New Poetry Book - Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie

1. Bibliographic Citation
Sternberg, Julie. 2011. Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie. New York: Abrams. ISBN 9780810984240

 2. Summary and Review
 Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie is about an 8 year-old named Eleanor who learns her beloved babysitter, Bibi, has to move away. At first, Eleanor is devastated, but gradually begins to feel better about her new babysitter, Natalie, who is caring and understanding of Eleanor’s feelings. Throughout the book, Eleanor awaits a letter from Bibi in response to a letter she sent just after Bibi left. Eleanor and Natalie slowly form a bond and Eleanor realizes that although Natalie will never take Bibi’s place, she will make “an excellent second babysitter.” And if missing Bibi wasn’t enough, Eleanor also deals with the fact that her best friend is out of town for the whole summer and has doubts about beginning the school year in 3rd grade. Written in free verse chapters, this book is an excellent choice for children who are beginning to read novels. The short lines aren’t overwhelming, the text is large, and Matthew Cordell’s cartoon-like drawings complement the poems nicely. The opening poem captures Eleanor’s mood at the beginning of the book:

Chapter One

I had a bad August.
A very bad August.
As bad as pickle juice on a cookie.
As bad as a spiderweb on your leg.
As bad as the black parts of a banana.
I hope your August was better.
I really do.

3. Awards/Reviews
 *Cybil Award Finalist, 2011
*Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee, 2012-2013
*Positive reviews in Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Media Connection

4. Activities
 *When Eleanor begins 3rd grade, her teacher, Mr. Campanelli, asks the class to write a poem beginning with the words “Love Is.” Eleanor writes that “love is” activities she has done with Bibi and with Natalie. “Love is calling me Ellie./Love is ice on my arm./Love is three green barrettes./Love is lemonade.” Students could imitate Eleanor’s style and write what love is to them in four simple lines.
*The fact that Eleanor chooses to write a letter through “snail mail” rather than email is interesting. She remembers from school how to properly write a friendly letter. This could spark a lesson on writing friendly letters.

5. Related Books
*Love That Dog by Sharon Creech ISBN 9780756913809
*This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness by Joyce Sidman ISBN 9780618616800
* Word After Word After Word by Patricia MacLachlan ISBN 9780060279714

Poetic Form - Wing Nuts: Screwy Haiku

1. Bibliographic Citation
Janeczko, Paul B. and J. Patrick Lewis. 2006. Wing Nuts: Screwy Haiku. New York: Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 9780316607315

 2. Summary and Book Review
Although this book is a fun read, I must admit that from the beginning I was a little confused. The title, Wing Nuts: Screwy Haiku, suggests that this collection would contain haiku poetry. However, the flap of the dust jacket explains that the poems are really senryu, a cousin of haiku, which are funny and cover a wide range of subjects. The hallmark of haiku is the 5-7-5 syllable pattern, but I must assume senryu does not follow this pattern because the poems had all different syllable patterns. Looking past these issues, these silly poems use puns and wordplay in their humor. While good for an older crowd, younger children and LEP students would not understand why these poems are funny. For example, “Noah Webster had/no choice except to put/the cart before the horse” would be funny to adults, but it would have to be explained to children. Others, however, would be easy for children to understand such as “On Ferris wheel/I regret French fries, milk shake -/those below agree.” Tricia Tusa’s ink and watercolor paintings are whimsical and help illustrate the meaning of each poem. Beginning on the title page, a little boy chases his ball and falls into an underground world of wacky poems and illustrations. He is pictured on each page with a bewildered look on his face. The final poem states “A senryu goes/bouncing along into…/a giant poet-tree!” as the illustrations show the little boy chasing his ball again into a whole new adventure. The illustrations are the only thing tying these poems together as there is no central theme. My favorite poem in the book follows:

Grandpa’s underwear
Pulled up so high –
A chest of drawers

Everyone can laugh about Grandpa wearing his pants all the way up to his chest!

3. Awards/Reviews
*Core Collection: Laugh-along Poetry for the Young, 2006
*Positive Review in Kirkus Reviews, Library Media Connection

4. Activities
These poems reminded me of riddles. After reading the book aloud, students could look through riddle books and pick a riddle to turn into a senryu. They could then illustrate it to help readers understand its meaning.

5. Related Books
*If Not for the Cat by Jack Prelutsky ISBN 9780060596774
*Flamingoes on the Roof by Calef Brown ISBN 9780618562985
*Cool Melons Turn to Frogs: The Life and Poems of Issa by Matthew Gollub ISBN 9781584302414

Verse Novel - Stop Prenteding: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy

1. Bibliographic Citation
Sones, Sonya. 1999. Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN  9780064462181

2. Summary and Review
In this verse novel based on real events in her life, Sones paints a picture of 13 year old Cookie and her experiences when her older sister has a nervous breakdown on Christmas Eve. Cookie struggles with her sister’s condition and slow recovery, worries she will be next, is forced to listen to her parents fight constantly, and deals with alienation and bullying from her friends. The poems themselves, mostly free verse, are hauntingly beautiful and give the reader a close connection to Cookie’s emotions, as if we are reading her diary. Some are very short at one stanza long and others are longer at two to three pages. Occasional rants portray Cookie's anger and are a welcome change of pace. The end reveals a glimmer of hope that the family may return to some semblance of normalcy. One of the most poignant poems titled “The Truth Is” portrays Cookie’s struggle to visit her sister in the hospital.

The Truth Is

I don’t want to see you.
I dread it.
There.
I’ve said it.


3. Awards/Reviews
*Myra Cohn Livingston Award Winner for Poetry, 2000
*YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2000
*Claudia Lewis Award Winner, 2000
*Positive Reviews in Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Booklist Starred Review

4. Activities
This book encompasses many issues teens may go through. Insecurity, loneliness, and bullying all play roles in Cookie’s teenage life. All of these issues are effects of the bigger problem of Cookie’s sister having a mental illness. Some key poems on these topics could be read aloud or the book could be read in a literature circle. After reading, students could be encouraged to think about Cookie’s problems and relate them to their own lives. It could then be revealed that the story is based on events that really happened in Sones’s life and that she wrote the poems in a poetry class. Then a semester long poetry writing unit could follow. Students would write a poem or two per week about social issues they may have experienced and compile them into verse novels by the end of a semester.
Alternatively, students could embark on an author study of Sonya Sones and read her other 3 verse novels for teens.

5. Related Books
* Crank by Ellen Hopkins ISBN 9781416995135
* Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher ISBN 9781595141712
* One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies by Sonya Sones ISBN 9780689858208
*What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones ISBN 9780689855535
*What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones ISBN 9780689876035

NCTE Award Winning Poet - Meet Danitra Brown

1. Bibliographic Citation

Grimes, Nikki. 1994. Meet Danitra Brown.  New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard. ISBN 9780688120733

 2. Summary and Review
Meet Danitra Brown is a compilation of poems about a little girl named Danitra written from the point of view of her best friend, Zuri. Danitra is an outgoing, caring, free-spirit who only wears purple clothes and big bifocal glasses that she is very proud of. This collection of rhyming poems tells the story of the friendship between Zuri and Danitra including poems about jumping rope, riding bikes, chores, helping each other with problems, and even a small tiff when Zuri accidently spills a secret about Danitra. This portrait of friendship is relatable to all children, not just girls, and could be used to teach character lessons such as building self-esteem. The poems, themselves, are well written and, together, form a snapshot of the unbreakable friendship between the two girls. Floyd Cooper’s soft brown and purple illustrations compliment Grimes’s poems nicely. The first poem in the book, “You Oughta Meet Danitra Brown” introduces us to Danitra:

You Oughta Meet Danitra Brown

You oughta meet Danitra Brown,
the most splendiferous girl in town.
I oughta know, ‘cause she’s my friend.

She’s not afraid to take a dare.
If something’s hard, she doesn’t care.
She’ll try her best, no matter what.

She doesn’t mind what people say.
She always does things her own way.
Her spirit’s old, my mom once said.

I only know I like her best
‘cause she sticks out from all the rest.
She’s only she – Danitra Brown.

3. Awards/Reviews
*Coretta Scott King Book Award 1995
*ALSC Notable Children’s Books 1995
*Positive Reviews in Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and Children’s Literature

4. Activities
Students could read this book as inspiration to write their own poems about their best friends. Counselors could use this book as a springboard to get students talking about difficult issues such as bullying or living in single parent homes.

5. Related Books
*Danitra Brown Leaves Town and Danitra Brown, Class Clown both by Nikki Grimes ISBN 9780688131557
*A Pocketful of Poems by Nikki Grimes 9780395938683
*Make Way for Dyamonde Daniel by Nikki Grimes ISBN 9780142415559