Poetry by Young Adult Writers

Franco, B. ed. (2001).  Things I have to tell you:  Poems and writing by teenage girls.  Ill. N. Nickles.  Cambridge, MA:  Candlewick Press.  ISBN 0-7636-1035-6.

Powerful images lay ready to invade the senses in Betsy Franco’s collection of writing by teenage girls ages 14-19.  In Betsy Franco’s preface, she states that in this collection of writing, “you will find the hope, disillusionment, anger, joy, sadness, and most of all, the strength of young women today” (p. xi). 

The last poem in the book express the joy and optimism found in many of the young writers:

            I know I am strong

               both in my convictions and in myself.

            I know I am beautiful

               both inside and out.

            I know I am powerful

               and growing more so.

            I know I will do just fine.

            Laura Veuve, age 15

However many more of the poems and essays express the difficulty of becoming a young woman now.  As an adult reader – a teacher, as well as a mother of two daughters who have struggled to grow up in a world where they were not always nurtured, I found myself saddened and frightened by some of the experiences these girls shared.  Experiences with boys, drugs, suicide attempts, body image, and friendships gone awry. 

Betsy Franco’s desire was that girls who had lived through many of the difficulties growing up could share  with others their struggles, their successes, their frustrations, and their joys so that they could help each other cope. The photos by Nina Nickles do a beautiful job of reflecting the everyday lives of teenage girls.  

The poems in this book may not be choices I would make in read-alouds to my classes, but they are a valuable resource for students who are growing up in a time and a place where it can be hard becoming a woman.  The writings will hopefully empower young women to become who they know they can become.

Franco has a matching book for boys You Hear Me?  Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys that includes

70 writings by 50 young men. 

Teachers and media specialists may want to be prepared to defend these choices being on their library shelves.  The topics and the language are raw and uncensored.  The potential exists for parental challenge.  However, this is how teens are feeling and the writings reflect their concerns.  I believe that teens deserve access to the thoughts of those who are like they are.  Together, young men and women can help each other navigate the turbulent waters of adolescence. 

Paul B. Janeczko

Janeczko, P. B. ed. (2005).  A kick in the head.  Ill. C. Raschka.  Cambridge, MA:  Candlewick Press. ISBN 0-7636-0662-6.

On the flap of the dust jacket is this acrostic poem which describes the contents of the book perfectly:

            P lease

            O pen this book for something

            E xtraordinary.

            T wenty-nine poetic forms await you

I nside these pages.  How many

C an you master?

            F rom sonnets to double dactyls,

            O des to limericks –

            R aschka and Janeczko (and a frisky mule)

            M ake learning the rules of poetry

            S o much fun!

And that is exactly what this book is – a book of 29 poetic forms, defined and demonstrated by poems from numerous famous poets.  The forms include well-known forms such as couplet, haiku, cinquains, and limericks to lesser known types of poems such as Persona, Aubade, Pantoum, and Villanelle.  Poets include classic poets such as Ogden Nash and Shakespeare as well as contemporary children’s poets such as Kristine O’Connell, X. J. Kennedy, J. Patrick Lewis, Gary Soto and Alice Schertle.

So readers will find pages that name the poetic form in the corner, the poem in the middle of the page, and the definition at the bottom in smaller print similar to this:

Senryu

         First day, new school year,

         backpack harbors a fossil . . .

         last June’s cheese sandwich.

         Kristine O’Connell George

           

                       A senryu follows the same pattern as a haiku –

                               three lines of 5-7-5 syllables – but it is about

                               human nature rather than about the natural world

                               around us.

Gathered by anthologist and poet Paul Janeczko, the poems are follow the rules of the form, but are accessible to young readers who will enjoy the topics and the watercolor, ink and torn paper illustrations.  Older readers will enjoy the clear definitions of the poetic form on each page which will encourage them to analyze the poems for their adherence to (or departure from) the form’s rules.  The older readers will also appreciate the small drawings accompanying the name of each form which cleverly illustrates something about the definition.  Creating their own poetry book of forms will be a natural next step for many writers.  This would be a fun project in a writing workshop environment. 

There is a “Notes on the Forms”  section at the back with further information about each form.  This book has become part of my high school classroom library and joins the collection for my poetry-sharing with my creative writing students.  Language Arts teachers of all ages of students will find this volume to be a wonderful addition to their poetry collection.  

E-Book Poetry

Vardell, S. and Wong, J.  (2011).  Poetry Tag.  Ill. R. Arnold.  E-book by PoetryTagTime.com.  ASIN B004ULVK1I.

It’s recess, or after school (or in the store or in church – any place with a long expanse of hallway or large, open space seems to suffice), and Corbyn, my six-year-old is instantly trying to start a game of Tag.  He steals up on one of his friends and with a (hopefully) gentle jab says, “Tag.  You’re It!” and off he runs.  Tag seems to be an irresistible game for younger children. 

Capitalizing on this perennially favorite game, Poetry Tag plays tag with famous children’s poets, making the poetry a game which is fast-paced and fun.  One at a time, the poets write a poem and then tag the next poet who is then IT.  The poem from the newly tagged poet had to connect in some way to the poem from the poet who tagged him or her.  The rules for the participating poets were simple:

1. share an unpublished poem within one day of being tagged
2. make the poems accessible to children ages 0-8
3. keep the lines of their poems short so that e-readers would not break the lines where unintended
4. explain how their poem connects to the previous poem

This e-book of poetry is so inventive, clever, and fun to read.  While the audience is technically 0-8, this book of poetry is fun for all ages, from young children to teens to adults.  The poetry is all excellent – 30 simple yet amazing poem.  However, reading each poem and seeing how each poet connects to the previous poems is in itself an amazing treat.  Some of the tags are poetry themselves for a delightful double-dose of poetry that day.

For example, Alice Schertle writes a Cinquain about wanting shade from the summer sun called “Sunquain” and then tags the next poet:

            Message to Lee Bennett Hopkins:

            Hi, Lee, you’re recruited,

            You’re summoned, caught, bagged.

            Greetings from Alice,

            Start writing.  You’re tagged.

Then Hopkins connects to Schertle’s poem by wondering what flowers might feel in a thunder storm as opposed to the sun.

            Summer Fear

            by Lee Bennett Hopkins

            Roses cower

            behind

            fence posts–

            Pansies

            crouch

            in a window box–

            Sunflowers cling

to the

back of a yew–

            The are

            afraid

            of

            thunder,

            too.

The Hopkins goes on to tag Betsy Franco, because “Franco-ly you’re so much fun.” 

My grandson enjoyed sitting with my iPad, which has the Kindle app, and reading through the poems.  The artwork is simple, yet wonderful.  Rich Arnold has captured the essence of each poem in colorful, graphic art.  But I would love to use this format to challenge my high school students to use other’s poetry as inspiration for their own poems.  The idea is to start the game with a discussion of the rules and then give them time in our writing workshop to draft poems.  Taking volunteers who are willing to turn in their drafts for possible use the next day, I can randomly select a poem, make sure it follows the rules, and use it the next day at the opening of the workshop.  Students then go to their writing with the challenge to write a poem that connects to the previous poem, turn in their drafts if they are willing to share one, and the game proceeds.  While it would not be a true “tag” since the previous poet does not select the next poet, the students nevertheless are able to try using others’ writing as inspiration for simple, short poems. And the pressure is non-existent as the poets are able to choose whether they want to turn in a poem each day or not.

The idea for the e-book came from Vardell’s blog from the year before in which she started the game.  The poets played tag through the month of April which is National Poetry Month.  She repeated the game the next year, and three e-books have been the result of the game.  Extremely affordable to download at $2.99 each, the three volumes contain poetry by the biggest names in children’s and young adult poetry.  If I could recommend a single Kindle download, it would be any (all!) of these three volumes.  Poems in your pocket are a wonderful thing to have! 

And remember, if you don’t have an actual Kindle, you don’t need one.  Download the Kindle app onto your smart phone, tablet, and/or computer.  I have access to my Kindle library on all three of my devices without owning a Kindle.

I not only suggest you purchase all three collections by Vardell and Wong, but that you check out Vardell’s blog, especially April of 2010 and 2011 when she played tag both of those years during National Poetry Month. 

A link to April 1, 2010 to get the ball rolling.

http://poetryforchildren.blogspot.com/2010/03/poetry-tag-j-patrick-lewis-is-it.html

The home page for Poetry Tag Time

http://poetrytagtime.com/Poetry_Tag_Time/Welcome.html

Let’s play tag!  Some of the most fun I've had with poetry!  

Lee Bennett Hopkins Award - Button Up!

Schertle, A.  (2009).  Button up! Wrinkled rhymes..  Ill. P. Mathers.  New York, NY:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  ISBN 978-0-15-205050-4.

What would your clothes say if they could talk?  In Alice Schertle’s Button Up: Wrinkled Rhymes, we find out what the clothes of young children would say.  Winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for Poetry in 2010, Button Up personifies pieces of clothing from hats and shoes and bicycle helmets to swimsuits, jammies, and costumes.  Perfect for preschoolers and early elementary children, the sentiments of these pieces of clothing will be understandable and meaningful.  And don’t be surprised if after reading these poems, the young ones ask you what their undies are saying.

            Emily’s Undies

            We’re Emily’s undies

            with laces and bows.

Emily shows us

wherever she goes.

She doesn’t wear diapers,

not even to bed.

Now she wears undies

with ruffles instead.

We’re Emily’s undies,

fit for a queen,

the prettiest undies

that anyone’s seen,

and everyone’s seen

our laces and bows

because Emily shows us

wherever she goes.

The poems in this volume made me think about my own little girls – who are 28 and 29 now – and how excited and proud of their ruffly undies they were to the point of needing to show them to everyone.  So while the little ones will enjoy the rhyming, rhythmic poems, so will the moms and grandmothers who might read the poems to their children and grandchildren. 

Vocabulary in the poems will also provide some new experiences for young children.  Joshua’s jammies don’t fit penguins, bears, or tigers, but neither do they fit iguanas, gnus, or llamas.  The rhymes and rhythms are exceptionally pleasing to the ear, and the repetition of words and phrases provide predictable patterns for young readers.  Many of the poems, as illustrated above in Emily’s Undies begin and end with the same phrases.  After reviewing this book, I’m anxious to read it with Corbyn who is beginning to read fairly well now.  I believe he will find some success in decoding and comprehending the words on these pages by using the word patterns and the context of familiar objects and situations. 

The cover of this book also caught my attention.  From the cutest buttoned-up ostrich on the front to the butterflies that flitter from the front to the back cover, Petra Mathers’s illustrations complete the poems to perfection.  Button Up!  is a wonderful addition to any young children’s class or the collection of books parents have at home.  

Joyce Sidman - NCTE Award for Poetry for Children

Sidman, J.  (2007).  This is just to say:  Poems of apology and forgiveness.  Ill. P. Zagarensky.  New York, NY:  Houghton Mifflin.  ISBN 0-618-61680-2.

One of my favorite books of poetry this semester, This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness is so realistic in its fictional setting and characters that I almost needed to reread the introduction to make sure that it is the work of one author.  Sidman is the newest recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Poetry for Children.  This book demonstrates her creativity and a writing style that is engaging and entertaining while still using poetic language and introducing different poetic styles. 

Broken into two parts, the fictional students from Mrs. Merz’s sixth grade class write poems apologizing and asking for forgiveness in “Part 1 Apologies.”  Then as an afterthought, the students decided to seek responses to the original poems, and “Part 2 Responses” was created.  The poems in both parts pair with each other.  Students reading the book will find themselves flipping back to Part 1 while they read Part 2 in order to remind themselves of the content of the first poems as they read the responses.  The poems cover a variety of topics from apologizing to classmates, siblings, and parents; to feeling sad over the loss of pets and parents; to confessions of stealing the class lizard (which died) and rubbing the school’s namesake statue’s nose. 

Supposedly inspired by William Carlos Williams’s poem “This is Just to Say,” the students in Mrs. Merz’s class bare all, sometimes in a serious way, sometimes silly.  Sometimes sincere in their apologies, sometimes not so much.

Take the first and last stanzas of Thomas’s poem of apology to Mrs. Garcia in the office:

            This is Just to Say

            I have stolen

the jelly doughnuts

            that were in

            the teachers’ lounge

            . . . .

            too bad

            the powdered sugar

            spilled all over my shirt

            and gave me

            away

and Mrs. Garcia’s response back which ends:

            Dear Thomas

            Of course I forgive you.

            But I still have to call your mother.

The format of this book offers students who read it some great inspiration of their own in writing poetry.  Some different types of poems, such as haiku and pantoum are defined and demonstrated.  Students who owe someone an apology might be inspired to write that person a poem while being relieved to find in the book that the transgressions were long ago forgiven and forgotten by parents and teachers. 

Although this book of poetry is by a group of fictional sixth graders, the poems are fun, funny, serious, and sensitive, and students of all ages will be able to relate to the topics of the poems.  Who among us has not needed to apologize or respond to an apology?  This book is on my recommended list for my high school students who want to read poetry that is easily accessible, relevant, and enjoyable. 

Performance Poetry - Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

Fleischman, P.  (1988).  Joyful noise:  Poems for two voices.  Ill. E. Beddows.  New York, NY:  Harper Trophy.  ISBN 0-06-021852-5.

This is the perfect volume of poetry for children who like to perform.  Filled with poems meant to be read aloud by two readers, Joyful Noise:  Poems for Two Voices offers a format that makes reading by two readers, or two groups of readers, easy and fun.  In a Note at the beginning of the book, Fleischman explains, “The following poems were written to be read aloud by two readers at once, one taking the left-hand part, the other taking the right-hand part.  The poems should be read from top to bottom, the two parts meshing as in a musical duet.  When both readers have lines at the same horizontal level, those lines are to be spoken simultaneously.” 

Some practice might be needed by the readers to get used to doing solo reading as well as simultaneous reading on the various lines.  These poems were definitely meant to be heard.  They have various rhyme schemes and rhythm patterns, and they have a delightful flow to them that makes them amazing to hear.  Students’ oral reading will benefit through the practice necessary to read them aloud so that those rhythm and rhyme patterns are evident.  But once they have it, they should feel a great sense of accomplishment in a performance well done.

The poems are told in first person by insect narrators.  Grasshoppers, Mayflies, Cicadas, Honeybees and others tell their stories through poetry that highlights a characteristic they are known for.  My favorite is “Book Lice” which starts like this:

            I was born in a

            fine old edition of Schiller

                                                            While I started life

                                                            In a private eye thriller

            We’re book lice                         We’re book lice

            who dwell                                  who dwell

in these dusty bookshelves.       In these dusty bookshelves.

Later I lodged in

Scott’s works – volume 50

                                                 While I passed my youth

                                                 in an Agatha Christie

We’re book lice                          We’re book lice

attached                                    attached

despite contrasting pasts.           despite contrasting pasts.

This pair continues to explain how they met and came to be mates – Mr. Book Lice on the left and Mrs. Book Lice on the right. 

Students might enjoy writing their own poems for two voices after reading these.  Along with being perfect for use in the English classroom, this volume of poetry would be a great addition to a speech or drama class for elementary students.  Costumes would enhance the fun.  Be sure to give students plenty of time to rehearse their lines separately and then together with their partners before performing the poems, then let the performances begin!  Science classes would also benefit from a creative presentation of information from the insect world.  Fleischman’s observations of the various characteristics of the insects in his poems create a great springboard for observing small creatures in the world around us. 

Although Joyful Noise:  Poems for Two Voices has been around for a while, the poems are not dated.  It won the 1989 Newbery Award for best children’s book and rightly so.  The writing is creative and truly poetic (not just rhyming word play), and the reading and performing is a good experience for upper elementary readers.

Poetry Across the Curriculum - Biographical

Bernier-Grand, C. T. (2007).  Frida:  Viva la vida!  Long live life!  Tarrytown, NY:  Marshall Cavendish.  ISBN 978-0-7614-5336-9.

I love art museums.  One of my ideas of a perfect day off is to head to any one of a dozen art museums in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and roam the rooms and rooms of paintings.  While not my favorite artist, one of the painters that fascinates me is Frida Kahlo.   Her work is known to almost everyone due to her numerous self-portraits.  However, I realized that I didn't know anything about her when I picked up this volume of poetry about her life and her work.  The book is a goldmine of information about Frida.  The poems, many accompanied by photos of her paintings, reflect the pain and turbulence Frida experienced throughout her life. 

Bernier-Grand writes the narrative poems describing Frida’s life from birth to death with such vividness in Frida’s first person voice that I had to double-check to make sure these poems were not written by Frida herself. 

            Hummingbird Wings

            I am a wounded hummingbird

            caged in my room for nine months

            with polio, crippling polio.

Her entire life was a tug-of-war between the pain and health issues she felt following polio and a crippling bus accident, and the joy she felt in life when married to her love, Diego Rivera.  Even when her marriage disintegrated after Diego’s affair with Frida’s younger sister, and through the 31 surgeries she endured due to her accident, Frida continued believing that life was worth living.  These poems and the accompanying paintings demonstrate the sadness and joys of her forty-seven years of life. 

The book also includes two photographs of Frida, a brief prose biography; a chronological list of events from her birth to her death, Diego’s death, and the opening of her Blue House as a museum; a glossary of the Spanish words used throughout the poetry; sources of information including books, movies, and web sites; notes; and acknowledgements.  Readers who already know something about the life of Frida Kahlo, as well as those who do not, will come away from reading this biographical book of poetry with rich insight into Frida’s life. 

A Pura Belpre Honor Book and an ALA Notable book, this volume would be an excellent addition to an art class, a history class, or an English class.