Bibliography:
Lewis, J. Patrick. 2002. A World of Wonders: Geographic Travels in Verse and Rhyme. Ill. Jay, Alison. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0803725795
Review:
J. Patrick Lewis has written poems that cover a wide variety of geographical concepts in his book A World of Wonders. The first poem, Places and Names: A Traveler’s Guide, entices readers to learn more about interesting places around the world:
So many places have fabulous names,/Like Fried North Dakota,/The Court of St. James,/Siberia, Nigeria, Elyria, Peru/…
Who knew there was a place called Fried, North Dakota? I didn’t but hey, I do now. The list of fabulous, unique places goes on and readers will delight learning about them. Lewis’ poems also cover famous explorers, (Columbus, Magellan, Marco Polo) , places found on the map such as Italy, Angel Falls, The Arctic and Antarctic, the globe, the different oceans of the world and many other topics. In addition, a few poems are meant to urge readers to take care of the earth and to notice how people impact the environment. Lewis uses a variety of poetic forms including a cute acrostic poem about Christopher Columbus. The poems have a natural rhythm that will appeal to readers. Some of the poems rhyme in very interesting ways which make the poem very fun to read. All of these poems make learning about geography much more interesting that a textbook. These poems will “stick” and help students retain the lesson-and probably even share it with someone! A World of Wonders is illustrated by Alison Jay. She uses oils overlaid with crackle varnish that gives the art an aged look-the effect of an old map. These illustrations use bold color and are very appealing to the eye. The details will help students remember what they have learned. This book can be used by many grade levels-all of the poems are accessible to students of all ages. This book would best be used by introducing one poem about the topic you will be covering since the topics vary so widely. This book should be next to the teacher’s geography textbook! I think I would even mark in my TE next to the specific lesson which poem from this book would extend the lesson. That way when you are planning lessons, you will not forget! The poem that I have chosen to highlight is “How to Tell Latitude from Longitude.” As a child, I was always having trouble remembering the differences between these two terms. Reading this poem prior to your lesson on this topic and your students will always remember! (and think of porcupines too!)
Poem Selection:
How to Tell Latitude from Longitude
Lines of Latitude
Have a flatitude.
Longitudinal lines
Rise like porcupines.
Here are some great website to learn more about geography:
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Places/
Here is a game to learn about latitude and longitude.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/reproducibles/profbooks/MessageinBottle.pdf
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