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On Writing Poetry
Bronx Masquerade Awards, Honors, Prizes: A Cake for Herbie Petra Mathers Lottie's friend Herbie is eager to enter the poetry contest. The cake for the winner is Herbie's motivation. Soon he has decided to write poems about food, "one for each letter of the alphabet." Unfortunately the contest audience is not impressed. Herbie is downcast as he leaves the stage but is befriended by a restaurant crew who not only enjoys food as much as he does, but also speak in rhyme. When Herbie shares his A to Z poetry about food, they give him a gift of a cake. Herbie hurries home to share his news and the cake with Lottie. The cartoon strip layout of the charming and humorous illustrations is age-appropriate. Lottie and Herbie ride a motor scooter home from grocery shopping. The cookies purchased at the market are called Quacks. Herbie's terrible dreams the night before the contest show him tied up on stage and include his duck beak tied shut. The book is a perfect child and adult read-aloud or a classroom and teacher read-aloud. Problems are resolved and the ending is happy. The picture storybook is a companion to other Lottie stories. 2000, An Anne Schwartz Book/Atheneum, $15.00. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Jacki Vawter ISBN: 0-689-83017-3 Best Books: Love That Dog Sharon Creech With the help of a few famous poets, a very patient teacher and a yellow dog, young Jack learns about poetry--even writes poetry. Sharon Creech tells Jack's story with wit, brevity and delicious honesty--"I don't want to/because boys/don't write poetry./ Girls do./ I tried./Can't do it./Brain's empty." We learn the teacher's role only through Jack's responses. She wants to put Jack's poems on the board (though she is willing to do it at first without adding his name because he doesn't think they are really poems); she wants him to write about the dog he used to have--"My yellow dog/followed me everywhere/ saying/ thank you thank you thank you/for choosing me/ and jumping up on me/his shaggy straggly paws/on my chest/like he was trying/to hug the insides/right out of me." And she wants him to write the letter inviting Walter Dean Myers to visit the class--which Mr. Myers does. Of course, one of Jack's best poems is the thank you note he writes to Mr. Walter Dean Myers--"And when you read/your poems/you had the/best best BEST/voice/low and deep and friendly and warm/like it was reaching out and/wrapping us all up/in a big squeeze." Love That Dog turns traditional notions of both poetry and novels on end, but it will make English teachers double over with knowing laughter--and it might very well be the key to unlocking an appreciation for the power of just a very few words in other young Jacks...and Jills. 2001, HarperCollins, $14.95 and $14.89. Ages 10 to 14. Reviewer: Karen Leggett ISBN: 0-06-029287-3 ISBN: 0-06-029289-X Love That Dog Sharon Creech Newbery-winning author, Sharon Creech, uses verse in Love That Dog At first, Jack, the narrator of the book, is skeptical about poetry. He begins, "I don't want to/because boys/don't write poetry. /Girls do." He's a bit more open in his second entry, "I tried. /Can't do it. /Brain's empty." In a believable sequence of poems, Jack comes to appreciate poets like William Carlos Williams and Robert Frost and his interpretations of their work give glimpses into his tender heart and clever mind and we know why his teacher works so hard to draw him out. By the story's end he has been captured by the power of poetry, and inspired by the work of Walter Dean Myers. Jack writes a poignant poem about his beloved dog. Poetry is the perfect vehicle for a book about a boy's acceptance and imitations of this genre. The poems mirror and guide his creativity and courage to risk. In under 100 pages of short verses, the author exposes children to some wonderful poems and tracks Jack's journey into artistry with the very form that speaks to him. 2001, HarperCollins, $14.95. Ages 9 to 12. Reviewer: Susie Wilde ISBN: 0-06-029287-3 ISBN: 0-06-029289-X Best Books: Awards, Honors, Prizes: State and Provincial Reading Lists: Poetry Matters: Writing A Poem From the Inside Out Ralph J. Fletcher Budding poetry writers will receive plenty of encouragement here for both the creative process and the crafting of a poem. In part one, "Lighting the Spark," Fletcher addresses the emotional aspects, the imagery, the sound and what to write about. He tells his readers, "The best poems don't tell us what to think, they show us, and they let us feel it, too. In Part two, "Nurturing the Flame," he tells the reader to think fragments, consider the shape of the poem, the importance of the last line and wordplay. He addresses several problems that writers will encounter, such as flat language, vague ideas, and poems that go on too long. There are interviews with three renowned poets--Kristine O'Connell George, Janet S. Wong and J. Patrick Lewis, in which they respond to questions about where their ideas come from, how they deal with writer's block and what advice they would give to young writers. Fletcher encourages "Bring Your Own Poetry" parties where everyone shares a favorite poem and sometimes there are group readings. He often uses student poetry as examples, which is a nice encouragement for other young writers. He keeps his tone light and his examples straightforward. An excellent annotated bibliography of contemporary poets and selected works is found at the back of the book. Teachers will find many helpful tips in working with students and their poetry efforts. The book is very approachable for the students themselves. 2002, HarperTrophy/HarperCollins, $4.95. Ages 8 to 12. Reviewer: Sharon Salluzzo ISBN: 0-06-623599-5 ISBN: 0-380-79703-8 Best Books: Seeing the Blue Between: Advice and Inspiration for Young Poets Paul B. Janeczko Budding poets need look no further to find a wealth of advice and inspiration to motivate and challenge them in their endeavor to write. Thirty-two renowned writers including Douglas Florian, Nikki Grimes, Karla Kuskin, X.J. Kennedy, Jane Yolen, and Lee Bennett Hopkins offer their support in the form of a Dear Poet letter followed by several of their poems. Over and over the message is clear; only readers become writers. Young poets are admonished to keep a notebook for recording their thoughts and to be prepared to edit, refine, rewrite, and read, read, read. As an anthology, this is an excellent variety of poetry from some of today's most respected poets, but when you add the motivational words of wisdom, the result is a superior book. Photos and notes on the contributors round out this crisply designed volume. In the hands of the right person it will be just the encouragement needed to experiment and take risks. In the words of Douglas Florian, there is only one rule to remember, and this is "Poetry Rules!" 2002, Candlewick Press, $17.99. Ages 10 to 14. Reviewer: Beverley Fahey ISBN: 0-7636-0881-5 Best Books: You Have to Write Janet S. Wong Illustrated by Teresa Flavin Many students will sympathize with the young people in this text as they struggle to complete a classroom writing assignment. The characters, various students of differing backgrounds, desire to write strong pieces, ones that makes readers "cry" or "bust up laughing when the room is quiet." Frustrated, their eyes wander around the room as they try to decide upon a topic. The narrator reminds them, however, that their unique experiences are worthy of story. She notes, "No one else can say what you have seen and heard and felt today--but if you tell us well, very well, your stories will seem like our own." Students are encouraged to write about family fights, holes in their socks, the dark times, the bright times, and to write often, to write now. Once ideas find their way from the mind to a piece of paper, a napkin, the back of the hand, or the bottom of a shoe, students are reminded to revise, to "twist" their ideas, to "stretch," to "snatch new words out of nowhere." In addition to celebrating the writing process and making it accessible and meaningful to young writers, Wong allows students to witness the process in action. She includes short drafts of "student-generated" pieces that follow the advice of the narrator. When students are encouraged, for example, to write about dark times, a short, italicized description of a rain-soaked library book follows. The illustrations are warm and plentiful and do a fine job of capturing facial expressions as the young characters move through various emotions. Appropriate for use in writing classrooms containing students of all ages and abilities. 2002, Margaret K. McElderry Books, $17.00. Ages 8 to 15. Reviewer: Wendy Glenn ISBN: 0-689-83409-8
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Updated 3/25/03
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