A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout/ JANECZKO COLLECTION/MODULE 6

Paul Janeczko Illustrated by Chris Raschka.2009. A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout. Cambridge Mass. Candlewick. ISBN 978-0-7636-0663-3.

A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout is an anthology of poems.  These poems include classic and contemporary selections by very well-known poets like Lewis Carroll and Janet S. Wong.  This book is filled with a variety of poems. There are bilingual poems, limericks, tongue twisters, nonsense verses, rhyming poems, and poems presented in one, two, three and more voices to suggest ways to share the poems out loud.  These poems are all organized with headings such as “One Voice”, “Tongue Twisters”, “Poems for Two Voices”, “List Poems”, “Poems for Three Voices”, “Short Stuff”, “Bilingual Poems”, “Rhymed Poems”, and “Limericks and Poems for a Group”.  Poems range from the words of Shakespeare’s three witches in Macbeth, to Walt Whitman, and A.A. Milne. 

These poems will appeal to a wide range of children but not all children will appreciate these poems.  They are very different and can sometimes be over the top of young children.  These poems are not written about familiar childhood experienced or interesting topics that will automatically appeal to children.  However, with that being said these poems will enrich a child’s insight and knowledge.  I thought the entire time while reading this book all the classic literature that they are learning about through these poems.  These poems will also greatly expand linguistic abilities.  There were words that I was not familiar with in some of the poems.            

The poem that I am sharing with you is a rhyming poem that is really a unique poem.  The poem is titled Pasta Parade by Bobbie Kautz. 

                                                          

Pasta Parade

Ziti marching in a row-

then capelli d’angelo-

ravioli-

tortellini-

wide lasagna-

slim linguine-

itty bits of pert pastina-

piles of penne mezzanine-

ditali and ditalini-

teeny, weeny tubettini-

farfalle-

and capellini-

nets of woven fettuccine-

     Basta!

That’s enough already,

Fill my bowl up with spaghetti!

And while you’re at it, will you please

pass along the grated cheese. 

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: Ages 8-11

Before reading: Before reading this poem I will have the children discuss all the types of pasta that they know and what they mostly eat at home.  Some of these types most children will not have heard of so we will chart the ones we know before the poem.          

During reading: I would read the poem slowly so they can truly appreciate the poem and hear the different types of pasta being talked about.  I always want to read it slowly so that they can hear the pronunciation of some of the different pastas.        

Reread the poem: I would then discuss the poem with them and write down the pastas that we did not know about.  I would have examples of the different pastas so the children can not only hear them but they can see them as well.  We would then reread the poem so when they hear it a second time they are familiar with the pastas. 

After reading: I will have each child get into a group and we would go down to the cafeteria and cook different types of pasta together with lots of supervision.  This way the children can then try the pastas and see if there is any difference minus shape and name. 

Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers/ MODULE 6/ POETRY BY KIDS

Betsy Franco.2008. Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers. Cambridge Mass. Candlewick Press. ISBN 978-0-7636-3437-7.

Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers is an anthology of poems written by teenagers.  These poems are real expressions of the pain and pleasure of teenage love.  The diversity of poems is great, but the poetry stays true to the title with the soul focus on love.  Topics include race, sexual identity, maturity, and lifestyle.  Franco collected these poems from around the world as teens sent her their submissions via email.  These poems are for everyone no matter the age, gender, or sexual orientation of a person.  These poems are uncensored and raw containing a true look into the teenage heart.  The language can get intense using several four letter words and some poems are very sexual. 

The poems are laid out in a very open design and in no way arranged in any particular order.  The poems vary in length from one line to two pages or more.  Most of the poems are written in free verse, but some rhyme, and some are filled with emotional metaphors with lots of descriptive language. 

 The high quality of poems in this book is terrific.  The young writers in this book are incredibly talented and full of emotions.  These poems will appeal to teenagers because it’s real life.  You actually get to read what teenagers are feeling about real love.  Not something that an adult has written that is edited for teenage ears.  Teenagers will be inspired by the creativity, romance, sex, pain, and pleasure of these poems.  Teenagers will be able to relate to these poems as they are happening to them in their lives.  Most all teenagers experience their first love; find their hormones and their loose the love that they once cherished.  Each poem speaks with the honesty from teenagers. 

If teens are not willing to read poetry this is the book for them.  They won’t even notice they are reading poetry.  They will develop feelings for every one of these teens and relate to them all.  It was like an emotional rollercoaster while reading these poems.  I felt happy, sad, mad, and disappointed.  An emotional rollercoaster is just what teenage love feels like so it is so realistic.   

I have to say that selecting just one poem to share with you was incredibly difficult.  All of these poems are so wonderful and so different that picking one is almost impossible.  I finally decided on the poem titled The Last Day of Our Lifetime Together. I felt like this poem was so truthful and full of pain and it just made me feel sad for this poor teen.  I hope everyone enjoys it and I strongly suggest that everyone pick up this book and read all these wonderfully written poems. 

The Last Day of Our Lifetime Together

The last kiss is always the hardest,

lips barely moving together

but once they touch, it lasts no longer

than forgetfulness.

She was captivated by the architecture

of my elbow   

firmly placed around her shoulder.

Then the darkness, lowering, and lowering,

until our daytime visions

dissolved into dreams.

It was heavenly, but I had to do

what I had to do.

I handed her the letter.

A letter because I was strong enough

to start a relationship

but not man enough to break out.

She unlaced it,

fold flowing out of fold.

     She read it!!

In the time it took to sink in

she has a dozen questions. 

I replied with an answer that gave

no answer. 

Our eternal happiness now eternally gone,

darkness will be the point from which

we start. 

L.C. HUGHLEY, age 17      

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: Ages 15- adult

Before reading: Before reading this poem I will have the teenagers think about a love in their life.  If they do not have a boyfriend or girlfriend it can be a parent or sibling, anyone that they are close to.  I want them to think about a painful time that they experienced with them and how difficult love can be.        

During reading: I would read the poem slowly so they can truly appreciate the poem and feel that raw feeling and emotions behind this boy and how he broke this girls heart by giving her a letter.      

Reread the poem: I would then discuss the poem with them and get the teenagers feelings from this poem.  Are they sad for the girl or do they feel bad for the boy.  Did the boy handle the situation poorly?  I want their opinions on this.  We would write down our feelings on the board and compare them. 

After reading: I will have each teen write their own poem about love.  It can be a happy poem, sad poem, but I want it to be a poem about their true feelings just like the teens in this book. The collection of poems that the class wrote will then be made into a book and each student will a copy that is in the class.   

Giant Children/MODULE 6/ FREE CHOICE POETRY

Broad Bagert Illustrated by Tedd Arnold.2002. Giant Children. New York. Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0-8037-2556-6.

Giant Children is written by Brod Bagert and illustrated by Tedd Arnold.  Children will love reading these poems; they are based around the peculiar things that will happen at school and to children. The classroom hamster opens this poetry collection when he sees the children as giants.  I am sure the children always look like giants coming from a little hamster’s point of view. The poems all flow along in an enjoyable rhyme, touching on subjects that appeal to younger children.  There is a chocolate mania, monster trucks, a ball game in space, and a dinosaur canary. There is even one poem that comes with a warning that it should never be recited to grown-ups, which will automatically make any child want to read it. 

All these poems have meaning to children as they can relate to the feelings and subjects that the poems are written about.  The rhythm and sound of these poems make them just flow off of your tongue and makes them great read alouds for everyone.  Certain poems will stimulate emotions such as sibling fights, pets, and the tooth fairy.  These poems will defiantly stimulate imagination of all children.  They can picture themselves as giants or imagine playing ball in space.  There is one poem per page accompanied by wonderful illustrations done by Tedd Arnold.  Tedd Arnold is an amazing and famous artist that children love to see.  His bug-eyed characters done in watercolor and colored pencils bring all these poems to life and raise children’s imagination to a whole new level.  These illustrations accentuate the humor in the poems. 

These poems are age appropriate for the intended audience and children will want to read them over and over again.  They represent a variety of moods, from happy to mad.  These poems are not at all sentimental but will have children rolling on the ground with laughter through the entire book. 

The poem that I am sharing with you is the first one in the book.  It was so funny reading this poem from the hamster’s point of view.  The one thing that really makes this poem is the illustrations so I hope that all of you will get a chance to look at this book and see the illustrations in it.                     

GIANT CHILDREN

Psst! Listen very closely,

There’s something you should know.

It’s all about a giant school

Where giant children go.

Pages turn at giant speed

As giant children learn to read.

And giant brains are really quick

When working on arithmetic. 

They pound the beat on giant drums

And finger paint with giant thumbs,

Sing giant songs with giant lips

And boogie-dance with giant hips. 

Giant shoes on giant feet

And giant giggles when they meet.

I watch them hour after hour,

Giant kids with giant power. 

I’m just the classroom hamster

But I promise you it’s true-

This is the school where giants go,

And the giant kids are YOU. 

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: Ages 4-8

Before reading: Before reading this poem I will have the children draw the silliest thing they can think of.  Ask them what inspired them to draw and how did they come up with that idea.      

During reading: I would read the poem slowly so they can truly appreciate the poem and notice the rhyming and see if they can tell who is actually telling the story…(the hamster).    

Reread the poem: I would then discuss the poem with them and we would talk about all the silly things that happened in this poem.  We would discuss what it would be like if we were giants and how school would look to us.    

After reading: I will have each child draw a picture of them as a giant and what they would be doing if they could be a giant for one day. 

JAZZ/MODULE 5/ HOPKINS AWARD POETRY

Walter Dean Myers Illustrated by Christopher Myers.2006. Jazz. New York. Holiday House. ISBN 978-0-8234-1545-8.

Jazz is written by Walter Dean Myers and illustrated by Christopher Myers. This father and son team has created a wonderful and educational book that explores a wide variety of jazz forms. Readers will experience the explosion of color and rhythm of jazz with each poem that they read from this book. This book is a Hopkins Award Poetry book.  The Hopkins Award Poetry is granted annually to an anthology of poetry or a single volume poem published for children in the previous calendar year by a living American poet or anthologist.   

The book starts out with the blues with a poem titled “Oh, Miss Kitty”.  Fifteen poems go through the musical history of jazz.  The book opens with two pages answering, “What is jazz?”  This section covers the major element of jazz and the history of jazz.  Opening the book up like this is very informative for children and provides a great teaching tool for parents, teachers, and librarians.  Legendary jazz musicians are written about such as Louie Armstrong.  There are two font types used in this book to highlight and illustrate the rhyming schemes and lively words for the reader.  Each poem is accompanied by a wonderful illustration that brings feeling and expression of jazz to life.  When you read this book you really feel the mood of jazz. The book ends with an appended glossary of jazz terms.  This is a great tool for children to look up words that they are unfamiliar with.  These words will expand the linguistic abilities and vocabulary of readers throughout each poem.  Children will learn jazz terms and the history of jazz in a fun way. This age group of children may not be very familiar with Jazz so this book opens up an entire new musical aspect for them.           

Every single one of these poems is of consistent quality.  Each one has a different jazz feel.  Poems will stimulate a variety of thoughts and emotions when children read this book. The poems cover the struggle writes have when composing songs, and the up lifting experiencing when playing a jazz piece.  These poems are not sentimental in any way.  Children will appreciate the new language offered in these poems and the history timeline that they travel through while reading the poems.

The sole purpose of this book is introducing a new form of music to children.  This would be a great book for a music teacher to read.  The only thing is, only black musicians are pictured in this book which is not a true look at jazz musicians. The illustrations in this book are absolutely wonderful and are so vibrantly colored.  It reminded me of New Orleans when I read it with all the colors coming together.  This book is truly an upbeat book that will appeal to all children. 

I am sharing with you the first poem in this book.  It really explains what jazz is and you can feel the jazz rhythm behind it when you read it out loud.  I hope you all enjoy it. 

Jazz

Start with rhythm

Start with the heart

Drumming in tongues

Along the Nile

A black man’s drum

Speaks

Love

Start with

RHYTHM

Start with

The HEART

Works songs

Gospel

Triumph

Despair

Voices

Lifted

From the soul

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: Ages 8 and up

Before reading: Before reading this poem I would play a sample of jazz music.  Some children may not be familiar with this type of music and I think being able to hear it before reading the book would make the poems more meaningful for them. 

During reading: I would read the poem slowly so they can truly appreciate the poem and notice the rhythm of the poem and see if they can hear how it is intended to sound like jazz. After reading it once as a class we would go over what elements make a jazz song.  

Reread the poem: After we have learned some information about jazz I would reread the poem to them and see if it makes more sense to them or if they get a different feeling from it.  As a class we would point out the jazz elements in the poem and see if they compare or are the same elements that a song would have.   

After reading: I will have lots of different jazz CDs available for children to check out and take home with them.  I would like each child to select their favorite piece of jazz and write why?  What made this piece of music stand out to them?  I will have them bring their assignment back to class and share it with the other students.  They will find out if other students selected their favorite and students may find they have several different favorite jazz pieces.       

Red Sings from Treetops: a Year in Colors/ MODULE 5/SIDMAN POETRY

Joyce Sidman Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski.2009. Red Sings from Treetops: a Year in Colors. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 978-0-547-01494-4.

Red Sings from Treetops: a Year in Colors is written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski.  Children love reading about the different seasons and this is an exceptional book about the ever changing colors and shapes during the seasonal changes.  Each season is explored in terms of how it encompasses colors.  The book starts out with spring.  In spring the “Red sings. From treetops” and “White sounds like storms”.  In summer, “white clinks in drinks” and Purple pours into summer evenings one shadow at a time”.  “Brown rustles and whispers underfoot” and “Yellow grows wheels and lumbers down the block” in fall.  Winter “pink prickles: warm fingers against cold cheeks” and “Blue breathes, deep and lustrous overhead.”  These poems are written in free verse style.  The rhyming is limited but there is some throughout the book.    

The way the colors change shape and form throughout each season is what makes this book so unique and wonderful.  The book starts with the color red for spring and ends with the color red in winter; however the red of spring is very different than the red of winter.

This book travels through each season with one several-page poem per season, each exploring the seasonal colors I free verse form. The illustrations in the book are very different and enjoyable.  Each illustration contains a woman wearing a crown and a little white dog.  Zagarenski uses scraps of newspaper and other decorative materials to create an illusion of colors as you journey through each season.  The names of the colors are printed in their color ink to draw attention to the color.  All the illustrations are very detailed.  The colored illustrations really bring the seasons to life and make you feel like you are right there in the poem. 

Every single one of these poems is of consistent quality.  Each one that I read made me think back to that season and I felt like I was there.  Some of the descriptions meet the season so well.  One of my favorites was fall.  “Fall smells/ Purple: / old leaves, crushed berries,/squishy plums with worms in them/ Purple: the smell/ of all things/mixed together.”  All of the poems contain these wonderful, true to life description of the seasons.  I felt like I was there in the poem and it was fall.  These poems are so descriptive that they will stimulate a variety of thoughts and emotions.  Children can reminisce about a memory that they had during different seasons.  During each season brings on a different mood.  You can feel the new life of spring and the hot summer days, in the fall you have the feeling of crunchy leaves and carving pumpkins, in the winter you feel the icy snow and cold fingers.  None of the poems are sentimental but can bring back a sentimental moment. 

I cannot even begin to express the great appeal that this book will have to children and adults.  All the poems will relate to a familiar childhood experience that they had.  Even I as an adult I could relate to every one of these poems.  These poems will be understood by children, yet they will expand linguistic abilities.  Children can learn the descriptions of the season and the colors that relate to them.  There are words that young children may not be familiar with but will lead to a great teaching experience to teachers, parents, or librarians.           

The seasons flow into each, bringing readers full circle through the year.  The five senses are used throughout the season which will delight readers of all ages. 

I am sharing with you a poem from spring.  I wanted to share all the poems with you because they are truly that wonderful.  I hope everyone gets a chance to read this book and share it with children. 

Green is new

in spring, Shy.

Green peeks from buds,

trembles in the breeze.

Green floats through rain-dark trees,

and glows, mossy-soft, at my feet.

Green drips from tips of leaves

     onto Pup’s nose.

Even the rain tastes Green. 

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: Ages 4-8

Before reading: Before reading this poem I would take the children outside to look at all the colors that are happening during the current season.  We would collect a sample of a few spring items.    

During reading: I would read the poem slowly so they can truly appreciate the poem and notice how the color green is being used to represent spring.  I would ask if we found anything green when we were outside looking.     

Reread the poem: I would then discuss the poem with them and we would talk about the different colors that we notice in each season and some of our favorite colors of each season. 

After reading: I will have each child pick their favorite color of the current season and write about it and draw a picture using mostly that color. 

Messing Around on the Monkey Bars and other School Poems for Two Voices/ MODULE 5/ Performance Poetry

Betsy Franco Illustrated by Jessie Hartland.2009. Messing Around on the Monkey Bars and other School Poems for Two Voices. Somerville, Mass. Candlewick Press.  ISBN 978-0-7636-3174-1. 

Messing Around the Monkey Bars and Other School Poems for two is written by Betsy Franco and illustrated by Jessie Hartland.  This book contains 19 poems about school.  The dialog of these poems is written between two individuals about common school themes playground games, cafeteria lunch, homework, and friends.  These poems are great to read aloud, these poems teach phrasing, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Readers can read these poems alone but the differences in typeface allow for the possibility for two readers to share the poems aloud alternating lines and sharing school day experiences.  The book starts out with a table of contents of all the poems.  You then turn to Authors Note which explains the protocol (three different typefaces represent lines for voice one, lines for voice two and lines for both voices together), and then you lead into your 19 poems about school. 

There is great appeal to all of these poems. The verses are lively and will hold the children’s attention. All of these poems will relate to childhood experiences.  Children remember the Wild Bus Ride, New Kid at School, Lunch Money, and Homework Blues.           

The poems are all consistent in quality.  Each poem brings a new memory back from school days for both adults and children. All of these poems will stimulate the emotions and imagination of the readers. They can think back to a time when these poems would relate to them.    

To accompany these wonderful poems are amazing illustrations done by Jessie Hartland.  They are cartoon like illustrations that will make kids laugh through every poem.  The illustrations are lively and make everything come to life.

I am sharing a poem titled Wild Bus Ride. I thought this poem was so clever.  It really brings a school bus to life.  The picture with it is absolutely wonderful. I encourage everyone to look at this poem.     

Wild Bus Ride

Snort, squeal,

snort, squeal.

We’re gobbled up

by a beast with wheels.

Grumble, growl,

grumble, growl.

The beast shoots smoke.

It moans and howls.

Jumble, rumble,

Jumble, rumble

It’s big old belly

groans and grumbles.

Screech, cough,

screech, cough.

It opens its mouth-

we scramble off.

Snort, sequel,

growl, grumble.

The beast is gone

with a rumble, rumble. 

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience:  Ages 7-9

Before reading: Most of the poems in the book use sounds, including “Wild Bus Ride”, “Jenny’s Pencil”, “In the Library” ,and “Whirr, Whirr, Zing, Zap”.  Before reading any poems I would have the children sit quietly in the class room and listen to all the sounds.   

During reading:  I would read the poem slowly so they can truly appreciate the poem and hear all the sounds that the poem focuses on. 

Reread the poem: I would then discuss the poem with them and go over all the sounds and discuss what things would make those sounds.     

After reading: As a class we would create a list of sound words with students and post it in the classroom. I would then ask the students to listen to the natural world and then write about what they have heard. I will encourage the students to consciously add sound words to stories and poems they write.