Poetry Book Review - Youth Poets

Soft Hay Will Catch You: Poems by Young People

Compiled by Sandford Lyne

Introduction

Try some performance poetry to introduce this book authored by 130 young poets ages eight through eighteen who share their inner thoughts about solitude, home, the soul’s journey, discoveries, self, and our connections to place and family. Select a poem from the collection and as you recite it, use ASL signs to represent some of the poems’ main words.

A Wonderful Place

by Crystal Kim, grade 4

In my dreams I dream of a barn,

not just any barn,

a special barn.

When you go inside, a bright light shines,

and a ladder to heaven stands before you,

and if you fall--

no worry--

soft hay will catch you.

Golden Trail

by Mia Emerald Payne, grade 4

I took a walk 

upon a road of glory,

through the fields

painted yellow gold,

to the insects by the pond

and in the pool.

It was slower to my feet,

but faster to my heart.

Extension

Have your audience move their bodies to illustrate the above poems as you read them aloud (or others of your choice.) Challenge children to come up with movements that capture the spirit of the poem or the poet’s feelings. Play some soft music as an accompaniment, if you wish.

There is a companion volume featuring poems about childhood, family, nature, challenges, friendship, and spirit also assembled by Sandford Lyne during his career as a visiting poet-in-the-schools and participant in the Kennedy Center Arts in Education program.

Ten-Second Rainshowers: Poems by Young People

Compiled by Sandford Lyne

Lyne, Sandford, ed., and Julie Monks. 2004. Soft Hay Will Catch You: Poems by Young People. New York: Simon & Schuster.

-----, and Virginia Halstead. 1996. Ten-Second Rainshowers: Poems by Young People.  New York: Simon & Schuster.

Poetry Book Review - Paul B. Janeczko Collection

A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems

by Paul B. Janeczko

Introduction

Before the group meets, reproduce one of the concrete poems in this book (or one of your favorites) on a large white board using colored dry erase markers - include an illustration, too. Discuss the concrete poem with the children - what do they notice about it? what shape does it form? how does the shape contribute to the poem? Draw arrows, circles, whatever, on the board highlighting the poem’s characteristics as they are discussed. Seeing you mark all over the board will illustrate that’s okay to do so, helping  your budding poets over the “blank page” hurdle when everyone tries creating their own concrete poems later.

Balloon 

by Colleen Thibaudeau

Extension

Download and print out the Candlewick Press Activity Kit available at the publisher’s website: http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763606618.kit.1.pdf

for tips and advice from Paul B. Janeczko for writing concrete poems and have students give their creativity free rein. Having a selection of color markers, color pencils, and white construction paper available will get things going, too. If time restrictions can’t be avoided, children can work on their poems in multiple sessions. Finished poems can be glued to colored construction paper sheets or wallpaper samples to give them frames or backdrops.

Be sure to share the companion volume by Janeczko and Raschka, too:

This title features twenty-nine different poetic forms ranging from the familiar haiku to the unusual pantoum (an interlocking series of quatrains) all designed to spark the imagination of the reader -- and make one start looking for a pencil to do one’s own!

Janeczko, Paul B., ed., and Chris Raschka. 2001. A Poke in the Eye: A Collection of Concrete Poems. Cambridge, MS: Candlewick Press.

-----, and Chris Raschka. 2005. A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms. Cambridge, MS: Candlewick Press. 

Poetry Break - Serious Poem

This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort

Selected by Georgia Heard

Introduction

Everyone must deal with the death of someone they care about at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, many times a child must try to make sense of what death actually is as well as figure out how to manage their feelings about it. To set the tone, wear drab-colored clothing and a sad face. Tell the children you are feeling very sad and ask them what things might make a person feel sad. The poems in this collection were chosen by Georgia Heard to offer comfort to the schoolchildren in Manhattan who witnessed the World Trade Center tragedy.

Holes by Lillian Morrison

Strangest of gaps

their goneness --

mother, father, loved friends

the black holes

of the astronomer

are not more mysterious

this kind of hole

will not be filled

with candle flames

or even a thousand thoughts

the hole is inside us

it brims over

is empty and full at once.

Extension

Share how each poem in the book was illustrated by a famed picture book artist. Ask children to draw a picture of something that might help a sad person feel better. Have them share their drawings with the group, if they wish, and explain why they drew what they did.

Another picture poetry book about coping with the loss of a loved one:

Michael Rosen’s Sad Book

by Michael Rosen

Illustrated by Quentin Blake

In this book, the author writes about his own sadness at the death of his son, how it affected him, and some of the things he tried to cope with it.

Heard, Georgia. 2002. This Place I Know: Poems of Comfort. Cambridge, MS: Candlewick Press.

Rosen, Michael. 2004. Michael Rosen’s Sad Book. Cambridge, MS: Candlewick Press.