers are ending at endless waterfalls
Clouds are raining puddles
But last, nothing is doing nothing at all

Tomorrow’s tagline: Poems to tear out

[It's almost the end of National Poetry Month—last chance to get your copy of the e-book, PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, downloadable at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone for only 99 cents. Grab it now.]

Image credit: Photo Source: Center for the Art of Translation Blog.

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

WHEN BOB MET WOODY by Gary Golio

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: About capturing songs and stories

Guest Reviewer: Brittany Cryer

Featured Book: Golio, Gary, and Marc Burckhardt. 2011. When Bob met Woody: The story of the young Bob Dylan. New York: Little, Brown. ISBN#: 9780316112994.

Brittany writes: In this new 2011 release, When Bob Met Woody, poetry appears in the form of lyrical words in the context of this biographical picture book about the meeting between two song writers and poets. While there may not be much recognizable poetry, this book illustrates how to create poetry in the form of music. With its beautiful illustrations it will captivate students and inspire them to follow their dreams.

This book shows the story of young Bob Dylan (Bob Zimmerman) as a small kid growing up in Minnesota. He eventually goes to the New York City where he follows Woody Guthrie as his mentor.

When Bob Met Woody shows the hardships involved with being a kid, being Jewish, wanting to be a musician, and following your dreams. This is a great story to share with kids because these messages are what they can relate to. It is also a beneficial story to read because it is based on true life.

There isn't much poetry that is obvious, but there is some within the story including several lines of lyrics and quotes. In addition, the character Bob is inspired by the poet Dylan Thomas. Because of this, he changes his name to Bob Dylan.

With all the influences in his life (Elvis Presley, Woody Guthrie, John Steinbeck, Dylan Thomas) he was able to shape his.

Poem sample

Songs about real life,
Hard times, and hope.
Songs that moved people to
Speak out and stand up.
Songs about he struggle
For peace and justice.
Songs in a new voice,
For a new time.

Even the poetry brings messages about change that Bob Dylan experienced. This book as a whole shows struggles that appear in Bob Dylan’s music.

Connections
I would introduce this book before showing music from Bob Dylan. This would show the children background about musicians. Once they hear the lyrics they will be able to relate. This will teach them how to learn the lyrical meaning of songs. In doing so, they will be learning poetry.

Another way to introduce this poem is to show the difficulties that Bob Dylan experienced. Then, try to involve the students in figuring out their mentors and who inspires them. From that, they have creative influences that can help them with writing poetry, music, art, etc.

Tomorrow’s tagline: Getting the poetry out there

[National Poetry Month is nearly over— there is still time to get your copy of the e-book, PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, downloadable at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone for only 99 cents. Grab it now.]

Image credit: PoetryTagTime; Little Brown

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

ONE, TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE by Salina Yoon

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: More poems from the oral tradition

Guest Reviewer: Sharon McCoy Johnson

Featured Book: Yoon, Salina, 2011. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe: A Counting Nursery Rhyme. New York: Robin Corey Books, Random House. ISBN 978-0-375-86479-7

Sharon writes: One, Two, Buckle My Shoe: A Counting Nursery Rhyme by Salina Yoon is an imaginative and entertaining counting rhyme book. This durable board book is suitable for babies, toddlers, pre-school children, as well as the young at heart! Yoon offers the reader an interactive, practical and creative literacy learning tool presented with a colorful and exciting contemporary flare on a beloved children’s nursery rhyme. The poet presents the reader with a fun-filled way of recognizing and learning number words and numerals from one to ten.

As the reader turns the pages of the die-cut peek-a-boo windows, the subsequent page will reveal an extravaganza of brightly colored abstract shapes and whimsical circus animals. Further, the child will observe the rhyme’s numeric amount along with the rhyming text given in black or white print. The final pages of the board book offers the reader a double gatefold spread of a three-ring circus spotlighting the good fat hen.

One, Two, Buckle My Shoe is an exceptional counting nursery rhyme board book that is a wonderful resource for a child’s early numeric learning experience.

Connections
Read the nursery rhyme, "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe: A Counting Nursery Rhyme" by Salina Yoon several times in a shared reading lesson with students in early childhood through kindergarten. The teacher will talk with the students about the number words in the board book. The teacher will explain to the students that a number means an amount. The teacher will show the students examples of number amounts written as a number word. The teacher will explain to the students that the number word has the same meaning, only it is written in word format. The teacher will ask the children to create a list of numbers and their number words with a partner.

Tell the pupils that next to each number, they are to write the number word. When needed, children may refer back to the nursery rhyme. Finally, the teacher will show the children the number words again. The teacher will model the correct formation of the number on a small sticky note or the white board and place the number above the word on the nursery rhyme book.

For the second activity, the students will create a graph using cut-outs of ten columns of shoes. The teacher will make copies of shoes for each student. The teacher will write each digit on an index card and the number words, one-ten, on the back of each index card and laminate. The teacher will explain to the students that they are going to randomly draw a number, count the shoe(s) and color it in. For example, the student draws the number “1” and colors one shoe. The student flips the card over, to find the word "one", and writes it in the column beneath (this makes the game self-correcting, and teaches them that a graph has labels). Last, the student sets the number “1” card aside. Continue in this manner until the graph is complete with numbers 1-10. To read more about the counting nursery rhyme, access the following website.

Tomorrow’s tagline: About capturing songs and stories

[We’re heading down the homestretch of National Poetry Month—still time to get your copy of the e-book, PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, downloadable at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone for only 99 cents. Grab it now.]

Image credit: PoetryTagTime;

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

CANTABA LA RANA by Rita Rosa Ruesga

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: More poems with a Spanish connection

Guest Reviewer: Lydia Rogers

Featured Book: Ruesga, Rita Rosa. 2011. Cantaba la rana/The Frog Was Singing. Ill. by Soledad Sebastián. Scholastic. ISBN: 9780545273572

Lydia writes: CANTABA LA RANA, THE FROG WAS SINGING is a tribute to the poetry that most Hispanic children have heard at least once in their lives. Even English speakers will enjoy these much-loved Spanish nursery rhymes from Latin America as Rita Rosa Ruesga has mainstreamed the poetry by translating each poem. A surprising quality to each poem is that a musical tune that accompanies it. The reader can feel the beat embedded in each poem as they read it in Spanish or English.

The illustrations by Soledad Sebastián are in step with art typical of Latin America. Each piece of art for enhances every poem with vivid tones of red, green, purple and blue. The pictures are significant enough to hang as art in a classroom, library or home.

Here’s a sample poem (in Spanish and English):

Señora Santana ~ Mrs. Santana

Señora Santana, por que llora el niño
¿por una manzana?
que se ha perdido.
yo le daré una,
yo daré dos,
una para el niño
y otro para vos.

Dear Mrs. Santana,
Why is the child crying?
Because of an apple,
I think he just lost it.
I will give him one,
I will give him two,
One is for the boy,
The other one’s for you.

Connections
This poem starts off with crying and ends with a smile. Any student will feel the natural connection and fall into a rhythm as they clap, chant, or sing this tune. So, ¡Grab your maracas! Or collaborate with the music teacher; she/he can help you get the tune to this well loved lullaby from Spain. Your K-2 students will appreciate the poem even more if you act it out with them and all share an apple treat in the end. Students in grades 3-5 will identify with the idea of being kind and why that is important in daily life. (They should get some apple too as a reminder to be helpful and kind.)

Tomorrow’s tagline: More poems from the oral tradition

[We’re heading down the homestretch of National Poetry Month—still time to get your copy of the e-book, PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, downloadable at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone for only 99 cents. Grab it now.]

Image credit: PoetryTagTime; Scholastic

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

HURRICANE DANCERS by Margarita Engle

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: A novel in verse about coping with cultural differences

Guest Reviewer: Debra Lindenburg-Morrow

Featured Book: Engle, Margarita. 2011. Hurricane dancers: The first Caribbean pirate shipwreck. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN: 9780805092400.

Debra writes: Margarita Engle wrote a very high quality tale about a Spanish pirate named Bernardo de Talavera, his slave named Quebrado and a hostage named Alonso de Ojeda. All three were left to swim for shore when a hurricane destroyed their ship. The slave, Quebrado, was a very smart young man who spoke two languages (Taino and Spanish) and this knowledge ultimately helped to save his life when he found a Ciboney Indian tribe on this new-found island. The pirate, Bernardo de Talavera, and his hostage, Alonso de Ojeda, were not so fortunate because they did not speak nor understand the language of the island natives.

Ultimately, Quebrado decides the fate of these two men by warning the island natives about the dangers these two men pose. Quebrado befriends a Ciboney fisherman named Narido and is captivated by the beauty of a young Ciboney woman named Caucubu. The story takes some twists and turns that will keep the reader engaged.

Engle did a good presentation of poetic free verse for each of her characters and the reader will be able to recognize the tone and rhythm of each character while reading their verses. An interesting aspect of the story is the historical setting which is sure to attract history enthusiasts of any age. Great book and compelling story that should be in every library’s collection!



Excerpt:


"Quebrado"



The hurricane

falls silent.



We step out of the cave,

and find masses

of writhing sea things

that look like snakes,

moons, flowers 

and stars....



The Woman of the Wind 

taught all these creatures 

how to fly.



What will the hurricane

teach me?



Connections
This is a great poem to introduce children to the power of mother nature and how one can turn a weather event into poetic form. I would ask children to journal about a weather event they experienced or viewed on television and write a short poetic verse reflecting the power of such an event.

Tomorrow’s tagline: More poems with a Spanish connection

[We’re heading down the homestretch of National Poetry Month—still time to get your copy of the e-book, PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, downloadable at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone for only 99 cents. Grab it now.]


Image credit: PoetryTagTime; Macmillan

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN by Thanhha Lai

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: A novel in verse about a painful truth

Featured Book: Lai, Thanhha. 2011. Inside Out and Back Again. HarperCollins.

What a powerful debut work from new voice Thanhha Lai. It’s a loosely autobiographical work about her own experience as a refugee from Vietnam in the 1970s. The 10-year-old heroine of this taut novel in verse, Hà, narrates the story which is broken into 4 sections:

Part I Saigon
Part II At Sea
Part III Alabama
Part IV From Now On

Each section offers a well-developed whole with a strong sense of place unique to each—life in Vietnam, surviving on a refugee boat, transplanting in an Alabama town. (The fourth and final section is still set in Alabama, but represents a clear shift in the emotional resolution.) The transition between each place occurs quickly (as it would in reality) and offers the reader a strong sense of the displacement and constant re-orientation that the characters experience. This also provides a framework for a fast-moving plot that keeps the reader turning the page and wondering how the family will cope with each new challenge.

Amidst all this upheaval, Lai also manages to carve out distinct characterizations of Hà and each member of her family, including her resilient mother and each of her three brothers. Even characters in the “new” environment (sponsor, teacher, neighbor) emerge as multi-dimensional individuals. Our protagonist is often the least sympathetic character—rebellious, insecure, somewhat selfish—but her honest observations manage to be touching, poignant, and often hilarious while balancing the tightrope of authentic child voice and reliable story narrator. Consider the opening poem that pushes the story into motion.

1975: Year of the Cat

Today is Tết,
the first day
of the lunar calendar.

Every Tết
we eat sugary lotus seeds
and glutinous rice cakes.
We wear all new clothes,
even underneath.

Mother warns
how we act today
foretells the whole year.

Everyone must smile
no matter how we feel.

No one can sweep,
for why sweep away hope?

No one can splash water,
for why splash away joy?

Today
we all gain one year in age,
no matter the date we were born.
Tết, our New Year’s,
doubles as everyone’s birthday.

Now I am ten, learning
to embroider circular stitiches,
to calculate fractions into percentages,
to nurse my papaya tree to bear many fruits.

But last night I pouted
when Mother insisted
one of my brothers
must rise first
this morning
to bless our house
because only male feet
can bring luck.

An old, angry knot
expanded in my throat.

I decided
to wake before dawn
and tap my big toe
to the tile floor
first.

Not even Mother,
sleeping beside me, knew.

February 11
Tết

(pp. 1-3)

I love how culturally specific this verse novel is with plenty of details about the rituals, beliefs, foods, names, and attitudes within Vietnamese culture, while offering many universals that cross cultures and draw the reader in (troublesome brothers, being teased, learning new things). Lai does not shy away from including harsh difficulties and sadness, as well as offering hope that grows out of the characters’ strengths and love.

I also really appreciate the Spartan, spare nature of Lai’s poetry. What is not said is as critical as what is. And her use of titles to begin her entries and “date stamps” to end them is so well conceived and effective.

Young readers who may be unfamiliar with this period will simply see this as a believable story about moving, adjusting, and growing up. Older readers (and grown up readers like me who remember those times vividly) will also be fascinated by the tectonic shift the characters experience in culture, religion, expectations, roles, and relationships. Set in 1975, the book rings true today as new groups of refugees cope with war, camps, relocation, language learning, and cultural adjustment across the globe.

Connections
I felt a very personal connection reminded of my own parents leaving Germany after WW2, choosing between Australia and the U.S. for their new home, waiting for sponsorship, traveling by boat, arriving broke, learning the language, and making their way slowly, but surely. In her “Author’s Note” concluding the verse novel, Lai concludes, “I also hope after you finish this book that you sit close to someone you love and implore that person to tell and tell and tell their story” (p. 262). In her dedication she acknowledges “To the millions of refugees in the world, may you each find a home”—what an invitation for kids to look for ways to welcome others in their immediate environment who may be eager for a friendly gesture and kind word.

Tomorrow’s tagline: A novel in verse about coping with cultural differences

We’re heading down the homestretch of National Poetry Month—still time to get your copy of the e-book, PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, downloadable at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone for only 99 cents. Grab it now.]

Image credit: PoetryTagTime; HarperCollins

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

HIDDEN by Helen Frost

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: A novel in poems about teens caught in a crime

Guest Reviewer: Geneva Browning

Featured Book: Frost, Helen. 2011. Hidden. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011. ISBN-978-0-374-38221-6.

Geneva writes: Frost has written an intriguing free verse novel from two different perspectives-- Wren and Darra. Life is never the same for Wren Abbott and Darra Monson after that fateful experience. An ordinary day for Wren Abbott turns into a nightmare as she is inadvertently kidnapped during a robbery and get-a-way. She is in the back seat of her mom's stolen van. She hides under a blanket in the van and then in a boat in the garage. She is so afraid that all she can do is hide. Darra's life is interrupted when Wren escapes. Darra's father is arrested and her life is never the same all because of Wren Abbott. The girls attend the same summer camp several years later and confront the past, their feelings, and experiences.

Frost invented a new form of poetry to help give insight into Darra's story. Darra's poems are told in long lines; taking the last word of the longest lines to read Darra's thoughts and memories. This is truly an inventive form of a poem within a poem or a story within a story. I highly recommend it.

Poem excerpt from Hidden
by Helen Frost

Darra might look in the boat for her cat.
Should I try to look like a gray sweatshirt
wadded up on the floor of the boat
under the blue boat-cover?
Or
should I let Darra see me?
I didn't know who I could trust.
I stayed quiet.
I hid.

Connections
Have students discuss their fears and what they do when they are afraid. Then have them talk about what they feared as a child and how they dealt with their fears.

Have students read or write Darra's thoughts from the last words of the longest lines. Discuss how these thoughts help the reader to understand Darra's perspective better. Students can also complete a compare and contrast Venn diagram of Wren and Darra. Students can also discuss how their relationship changes throughout the verses.

Tomorrow’s tagline: A novel in verse about a painful truth

[We’re heading down the homestretch of National Poetry Month—still time to get your copy of the e-book, PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, downloadable at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone for only 99 cents. Grab it now.]

Image credit: PoetryTagTime; Macmillan

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

UNLOCKED by Ryan Van Cleave

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: A parallel novel in verse about teen life

Guest Reviewer: Marianne Follis

Featured Book: Van Cleave, Ryan G. 2011. Unlocked. Walker.

Marianne writes: In this terse novel in verse by first time young adult author Van Cleave, we are introduced to Andy, and he in turn introduces us to his life. Chapter headings are presented as character names, dates and sometimes as concepts like:

“Honesty”

I try to be
someone
who believes
in honesty

But the truth
is that I can’t
tell when
the world’s really
out to flatten me
or if it’s just me
somehow
self-sabotaging
my own damn life.

Two years
of anger therapy
(thanks for nothing,
Dr. Zigler)
and that’s all
I can say about
why my life’s
a twisted knot
the size of a fist.

My name is Andy.

I’m fourteen.

And I hate my life.

Some days I feel
so alone
that I might be
living inside
a shoebox
on the moon.

Some days
I don’t feel
anything
at all.

For most 14 year olds, being an outcast in middle school is bad enough, but Andy’s father is the school janitor, “Mr. Clean,” so by default Andy is dubbed “Clean Junior” by his tormentors. When rumors surface that once popular, now reclusive, Blake, has brought a gun to school, Andy sees his chance to earn status with the popular kids. After “borrowing” his father’s all access keys and breaking into Blake’s locker late at night, Andy finds… nothing.

While his after hour antics win him no points with the cool crowd, it does create a turning point in Andy’s life. He now has a friend; someone to play World of Warcraft with, and hang out with after school. Little by little Blake opens up to Andy about the tragedy in his life and the anger in his heart: Blake’s father never came back from Iraq. Blake does have his dad’s gun though. Slowly the boys bond while shooting the breeze, and shooting targets.

As the anniversary of Blake’s father’s death approaches, the poems are titled with dates, building tension and quickening the pace. The story’s end leaves the reader wondering how things could have been different for both boys and where the line of guilt and innocence is drawn.

Van Cleave’s use of verse brings momentum to the story and allows the reader to quickly move, with Andy through the days and loneliness and anxiety.

While feelings of isolation, grief and depression are not easily understood, the reader may be confused on the course of action taken by these boys. Andy seems more depressed than angry and Blake is obviously grief stricken and lost in the wake of his father’s violent death. However, while the author states that the boys are angry, we really aren’t given an in-depth look into the roots or even outward displays of these emotions. How these events evolve into the idea of a school shooting seem to be a bit of a stretch.

That said, themes of bullying and gun violence are important ones and this title could serve as a vehicle for a classroom discussion.

Note:
Ryan G. Van Cleave is a public speaker, creative writing teacher and author of many books for adults, including his autobiographical Unplugged: My Journey Into the Dark World of Video Addiction (HCI, 2010). This is the author’s first book for teens.

Tomorrow’s tagline: A novel in poems about teens caught in a crime

[We’re heading down the homestretch of National Poetry Month—still time to get your copy of the e-book, PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, downloadable at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone for only 99 cents. Grab it now.]

Image credit: PoetryTagTime;

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

ORCHARDS by Holly Thompson

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: Another sensitive novel in verse

Guest Reviewer: Marianne Follis

Featured Book: Thompson, Holly. 2011. Orchards. Random House.

Poem excerpt:

from Chapter One: “Because of You”

One week after
you stuffed a coil of rope
into your backpack
and walked uphill into
Osgood’s orchard
where blooms were still closed
fists

my father looked up
summer airfares
to Tokyo.

Marianne writes: When a young girl takes her life, the town and school point their fingers accusingly at Kana and her friends. If only they weren’t mean to Ruth - if only they didn’t shun her for talking to Jake, the love interest of the clique’s leader, things would have been different.

But those things did happen and Kana is sent to her mother’s childhood home, a small village in Japan, to visit with her family, reflect in the land of her ancestors and to work in the same mikan* orchards her mother did so many years ago.

She is not the only one who has been exiled; her friends are all sent away, scattered far and wide like beads on a broken necklace.

but we weren’t a necklace
strung in a circle
we were more
an atom:
electrons
arranged in shells
around Lisa,
Becca and Mona
first shell solid,
the rest of us
in orbitals farther out
less bound
less stable
and you-
in the least stable
most vulnerable
outermost shell

you sometimes
hovered near
sometimes drifted off
some days were hurled far
from Lisa
our nucleus
whose biting wit made us
   laugh
       spin
        revolve
around her
always close to her
indifferent to orbits
like yours
farther out than
ours

Now each of the girls is left on their own to deal with the fallout of the groups’ collective callousness to the dead girl.

The story unfolds as Kana addresses each chapter to Ruth, as if she was with her, and in a sense she is. The writing is intimate and intertwined as Kana’s feelings of isolation and guilt mix with the day to day issues of a young girl, such as cultural identity and body image. Half Russian Jew and half Japanese, Kana expresses her fears of belonging when upon her arrival in Japan she is greeted by her cousins who are “two skinny legs below a hipless bottom” and then later while trying to learn her Japanese family’s routine:

I try to help
but my ears
aren’t used
to Baachan’s words
Aunt and Uncle and Koichi’s
words
so much Japanese
so fast and constant
not
the half-and-half mix
of English
and Japanese
I hear from my family
or the Japlish I share
with Emi
in New York

Thompson’s writing is laced with beautiful figurative language like the closed fisted blooms of the opening chapter. Metaphoric parallels are well used, with the titular Orchards a key setting in both girl’s lives, and plays on meaning, like the chapter entitled “Thinning.” One page telling how Kana, with her “ample…Russian Jewish bottom” copes with the eating habits of her temporary home and the meals of “never-enough-rice” and fish. The chapter closes with an explanation of the “thinning” process the family uses in the orchard; dropping unripened fruit, and hearing them crunch underfoot leaving “only five of the best/to mature.”

Equally effective is the main character’s travel to a land where she is the outsider. Kana feels she doesn’t fit in physically, linguistically or culturally and reflects on her loss of place in the world. For Kana this takes place in Japan, for Ruth, this was her middle school experience at home.

In addition to the main story Orchards holds some wonderful character development. Kana grows, “thins” and find her voice. Secondary characters take on more color as the story progresses and the bond that forms between Kana and Baachan is one that will satisfy readers.

Thompson is a long time resident of Japan where she teaches creative writing and American culture. While doing research for this book she worked on a local mikan farm for a year, learning the process describes here from the ground up.

This novel represents many firsts for Thompson since it her first novel for young adults and her first written in verse.

*Mikan is a small citrus fruit that could be described as a seedless Mandarin orange

Tomorrow’s tagline: A parallel novel in verse about teen life

[We’re heading down the homestretch of National Poetry Month—still time to get your copy of the e-book, PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, downloadable at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone for only 99 cents. Grab it now.]

Image credit: PoetryTagTime; Random House

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

FAMILY by Micol Ostow

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: Another verse novel about a difficult situation

Guest Reviewer: Jennifer Bednorz

Featured Book: Ostow, Micol. 2011. Family. New York: Egmont.



Jennifer writes: This novel in verse tells the story of Mel as she runs way from her dysfunctional, abusive home. In San Francisco she is found by a charismatic leader, Henry, and offered sanctuary in his "family." Set in California during the era of free love and dirty hippies, the story parallels the real life story of the Charles Manson's family and their attempt at helter skelter.

Poems in this book are written in first person and told from Mel's point of view. Ostow reveals through the poems that Mel was disconnected from her mother and was sexually molested by her step-father whom she was instructed to refer to as "Uncle." This sets up the scenario for Mel to be looking for a place to belong when Henry finds her and invites her to join the family. The repetition of certain phrases like "no ego no i" and "no mother no father" lets the reader visually see the brainwashing that Henry is using to control Mel and his other "children." By offering love, drugs, and a home, he manipulates his “children” to do his bidding.

As the story unfolds, phrases are set in italics and brackets "<>". The phrases that are set apart reveal that Mel is beginning to question the mind control happening on the ranch. The end of the book presents a twist that the reader does not see coming, given the need to belong that Mel expresses and the home that the family offers.

Although it could be used to teach poetry in an English class, I see the true teaching power in this book through its message and not necessarily through the form. Exploring this novel in a psychology course while discussing cults would be a powerful experience. It would also allow students to see poetry in a cross-curricular light as a medium for conveying meaning without getting bogged down in the mechanics of rhyme and meter.

Tomorrow’s tagline: Another sensitive novel in verse

[We’re more than halfway through Poetry Month—still time to grab a copy of PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, all connected and downloadable right now at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone. Just 99 cents.]

Image credit: PoetryTagTime; Egmont

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

EXPOSED by Kimberly Marcus

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: Poetry about expressing oneself through art

Guest Reviewer: Laura Davidson

Featured Book: Marcus, Kimberly. 2011. EXPOSED. New York, NY: Random House. ISBN: 9780375866937.

Laura writes [spoiler alert]: Exposed is the story of Liz, a driven girl in love with photography, and Kate, an intelligent and gifted dancer. Kate and Liz have been friends for years and even feel as close as sisters, but one tragic night after Liz and Kate have an argument about Kate's future plans, Kate begins to avoid Liz. After repeated attempts to discover what's wrong, Kate reveals that Liz's brother raped her the night of their argument. Liz's brother denies the incident and Liz subsequently is torn in two. Written in free verse, Kim Marcus pens a heartbreaking tale of how an act of violence can tear apart friendships, families, and communities. Marcus handles the tale with eloquence and with a balance of anger and love, humor and sadness. Despite the sensitive and tragic nature of the story, readers will certainly look forward to reading more by Kimberly Marcus.

Excerpt: “Empty”

I run,
not knowing where I'm going, but I run.
Around the building, down the street,
my sneakers smacking the pavement so hard,
shooting fire up my shins.
I run past twelve years of friendship,
matching clothes and birthday parties,
jumping on beds and catching crickets,
too-long phone calls and belly laughs,
passing notes and building dreams.

Connections
Due to its sensitive subject matter, Exposed is best presented at a high school level. This novel will appeal to young women, as they relate to Liz and Kate's friendship. Also, this novel would be extremely therapeutic for those who have been victims of rape or know someone that has been a victim of rape. The feelings expressed by Liz, such as disbelief of Kate, anger towards her brother, and guilt for having left Kate alone that tragic night, are all true and accurate feelings a person involved in this type of incident would feel. Also, much like Liz details her thoughts and feelings in the novel, young women could find it helpful to detail their own experiences in a journal. Once written down in pen and ink, they could find comfort, resolution, and understanding in their words much like Liz found at the end of Exposed.

Tomorrow’s tagline: Another verse novel about a difficult situation

[We’re more than halfway through Poetry Month—still time to grab a copy of PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, all connected and downloadable right now at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone. Just 99 cents.]

Image credit: PoetryTagTime; Random House/Knopf

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

PEACEFUL PIECES by Anna Grossnickle Hines

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: Poetry about peace

Guest Reviewer: Jan Kirkland

Featured Book: Hines, Anna Grossnickle. 2011. PEACEFUL PIECES. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 978-0-8050-8996-7

Jan writes: Hines has assembled a collection of poems and illustrations of handmade quilts about peace. Peace is addressed in a variety of situations from the universal scale to the individual. At the book’s end there is a two-page spread on “The Peacemakers” offering biographical information of each individual represented on the quilt for the poem, “Big Shoes.” This section is followed by “Peaceful Connections” describing the process of quilt making.

This book of 28 poems offers a variety of styles from free verse, an acrostic poem, poems of form using a variety of print sizes, spacing, and boldness of print, as well as length, including a one line poem, and there is shape in the poem “Pass it On” where the words encircle the earth.

The book opens with the idea of how peace will come on drums, with trumpets blaring, waving banners, or by one lone flute, calmly. “Where I Live” provides a definition of peace inviting the reader to experience the complexity and fullness of peace. There is a recipe for the essential ingredients of peace. Feelings are drawn upon in the humor of making peace while standing nose to nose with a sibling, or the pull of heartstrings as a young boy yearns for his soldier daddy to be the laughing daddy he remembers. We feel the awe and wonder of the contributions of the peacemakers, and the poem, “Dominoes” helps us to have a sense of connectedness with other people.

Strong imagery is evident throughout this wondrous book and is beautifully represented in “Reruns” where angry thoughts are exploding in the brain. Words are set against a background quilt of vivid blues and purples with brilliant red firecracker bursts. Picture the words of “What If?” /What if angry words/vanished like/soap bubbles/and punches landed light/as butterfly kisses? /What if guns/fired marshmallow bullets, and bombs burst/into feather clouds/. Angry words engage the senses becoming concrete objects that may be seen, felt, and tasted.

For those who know something about quilting, they will immediately appreciate the beauty and artistry of the quilt pieces. Others will have their eyes opened to a unique art form that captures the richness and detail of an artist’s brush with stitches. Vivid colors cover the entire color spectrum from the softness of dappled light on a pond to the vibrant colored thoughts exploding in the brain. Artistry of words meets artistry of fabric. Hines has made an exquisite contribution with this work.

Poem sample:

Where I Live
by Anna Grossnickle Hines

Where I live the breeze
blows gently across the pond,
the sky is clear and blue,
trees grow tall,
and the song of birds floats in the air.
Where I live people talk instead of fight,
listen instead of talk,
respect and honor differences.
Where I live the hungry are fed,
the sick healed,
the lost returned
safe to their homes.
Where I live there is laughter
and song
and dance.
Where I live there is a stillness,
an openness,
a space for ideas to be born.
Where I live there is no need of fear.
Where there is no fear I live.
Where I live is as big as your heart
and as small as the universe.
I am peace.
Will you have me live with you?

Connections
This poem invites the reader to think about many of the actions required to have peace such as talking, listening, helping others, acts of kindness, laughing, singing, and dancing. In other words, we must be an active influence in the world around us to foster peace.

In the hallway of the school, a large quilt mural titled “Promoting Peace” could be displayed. For a six weeks period or perhaps a semester, all of the school’s various grade levels would actively contribute to the idea of promoting peace and then displaying their contributions through photographs or artwork on the hallway mural. Artwork could be done on quilt size blocks to be pieced together creating a school quilt at the end. Other possible peace-building activities include:

• One grade may choose to collect canned food/clothing for the poor.
• Field trips might be made to nursing homes where students could do poetry readings, drama, sing or dance.
• Respecting others by inviting individuals of varied cultures to share, helping students learn what makes the different cultures unique.
• Creating a buddy system to provide support to a newcomer to the school.
• Practicing active listening in classroom discussions and learning the value of hearing others’ ideas.

Students could write about the class activities in promoting peace at the end of the project and have them included in a school newsletter.

Tomorrow’s tagline: Poetry about expressing oneself through art

[We’re now more than halfway through Poetry Month—still time to grab a copy of PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, all connected and downloadable right now at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone. Just 99 cents.]


Image credit: Henry Holt; PoetryTagTime

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

HEAR MY PRAYER by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: Poetry that offers hope

Guest Reviewer: Cherilyn Loving

Featured Book: Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2011. Hear my Prayer. Zonderkidz.

From Cherilyn: Here is the link to the booktrailer I created for Hear My Prayer.

Tomorrow’s tagline: Poetry about peace

[We’re now more than halfway through Poetry Month—still time to grab a copy of PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, all connected and downloadable right now at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone. Just 99 cents.]

Image credit: Zonderkidz; PoetryTagTime

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

REQUIEM by Paul B. Janeczko

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: More poems about history

Guest Reviewer: Debbie Owen

Featured Book: Janeczko, Paul B. 2011. Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 978-0-7636-4727-8.

Debbie writes: In this small, but powerful book, poet Paul B. Janeczko gives readers a haunting look into the lives of Jews imprisoned in the Terezin Concentration Camp. Terezin was proudly hailed by Hitler as a sanctuary for artistic Jews. As proof of this refuge, The Red Cross was allowed to tour the camp. Janeczko chronicles this visit in the poem titled “SS Lieutenant Theodor Lang” found below.

Though most of the characters in Janeczko's poems are fictional, the poems were informed by research and based on historical events and facts. Janeczko uses the “Author's Note” to inform readers on factual aspects of his book. Though not completed yet in this ARC, there is a section reserved at the back of the book for “English Translations of Foreign Words”. Janeczko also provides readers with additional resources such as books, websites, and DVD's. Artwork found at Terezin after the war is distributed throughout. These dramatic black and white drawings are a testament to the atrocities experienced by the Jews. In this advance copy, all artwork is not yet finalized.

Paul B. Janeczko provides readers with a moving, lyrical view into the hearts of the imprisoned men, women, and children of Terezin Ghetto as well as German soldiers. It's this look into the perspective of German soldiers that makes Janeczko's Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto one of the more unique books on Holocaust poetry.

Highlighted Poem (excerpt) from Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto

SS Lieutenant Theodor Lang
“Because of the meddlesome king of Denmark
we were forced
to allow
Red Cross inspectors to visit our town.
We had months to prepare
our show, a charade
to show them that there was no truth
to the pesky rumors about how
we treated our Jews.”

The poem details the preparations for the Red Cross visit, and yet, ends with the chilling truth:

“The inspectors
were in our town for a short time,
only long enough to see
what we wanted them to see.
No more.
They saw enough
to know that we were treating the Jews
in a civilized and humane manner.
We waited a few months
to resume the transports.
The town was getting crowded
and the ovens of Auschwitz waited.”

Connections
Teachers could use this poem in a study of the propaganda used during WWII and Hitler's use of it for the express purpose of covering up the systematic slaughter of millions of Jewish citizens.

Tomorrow’s tagline: Poetry that offers hope

[We’re now more than halfway through Poetry Month—still time to grab a copy of PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, all connected and downloadable right now at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone. Just 99 cents.]

Image credit: Candlewick; PoetryTagTime

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.

THE GREAT MIGRATION by Eloise Greenfield

Poetry Tag continues with a book review of a new book of poetry connected to yesterday's book review.

Today’s tagline: More poems about African American history

Featured Book: Greenfield, Eloise. 2011. The Great Migration: Journey to the North. Ill. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. Amistad/HarperCollins.

This new poetry picture book from NCTE Poetry Award winner, Eloise Greenfield, is a very personal work with a powerful, historic reach. She opens the book with a one-page narrative explaining the meaning of "the Great Migration," the mass movement of African Americans from the southern part of the U.S. to the North between 1915 and 1930. She situates her own family and her own "migration" in this context and the final poems weaves in details of her own family's story. Her frequent illustrator, Jan Spivey Gilchrist, has a similar story-- also noted-- and I wondered if some of the images of people (particularly their faces) were drawn from her or Greenfield's own family trees. Possibly!

This is an interesting use of poetry to convey a chronological history with key poems numbered and titled as follows:

I. The News
II. Goodbyes (Man; Girl and Boy; Woman; Very Young Woman)
III. The Trip (5 page stanzas)
IV. Question (Men and Women)
V. Up North

ending with:

My Family

Greenfield uses free verse, but sets up a structure that gives each poem reading a strong rhythm. Here's the opening poem as one example:

I. The News
by Eloise Greenfield

They read about it, heard
about it, in letters and newspapers
sent down from the North,
from visiting cousins and brothers
and aunts: there were jobs up there,
nice houses, no Ku Klux Klan
everywhere you turn, burning down
schools and homes and hope.
They thought about it, talked about it,
spread the word. "Did you hear the news?
Can it really be true? Well, I'm going
to see. How about you?"

Gilchrist's illustrations incorporate watercolor along with collage to blend scenes of landscape and personal portraits (often faces "lifted" from actual photographs), many set against a stark, black page. Thus, most of the poems appear in white text against a dark or black background for an even greater visual and symbolic impact. The combined effect of art that suggests real people along with a strong voice throughout the poem (often named) lends itself to reading aloud or dramatic performance.

Connections
Greenfield provides a "Selected Bibliography" at the conclusion of her book listing other books about this subject that you may want to consult. Kids may want to conduct community interviews to investigate the experiences of "migrating" families in their area. Discuss the similarities and differences between "migrants" and "immigrants" then and now.

Tomorrow’s tagline: More poems about history

[We’re halfway through Poetry Month—still time to grab a copy of PoetryTagTime, an e-book with 30 poems, all connected, by 30 poets, all connected and downloadable right now at Amazon for your Kindle or Kindle app for your computer, iPad or phone. Just 99 cents.]

Image credit: HarperCollins; PoetryTagTime

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell and students © 2011. All rights reserved.