Major Poets and Awards: NCTE Award Winning Poet- Nikki Grimes

Planet Middle School by Nikki Grimes

Bibliography 

Grimes, Nikki. 2011. Planet Middle School. New York: Bloomsbury Childrens.

ISBN: 978-1-59990-284-5

Review

Planet Middle School opens with a poem that doesn't tie together until the reader reaches the last few poems of the verse novel. Throughout the novel the reader is anticipating the meaning of that first poem. Nikki Grimes, well-known for her authenticity of voice, creates the character Joylin. Joy is a middle school age African-American girl who spends the novel trying to navigate the often confusing time of a middle school girl. Grimes touches on the topics of family dynamics, body acceptance, and friendships. Throughout the novel, Grimes uses different poetic forms ranging from free verse to haiku. The poetic variety gives the novel a natural rhythm that keeps the reader flipping pages. Planet Middle School is perfect for a young girl who is on the brink of understanding the complications life has too offer. Grimes takes these classic young adult themes and gives them a voice all girls can relate too.

Grimes transforms these heavy-hitting themes into authentic poems about what a young girl struggles with early on in life. Grimes uses a figurative language, word choice, and emotional impact to create these concise yet spirited poems. For example, in the poem titled "Beginnings" Grimes introduces Joylin's best friend by describing how they met and their common interest basketball; furthermore, Grimes writes the line  "Jake doesn't talk much,/but the silences between us/are filled with friendship," the reader can immediately identify the feeling of true friendship between the characters. All readers have that friend that silence can be felt and enjoyed without feeling the pressures to talk, and Grimes strings together those words to perfect describe everyone's best friend.

In addition, she uses language like "'That's nice,' Dad whispers/ and turns away,/ letting all the air/ out of Caden's balloon/ and mine," to personify the feelings of disappointment children can feel from their parents. Another example of Grimes honing in on that relevant, authentic voice. Planet Middle School is a collection of poems that help guide the feelings of a young girl to a path of reflection and understanding of lives different milestones. 

Spotlight

One of the most unique poems titled Tom Boy questions this idea of what it means to be a girl when the girl doesn't identify with heteronormativities. The poem is filled with question marks that immediately speak to this idea of girls questioning what is forced upon them, a message often preached but not supported in the classroom.


Tom Boy

What does that

even mean?

And where did it come from?

And if there's a Tom Boy,

how come there's no Jane Girl?

I'm just sayin'.

Follow-up Activity

I would save this poem for my club of all girls. I would have the students corral read this poem to give it a sense of unity and understanding of the differences that exist within a group of girls. I would have the girls identify qualities that they consider to be unacceptable about a girl. I would have them identify a time they judged a girl they didn't know and why they made these judgments. After sharing these stories, I would have the girls think of a negative name they have been called and question its meaning to them and its impact on others when they use this name. Then I would have them create a poem that reflects their feels and emotions about the negative name, mimicking its punctuation and line length techniques. 

Major Poets and Awards: Florian: Poetrees by Douglas Florian

Poetrees by Douglas Florian   

Bibliography

Florian, Douglas. 2010. Poetrees. New York: Beach Lane Books.
ISBN:978-1-4169-8672-0

Review

Poetrees is a clever, informative, artistic book of poems about the diverse beauty of the life of a tree. Douglas Florian is an artist with both the brush and the tongue. Florian's book opens vertically creating an elongated treelike effect on the reader. Each page has a painting that is a visual representation of the poems meaning or topic. For example, on page one the first poem is appropriately titled "The Seed." The poem is short and the words are arranged in the shape of an infinity symbol to represent the cyclic nature of a trees and growth; in addition, there is an enlarged painting beneath the poem of the inside of a seed. The painting says as much as the poem itself. 

As the book progresses Florian dapples in different rhyme schemes and eloquently tinkers with different forms of poetry. On page 19 Florian uses the entire page to create a majestic piece of poetry about a Giant Sequoias. The poem takes on the AABB rhyme scheme; the line lengths range from two words to three words to four words per line that adds to the overall rhythm of the poem; finally a piece of art accompanies the poem transforming the words into a visual for the reader. For this particular poem Florain uses a combination of paint and clip art to create a Giant Sequoia. 

The word play throughout the book keeps a new reader laughing, smiling, and asking for more. As I read this particular book to a four year old he found the onamonapias and double meaning words in the "Bark" poem to be hilarious and wanted me to reread the poem as many times as I was going to allow. It was in his reaction that it became clear that this book is the perfect book to introduce the silly side of poetry. 

Keeping with the informative nature of Florian poetry books, the book caps off with a glossary of terms and trees used in the book. Because of this feature, I would utilize this book in an elementary science class before introducing the unit on tree cycles. 

Spotlight

The poem "Leaves" is a simple fun poem that ends with another perfect example of multiple meaning words. The poems simple descriptions of leaves makes the content reachable for new readers, but the word choice is still strong and rich.

Leaves

Lobed Leaves.
Oval Leaves.
Smooth leaves or jagged.
Heart-shaped.
Odd-Shaped.
Leaves eaten ragged.
Fan-like.
Light leaves.
Dark.
Leathery.
Feathery.
Leaves in a park.
Two points.
Ten points.
Points like a saw.
Lovely leaves.
Leave me in awe.

Follow-Up Lesson 

As I previously mentioned, I would use this book to introduce a science unit on the tree cycle and genetic variety because it generalizes the life of a tree and hints at the idea of genetic variety. I would model this poem after an investigation on leaves. I would have the young students collect and observe different leaves making sure they listed their different characteristics. Then I would read them "Leaves" and have them recreate the list form poem using the different descriptions they came up with in their observations. Having the students realize that science and reading can overlap in a meaningful way is a lesson that can make abstract poetry into something as concrete as science.






                                                        

Major Poets and Awards: Multicultural Poetry- Dizzy in Your Eyes by Pat Mora

Dizzy in Your Eyes by Pat Mora

Bibliography 

Mora, Pat. 2010. Dizzy In Your Eyes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

ISBN: 978-0-375-94565-6

Review

Dizzy in Your Eyes opens with an informative yet sincere letter to the reader. The letter explains that the book begins with free verse style and then progresses to stylistic forms such as haiku, sonnets, and clerihew. The letter continues with an example of a clerihew titled Pat Mora. To keep with the nature of the poems form, Mora's clerihew pokes gentle fun at herself as a poet. Following the delightfully explanatory letter, comes a book of poems that reach every emotion love has to offer.

As promised, Mora begins the book with a free verse poem titled "Weird" the poem, like other poems in the collection, Weird captures this minute feeling a person has as they attempt to reach out to another person of interest for the first time. Continuing, Mora writes poems that find these indiscernible feelings a person has as they are exploring the different angles of love in life, and she flawlessly strings words together to personify those emotions.

The poems are published on only the odd numbered pages with abstract graphic art on the even number pages. The upshot from publishing the poems on odd number pages is the flow that is created for the reader. As the reader finishes one poem the flow to the next is seamless and effortless. There is a sense of desire to see what emotion Mora is going to explore next. Another repercussion of printing the poems on odd pages is the helpful definition of the poetic form that is sporadically printed on the even numbered pages. Just as Mora mentioned in the letter to the reader she explores different poetic forms throughout the novel, and on the even numbered pages she defines the poetic form and indicates its usage in other poems throughout the book.

One of the most unique qualities to Mora's poems is the fact that the speakers of each poem changes from poem to poem. The reader is never really sure if the speaker is a boy, a girl, an older speakers, or a younger speaker. The poems are also just as wide as they are deep. They expand from the idea of "boyfriend" "girlfriend" love to sisterly love, to blended family, and split family love. However, the poems are open to personal interpretation. For example, the poem titled "Back Then" captivates the feeling someone has as they are remembering the feeling of excitement. The line "...and I'd feel like I'd swallowed a slice of sun" is written in past tense and allows the reader to interpret that as either a loss of the feeling or as a simple remembrance of person and the feeling they evoked for the speaker. Mora recreates this idea of personal interpretation throughout the collection which makes Dizzy in Your Eyes a collection that can be read over and over again.

As a side note: I got this book from the Euless Public Library and as I was reading I found that three poems were torn out of the novel. I think this fact alone proves that the poems speak to its readers and even motivates them to keep the poem for themselves. 

Spotlight 

The poem titled "Broken Home?" is a tanka poem that Mora notes is purposefully divided into two sections to show the passage of time. The first half of the poem highlights the traumatic experience children often experience as their parents make a decision to be co-parents and to not remain husband and wife. The word choice in part one reflects the voice of a young child trying to navigate the idea of what it means to be from a broken home. In part two the word choice reflects a young adult who understands that labels are for onlookers not for participants.  

Broken Home?

I

Long, sad, first weekend, 

my strange room: a cold, white box.

My brother pouts, cries.

Another first: Dad cooking. 

Is our home really broken?

II

Two houses, one home. 

Birthdays pull us together.

Singing heals our hurts.

Us four, always family, 

a home we make for ourselves. 

Follow-up lesson 

For this poem a follow-up lesson would be a more serious lesson for students and children that revolves around the theme just because an aspect of your life isn't considered "ideal" doesn't mean your life does have value or purpose. I would have the students identify something about themselves that they would consider atypical including: divorced parents, a blended family, an LGBT family unit, also including personal irregularity such as: attention deficient disorder, dyslexia, dysgraphia, too tall, or too short, anything the student feels makes them different, Then I would have them plot out a tanka poem of their own that captures their feelings about their difference. 

INTRODUCTION TO POETRY: SCHOOL POETRY: A Funeral in the Bathroom by Kalli Dakos

A Funeral in the Bathroom 

Bibliography:

Dakos, Kalli, and Mark Beech. 2011. A Funeral In The Bathroom. Chicago, Ill.: Albert Whitman & Co.

Review

A Funeral in the Bathroom is a collection of poems written by Kalli Dakos. The collection is knitted together by lighthearted poems about student's and their adventures into the school bathroom. While some of the poems are silly and fun, others can offer some insight in to the reality students deal with inside at school. On each page the reader enjoys a poem, illustration, and on some pages even a riddle. The illustrations are hand drawings that are both comical and diverse. The variety of meaning, rhythm, and sound keep the reader laughing, singing, and thinking throughout the book. Dakos does an exquisite job of threading together silly poems ranging from a "Flushaphoic" to deeper poems about a students internal battle with illness. Dakos makes it a point to bind together poems for all levels of understanding. Not only do the images and poetic elements create a delightful collection, but Dakos takes poetic license when it comes to word position. The layout of the poems and the way Dakos organizes the words in a few poems to help reflect the meaning. 

Spotlight poem

"There Should be a Place Kids Can Go" is the perfect poem to discuss rhythm, rhyme scheme, repetition, and metaphors. In addition, the book covers themes of need for privacy, escape, and independence that so many students (and parents) struggle with in junior high. Analyzing figurative language and making connections would work well with this poem. Most students will identify with the need to have a place where they can be alone. 

There Should be a Place Kids Can Go

There should be a place
kids can go
when life has dealt
another blow.

There should be a shuttle 
to hitch a ride
into the dark
when we need to hide. 

There should be a garden
or a room to pray 
when pets die
and friends move away.

There should be a tree
kids can climb
when life is a poem
that's lost its rhyme.

When life is a poem
that's lost its rhyme,
kids head to the bathroom
all the time. 

Follow-up Activity

In an English class students could create another stanza to the poem that includes the same qualities, such as, rhyme scheme, metaphor and repetition. I would also consider starting out a professional development session with this poem because it reminds teachers that aside from all the work we do kids are little humans that need space and time too.  

INTRODUCING POETRY: AFRICAN AMERICAN POETRY: The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

The Crossover: By Kwane Alexander

Bibliography:

Alexander, Kwame. The Crossover.

Review:

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander is a verse novel that tells the story of Josh Bell a.k.a. Filthy McNasty. Josh Bell and his twin brother Jordan Bell (JB) are the star basketball players for their junior high basketball team. The reader learns about the wholesome Bell family through the eyes of Josh Bell.  Each poem begins with a title that doubles as the first line in the poem, and the poems vary from short, four words per line, two lines per stanza, to multi-lines, multi-stanza, and multi-page poems. Alexander also uses a range of poetic elements including, figurative language, word position, and repetition. The novel is divided into four quarters that, like a basketball game, become more intense as they progress. Alexander also spinkles in "Basketball Rules" that double as life rules; leaving a trail of advice and lessons for the reader. The poems give an incredible insight into the mind and spirit of a junior high boy while still being completely relatable for the reader. I would recommend this to any reader interested in the life and struggles of young males. 

Spotlight Poem: 

Ode to My Hair

If my hair were a tree

I'd climb it.

I'd kneel down beneath

and enshrine it.

I'd treat it like gold

and then mine it.

Each day before school

I unwind it.

And right before games 

I entwine it.

These locks on my head, 

I designed it.

And one last thing if 

you don't mind it:

That bet you just made?

I DECLINE IT. 

Kwame Alexander's voice is so strong in this poem that I can hear an eighth grade boy speaking it as I read. I would use this poem to spotlight for students the use of voice in a poem. I could point out all the active verbs and how they give the poem its personality. I would also use this poem to teach rhythm. The poem does have a clear cadence as you are reading, but the rhyme scheme is not strict. I would have students mimic this quality in their own writing. I would ask them to choose a feature they feel confident about and have them write an ode where I can hear their voice through the rhythm and cadence. 

INTRODUCING POETRY: HOPKINS COLLECTION:compiled or selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins "Extra Innings"

Extra Innings: Baseball Poems

Bibliography:

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, and Scott Medlock. Extra Innings. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1993. Print.

Review:

Extra Innings: Baseball Poems is a compilation of poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Scott Medlock. The book opens with a quaint poem written by May Swenson about titled the Analysis of Baseball. The poem has a sporadic rhyme scheme, but a rhythm nonetheless. The rest of the book models that idea; some poems are strict and measured; for example, Great Pitches by J. Patrick Lewis; on the other hand there are poems that are desultory and free flowing; for example, Prediction: School P.E. by Isabel Joshlin Glaser. The book also has captivating oil paintings on each of the pages; the artwork could be studied as well. The poems vary in length from ten lines to as long as two pages, perfect for junior high students. Hopkins is sure to add poems about all aspects of baseball including, playing the game, watching the game, and being a fan of the game. You do not have to love baseball or even be interested in the sport to enjoy the poems. 

Spotlight Poem    

The poem Overdo by Tony Johnston is a great poem to introduce or review the sound device onamonapia. In four out of the five stanzas there is a sound word, including, "whack, thwack, smack, and crack." They are each preceded by a description so the reader understands exactly the sound they are describing. The poem is as follows:

Overdog by Tony Johnston

Overdog Johnson is a guy
who always wins
but hardly tries.

Pitcher sails it
Johnson nails it.
Whack!
Homerun!

Pitcher steams it.
Johnson creams it.
Thwack!
Homerun!

Pitcher smokes it.
Johnson pokes it.
Smack!
Homerun!

Pitcher fires it.
Johnson wires it.
Crack!
Ho-Hum.

After students have read the poem, I would have them work in a group to recite and act out each stanza. The stanzas are filled with imagery that would be fun for the students to create their own moves. As a further extension students could create a poem that explores their own strengths, being sure to include the onamonapias.