City I Love

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2009. City I Love. Ill. by Marcellus Hall. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers.  ISBN 9780810983274

(Image obtained from amazon.com)

Summary

City I Love is a poetry anthology serving as a nod to city living.  A collection of 18 poems showcase urban development (sights, sounds, and happenings) both internationally and domestically. 

Quality and Appeal

The poetry in City I Love contains ample doses of symmetry, repetition, and imagery.  The poems are writing in varying styles from haiku, to expressive, towards dialogue, and through to free verse.  Details and description create an environment where children can see the sights and hear the sounds.  The text is simplistic enough to meet the needs of children in grades pre-school through fourth grade. 

While city living is not something uncharacteristic of current society, each poem contains an element of regional living.  For instance, poems depict subways, street vendors, and snowy weather.  Not every city has these things.  The exposure serves to expand the audience’s perception and knowledge.  City I Love will spark the interest and desires of the wandering hearts. 

Spotlight Poem

Sing a Song of Cities

Sing a song of cities.

If you do,

Cities will sing back

To you.

They’ll sing in subway roars and rumbles,

People-laughs, machine-loud grumbles.

Sing a son of cities.

If you do,

Cities will sing back.

Cities will sing back

To you. 

This poem will be introduced by children identifying different things that make their city unique.  Following the presentation of the poem, children will listen to mp3 sound clips of differing sounds and noises found outside the school.  They will be encouraged to write a short haiku about a sound of their choosing. 

Books like City I Love

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