Children's Poetry Review
- Lizardo Moreno
- Oct 5, 2018
- 8 min read
POEM-MOBILES: CRAZY CAR POEMS
Lewis, Patrick J., & Florian, Douglas. (2014). POEM-MOBILES: CRAZY CAR POEMS. Ill. Jeremy Holmes. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books. ISBN 978-0-375-86690-6
PLOT AND SUMMARY
Lewis and Patrick think outside the box. What would cars be like in the future? The question that many people want to answer. Their take on it is that the cars would be animals and the fuel would be organic. The Hot Dog Car, for example, would run on sauerkraut or mustard. The cars of fantastic, these include The Egg Car, The Jurassic Car, The Caterpillar Cab, High-Heel Car, and Eel-ectric car to name a few. They would be sold at 23rd Century Motors and some of them may even get you to the moon.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Lewis and Patrick create fast-moving rhythmic poems with their use of short lines s. The words and meaning of the poem fall naturally without forced syllables or beats. There is a clear rhyming in all poems. They rhyme at every other line. Their choice of language effectively transforms caterpillars in green limousines or Banana Splits into Model Ts. In some cases, alluding back to cars of yesteryear. It seems the authors picked topics that young children go crazy over such as dragons and balloons. In some poems imagery is very powerful “My spark plugs spark-now watch me peel.” Gives the reader a sense how fast and powerful the Eel-ectric car is. I smiled at different poems, some made my smile give way to giggles. These poems are amusing and I am sure many children will love them.
Jeremy Holmes did not slack on his rendition of every poem. Each page is intricate and captures the essence of cars in their “habitats.” His use of lines, color, and texture in his 2-D drawings bring these magical cars to life. Young readers will enjoy Holmes’ rendition these futuristic vehicles.
REVIEW EXCERPTS The U.S. Children's Poet Laureate and an award-winning children's poet join their prolific forces in this picture book of poems about cars. But they're not just any cars: there's the "Sloppy-Floppy-Nonstop-Jalopy" ("So unique there is no copy"); the Bathtub Limosine ("With hot water heating / And porcelain seating"); and the "High Heel Car." Each of the thirteen quirky, inventive poems will speak directly to the imaginations of children, as will Holmes's high-concept, detail-filled illustrations. --Amazon
Limitless possibilities for future car designs are imagined in a collection of free-wheeling verses. – Kirkus Review
CONNECTIONS Read the poems again without showing the children the cars. Have them draw their own cars based on the Lewis and Florian’s crazy car poems. Other poetry books that will make you smile:
Lewis, Patrick, J. & Nesbitt, Kenn. (2015). BIGFOOT IS MISSING. ISBN 9781452118956 Van Dusen, Chris. (2005). IF I BUILT A CAR. ISBN 0525474005 Yolen, Jane & Lewis Patrick. (2017). LAST LAUGHS: PREHISTORIC EPITAPHS. ISBN 9781580897068
WINTER BEES AND OTHER POEMS OF THE COLD
Sidman, Joyce. (2014). WINTER BEES AND OTHER POEMS OF THE COLD. Ill. Rick Allen. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. ISBN 978-0-547-90650-8.
PLOT AND SUMMARY
Sidman takes the reader on a field trip of hibernating animals. She starts at the end of the fall with Snow Swans and Garter snakes, then gives us insight as to how foxes, wolves, raven, moose, bees, and voles survive the cold. The chickadee sings to announce the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Singtales and skunk cabbage get a head start in their race to survival as they are first to become active as the snow melts. Sidman provides her own commentary to each poem providing us with needed information that allows the reader to understand the hibernating and survival skill sets of these uncommon creatures.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS The poetry doesn’t grab the readers attention. Sidman employed a variety of poetry techniques that are also uncommon, and perhaps readers who are not used to poetry will appreciate fully her techniques. The Chickadee’s Song is more on point with rhyme and rhythm that catches a reader’s attention and that is more familiar. Whereas Vole in Winter is not a rhyming poem, it is more of a free verse, and while Sidman attempts to create pattern it feels forced and unnatural. On the bright side, there is powerful imagery in each poem such as (snowflake) Hugs earth, sighs and settles Sleeps, tucked in its own blanket.” Giving us the sense of a snowflake being absorbed into the ground happily going to sleep at night. Another good example is (bees) Deep in the winter hive, we burn like a golden sun. Sidman imagery is powerful giving the reader a real sense of what it is like to battle the cold.
The illustrations etched on linoleum cuts and wood effectively give the reader a sense of the cold, and the struggle to survive. The details on the animals and their habitats along with the contrasting colors create a sense of realism that allows the reader to see the otters swimming in the frozen lake and see the springtales jump violently into the air. I would nominate Rick Allen for a Caldecott Honor.
REVIEW EXCERPTS A work to be savored by young artists and scientists. –Kirkus Review Each poem brings a sense of humor, respect, or wonder to its subject, from minuscule bees “Born with eyelash legs/ and tinsel wings” to an imposing “slumberous moose.” – Publishers Weekly Employing a clear, consistent format of vivid double-page spreads showcasing the poem on the left and scientific information on the right, the poet and illustrator work harmoniously to stunning effect. –New York Journal of Books
The 12 selections in this collection offer a winter wonderland of deftly crafted poetry, fascinating science facts, an amazingly rich vocabulary, and stunning illustrations. –School Library Journal
A handsome, persuasive, and authentic ambassador for creatures in their natural state. –Horn Book
CONNECTIONS Other poems of animals and their environment include:
Sidman, Joyce. (2010). DARK EMPEROR & OTHER POEMS OF THE NIGHT. ISBN 9780547152288 Sidman, Joyce. (2005). SONGS OF THE WATER BOATMAN AND OTHER POND POEMS. ISBN 0618135472 Sidman, Joyce. (2006). BUTTERFLY EYES AND OTHER SECRETS OF THE MEADOW. ISBN 9780618563135
BROWN GIRL DREAMING
Wodson, Jaqueine. (2014). BROWN GIRL DREAMING. New York: Penguin Group (USA). ISBN 978-0-698-19570-7.
PLOT AND SUMMARY
In this book, Jacqueline tells of her experience growing up from the day she was born. Her father moved her family from South Carolina to Ohio during the 60s a time of civil unrest and turmoil for blacks in America. Her mother would visit South Carolina when she would get mad with her father until the split became definite. Jaqueline’s mother leaves the three children in the care of their grandparents while she finds a job and a place to live in New York after a year, the mother comes back for her children and introduces them to the newest baby of the family. As they adjust to New York life, they experience the passing of their aunt and their grandfather. Their uncle is jailed and finds a new religion while he is there. Jacqueline and her siblings create their community with the new friends who live on the block in Bushwick. Jacqueline is happy for her brother’s talented voice and her sister’s smarts and ability to read. When she can’t read as fast as her sister she feels unintelligent. Will she overcome her slowness in reading? Jaqueline develops her own strategies to overcome her handicaps and in the process, finds that she loves writing. As she gets older and more proficient as a writer her teacher validates her, allowing Jacqueline to know that she truly has become one.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS Woodson gives us insight into her family and upbringing in this unique autobiography written verse. She explores different types of poetry from Haikus, couples, free verse as he moves the story along from the civil rights revolution in South Carolina to the Black Panther movement in New York. When Woodson narrates her birth, it’s as if she remembers her crib stories when most adults can’t remember anything before age 5. It reminds of John Henry’s folktale. As a composition it works, I especially like the poems that were full of imagery “From somewhere above us the O’Jays are singing, telling people all over the world to join hands and start a love train. At times, I could see my own experience struggling with a new language when I read slowly in English, or when I experienced people following me around in a store because my skin is a darker shade. This work can connect with so many people on so many levels, such as single moms, divorce, children raised by grandparents, the death of a loved one, and migration. Woodson’s poetry is one I would follow on my twitter feed.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
“Radiantly warm . . . Her playful but determined side remains strong amid the amid memories and dreams.” –The Washington Post
“Woodson weaves a patchwork of her life experience. . . that covers readers with a warmth and sensitivity no child should miss. This should be on every library shelf.” --School Library Journal
CONNECTIONS Books written in verse with topics of religion, self-worth, and coming of age include:
Alexander, Kwame. (2014). THE CROSSOVER. ISBN 9780544107717 Thanhha, Lai (2011). INSIDE OUT & BACK AGAIN. ISBN 9780061962783 Woods, Jaqueline. (2012). EACH KINDNESS. ISBN 9780399246524
DIAMOND WILLOW
Frost, Helen. (2008). DIAMOND WILLOW. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. eISBN 9781466896345.
PLOT & SUMMARY
In this carefully crafted book of concrete poems shaped as diamonds with hidden messages, 12-year-old Diamond Willow’s rite of passage from childhood to a teen is complete when she drives a dog team across a 12-mile stretch through the Alaskan wilderness in 0-degree weather. Things get complicated when she runs into a tree and Roxy, her lead dog, bloodied eyes disable her from continuing the journey. Willow stops the bleeding and is able to make it home. Willow’s parents decide on euthanizing Roxy. Willow tries to save by Roxy from her fate by taking her to her grandparent’s house but gets lost on the way. Her parents search for her throughout the night. Will Willow freeze to death overnight? Thankfully she survives until morning and is able to get back on the trail to her grandparent’s house. The family decides to keep Roxy as their mouse dog.
In the backstory, we find out the animals of the forest are Willows’ grandparents and great-grandparents who have come back to life as animals. It is these animal-ancestors that guided her to safety, allowing Willow to survive the journey.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The some of these free verse poems were preceded by narratives in paragraph form. It allowed the reader to understand the backstory of the animals. The animals were not written in prose. Whereas when Willow spoke to her family, these were all concrete diamond-shaped poems. There really wasn’t any rhyming, and the figurative language did not show a whole of imagery. The topics of coming of age, responsibilities, standing up for your beliefs, are all themes tweens and teenagers can appreciate as it offers a mirror to many of their lives. There no strong language. Perhaps parents would object to students cutting out of school.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
Far more kid-friendly than her previous books, Helen Frost has a knack for writing free-verse novels that never feel like someone took a page of prose and broke it up arbitrarily. Every sentence, word, and syllable in this book is crafted and honed.—School Library Journal
Frost presents her story in a series of poems in Willow’s voice, using a form inspired by the marks on a diamond willow stick; roughly diamond-shaped and no two exactly alike, each contains a “hidden message” printed in boldface that spans several lines and encapsulates the poem. It’s a novel idea, and largely works quite well. Less effective are interstitial narratives in the voices of the characters’ ancestors, who take part in the story as animals. This device, although integrated into the narrative as a whole, serves to distract the reader from the quiet power of Willow’s story. Flawed, but not fatally so. –Kirkus Review
CONNECTIONS
Other books that show rites of passage, taking responsibility and standing up for what you believe include:
Alexander, Kwame (2016). BOOKED. ISBN 9780544570986
O'Connor, Barbara (2016). WISH. ISBN 9780374302733