Poetry

You are currently browsing the archive for the Poetry category.

The Voyage of Turtle Rex

April 25, 2011 in Animals, Nonfiction, Nonfiction Monday Review, Picture book- nonfiction, Poetry by Roberta | 5 comments

Kurt Cyrus has done it again with his new book, The Voyage of Turtle Rex. Cyrus travels on the border between fiction and nonfiction successfully with the dramatic story of a giant sea turtle’s adventures growing up in ancient seas.

If you are familiar with Cyrus’ previous award-winning book, Tadpole Rex, you already know about his breathtaking, vibrant illustrations and tightly-crafted rhyme.  Although a computer screen does not do them justice, Cyrus has examples of some of the illustrations at his website. How does Cyrus create the stark black lines of varying width that give such depth to each page? He uses a scratchboard technique and adds details like bubbles and a crust of barnacles to make the giant sea turtle come alive.

Not only has Cyrus done his research about the creature, Archelon, itself (he even includes the fact the turtles may sleep under the mud for long periods), but also he obviously spent the time to craft the story to perfection. Showing the contrast in size between the tiny baby turtles on the beach in the beginning, to the adult turtles laying eggs on the same beach at the end, by including the same local dinosaurs for scale in both scenes is pure genius. He also brings the story neatly to present day with a few perfectly-chosen words.

The Voyage of Turtle Rex is a must-have book for your shelf, because it can be used in so many ways. You could pull it out for a poetry unit, a science unit, and for any reader interested in dinosaurs. This book sure to thrill and entrall dinosaur-loving children of all ages.

See an interview with Kurt Cyrus at Miss Rumphius Effect

Growing with Science has related science activities

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Publisher: Harcourt Children’s Books (April 4, 2011)
ISBN-10: 9780547429243
ISBN-13: 978-0547429243

Book was supplied for review purposes.

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by the new Nonfiction Monday blog to see who is hosting each week.

This week’s post is at Writing Nonfiction for Children.

Tags: ,

Shoes for Me Book Inspires Activities

March 19, 2011 in National Poetry Month, Picture book- fiction, Poetry by Roberta | 5 comments

Shoes for Me! by Sue Fliess and illustrated by Mike Laughead has been released just in time to celebrate National Poetry Month in April. The story follows a colorful, bouncy romp through a shoe store with Hippo. Fliess creates a pitch perfect rhyme to keep the tempo fast-paced and exciting. You are compelled to turn the page to discover what shoes Hippo will find next.

“Feet got bigger,
heel to toe.
Time for new shoes.
Off we go!”

You get a good sense of the flavor of the book in this trailer.

Shoes For Me! is a sweet, amusing addition to your poetry shelf that is sure to appeal to the shoe shopper in all of us. It might also be useful for children who are shy about getting new shoes and need a little preparation for the big event.

Reading the book will encourage little fashion designers and poets to get creative. Satisfy their cravings with some fun “tie-in” activities.

1. Write a poem about shoes (or an article of clothing).

Shoe Acrostic (with alliteration)

What shoes should I wear today?

Sloppy slippers?
Holey high-tops?
Old oxfords?
Elegant espadrilles?
Sassy sandals?

I know, no shoes!

(By Roberta Gibson)

A shape poem of a shoe or t-shirt might be fun. ReadWriteThink has an interactive shape poem generator to help get started.

2. Design your own shoes on paper.

Draw some shoes on a piece of paper and color them with marker, crayons or colored pencils. Cut out bits of colorful cloth and glue them on the shoes. Pieces of ribbon or lace might be nice to add, too. Consider sprinkling on glitter or sequins to add shine.

If you don’t want to draw your own shoes, here are a pair of shoes to color (link is for.pdf file)

3. Decorate some canvas shoes

Gather:

  • Clean canvas shoes
  • Fabric paint (older children might use acrylic)
  • Ribbons or lace (optional)
  • Sharpie marker (optional)
  • Stencils (optional)

Draw a design onto the shoes lightly with pencil with a stencil or freehand. You might want to color areas or apply the fabric paint only to the design. Try an Google image search with keywords “canvas shoe hand paint children” to see some great ideas.

365 Days of Crafts has an example of painted shoes.

Special thanks to Jessica and Selena for sharing their thoughts about this book.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 24 pages
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Corp (March 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0761458255
ISBN-13: 978-0761458258

Book was provided by author for review purposes.

Tags: , ,

Ubiquitous Applause

November 29, 2010 in Cybil Awards, Nonfiction, Nonfiction Monday Review, Poetry by Roberta | 2 comments

Everywhere you go on the Internet you see kudos for Ubiquitous:  Celebrating Nature’s Survivors by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beckie Prange (insert joke about the book being “ubiquitous” here). It won an Eureka! Gold Award from California Reads. It has been nominated for a Cybils award (in the poetry category). A Fuse#8 Production has a review, with a list of other reviews and extensive related links. What more is there to say?

Starting with bacteria, Sidman has chosen to highlight organisms that have survived when others have gone extinct. She gives both the good (bacteria have important jobs) and the bad (a few can cause disease). Accompanying each are Prange’s delightful illustrations, also power-packed with information if you only know to look. And, if you have heard any of the buzz about this book you know, Prange’s use of yarn to make a timeline of the earth just has to be seen to be appreciated. Amazing!

Being a biologist by training, I was interested in the serious nonfiction side of this book. Yes, each creature Joyce Sidman has chosen is represented by a lovely, creative poem. Opposite, however, is a page of exquisitely condensed scientific information, including (gasp!) scientific names. Let’s be upfront, this book takes a decidedly modern, scientific view of how the world came to be.

Given the extensive amount of research the author did, the experts she consulted and how up-to-the-minute her information, this book in many ways surpasses those filed in the 500′s rather than the 800′s. Add my kudos to the long list of others for this book.

As for reading level, I think that (once again) although Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors looks like a picture book and the poetry is deceptively short and sweet, it is more appropriate for older children.

If you love poetry and want to see the 14 organisms Sidman and Prange chose to celebrate as survivors, then I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book.

If anyone from Houghton Mifflin stops by:  A poster set with the poems and illustrations and the nonfiction information on the back, including the yarn timeline, would probably be found in every classroom and household in the country. :-)

Reading level: Ages 4-8 (Amazon)
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (April 5, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0618717196
ISBN-13: 978-0618717194

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by Anastasia Suen’s Nonfiction Monday page. This week’s post is at Playing By The Book.

Lee Hopkins Makes Readers Smile with Amazing Faces

September 6, 2010 in Nonfiction Monday Review, Poetry by Roberta | No comments

Amazing Faces compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins will make you smile. It also will make you frown, sigh, and laugh out loud. This book of poetry is sure to evoke a range of emotions that are shared by all people, a range reflected in the diversity of radiant faces beautifully illustrated by Chris Soentpiet. Amazing-faces

Hopkins has assembled poems from an impressive list of authors, including Nikki Grimes, Jane Yolen, Janet S. Wong, and Joseph Bruchac. But the list of names fade away as the poems take center stage. Some are powerful, some are gentle, and some take your breath away. For example, about storyteller Aunt Mary Sky:

You can read so many things in her face
Like a cloud touched by a breath of wind
one shape, then another takes its place
as even the trees lean close and listen.

This book is really meant to be shared. Readers will want to discuss and ponder each poem and accompanying illustration. Although listed for ages 4-8, this inspiring collection is definitely appealing to a readers of a wide range of ages.

Teachers and librarians take note: you’ll want to have this one in within reach as a useful, multipurpose resource.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Lee & Low Books; 1 edition (June 30, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1600603343
ISBN-13: 978-1600603341

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Anastasia Suen’s Nonfiction Monday page. This week’s post is at The Miss Rumphius Effect.

This book was provided for review.

Tags:

Poetrees

July 12, 2010 in Nonfiction, Nonfiction Monday Review, Plants, Poetry by Roberta | 1 comment

We’re continuing our salute to trees this month.

If you are a fan of Douglas Florian, then you probably know he has a new book of poetry, aptly named Poetrees. poetrees

For once, I’ll let the author’s words speak for themselves:

This book is ripe with poetrees,
They’re grown to educate and please.
You’ll see a cedar.
Oak tree too.
Birch and banyan,
Pine and yew.
Palm and gum
And willow tree,
Plus more you’ll love tree-mendously!

I love that Florian chose trees from around the world like the banyan, not just common North American ones. He also uses and explains many common botanical terms “to educate.” As usual there is an element of gentle humor, both visual details and the word play of the poems.

The layout of this book shows how much thought went into its design. The entire book consists of vertical, two-page spreads, giving the feel of looking at a tall tree. If you are familiar with Florian’s illustrations, you will recognize his unconventional art.

Given the spare words and whimsical illustrations, Poetrees has sometimes been mislabeled as a picture book for very young children. For example, I found this book in the children’s section at my local library (we have a juvenile section for older children), and Amazon says a reading level ages 4-8. This is too bad, because most very young readers will probably not be ready to enjoy this book. Booklist suggests grades 3-6, which I think is much closer to the mark. Older children and adults will appreciate it more thoroughly.

Poetrees definitely deserves an appropriate audience. It is a fun way to learn more about trees.

Reading level: Ages 4-8 (according to Amazon, I’d recommend at least 9-12)
Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Beach Lane Books; 1 edition (March 9, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416986723
ISBN-13: 978-1416986720

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Anastasia Suen’s Nonfiction Monday page. This week’s post is at Abby (the) Librarian.

Tags: ,

« Older entries