African American Poet: What is Goodbye?

Bibliography:

Grimes, Nikki. 2004. WHAT IS GOODBYE? Illustrated by Raul Colon. New York: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN: 0786807784

Review:

Nikki Grimes tells the sad story of loss and the journey of learning to live again in the book of poetry, What is Goodbye. When Jerilyn and Jesse’s older brother, Jaron, suddenly dies life is never the same. Through alternating voices, Jesse and Jerilyn share their feelings of grief. The yearlong story is a journey to make sense of the devastating event and evolution of a “new” family. Each sibling deals with Jaron’s death differently. Jesse through anger and getting into fights and Jerilyn by trying to stay strong, pushing back her tears and yearning for once was. Jesse’s poems are concrete and filled with grief. It is easy to understand that Jesse is the youngest in the family. Jerilyn’s poems are free verse and filled with metaphor. Throughout the story, her grief is palpable. Both children pass through the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and finally acceptance in their own unique ways. Raul Colon’s surrealist illustrations depict the raw emotions presented in the poems. Ms. Grimes includes an author’s note that helps young readers to understand that there is “no right or wrong way to feel when someone close to you dies.”

Poem Selection:

The poem that I have selected to highlight is the last poem in the book. It is titled “Photograph: Poem for Two Voices”. I have chosen to highlight this particular poem because of the hope that it brings to those who have lost a loved one: that life can be good again. Although I am not sure I would share this with a whole group of children, this would be a great book to share with individuals dealing with death. To introduce the book or suggest it to a student, I would share the author’s note at the end of the book. Here is Jesse's part of the poem:

It's time/for a new photograph. Say "cheese." Hold that pose! Wait til you see it/Mom and Dad/ a new kind of family./One piece/we're whole again./Whole again./ Smile!

School Poetry: The Bug in Teacher's Coffee and Other School Poems

Bibliography:

Dakos, K. (1999). The Bug in Teacher's Coffee and Other School Poems. USA: HarperCollins. ISBN: 0060279397

Review:

Kalli Dakos’ The Bug in Teacher’s Coffee and Other School Poems is a collection of twenty three poems that explore a day at school. Written for early readers, this I Can Read Book is an introduction to poetry, personification and onomatopoeia. Each poem personifies an object found in a school and the result is delightfully funny. From the pencil held hostage in Jack’s Pencil, to the basketball hoop that has a headache in Gym, these poems will tickle the funny bones of children and adults alike. Children will respond to the lighthearted mood, imaginative ideas and are likely to agree that some of these “ideas” really do happen in school. All of the poems are concrete and easy to understand. Several of the poems use onomatopoeia, which adds to the appeal for young readers. The poems that incorporate this technique beg to be read aloud and acted out.

Mike Reed has done an excellent job of illustrating these hilarious poems. Children will be drawn to the bright colors and humorous expression on the personified objects' faces throughout the book. Each illustration helps the reader to see and understand the outrageousness of each poem.

Poem Selection:

The poem that I have selected to highlight is Jack’s Pencil. I chose this poem because over the last twenty years that I have taught school, very few days have gone by that a student has not lost a pencil and claimed that someone else took it! I laughed aloud when I read the poem and immediately decided to share it with all of my students during library class.

This poem is an opportunity to help lay the groundwork for the “rules” in the library. Librarians work hard at creating a warm, comfortable place for the children to read and learn. One thing that I do is to always have sharpened pencils available for children to use while looking for books or doing research. Inevitably, these pencils disappear as the day progresses. I hope to curb the urge of taking these pencils by asking students if they have ever lost a pencil or had one taken from them. After a brief discussion, I will read the poem to the students several times. After the reading, we can work together, to come up with solutions of how to keep the library pencils in the library! It will be very interesting to see how the students solve the problem of the disappearing library pencils. I hope that my pencils will stay put using this very cute poem.

Jack’s Pencil

I’ve been taken hostage

By that creepy kid, Clark.

He stuck me in his desk,

Where it’s smelly and dark.

He won’t let me out,

And he won’t give me back.

“I’m sitting here yelling,

“I’m in the desk Jaaaaaaaaaaaaack!”

Poetry for Children and Young Adults

It has been a while since my last post. While last summer was spent on multicultural literature, I will be switching gears to poetry. For the time being, this blog will focus on LS 5663: Poetry for Children and Young Adults with Dr. Sylvia Vardell