Free Choice Poetry - UnBEElievables: Honey Bee Poems and Paintings

1. Bibliographic Citation

Florian, Douglas. 2012. UnBEElievables: Honey Bee Poems and Paintings. New York: Beach Lane Books. ISBN  9781442426528

2. Summary and Review

UnBEElievables takes a poetic look at the fascinating lives of honey bees. Through a series of poems about honey bees, Douglas Florian has created a fun and educational book about bees. The fourteen poems in this collection range from poems about the different types of bees in the hive including drones, workers, and the queen to bee anatomy and the disappearance of honey bees, known as Colony Collapse Disorder. The poems are all rhyming and short, no longer than one page, and each have a full page illustration on the facing page. Florian’s signature style of paint and collage on paper bags continues delight readers with hilarious illustrations of the queen bee with crown, scepter, and cell phone and the drone brothers dressed in hip hop garb. The collection also includes educational poem/illustration pairings such as “Bee Anatomy” showing the honey bee body parts and “Bee-Coming” showing the honey bee life cycle metamorphosis. Each page contains an interesting paragraph explaining the scientific facts behind each poem. There is a “BEEbliography” included at the end as well as URLs for further reading. I had the pleasure of hearing Florian read some of these poems aloud at the TLA conference, and he did a fun call and response with “Drone” and “Worker Bees.” What a treat to hear him read his poetry! One of my favorite poems in the collection, “Bees Buzz,” makes fun use of onomatopoeia, repetition, and rhyme:

Bees Buzz

All day we bees

Just buzz and buzz.

That’s what we duzz

And duzz and duzz.

Why are we full

Of fuzz and fuzz?

Bee-cuzz bee-cuzz

The fuzz the fuzz

Helps pollen stick

To uzz to uzz.

3. Awards/Reviews

*Positive Reviews in School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, The Horn Book, and Publishers Weekly

4. Activities

Being so grounded in scientific fact, this book can be used in conjunction with science. I, myself, learned so much about honey bees while reading it. I would divide the class into three groups - workers, drones, and queens. After reading their respective poems in the book and doing some further research, they would create adaptations of “bio poems” about each type of bee. The poems could then be read to the class and/or posted in the hall. To make it even more fun, the library could hold an “UnBEElievable” fun day in which students could dress up as bees and read Florian’s poems to one another or to other classes. They could also do some research on Colony Collapse Disorder and provide facts on what can be done to help. Educational and fun!

5. Related books

*Insectlopedia by Douglas Florian ISBN 9780152163358

*The Beautiful Bee Book by Sue Unstead ISBN 9780769644288

*The Beeman by Laurie Krebs ISBN 9781846862601

Poetry by Kids - Things I Have to Tell You: Poems and Writing by Teenage Girls

1. Bibliographic Citation

Franco, Betsy. 2001. Things I Have to Tell You: Poems and Writing by Teenage Girls. Cambridge: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763610357 

2. Summary and Review

Things I Have to Tell You is a collection of poetry and some prose written by teenage girls and compiled by Betsy Franco. The majority of the book is free verse poetry but some poems rhyme. The topics of the poetry range from body image issues to family issues to drug abuse to relationships and sex. The writing is raw and represents a variety of cultures and races. There are several poems by 16 year-old Miriam Stone, one of the strongest writers in my opinion. Her poem “To Live” illustrates the struggle of a teenage girl to make it through high school while trying to realize her true self. 15 year-old Lisa Woodward’s “My Ode to Crank” eloquently paints a real life picture of drug addiction. Nina Nickels’s unposed black and white photos were not taken to illustrate the individual poems but lend realness to the words. Teenage girls will see themselves in these poems and realize they are not alone in their feelings and struggles. Below is an excerpt of one of my favorite poems in the collection, Miriam Stone’s “A Bad Hair Day.”  

A Bad Hair Day

The day I met you was a bad hair day.

This one piece of hair

Just wouldn’t stay!

You must have noticed,

You must have seen,

Because although you weren’t rude,

And although you weren’t mean,

You were just a little distant,

Your mind another place,

You weren’t interested in me,

I could see it in your face.

***

It’s scary to me

That my future could lay

On one piece of hair

That just wouldn’t stay.

3. Awards/Reviews

*YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2002

*Young Adults’ Choices, 2003

*Positive reviews in Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal

4. Activities

We have all had that pesky bad hair day. I love Miriam Stone’s tongue-in-cheek poem that blames her bad hair day on not getting the guy. What else can we blame a bad hair day for? After reading this poem, students can brainstorm a variety of things that could be blamed on a bad hair day. Students can write a poem blaming that wayward hair for a situation gone wrong then share with the class if desired.

5. Related books

*You Hear Me? Poems and Writings by Teenage Boys by Betsy Franco ISBN 9780763611590

*Paint Me Like I Am: Teen Poems from WritersCorps by Bill Aguado and Richard Newirth ISBN 9780064472647

*Tell the World by WritersCorps ISBN 9780061345043

Janeczko Poetry - Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices

1. Bibliographic Citation

Janeczko, Paul B. 2001. Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 9780688162511

 

2. Summary and Review

Dirty Laundry Pile is a collection of 27 poems by different poets including Douglas Florian, Marilyn Singer, Jane Yolen, Kristine O’Connell George, and many more. As Janeczko explains in the beginning of the book, each poem is written from the point of view of an object or animal, including a dirty laundry pile. While some poems caught my interest more than others, the collection itself is a fun mix of persona, or mask poems, as Janeczko calls them. The majority of the poems rhyme, but concrete and free verse poems also make welcomed appearances in this collection. “Washing Machine” by Bobbi Katz makes strong use of onomatopoeia: “Glubita glubita glubita… GLUB/Swizzle-dee-swash – Swizzle-dee-swash.” The words wind around like the motion of the washing machine while describing the sound. Melissa Sweet’s whimsical watercolor illustrations create the perfect pairing for the various poems. The beautifully illustrated dark night sky is an appropriate backdrop for Kristine O’Connell George’s “Old Elm Speaks.” This poem speaks volumes with few words. My favorite, “The Mosquito’s Song” by Peggy B. Leavitt is a fun example of concrete poem in the shape of the mosquito’s proboscis.

The Mosquito’s Song by Peggy B. Leavitt

I sing.                       You Slap.

I mean                       no harm.

There is no cause

for your alarm.

A little drop

is all I ask.

It really is

a simple task.

So please

hold still

at this

juncture,

while I

make

a tiny

P

U

N

C

T

U

R

E

!

3. Awards/Reviews

*Texas Bluebonnet Award Nominee, 2004-2005

*Bank Street College of Education Best Children Books of the Year, 2002

*Positive Reviews in Publisher’s Weekly, School Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews

4. Activities

“The Mosquito’s Song” lends itself to call and response reading. Divide the students into two groups. To make it easier, the poem could be retyped and color coded so the groups know when to say their parts and when they should read together. Beginning with the first line, the groups will alternate lines in a call and response manner until the last word “puncture!” which will be read together.     

5. Related books

*Button Up! Wrinkled Rhymes by Alice Shertle ISBN 9780152050504

*Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems by Kristine O’Connell George ISBN 9780395876114

*Insectlopedia by Douglas Florian ISBN 9780152163358

Performance Poetry - You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tales to Read Together

1. Bibliographic Citation

Hoberman, Mary Ann. 2005. You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tales to Read Together. New York: Little, Brown, and Company. ISBN 9780316144315

 

2. Summary and Review

This poetry book written for two voices is a fun take on traditional Mother Goose rhymes. The introduction explains to readers how to read the poems correctly. The red text in the middle is for both voices, while the blue text on the left is the first reader and the purple text on the right is the second reader. It would be a good idea to begin practicing reading with this introduction before moving on to the actual Mother Goose rhymes. The rhymes included in this collection are humorous extensions of Mother Goose rhymes including “Humpy Dumpty” (who gets put together again by a doctor), “Little Miss Muffet” (who looks like a witch and shares her curds and whey with the spider), and “Jack and Jill” (who successfully fetch a pail of water the second time around). There are also fun mash-ups of “Old King Cole and the Cat and the Fiddle” and “Little Boy Blue and Little Bo Peep.” In keeping with Mother Goose tradition, all of the poems have a strong rhyme scheme and rhythm. Michael Emberley’s illustrations depict the characters in a different way than expected. Many of the characters are animals, while others look like caricature drawings. All of the illustrations add to the fun feel of the poems. The poems, themselves, are written at about a 2^nd grade reading level, so even young readers would be able to read and perform them with a little practice. Below is an excerpt from “Humpty Dumpty.”

Humpty Dumpty

Dear Doctor Brown,

Please take a try.

If you don’t operate,

I’ll die!

                                    Dear Humpty Dumpty,

                                    Don’t despair!

                                    I’ll do my best

                                    On your repair.

Why, Doctor Brown,

You’ve done so well!

You’ve patched me up!

You’ve fixed my shell!

                                    Dear Humpty Dumpty,

                                    That’s so kind –

                                    And now my fee

                                    If you don’t mind.

Why, Doctor Brown,

You charge a fee?

My operation

Wasn’t free?

                                    I never heard of

                                    Such a thing!

                                    Why don’t you ask

                                    Your friend the king?

3. Awards and Reviews

Book for All Season Winner, 2006

Children’s Catalog Nineteenth Edition Best Book, 2006

Positive Reviews in Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and School Library Journal

4. Activities

My first suggestion when using this book is to first read aloud the original Mother Goose rhymes. Otherwise, these poems will not make sense to students. Next, divide the class into 2 groups and practice reading the class’s favorite poem. The poem could be printed on paper but also shown on a screen using a document camera and projector. Then the students could create little puppets out of paper and popsicle sticks. The class could put on a Mother Goose (with a twist) puppet show for other classes to watch. Each section of a grade level could choose a different poem, and they can all watch each other perform them.

5. Related Books

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman ISBN 9780316146111

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman ISBN 0316017337

You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman ISBN 9780316363501

Sidman Poetry - Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry

1. Bibliographic Citation

Sidman, Joyce. 2006. Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 9780618448944

2. Summary and Review

In Meow Ruff, a dog that escapes from his house and a cat that is left in a parking lot meet up and forge an unlikely friendship during a thunderstorm. However, this book is about so much more than that. The background objects including a house, the trees, a car, the ground, a table, the clouds, and the rain are all created out of concrete poetry. On the first page of the book before we even meet the dog and cat, the tone for the book is set with the cloud and ground poems. A simple “wisp” is the only cloud in the sky. While the sidewalk says, “Sidewalk/poured rock/flat gray footway/tramped-on/not lawn.” Similar descriptions of the grass continue throughout. As the pages progress, the clouds get fluffier and the text gets puffier along with the poems, “large white steamy bread loves rising in the sun’s bright heat, a billowing batch of cumulus.” Then the storm arrives and the rain comes, forcing the dog and cat to seek shelter under a table. The rain is depicted as words falling vertically from the word clouds. The rain begins as “drip, drop” and progresses to “wet sky missiles,” “sudden ferocious drilling,” and “fat fingers tapping.” This book is an example of an illustrator playing an equally, if not more important, role as the author. Joyce Sidman wrote the beautifully descriptive words but Michelle Berg transformed them into art. While all the text in this book may be a bit overwhelming to a young child, with the proper guidance from an adult, it can become a wonderful introduction to concrete poetry. Kids will enjoy finding more and more little hidden elements such as the worm, ants, and ladybugs on some of the pages. I cannot do this book justice in including a poem to share without the illustration, so below are two photos of the same page showing a tree and the sun coming out after the rain.   

3. Awards and Reviews

Booklist Book Review Stars, March 2006

Minnesota Children’s Book Awards Finalist, 2007

Best Book Choices, 2007

4. Activities

Display the website “Concrete Poetry” in which students can create their own concrete poems using the computer. http://www.wild-about-woods.org.uk/elearning/concretepoetry/

Students may pick an object listed on the website or choose to draw their own. Then, using the SMART Board, allow the students to add words to the object they chose. This website even allows students to add words that aren’t already listed in the word bank. This can be done as a whole class or in small groups. The poems can then be printed and colored.

5. Related Books

Outside the Lines by Brad Burg ISBN 9780399234460       

Doodle Dandies: Poems That Take Shape by J. Patrick Lewis ISBN 9780689848896

Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems by Heidi Roemer ISBN 9780805066203