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