POETRY BOOK REVIEW: CURRICULUM CONNECTION

POETRY BOOK REVIEW: CURRICULUM CONNECTION

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1997. MARVELOUS MATH: A BOOK OF POEMS.
Illustrated by Karen Barbour. New York: Simon and Schuster.
ISBN 0689806582

SUMMARY
In this delightful Lee Bennett Hopkins has selected 16 poems, two of which are penned by him that relate to the topic of mathematics. The poems range from how math makes us feel to how numbers help us make sense of the world around us.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Hopkins has a natural knack for selecting poems for an anthology that will appeal to children. Most of the poems have a two-page spread and the ones that do not get their own two-page spread go so well together that the illustrations seem to have been meant for that poem even though there was no previous collaboration between each individual poet and the illustrator. For example, J. Thomas Sparough’s poem HOURGLASS is paired along side Ilo Orleans poem TIME PASSES. Since both poems deal with time it is natural to place these two together. What is interesting about pairing these two together is the fact that while Sparough’s poem is about time it is more about time over centuries and how weather over time has reshaped the earth while Orleans’ poem has more to do with time that children can physically see on a clock and get a sense of a twenty-four period.



In Rebecca Kai Dotlich’s poem MARVELOUS MATH she uses an abcb pattern to describe some of the purposes of mathematics. While students may not be wondering about these exact questions she illustrates in language that children will understand and that will spark their curiosity to learn the answers to her questions if they do not already know the answers. Her poem reads as follows:


MARVELOUS MATH
How fast does a New York taxi go?
What size is grandpa’s attic?
How old is the oldest dinosaur?
The answer’s in Mathematics!

How many seconds in an hour?
How many in a day?
What size are the planets in the sky?
How far is the Milky Way?

How fast does lightning travel?
How slow do feathers fall?
How many miles to Istanbul?
Mathematics knows it all!


Lillian M. Fisher’s poem TO BUILD A HOUSE provides a wonderful lead in for a unit on using all four math operations to complete a project in addition to learning some new vocabulary—in this case the construction of a model house. Many children may not be familiar with the word cupboard so will have to use another important skill-research-in order to learn what this word means and what a cupboard actually looks like.
The students will also have to figure out how to build a house to scale as well as researching the various types of materials that are used to build homes. This could also tie-in with a social studies and science unit on the types of materials found in various parts of the world and then each student or group of students could be responsible for building a home suitable for that part of the world.

Barbour has created delightful illustrations with her depiction of a house and a ruler running around the perimeter of the two-page spread. She uses bright bold colors that appeal to children of all ages. This illustration like all the others for this book are done by using gouache paint which is described as an opaque watercolor.

TO BUILD A HOUSE
Here on this plot
Our house will rise
Against the hill
Beneath blue skies

Ruler and tape
Measure the size
Of windows and cupboards
The floors inside

We add, subtract,
Multiply, divide
To build closets and stairs
The porch outside

Without numbers and measure
Would our house ever rise
Against the hill
Beneath blue skies?

Note: This is probably not the picture the poet had in mind but I was trying to find an interesting unusual house to show the variety in the types of homes.



This gem of a book will make a great addition to a teacher or librarian’s collection.


REVIEW EXCERPT
School Library Journal-“Barbour's lively illustrations dance and play around the poems... Children will enjoy studying the oddly colored animals, numbers, and stylized, arched-browed people.”

CONNECTIONS

Some other math related poetry books:
Franco, Betsy. 2006. MATH POETRY.
Tucson, AZ: Good Year Books. ISBN 1596470720
----. 2006. MATHEMATICKLES. Illustrated by Steven Salerno.
New York: Aladdin. ISBN 1416918612
Holub, Joan and Heather Boyd. 2003. RIDDLE-ICULOUS MATH.
Illustrated by Regan Dunnick.
Morton Grove, Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company. ISBN 0807549967
Tang, Greg. 2003. MATH-TERPIECES. Illustrated by Greg Paprocki.
New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439443881

Some other curriculum connection poetry books:

Asch, Frank. 1996. SAWGRASS POEMS: A VIEW OF THE EVERGLADES.
Illustrated by Ted Levin. Orlando, Florida: Harcourt ISBN 0152001808
Fletcher, Ralph. 2005. A WRITING KIND OF DAY: POEMS FOR YOUNG POETS.
Illustrated by April Ward.
Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Boyds Mill Press. ISBN 1590783530
Goldish, Meish. 1999. 101 SCIENCE POEMS & SONGS FOR YOUNG LEARNERS. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0590963694
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2002. SPECTACULAR SCIENCE: A BOOK OF POEMS. New York: Aladdin. ISBN 0689851200
Prelutsky, Jack. 1997. RIDE A PURPLE PELICAN.
New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0688156258
Scieszka, Jon. 2007. SCIENCE VERSE. New York: Viking Press. ISBN 0670062693

MODULE 4—POETRY BREAK—BIOGRAPHICAL POEM

MODULE 4—POETRY BREAK—BIOGRAPHICAL POEM

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1999. LIVES—POEMS ABOUT FAMOUS AMERICANS. Illustrated by Leslie Staub. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 006027767X



NOTE: All but one of these sixteen poems is written by poets other than Hopkins. These poems have been selected by Hopkins to be included in this anthology.

INTRODUCTION
Discuss with the students why Dr. Martin Luther King was so important in America’s history. This poem would be especially appropriate on January 15, his birth date.





MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY
X. J. Kennedy

Solemn bells in steeples sing:

Doctor
Martin
Luther
King.


He lived his life
He dreamed his dream:
The worst-off people
To redeem,

He dreamed a world
Where people stood
Not separate, but
In brotherhood.

Now ten-ton bells together swing:

Remember
Martin
Luther
King.


EXTENSIONS

Discuss and perhaps even have the children locate information on other important African-American people in United States history.

Other books that would help expand the topic on America’s history and important people in history are:

Katz, Bobbi. 2000. WE THE PEOPLE: POEMS. Illustrated by Nina Crews.
New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0688165311

Meltzer, Milton, Ed. 2003. HOUR OF FREEDOM: AMERICAN HISTORY IN POETRY. Illustrated by Marc Nadel.
Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Boyds Mills Press. ISBN 1590780213

Lewis, J. Patrick and Jim Cooke. HEROES AND SHE-ROES: POEMS OF AMAZING AND EVERYDAY HEROES. 2005.
New York: Random House. ISBN 0803729251

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, Complier. HAND IN HAND: AN AMERICAN HISTORY THROUGH POETRY. Illustrated by Peter M. Fiore. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 067173315X

MODULE 4—POETRY BREAK—SPRING-A POEM ABOUT THE SEASON OF SPRING

MODULE 4—POETRY BREAK—SPRING-A POEM ABOUT THE SEASON OF SPRING


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Fletcher, Ralph. 1997. ORDINARY THINGS—POEMS FROM A WALK IN EARLY SPRING. Drawings by Walter Lyon Krudop.
New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0689810350


INTRODUCTION
If at all possible read this poem outside so that the students can observe Mother Nature while listening and enjoying this poem.





birds’ nest (Note: The title is written as Fletcher has done)


You see birds’ nests
like unpicked fruit
in branches bare
of any leaves.

When I was small
Grandma cut my hair
and tossed the clumps
onto our lawn.

“Birds will use it
to line their nests
and keep the eggs
safe and warm.”

An amazing thing:
my ordinary hair
woven into a bird’s
wild tapestry.



EXTENSIONS

While outside after reading the poem look for birds’ nests and observe what the birds have used for building material(s)


Read other books by Fletcher which include but are not limited to:

POETRY MATTERS: WRITING A POEM FROM THE INSIDE OUT. 2002.
New York: Harper Collins ISBN 0380797038

TWILIGHT COMES TWICE. 1997. New York: Clarion ISBN 0395848261

HELLO, HARVEST MOON. 2003. New York: Clarion ISBN 0618164510

MODULE 3—POETRY BREAK--A POEM THAT DOES NOT RHYME

MODULE 3—POETRY BREAK--A POEM THAT DOES NOT RHYME


BIBLIOGRAPHY

Soto, Gary. 1995. CANTO FAMILIAR. Illustrated by Annika Nelson.
New York: Harcourt Brace. ISBN 0152000674


INTRODUCTION
Look at a map of the world and discuss the physical features of each continent and/or country.






TORTILLAS LIKE AFRICA
When Isaac and me squeezed dough over a
Mixing bowl,
When we dusted the cutting board with flour,
When we spanked and palmed our balls of dough,
When we said, “Here goes,”
And began rolling out tortillas,
We giggled because ours came out not round,
Like Mama’s,
But in the shape of faraway lands.

Here was Africa, here was Colombia, and Greenland.
Here was Italy, the boot country,
And here was Mexico, our homeland to the south.

Here was Chile, thin as tie.
Here was France, square as a hat.
Here was Australia, with patches of jumping kangaroos.

We rolled out our tortillas on the board
And laughed when we threw them on the comal,
These tortillas that were not round as a pocked moon,
But the twist and stretch of the earth taking shape.






EXTENSIONS

Have the students “perform” the actions in the poem by providing dough and letting them create the world. This is a great follow-up to a Social Studies unit on the continents/countries of the world.




Read other poetry books by Gary Soto including but not limited to:
GARY SOTO; NEW AND SELECTED POEMS. 1995. New York: Chronicle. ISBN 0811807584
PARTLY CLOUDY: POEMS OF LOVE AND LONGING. 2009.
New York: Harcourt. ISBN 0152063013
NEIGHBORHOOD ODES. 2005. New York: Harcourt. ISBN 015205364
A FIRE IN MY HANDS: A BOOK OF POEMS. 1992.
New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0590445790


Try these poetry books:
Nye, Naomi Shihab. 1998. THE TREE IS OLDER THAN YOU ARE: A BILINGUUAL GATHERING OF PEOMS & STORIES FROM MEXICO New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 0689820879
Myers, Walter Dean. 1996. BROWN ANGELS: AN ALBUM OF PICTURES AND VERSE. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0064434559
Grimes, Nikki. IS IT FAR TO ZANZIBAR: POEMS ABOUT TANZANIA.
New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0688131573