Poetry Speaks to Children

Poetry Speaks to Children is a robust collection of ninety-five poems by poets ranging from Blake, Dickinson, Frost and Tolkein to Nikki Giovanni, Billy Collins, and Rita Dove.  It is a book of poetry as messy as a playroom with something valuable in every corner.  This poetry speaks to children about such topics as imaginary friends, hot dogs, lies, ghosts and goblins, secrets and seasons, ice cream and toads and magic words and Jabberwocks!

Reading from the text:

Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!

It contains ideas and poses questions for a broad spectrum of children.  There are reflective messages such as those found in the poem “Wolf” by Billy Collins and “The Lion and the Lily” by Elizabeth Spires.  There are heavyweights such as Blake’s “The Tyger,” Poe’s “The Raven,” and Frost’s “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening.”  And there is also a lot of fun from poets Ogden Nash, Dennis Lee, Roald Dahl and Sandra Cisneros.

The illustrations are created by three artists which results in an overall visual style that is not tame nor uniform nor consistent, but is full of surprises.  The images are colorful, brimming with laughter and in flux from page to page. 

There is also an audio CD that accompanies the book with fifty-two poems, some of which are recorded by the poets themselves.  However, a real treat on the CD is Basil Rathbone’s reading of Poe’s “The Raven” and Poetry Alive’s reading of Ernest Thayer’s “Casey at the Bat.”

Poetry Speaks to Children is ideal for ages 4 to 10 (published by Sourcebooks MediaFusion, October 2005).

This is Sue Ann Martin for Children’s Books. . .The Dean’s List

Discussion questions for Poetry Speaks to Children

Lost in the Woods: Stranger in the Woods

Following their very successful Stranger in the Woods, Carl Sams and Jean Stoick, native Michiganians, have created another “photographic fantasy.”  Lost in the Woods opens in the spring, as a newly-born fawn awaits the return of his mother.  She has warned him that “when trouble comes looking for you, lie still, oooh so very still.  Don’t blink an eye.  Don’t twitch an ear.  Let your spots work, and don’t make a sound.”  While the other creatures in the woods wonder if he is indeed lost, he remains confident that his mother will return to provide nourishment and love, and she does.

Lost in the Woods is filled with beautifully luscious photography of the woods, capable of camouflaging both the spotted fawn and the spotted green tree frog.  The many plants, animals, and birds that speak to the arrival of spring are delightful, and the language of the animals as they call to the young fawn will engage young audiences.  The young owl calls, “Who-hoo-hoo do I see?” while the chattering squirrel offers to share his “hundreds of acorns” that he tucked away, “most defi-NUT-ly!”  The baby chickadee explains that tomorrow, “I am going to flutter my wings and fly,” while the baby raccoon is learning to climb on logs without falling.  As each baby woodland creature matures, mother deer decides that the fawn’s time has come, and he, too, is ready to leave his secluded area and run and explore!

Just in case the young reader missed some wildlife friends in this story, the final page provides pictures of nine creatures with the challenge, “Can you turn through the pages and help me find my friends?  They’re Lost in the Woods!”  This is a marvelous book to share with children who will want to continue exploring and enjoying it!  A DVD is now available that enlarges on the story to include games and songs.

Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick.  Lost in the Woods:  A Photographic Fantasy.  Milford, Michigan:  Carl R. Sams II Photography, 2004.

Discussion questions for Lost in the Woods:  A Photographic Fantasy

An Egg Is Quiet by author Dianna Aston and illustrator Sylvia Long

An Egg is Quiet is a fascinating and beautiful picture book about the characteristics of 59 separate kinds of eggs from bird eggs, turtle eggs and penguin eggs, to shark eggs, butterfly eggs and green iguana eggs.  The text and illustrations blend superbly creating an exquisite natural history lesson about eggs.  Aston’s author note says her inspiration came 25 years ago when her best friend’s little brother was asked by a teacher to define an egg and he said, “An egg is quiet.”  One of the most unusual double-page spreads explains in words and pictures that eggs come in different sizes.  There is a huge ostrich egg on one side and some hummingbird eggs on the other.

Reading from the text:

“An ostrich egg can weigh as much as 8 pounds.  It is so big and so round, it takes two hands to hold one egg.  Hummingbird eggs are the size of a jelly bean.  It would take about 2,000 hummingbird eggs to equal the size of one ostrich egg.”

The defining feature of this book is Sylvia Long’s impeccably drawn illustrations.  Long’s artist note says that she was “amazed by the extreme diversity of shapes, sizes, textures, colors and patterns of the eggs themselves.”  Her two-page spread illustrating the great variety of color found in eggs is beautiful.  Pink, green, yellow, ivory, white, rose and baby blue eggs are all represented. 

The most outstanding illustration, however, shows the technical parts of the inside of an egg including the embryo, the yoke, the protein cord, the albumen, the air sac, and the shell.  Although Sylvia Long calls herself an amateur naturalist, her drawings are professional, informative, and engaging.  The beautifully speckled end papers are also very appealing.        

An Egg Is Quiet is ideal for ages 6 to 10 (published by Chronicle Books LLC, February 2006).

This is Sue Ann Martin for Children’s Books. . .The Dean’s List

Discussion questions for An Egg Is Quiet

A Chair for My Mother is the contemporary story of a family’s efforts to save money for a very special chair for Mother who works as a waitress at Josephine’s Blue Tile Diner.  They have an enormous jar into which Mother places all of the change from her tips each evening.  The little girl, who is narrating the story, also puts in half of the money that Josephine gives her if she washes the salts and peppers, fills the ketchups, and peels onions.  And Grandma puts in any change she has saved by shopping for good bargains on items such as tomatoes or bananas.  Clearly, this is a family that is wealthy in love but sometimes worried when Mama brings home less money from tips.

The little girl explains that the reason they need this chair is because “there was a big fire” in their other house.  Everything was burned, including their chairs and sofa.  Their neighbors and relatives brought them food and extra furniture for their new apartment, and her grandmother gave a speech thanking them as “the kindest people.” That was a year ago, and since that time they have been saving for this special chair, so that when Mama comes home, tired from work, she will have a good place to sit down and “take a load” off her feet. 

Now the jar is full, and they begin shopping.  Grandma jokes, as she tries out “big chairs and smaller ones, high chairs and low chairs, soft chairs and harder ones,” that she feels just like Goldilocks.  But finally they see just the right chair.  As the story concludes, all three—Grandma, Mama, and the little girl—pose for a picture in their new chair.           

A Chair for My Mother is an encouraging and uplifting story about a family working together for an important goal.  Many children may identify with the family’s concern over money and the loss they experienced as well as the love they feel for one another.  The illustrations are big and bold and colorful and support the story well.  A Chair for My Mother is a book that children aged four through eight will greatly enjoy.

Vera B. Williams.  A Chair for My Mother.  New York:  Greenwillow Books, 1982.

Discussion questions for A Chair for My Mother

Starry Messenger is a superb telling of the story of the life and times of Galileo Galilei including his extraordinary contributions to the understanding of the heavens.  In fact, this book chronicles Galileo’s struggle to put forth the idea that the earth was not a fixed body and indeed the earth revolved around the sun.  This was a courageous proposition for a scientist to make in 1610 when church doctrine dictated the opposite, namely, that the earth was the center of the universe and did not move.  It is a complicated story which Peter Sis has put forth with great clarity based on his own solid, historical research.  His text is written in both print and script with the print carrying most of the straight forward narrative and the script holding an abundant amount of supporting details, most of which are drawn from Galileo’s writings.

Quoting from Galileo’s words of reason embedded in the text:

“I do not feel obligated to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended to forgo their use . . . He would not require us to deny sense and reason in physical matters which are set before our eyes and minds by direct experience or necessary demonstrations.”

The most defining feature however, is the exquisite illustrations full of intriguing pictures such as the images of the Ptolemaic System, the Copernican System, maps of 16th Century Italy, Hercules carrying the sky, telescopes and sunspots, Galileo standing alone before the Pope’s court, and his sentencing by the Inquisition.  Sis uses brown tones, blues and gray with just the right touch of cardinal red here and there to capture the power of the church.  This is truly a beautifully researched, written and illustrated book.

Starry Messenger is ideal for ages 10 and up (published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, October 1996).

This is Sue Ann Martin for Children’s Books. . .The Dean’s List

Discussion questions for Starry Messenger

Peter Sís’s Madlenka is a simple story for the very young listener or reader, describing an important day in the life of a little girl in New York City.  Madlenka lives on a block surrounded by friends and shopkeepers from around the world with whom she is eager to share the news that she is now a “big girl” with her first loose tooth.

In this book, reminiscent of Bemelman’s stories of Madeline in Paris, the illustrations depict not only Madlenka’s neighborhood but the many home countries of her neighbors.  She visits Mr. Gaston, the French baker, who bakes wonderful French bread and croissants and tells her about Paris.  She visits turbaned Mr. Singh’s newspaper stand, and Mr. Ciao’s ice-cream truck.  Ms. Grimm from Germany tells her, appropriately, tales from the Brothers Grimm.  She stops at the greengrocery of Mr. Eduardo from Latin America with a store “like a rain forest.”

She visits Mrs. Kham’s shop which is full of Asian Buddhas, lucky dragons, and yak hats.  All of Madlenka’s neighborhood friends greet her in their native languages, and, through the use of cut-out circles, Sís invites us to peek into their many worlds.  As she nears home, Madlenka meets her best friend Cleopatra, named for the Egyptian queen.  They play in their imaginary world populated by creatures such as Indonesian Komodo dragons.

This glimpse into an exciting day for little Madlenka is a satisfying celebration of a loose and eventually lost tooth, of becoming a “big girl,” and of life in a global neighborhood.  Young listeners will enjoy this story and will return to individual illustrations to examine details and colors and to follow the cut-outs as they portray details of other countries.  Children from cities may recognize their own neighborhoods, while children from rural and suburban environs will be fascinated by Madlenka’s life that allows her to go “around the world” in a few blocks.  Madlenka is a book that young children aged four through eight will want to hear over and over again. 

Peter Sís.  Madlenka.  New York:  Farrar Straus Giroux, 2000.

This is Sue Ann Martin for Children’s Books. . .The Dean’s List

Discussion questions for Madlenka

The Story of Ferdinand has persisted in the canon of children’s narratives for seventy years.  First published in 1936 it is a gentle story about divergent thinking, courage and a peaceful bull who is mistakenly identified as fierce.  But, fighting as a pastime or as a sport or as an entertainment does not appeal to Ferdinand the bull.  He refuses to join the other bulls who, as the text states, “run and jump and butt their heads together.”  He prefers to find a quiet place under a cork tree where he can sit and smell the flowers.

It is said that author Munro Leaf wrote the story in less than one hour as a vehicle for his friend Robert Lawson to launch a career as an illustrator.  It did just that as Lawson went on to win a Caldecott medal at a later time.  His black and white pen and ink drawings for Ferdinand are delightful and full of special details.  One illustration shows the rowdy bulls decorated with badges of their bravery including bandages and a leg wrap.  The pictures of the ladies in the arena show beautiful headdresses, flowers, decorative fans and flags that say “Ferdinando.”

The picture of the parade of Banderilleros and Picadores contain bows and ribbons, showy hats and clothing layered with fancy appliqués.  But the pictures of this gentle bull (called “Ferdinand the Fierce” by the crowd that has assembled) walking toward the middle of the bullring and sitting down to smell the flowers in the ladies’ hair capture the essence of this story.  Ferdinand is different and he has the courage to be himself in front of thousands of spectators.

The story has been translated into sixty languages and has been a favorite of multiple generations of children.  Ferdinand is a hero for all seasons.

The Story of Ferdinand is ideal for ages 3 to 6 (published by The Viking Press, Inc., September 1936).

This is Sue Ann Martin for Children’s Books. . .The Dean’s List

Discussion questions for The Story of Ferdinand

So You Want to be President, a Caldecott Award book written by Judith St. George and illustrated by David Small, is not your traditional look at our nation’s leaders.  Jokes abound in this informational book, including Small’s watercolor caricatures of the hefty William Taft being lowered into his enormous bathtub by a crane and Theodore Roosevelt in bed surrounded by his children’s many pets.  St. George lets the reader in on little-known incidents such as John Quincy Adams skinny-dipping in the Potomac and Ulysses S. Grant arrested for speeding through the streets of Washington. 

So You Want to be President balances the advantages of the Presidency—not taking out garbage or eating yucky vegetables, with the disadvantages—always having to dress up and having lots of homework.  Commonalities among the Presidents are identified—those born in log cabins (8), the number named “James” (6), and the number who had brothers and sisters (all).  St. George cleverly balances this information with characteristics that made each president unique, such as size, personality, and age.

St. George highlights both the successes and failures of our many presidents, while encouraging readers to question why someone would want this office.  She asserts that the genuine desire to serve our country has motivated our best Presidents, and readers realize the seriousness of the job as they read the 35-word oath that each President has sworn to uphold.

Teachers and parents alike will appreciate the index of illustrations and the four-page appendix that provides names, dates, and important achievements for each President. 

So You Want to be President is an excellent book for children aged 6 through 10 to meet our presidents.

This is Karen Adams for Children’s Books… The Dean’s List

So You Want to be President.  Judith St. George.  Illus. David Small.  New York:  Philomel Press, 2000.

Discussion questions for So You Want to be President

Walt Whitman:  Words for America is an elegant book.  Kerley’s text and Selznick’s pictures indeed produce a tale told twice about the inspiration, passion, and compassion of poet Walt Whitman.  It all starts with young Walt as a printer’s apprentice at the age of twelve and follows the development of his love of words and love for everyman’s story right through to his journeys  across the country via rails, stage coaches, and paddle wheels.  As the text states:

“Slowly, he began writing poems on his own.  He made tiny
notebooks – a few sheets of paper secured with a ribbon or pin –
and carried one in his pocket at all times, so that at a moment’s
notice he could record what he saw and felt.”

The book has a full page of notes by the author and a second page of notes by the illustrator that give the young reader a fine understanding of the research done by both the literary artist and the visual artist.

Kerley cradles passages of Whitman poetry from Leaves of Grass very well in her narrative.  Selznick’s exquisite pictures are full of close-ups and surprises in composition, detail, and layout.  Whitman’s rounds of the battlefields, hospitals, and camp sites during the Civil War, are all captured in the most compelling illustrations I have seen in a book for youngsters lately.  Panoramas, such as the one of soldiers marching through a cemetery, are breathtakingly full.  There is a two-page spread on a black background showing Whitman writing his poem “O Captain! My Captain!” after the assassination of Lincoln that is very touching but not sentimental. 

Walt Whitman:  Words for America is ideal for ages 10 and up (published by Scholastic Press, October 2004).

Discussion questions for Walt Whitman:  Words for America

Named one of this year’s Caldecott Honor books, Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems portrays the small creatures and plants inhabiting a pond through naturalist Beckie Prange’s prints and Joyce Sidman’s poems.  Also included on each page is a small factual description of the plant or creature highlighted, and a glossary with even more information.  This is, indeed, a book to be enjoyed and one that can supplement classroom science lessons in the early grades.

The reader or listener is first “hooked” by an invitation to “Listen for Me” as a spring peeper, an inch-long tree frog, offers to sing his listener to sleep.  Subsequent poems describe the “Peep! Peep!...Hop, hop...leaping, leaping.  Splash down...paddle, paddle” of the baby wood duck.  In the cumulative tale of the pond’s food chain, it is “the heron, queen of the pond, that spears the fish, that swallows the frog, that gulps the bug...that eats the algae...in the depths of the summer pond.”  The water boatmen of the book’s title sing a hearty pirate-like refrain of “Yo, ho, ho, the pond winds blow,” as they steer around.  The detailed and colorful portraits of the pond and its inhabitants are clear proof of Prange’s skill that merited the Caldecott recognition for illustrative quality.

Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems is a book that can easily be read all in one setting or poem by individual poem over subsequent days.  Children aged seven through ten will enjoy this book, and older readers can use it as a springboard to continued reading about nature and pond life.

Joyce Sidman.  Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems.  Illus. Beckie Prange.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.

Discussion questions for Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems

Leonardo’s Horse, by author Jean Fritz and illustrator Hudson Talbott, is an expansive story, which takes readers back to Leonardo da Vinci’s days as a young artist, engineer and architect.  The main focus of the story is Leonardo’s desire to sculpt a bronze horse for the Duke of Milan.  In 1483 at the age of 30, Leonardo was surprised when the Duke announced that he wanted the horse to be three times the size of a real horse!  Leonardo completed a clay model of the horse, 24 feet high, but the project was suspended due to the lack of tin and copper diverted to the war effort.  The clay horse was subsequently destroyed in the war.  Although Leonardo went back to his painting and inventing he still daydreamed about the day when he could complete his horse.  He died on May 2, 1519, still not realizing his dream.

This is only part of the story.  The second half goes into great detail about how in 1977 a pilot and art lover, Charles Dent, took up Leonardo’s dream to build his massive horse.  The text outlines what Mr. Dent did, why he could not complete it before his own death in 1994, how the dream was taken up by New York sculptor Nina Akamu and how it was built, cast in bronze, dismantled, shipped to Milan and unveiled on September 9, 1999.

Defining Feature: This is a fascinating story full of well-researched facts and fine illustrations.  Illustrator Hudson Talbott used a wide variety of media including pen and ink, colored pencils and collage to capture the size of the incredible horse and the scope of this incredible story.  Interesting to note, an exact copy of the Milan horse can be seen at the Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan--the only copy of the 24-foot Milan horse in the world!

Leonardo’s Horse is ideal for ages 10 to 12 (published by G.P. Putnam's Sons, October 2001).

This is Sue Ann Martin for Children’s Books. . .The Dean’s List

Discussion questions for Leonardo's Horse

Young children aged three through seven will enjoy the rollicking adventures of these flying farm animals portrayed by Marjorie Priceman in Hot Air:  The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride.     

Marjorie Priceman.  Hot Air:  The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride.  New York:  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, Simon & Schuster, 2005.

Discussion questions for Hot Air:  The (Mostly) True Story of the First Hot-Air Balloon Ride

Defining Feature: David Catrow’s pen and ink drawings are as delightful as Karen Beaumont’s text.  The splashes of bright colors zigzagging here and crisscrossing there are outstanding.  There is a lot of visual humor on each page such as the pictures of the family pet who is resigned to being a silent partner in this burst of creative activity.  This book is brimming over with a child’s joy for the tactile and visual world of green, yellow, blue, purple and red paints.  It celebrates the thrill and excitement children experience when immersed in the creative process.

I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More! is ideal for ages 3 to 6 (published by Harcourt, Inc. in 2005).

Discussion questions for I Ain’t Gonna Paint No More!