Course Bibliography

This is a bibliography of all the books that I used when creating my poetry breaks and book reviews for the Library Science course LS 5665.20 – Poetry for Children and Young Adults. Enjoy exploring these great books!

Bagert, Brod. 2007. Shout!: Little Poems that Roar. Illus. by Sachiko Yoshikawa. NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780803729728

Fletcher, Ralph. 2006. Moving Day. Illus. by Jennifer Emery. Honesdale, Penn: Wordsong. ISBN: 9781590783399.

Florian, Douglas. 2006. Handsprings. NY: Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN: 978006009280.

Franco, Betsy. 2003. Mathematickles!. Illus. by Steven Salerno. NY: Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN: 0689843577.

Glenn, Mel. 1996. Who Killed Mr. Chippendale?: A Mystery in Poems. NY: Lodestar Books. ISBN: 0525675302.

Grimes, Nikki. 2006. Thanks A Million. Illus. by Gozbi A. Cabrera. ISBN: 9780688172930.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2007. Behind the Museum Door: Poems to Celebrate the Wonders of Museums. Illus. by Stacey Dressen-McQueen. NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN: 9780810912045

–––––––. 1990. Good Books, Good Times!. Illus. by Harvey Stevenson. ISBN: 0060225270.

Hull, Robert. 1991. Spring Poems. Illus. by Annabel Spenceley. Austin, TX: Steck-Vaughn Library. ISBN: 0811478025.

Janeczko, Paul B. 2005. A Kick in the Head. Illus. by Chris Raschka. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press. ISBNL: 0763606626.

–––––––. 1998. That Sweet Diamond: Baseball Poems. Illus. by Carole Katchen. NY: Antheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 068980735X.

Katz, Bobbi. 2004. Pocket Poems. Illus. by Marylin Hafner. NY: Dutton Children’s Books. ISBN: 0525471723.

MacLachlan, Patricia and Emily MacLachlan Charest. 2006. Once I Ate a Pie. Illus. by Katy Schneider. NY: Joanna Cotler Books (HarperCollinsPublishers). ISBN: 9780060735319.

Moore, Lilian. 2006. Beware, Take Care. Illus. by Howard Fine. NY: Henry Holt and Company, Inc. ISBN: 0805069178.

Mora, Pat. 2001. Love to Mamá: A Tribute to Mothers. Illus. by Paula S. Barragán M. NY: Lee & Low Books Inc. ISBN: 1584300191.

Nye, Naomi Shihab. 2000. Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poems. Illus. by Ahsley Bryan. NY: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollinsPublishers). ISBN: 0688161936.

Paul, Ann Whitford. 1999. All by Herself: 14 Girls Who Made A Difference. Illus. by Michael Steirnagle. NY: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN: 0152014772.

Weisburd, Stefi. 2008. Barefoot: Poems for Naked Feet. Illus. by Lori McElrath-Eslick. Honesdale, Penn: Wordsong. ISBN: 9781590783061.

Responding to Poetry: Ode to Michelangelo's Bones - A Poetry Break

INTRODUCTION
Art goes hand-in-hand with poetry. Poetry can beautiful describe a specific work of art, view art in a new way, and to learn a new way to meet an artists. This poem, written by a child of an unknown age, simply describes what a famous sculptor did. Prepare for this poem by finding other poetry books about art like Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art compiled by Jan Greenberg, Celebrating America: A Collection of Poems and Images of the American Spirit compiled by Laura Whipple, and Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art compiled by Belinda Rochelle, and artists and books with great colored photographs of works of art.

POEM

Ode to Michelangelo’s Bones
By Joe DeLeon

Many years ago
Michelangelo
Released men
From rocks.

EXTENSION
In connection with this poem, share with the children of who Michelangelo is and show photographs of his work. Also, have the children find an artist that they like and, after learning about them, have them write a bio-poem about the artist. Have the children find a specific work of art that they like have them write a poem about that artwork.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
This poem is from:

Nye, Naomi Shihab. 2000. Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poems. Illus. by Ahsley Bryan. NY: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollinsPublishers). ISBN: 0688161936.

Responding to Poetry: That Sweet Diamond

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Janeczko, Paul B. 1998. That Sweet Diamond: Baseball Poems. Illus. by Carole Katchen. NY: Antheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780689807350.



SUMMARY
The sights, sounds, taste, emotions and the fun of the baseball are celebrated in this great collection of poems.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In Janeczko’s collection of original poems the game of baseball, the life of the stadium, and the fans and players captures the essence of America’s favorite pastime. Capturing all areas of a baseball game, the poems are organized where the readers to be immersed in the sights, smells and sounds of “Before the Game”:

…
Boys, wearing caps of faraway teams,
Laugh, shove

Peanut shells crunch
underfoot

Cheese oozes
over nachos

Joy
thick as the perfume
of popcorn and
boiled hot dogs
fills the air

As ticket takers call,
This way
This way to the game

The fans in the stands are also described. In poem “Section 7, Row 1, Seat 3” there is an old woman who was born when Yankee Stadium opened and other special connections with baseball who comes to games and says that “’Leaving before the last out/she says, resting her chin on her/ebony cane,/‘is like/before your time.’” There are also the group of nuns in the stands who “all but two fell/victim to The Wave” and who’s

Faith
in their team
paid off
in the ninth
when the catcher with a saintly
swing
sent a pitch
to the gravel parking lot
behind the fence,
close enough to heaven
to win the game.

Other poems from the stands range from the “Things to do during a rain delay” that is written from the point of view of a young fan who builds castles with used paper cups and holding the umbrella in the right spot that the rain drops on the neck of the man sitting in front of you to the vendors who sell peanuts, sodas in waxy cups, and ice cream.

Among the poems about the fans and the happenings within the stadium, there are vignette-like poems about the players and officials like the poem “Catcher sings the blues” describes the catcher’s blues of achy knees, fingers, and crouching low. This poem has repeated couplets in each of the four stanzas that is great for children to repeat or even sing as a way to participate in reading the poem. Finally, the sport itself is highlighted when poems about specific plays in the game that ranges from a foul ball, a double play, and a play at home plate and also a poem about the secret signs that the players use to communicate and the nicknames that the players have.

The majority of the poems are written in free verse while others, such as the poem “A curse upon the Pitcher” is written in rhyme to create a specific rhythm and feel of the magic spell being cast:

Peanut shells, pigeon feather,
Dance a jig in stormy weather.
Ice cream stick, bubble gum,
Hurler, may you lose your hum.

The poems are given a two-page spread. One page is for the poem that is surrounded by a page border and the other for Katchen’s illustrations. The illustrations are loosely drawn with colored chalk crayons show the poems subjects in an artistic way that beautifully matches and never distracts from the poetry. Reader will in enjoy looking at accompanying artwork and study their soft details as much as reading the poems.

With the combination of great original poems and the accompany illustrations That Sweet Diamond: Baseball Poems is a great collection of poems that can be shared at the beginning of the baseball season and all summer long.

CONNECTION
*For more poems about baseball read and share books like At the Crack of the Bat by Lillian Morrison and Diamond Life: Baseball Sights, Sounds, and Swings by Charles R. Smith Jr.
*Invite the children to share their baseball experience and what they like about the sport.
*Have the children write their own poems about baseball.

Responding to Poetry: Tumbleweed - A Poetry Break

INTRODUCTION
Moving away to a new home, city, or even a new state can be a very difficult time for children. They are leaving their home, neighborhood, school, and friends and going some place new and unfamiliar. This poem comes a book of poems, Moving Day, that revolves around a boy who is leaving his home in Massachusetts to live in Ohio and who is going through all the emotional stages of one who is leaving the home that he knows. Share this poem along with the entire book or some of it singular poems like “Unmovable,” “Leaves,” “Lasts,” and the ending poem “Leaves.”

POEM

Tumbleweeds
By Ralph Fletcher

You see them in old Westerns,
………...tumbleweeds
blowing across a dusty road.

Their roots aren’t planted in soil
but curled up so they can roll along
wherever the wind might take them.

If we move away from here,
I won’t be from Marshfield
or from Massachusetts, either.

I won’t be from anywhere–
…………just a tumbleweed
……………….blowing across a dusty road.

EXTENSION
Invite the children to share any of their experiences of moving from one home to another or of someone they know who moved away. Ask them how they would feel if they were leaving to live in a new place and how they would learn to like their new home. Connecting with the tumbleweed in the poem, ask if there is another way to describe the feeling of not belonging to any particular place.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
This poem is from:

Fletcher, Ralph. 2006. Moving Day. Illus. by Jennifer Emery. Honesdale, Penn: Wordsong. ISBN: 9781590783399.

Poetry Performance: Vacant Houses - A Poetry Break

INTRODUCTION
This poem lets the imagination flow as shoes are seen as house for toes. Prepare for sharing this poem by bring in a few pairs of shoes that you own or found at a flea market or have the children bring a shoe (anyone’s shoes) from home. Also, bring other books to share like Nikki Grimes’ Shoe Magic.



POEM

Vacant Houses
By Stefi Weisburd

High hells
.........cliff-side beauty on stilts
.........toes might be cramped in the tiny basement

Flip-flops
.........great lakefront property
.........a drummer lives downstairs
.........so be prepared for swacking sounds

Sister’s pumps
.........pretty décor, new glossy finish
.........might not want to risk the high rental charges

Soccer cleats
.........very cozy
.........hit, humid, and stuffy three times a week
.........foundation a bit rickety

Sandals
.........good view of the stairs
.........not for the shy – no window shades
.........residents may get a tan lines

Boots
.........sturdy brown brownstone
.........but lack of skylights make it dark and gloomy

Dog-stolen old sneaker
.........fixer-upper
.........extensive saliva damage

Slippers
.........soft, luxurious carpeting
.........flimsy doors, not recommended for
.........cartwheelers or trampoline jumpers

Dad's shoes
.........lots of room to roam
.........in fact, too much square footage
.........but the floors are worm smooth as marble
.........feels like home

EXTENSION
Invite children to bring a shoe from home (dad’s shoes, mom’s or a brother or sisters’) or simply use their show, and have them come up with a description of what type of house they would be for the toes that would live in them. Have them create their own little poem for the description and include a nice picture of the shoe.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
This poem is from:

Weisburd, Stefi. 2008. Barefoot: Poems for Naked Feet. Illus. by Lori McElrath-Eslick. Honesdale, Penn: Wordsong. ISBN: 9781590783061.

Poetry Performance: Once I Ate A Pie

BIBLIOGRAPHY
MacLachlan, Patricia and Emily MacLachlan Charest. 2006. Once I Ate a Pie. Illus. by Katy Schneider. NY: Joanna Cotler Books (HarperCollinsPublishers). ISBN: 9780060735319.

SUMMARY
From their point of views, thirteen poems highlight the fun, loving and mischievous life of dogs.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In this charming series of thirteen poems, authors Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLaclan Charest has written thirteen free-verse poems that truly capture the humorous personalities of dogs. Abby “borrows” not steals. Lucy was adopted from a shelter and now calls the couch, chairs, bed, and pillow hers. A pug named Mr. Beefy likes to eat butter and admits that he once ate a pie. The German Shepard, Gus, likes to herd his people. The age of the dogs range from puppies like the poem “Puppy” at the beginning of the book:

The world is big
Trees too tall.
Sky too HIGH.
Snow over my head.
What if I get lost?

“You will chase snowflakes in winter,” the people tell me.
“Run through the grasses in spring
and howl at the full moon."

Not now. I am a puppy.
For now I will stay here
by your side
safe.
Warm.
Puppy.

To dogs in the prime of their life and finally the books ends with the poem Luke, the old St. Bernard who likes to sleep and dream of when he was young, but he will bark when he wants and will howl at the moon at night.

Through the effectiveness of the how the poems portray the personalities and behaviors of the dogs, the readers truly get the feeling of the what the dog is like. A wonderful example is Mr. Beefy’s poem:

I am not thin, but I am beautiful.
When no one is looking, I steal tubs of butter off the table.

I take them to the basement to eat in private.
Once I ate a PIE.

The reader cannot help but read this poem with a deep voice and with a passion, especially at the end with the admittance of once eating a pie.

Each poem is presented in a double-page spread with most illustrations in flowing onto both and with the poem itself in the white space. The poems are structured in a fun and appealing way. The emphasize a specific word to further illustrate the personality of the dog the text is larger or tinier than the normal size font and are sometimes in bold print. Words and lines also break free of the regular straight right to left some are written in waves or scattered about, which also shows the personality of the dog, for example, the poem for the dog Needle Nose who likes to get into everything the words of the poem begin to scatter as it describes what he likes to get into, “the refrigerator/the dishwasher/quilts/pillows/dog-cookies boxes/cat-snack bags/toys–I like the squeaker.”

All the poems are great to share with one reader. However, there are also poems that children can help in reading. For example, the poem “Louis” about a little Pomeranian who use to yip but now barks, there is a refrain of “I BARK” that the children can repeat while one reads. There is also the poem for the dogs Tillie and Maude, who are two dogs that look alike but have different personalities and behaviors. The poem is presented in a double page spread, Tillie’s part of the poem is on one page and Maude’s part of the poem is on the second page. This poem is a wonderful opportunity to have two readers read the poem.

Schneider’s oil paint illustrations are wonderfully artistic and complement the free-verse poems. The breeds of the dogs are lovingly and accurately presented. The personalities that are seen in the poems are also emulated in the faces and body language of the dogs in the illustrations. For example, the puppy Wupsie says her name is Wupsie but people call her “cute” be cause she covers her eyes with her pays and pretends to sleep. The illustration for the puppy shows her on her back, paws curled and her tongue playfully handing out of her mouth. Another example is Sugar, who sleeps all the time, unless she chases the cat, the illustration shows her in three different sleeping positions.

Once I Ate a Pie is a wonderful and loving book about man’s, woman’s, and child’s best friend that is perfect for any school, public, and personal library. Share this poem all year long and especially during the American Humane Association’s Adopt-a-Dog Month of October.

CONNECTIONS
*Bring pictures or books of different types of dogs or have children who have dogs at home bring a picture and have the children pick a breed and allow them to write a poem about them. Let the imagine run and let them create a personality for the dog and have them write a poem about them, as in the books.
*Have fun reading the poems aloud. Have two children read the poem “Tillie and Maude” (one child per dog) and have the children help you say the refrain “I BARK” in the poem “Louis.”
*Read more poetry books about dogs like: Dogku by Andrew Clements and illus. by Rim Bowers, Dog Poems by Dave Crawley and illus. by Tamara Petrosino, and Good Dog by Maya Gottfried and illus. by Robert Rahway Zakanitch.
*Have the children find out what the breeds are of the dogs that are seen in the books.

Poetry Performance: The Library Cheer - A Poetry Break

INTRODUCTION
This poem comes a great book of poems that are meant to be shared out loud. Use this poem for every occasion from celebrating National Poetry Month to National Library Week or simply when you decide to celebrate books and poetry! Have the children repeat the refrain “Books are good!/Books are great!/I want books!/I WILL NOT WAIT!”.

POEM

The Library Cheer
By Brod Bagert

Books are good!
Books are great!
I want books!
I WILL NOT WAIT!
....Bird books,
....Bug books,
....Bears books too,
....Words and pictures
....Through and through.

Books are good!
Books are great!
I want books!
I WILL NOT WAIT!
....Books in color,
....Black and white,
....Shinny books,
....Fat books,
....Day and night.

Books are good!
Books are great!
I want books!
I WILL NOT WAIT!
....Sad books,
....Glad books,
....Funny books too,
....Books for me
....And books for you.

Books are good!
Books are great!
I want books!
I WILL NOT WAIT!

EXTENSION
Invite the children to use the refrain to start their own poem about the different types of books that they like read and discover at the library.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
This poem is from:

Bagert, Brod. 2007. Shout!: Little Poems that Roar. Illus. by Sachiko Yoshikawa. NY: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 9780803729728.