Thursday, April 30, 2009

On Going Bibliography

Alarco’n, Francisco X.. 1997. LAUGHING TOMATOES AND OTHER SPRING POEMS. Illustrated, by Maya Christina Gonzalez. California: Children’s Book Press.
ISBN: 0892391995.

Bunting, Eve. 2002. SING A SONG OF PIGLETS. Illustrated, by Emily Arnold McCully. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN: 0618011374.

Cullinan, Bernice E.. 1996. A JAR OF TINY STARS, POEMS BY NCTE AWARD-WINNG POETS. Pennsylvania: Boyd Mills Press. ISBN: 1563970872.

Florian, Douglas. 1994. BEAST FEAST. Florida: Voyager Books. ISBN: 0152951784.

Florian, Douglas. 2007. COMETS, STARS, THE MOON, AND MARS. New York: Harcourt. ISBN: 9780152053727.

Giovanni, Nikki. 1985. SPIN A SOFT BLACK SONG. New York: Trumpet.
ISBN: 0374464693.

Hesse, Karen. 1997. OUT OF THE DUST. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0329087657.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1998. CLIMB INTO MY LAP. Illustrated. by Kathryn Brown. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 0689807155.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2000. GOOD BOOKS, GOOD TIMES! Illustrated By Harvey Stevenson. New York: Harper Trophy. ISBN: 0064462226.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1997. MARVELOUS MATH. Illustrated By Karen Barbour. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689806582.

Janeczko, Paul. 1998. THE SWEET DIAMOND. Illustrations by Carole Katchen. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 068980735X.

Lane, Barry. 1999. THE REVISER’S TOOLBOX. Discover Writing Press.
ISBN: 0965657442.

Nelson, Marilyn. 2005. A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL. Illustrated By Philippe Lardy. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 9780618397525.

Paschen, Elise. 2005. POETRY SPEAKS TO CHILDREN. Illustrated by Judy Love, Wendy Rasmussen, Paula Zinngrabe Wendland. Illinois: Sourcebooks INC. ISBN: 1402203292.

Richey, Frances. 2008.THE WARRIOR, A MOTHER’S STORY OF A SON AT WAR. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN 9780670019618.

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. THIS IS JUST TO SAY. Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 0618616802.

Shore, Diane Z & Jessica Alexander. 2006. THIS IS THE DREAM. Illustrated by James Ransom. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN: 006055519.

Teen Poems by WritersCoprs. 2003. PAINT ME LIKE I AM. New York: HarperTtenmpest. ISBN: 0060292881.

Yolen, Jane. 2006. COUNT ME A RHYME, ANIMAL POEMS by the NUMBERS. Photographs by Jason Stemple. Pennsylvania: Wordsong Boyd Mills Press. ISBN: 159078345.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

The Sweet Diamond

THE SWEET DIAMOND
By Paul Janeczko

Janeczko, Paul. 1998. THE SWEET DIAMOND. Illustrations by Carole Katchen. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 068980735X.

Baseball- what many American’s consider the official start of spring! What better way to celebrate the season than with Paul Janeczko’s poem book, The Sweet Diamond. Janeczko offers the readers a collection of his own poems written in free verse and rhyming prose. The Sweet Diamond is a hit for any baseball fan, offering baseball poems of on the field of off, such as A Curse Upon the Pitcher, How to Spit, and After the Game.
Carole Katchen’s paintings are done in abstract pastels and offer a sense of being along the sidelines watching the action.

I Got Carried Away

Introduction:
THIS IS JUST TO SAY, is a collection of poetry written by sixth-graders as part of a poetry unit. The book has two parts: one, apologies and two, responses. During the writing of the book Anthony K., the student who was in charge of the introduction page commented on that a bad thing was going to happen, didn’t and a mystery was solved.

I Got Carried Away
By Reuben

To Kyle

Kyle, I’m sorry
For hitting you so hard in dodge ball.
I just really get carried away
In situations like that.
Kids are screaming and ducking,
Coach bellowing,
All those red rubber balls
Thumping like heartbeats
Against the walls and ceiling,
Blinking back and fourth
Like stop lights
(that really mean
go,
Go,
GO!)
See,
I even got
Carried away
In this poem.

[from THIS IS JUST TO SAY by Joyce Sidman, Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, Houghton Mifflin, 2007. ISBN:0618616802]

Extension:
Have students pair up and act out the poem, one student playing the part of Kyle and the other playing the part of Reuben.

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. THIS IS JUST TO SAY. Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 0618616802.

Paint Me Like I Am

Introduction:
Paint Me Like I Am, is a collection of poetry written by teens through a writing program called WritersCorps. The poem Furious is appropriate for grades five and up. The poem address the emotions of anger and depression.

FURIOUS
By Karen Baylor

My name is furious
I live in the House of Darkness
My favorite game is Truth, Dare, or Consequences
You better tell the truth
You better do my dare
Or you will suffer the consequences
My favorite color of lipstick is
The darkest shade of burgundy
My eyes are full of fire
My mouth is full of heartbreaking words
My heart is full of ice and stone
My hands are like bricks
My eyebrows are your warning
Don’t talk if they say no
Do if they say so
My favorite food is burnt lasagna
Because the world is
Black, bloody and cheesy to me anyway
I drive a purple car, but I love walking
In the valley of the shadow of death
Because I am furious.

[from Paint Me Like I Am by Teen Poems by WritersCorps, HarperTenmpest., 2003. ISBN:0060292881]

Extension:
Ask students to think of a range of emotions that they might go through in a day. Have students pick three to five emotions and create a Powerpoint presentation. For each slide use one emotion or describing word and create a background to match the word being used.

Teen Poems by WritersCoprs. 2003. PAINT ME LIKE I AM. New York: HarperTtenmpest. ISBN: 0060292881.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

COUNT ME A RHYME, ANIMAL POEMS by the NUMBERS


COUNT ME A RHYME, ANIMAL POEMS by the NUMBERS
By Jane Yolen

Yolen, Jane. 2006. COUNT ME A RHYME, ANIMAL POEMS by the NUMBERS. Photographs by Jason Stemple. Pennsylvania: Wordsong Boyd Mills Press. ISBN: 159078345.
Count Me A Rhyme uses both poetry and color photographs to craft a book that shows the reader how powerful numbers can be. Yolen explores use of numbers and created both rhyming and nonrhyming verse describing Stemple’s pictures of the animal kingdom. Each poem page not only offers a spectacular picture and poem, but also gives the number in roman numerals and other words that relate to the number.

THE WARRIOR, A MOTHER’S STORY OF A SON AT WAR

THE WARRIOR, A MOTHER’S STORY OF A SON AT WAR
By Frances Richey

Richey, Frances. 2008.THE WARRIOR, A MOTHER’S STORY OF A SON AT WAR. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN 9780670019618.

Frances Richey began writing when her son Ben, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, went on his first deployment to Iraq. The Warrior is a mother’s personal journey exploring the grief of missing a son, prayers being said, and the anxiousness of waiting for him to return home safe. Richey’s poems tell the story of her love for her son through a nonrhyming verse, stories that have a sense of urgency, love, and pain. The Warrior is not only for mothers who anxiously wait for the safe arrival of their son’s who are away at war, but for anyone who is waiting for a love one away at war.

I Rise, I Rise


Introduction:
I rise, I rise is an Osage prayer said before a young man’s first buffalo hunt. Read the poem out loud to the group.

I RISE, I RISE
By Anonymous Osage Poet

I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, whose tread makes the earth to rumble.
I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, in whose thighs there is strength.
I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, who whips his back with his tail when in rage.
I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, in whose humped shoulder there is power.
I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, who shakes his mane when angered.
I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, whose horns are sharp and curved.

[from POETRY SPEAKS TO CHILDREN by Editor Elise Paschen, Illustrated by Judy Love, Wendy Rasmussen, Paula Zinngrabe Wendland, Sourcebooks INC., 2005. ISBN:1402203292]

Extension:
Ask students how a young man might feel going on his first buffalo hunt. Read the poem again, inviting the students to join in on the refrain, starting off soft and then ending with high spirits.

Paschen, Elise. 2005. POETRY SPEAKS TO CHILDREN. Illustrated by Judy Love, Wendy Rasmussen, Paula Zinngrabe Wendland. Illinois: Sourcebooks INC. ISBN: 1402203292.