Recently Published Poetry - 2012

Florian, D.  (2012).  unBEElievables.  New York, NY:  Beach Land Books.  ISBN 978-1-4424-2652-8.

Dr. Sylvia Vardell, in her book Poetry Aloud Here:  Sharing Poetry with Children in the Library (2006, American Library Association) says, "This seems to be a golden age for publishing poetry for children, with more variety of poets and poetry formats than ever."  This particular volume of poetry published last year by Douglas Florian falls into one of my favorite categories - trade books.

Trade books are books written for children that can be used in their content classes – math, science, social studies, art, etc.  The books help present information in interesting, eye-catching ways.  I’ve been using trade books with my students for years.  However, a new genre for me in trade books is poetry.

Douglas Florian has written an amazing book that is all about honeybees in his book unBEElievables.  The poems are short, they rhyme, and they have easy-to-follow rhythms which makes them fun to read.  The topics of the poems cover everything students might find interesting about bees, and the paintings by Florian provide eye-catching, complex images for exploring.  But what a unique feature of this book that I personally love is the fact that each poem is paired with a prose paragraph that gives additional facts and information about the topic covered in the poem. 

I can see using Florian’s book with a wide range of ages.  While the poems and text are easy enough to be understood by my six-year-old (who loves Bee Movie and would already have some background in what bees are like and what they do), I can envision using it with my middle or high school students when we use a multi-page piece from a science article about bees that covers all the same topics as the poems.  The poetry would be great for helping the older reader visualize what is being talked about in the article.

I would introduce the book by using the poem “Bee Anatomy”:

            Lovely legs,

            Lovely hue.

            Lovely long

            Antennae, too.

            Lovely eyes,

            Lovely wings.

            But ouch!

            How in the end

            It stings!

This poem is accompanied by a paragraph describing bee anatomy as well as a painting that has bee parts labeled.  Other poems could be used to help students understand important aspects of bees and what they do.  Poems include many topics such as:

            “Queen Bee”

            “Drone”

            “Worker Bees”

            “Honey”

            “Pollen”

            “Waggle Dance”

Altogether there are 14 poems, a “BEEbliography,” and web addresses for further reading.  Bright, colorful, and informational, this book should be able to find many uses in the science classrooms of elementary schools, and even those of secondary students.  Even though it has been labeled as being for ages 5-8, it will find a much wider appeal.

Verse Novels

Koertge, R.  (2003).  Shakespeare Bats Cleanup.  Somerville, MA:  Candlewick Press.  ISBN 0-7636-2116-1.

Koertge, R.  (2010).  Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs.  Somerville, MA:  Candlewick Press.  ISBN 978-0-7636-4435-2.

Verse Novels – an interesting mix of poetry and story.  Verse novels tell one cohesive story through a series of poems, often free verse, which

I love verse novels.  In my October 8, 2012 post, I reviewed several verse novels that I had recently read and loved.   http://corbynscorner.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-verse-novel.html   Now I have the pleasure to visit this form of writing again.

Ron Koertge as written a pair of novels in verse that are about Kevin Boland, a high school boy known affectionately as Shakespeare by his high school baseball team where he is an MVP first baseman.  When Kevin isn’t busy winning baseball games for his team, he’s writing in his notebook which he began when he spent an extended time at home recuperating from mono and read his dad’s poetry books.   Kevin enjoys experimenting with different types of poems, and he’s an expert (he knows more about poetry than I do, and I teach high school English!)  Reading his story through Koertge’s free verse, and then getting to read Kevin’s sonnets, and Sestinas, haikus and pastorals is a real treat.  The second book in particular plays up the expertise that Kevin is gaining from meeting hanging out with Amy, another budding poet who shares his interest in writing.  As they share work back and forth, Kevin realizes much about life and love.  And his poems are great reads.

I have to wonder if I love these books BECAUSE I am an English teacher who loves poetry.  Would students enjoy them as much?  My next book talk with my classes is about poetry, and I will be seeing if I can get students to read one of these books.  I believe that my secondary students will enjoy these books as well.  I will introduce Kevin by reading the second poem in Shakespeare Bats Cleanup, which tells about Kevin being sick.

                                    In Bed

            Being sick is like taking a trip, isn’t it?

            Going to another country, sort of.

            A country nobody wants to visit.

            A country names Fevertown.

            Or Virusburg.  Or Germ Corners.

            The border guards are blum-looking,

            with runny noses and pasty skin.  Their

            uniforms don’t fit and flap open in the

            back so you can see their big, ugly butts.

            Nobody wants to go there, but everybody

            Does, sooner or later.

            And some stay.

And then one that comes later when his friends Mark and Greg come by to visit.  At this point, Kevin and his girlfriend Goldie have broken up, and Kevin writes this haiku for her.  This is an excerpt from the poem "Haiku for Goldie":

            I know we broke up,

            but what’s that sweater doing

            in Mark’s blue book bag? 

Kevin’s story should appeal to many teenagers.  His mom has died, and his father is struggling to find his footing without her.  Kevin experiences girlfriends and breakups and sadness over losing his mother.  His life isn't perfect, but neither is it horrible.  He’s funny, and somewhat popular, and he’s a jock who likes poetry, which in his circle is perfectly okay. 

I read the second book first, and did not have any trouble keeping up with the storyline.  Then I went back and read the first one.  The stories were equally well-done.  However, as I mentioned earlier, Kevin’s poems are a step up in the second volume. 

Many of my students are familiar with verse novels because they have read Ellen Hopkins’s books.  They know that verse novels are “easy” because the text is less dense.  They enjoy feeling the sense of accomplishment when they finish one quickly.  I am hoping these two works by Koertge will be a welcome addition to their reading list.

Poetic Form - Concrete Poetry

Grandits, J.  (2007).  Blue lipstick.  New York, NY:  Clarion Books.  ISBN 0-618-56860-3

Jessie is in high school, and she thinks a lot about everything.  She is opinionated, and she loves to share those opinions.  She has a wide range of interests, talents, friends, and family members.  And she loves to write poems about it all. 

Blue Lipstick is a book of poetry containing concrete poes as told by the fictional character Jessie.    Concrete poems have a shape that illustrates what is being said in the poem.  For example, this is an excerpt of one of Jessie’s poems.

This small volume has great visual appeal, and once the reader is drawn into the graphic nature of the poems, the words beg to be read.  Jessie’s words are humorous, and Grandits does a great job of getting into the head of a teenage girl and expressing her common, and sometimes not-so-common, outlook on life.  Concrete poems are a combination of words and visuals combined to bring the poems to life.  The poems are free verse, and they are sometimes challenging to read (think maze – where do I start and which way do I go next?)  But that just adds to the fun.

Jessie is honest to the point of casting herself in a not-so-positive light.  She shares feelings and experiences that high school boys and girls can both relate to.  As a high school teacher, I’m constantly on the lookout for intriguing materials for my students to read, hoping to entice some of the reluctant readers out of their defensive shells and into the world of words.  This book should certainly be the ticket for some of them. 

Introducing Jessie to a class of students should be a fairly easy task.  Use “The Wall” to introduce her to the students.  In this poem, Jessie relays a frustrating experience with an acquaintance and describes its outcome in her life. 

This poem could be followed up nicely with her poem “A Chart of My Emotional Day” which looks like a tape from a heart monitor as the words go above and below a horizontal line across the middle of the page labeled "Just Okay" and reaching up toward the highest level of "Ridiculously Happy" and down to the lowest level of "Shaving My Head and Running Away."   

After sharing these poems, encourage students to create their own concrete poems about a day or an incident in their lives that has had an impact on them.  I can’t imagine students not wanting to read more of Jessie’s poems after experiencing one or two of them.  A quick flip through the book on the document camera so students get a glimpse of the pages should provide the remaining impetus needed to get them asking to borrow this book. 

Blue Lipstick is one of my favorite finds (and actually, a Reading Specialist friend of mine found it and passed it on when she was doing a project.  Thanks, Lindsey!)  This is a book of poetry that should be in every collection and should inspire lots of writing.