Free Choice: Please Bury Me in the Library

Bibliography:

Lewis, Patrick. 2005. Please Bury Me in the Library. Ill. Stone, Kyle M. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt. ISBN: 0152163875

Review:

Please Bury Me in the Library is a book of 15 poems all about readers and reading. Of course, as a new librarian, the title caught my attention immediately. (My husband has always said my second home is the library.) After reading the title I was absorbed into the beautiful illustrations done by Kyle M. Stone. Mr. Stone makes his picture book debut in this beautiful book. The illustrations are done in acrylic paint and mixed media on hotpress watercolor paper. Although his work seems a little dark they are filled with vivid colors and light. The images seem to come straight from the mind of a child which makes them intriguing. In addition, the illustrations made me think of other classic books such as Alice in Wonderland (see A Classic pg. 14). Indeed, J. Patrick Lewis, in his acknowledgement at the end of the book states that he “owes a debt to Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear and has been influenced by Silverstein, Prelutsky and Cohn”.

The poems are in several poetic styles: haiku, free verse, rhyming verse and even an acrostic poem about-you guessed it- libraries. The poems are concrete, children will understand most, and the illustrations will give a clue as to the inspiration of that particular poem. Word play and humor abound but some of the poems are serious and could lead to great classroom discussion.

Poem Selection:

The first poem is one of my favorite. This thought provoking poem is a great way to get student talking about books. To introduce this poem, first read it without showing the picture. Read it again and ask students to take notes listing all of the books it makes them think of. After the writing activity, show students the illustration and see how many connections to the books on their list that they can make. Finish the poetry break by asking students to create their own “different names” for books and have them illustrate their favorite.

What if Books had Different Names?

What if books had different names

Like Alice in …Underland?

Furious George,

Goodnight Noon,

Barbar the Beaver, and

A Visit from Saint Tickle Us,

Or Winnie-the –Pooh, Pooh-Poohs,

The Walrus and the Carp and Her.

The Emperor Has No Clues,

Or Mary Had a Little Clam,

And how about Green Eggs and Spam?

Well, surely you can think of one.

Oh, what extraordinary, merry

Huckleberry Fun!

Extensions:

Here is a document that will give you great ideas on sharing this book with students.

http://www.roundrockisd.org/docs/please_bury_me.pdf

Performance Poetry: Big Talk: Poems For Four Voices

Bibliography:

Fleischman, Paul. 2000. Big Talk: Poems For Four Voices. Ill. Giacobbe, Beppe. Cambridge, Mass.: Candlewick Press. ISBN: 0763606367

Review:

Big Talk: Poems for Four Voices written by Paul Fleischman is a collection of three poems written to be performed by four voices. The beginning of the book contains a two-page spread that explains how to read the book and a table of contents. Each reader chooses a color (green, yellow, orange or purple) and that is the line that they read throughout the book. The poems seem simple but the coordination it will take to perform them will take a lot of practice! Rhythm abounds in these three poems. They are carefully arranged and spaced on the page-reminding me of a musical score and a band or orchestra. Indeed, Fleischman makes a quick statement on the back jacket flap that he wrote these poems to have the feel of a string quartet. The three poems illustrate three humorous scenarios. “The Quiet Evenings Here” is about a family of homebodies who claim to like nice quiet evenings-that may not turn out to be so quiet after all. The next poem, “Seventh Grade Soap Opera” delves into the gossip and drama of junior high. (Does anyone want to go back and live through that stage again?) “Ghost’s Grace” describes a big family dinner from the point of view of a dead family member (the ghost) who longs to taste the delicious food on the table. The illustrations are bright and fun and are helpful to understanding the poems.

Poem Selection:

This is an excellent book of poems to read when teaching performance. Very similar to a reader’s theater-but with the voices sometimes reading together a bit more challenging. Drama teachers will have a blast helping students create costumes and actions to accompany the poems. It might be helpful to draft three other teachers to practice and perform for the students prior to having them perform the poems. As stated earlier, the poems feel like music and seem to be on a musical score so band and orchestra students will likely have a blast and even better feel for performing these poems. Here is a snippet from “Seventh-Grade Soap Opera.” The formatting did not quite work as well as I would have like it to!

Brenda calls Gregory

Derek snubs Catherine

Ingrid tells Beverly

Jason eyes Jacqueline

Rick gives his e-mail address to Penelope

Faith invites Gwendolyn

Faith invites Gwendolyn

Faith invites Gwendolyn Chelsea lets Brad read her

answers in history…..

The drama goes on from there! Great fun and a great read for students.