BookSpeak!

Salas, Laura Purdie. 2011. BookSpeak! Poems About Books.  Ill. by Josee Bisaillon. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Pub Co.  ISBN 9780574223001

(Image obtained from amazon.com)

Summary

BookSpeak! is an anthology picture books showcasing different elements of books, genres, characters, and more found through an adventure in reading.  The intended audience for this anthology pre-school to third grade.

Quality and Appeal

Poetry pictures books about sharing the joy of reading are certainly in my wheelhouse.  My personal favorite (before reading this book) was I Am the Book by Lee Bennett Hopkins.  After reading BookSpeak! Poems About Books, Hopkins surely has a competitor! 

BookSpeak! Poems About Books serves as an excellent introduction to teaching poetic and literary meaning as the poems contain a plethora of literary concepts, form, and styles.  There are 21 poems within this picture book and each poem is cleverly titled and even more cleverly written.   Some of the vocabulary may be a bit advanced for the younger readers.  Picking through the poetry found in BookSpeak! Poems About Books to tailor to the audience is recommended. 

Now, it must be mentioned that the mixed media illustrations by Bisaillon are incredible.  While any other illustrator would likely be able to craft artwork to further (or sustain) the overall theme of BookSpeak! Poems About Books, Bisaillon manages to strengthen the theme and propel the poetry forward.  He accomplishes this by combining his collage work with some indication of literature, such as ink blot birds, animals crafted from torn book pages (with an evidently aged typeset), patterned bookshelves, handwriting, and more. 

Spotlight Poem

Skywriting

Line after line of inky black birds

forming the flocks that shift into words.

Page after page of tales winging by,

singing a story against a

white sky.

This poem and any of the poetry in BookSpeak! Poems About Books can be used to introduce a learning block on the elements of a story.

Books like BookSpeak! Poems About Books

I Am the Book by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Little Red Writing by Joan Holub

A Foot in the Mouth

Janeczko, Paul B (Selector). 2009. Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout.  Ill. by Chris Raschaka.  Somerville: Candlewick Press.  ISBN 9780763606633

(Image obtained from amazon.com)

Summary

Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout is an anthology of poetry selected by Janeczko to showcase the different styles found within poetry.  The intended audience for this book is 3^rd-7^th grade. 

Quality and Appeal

The poetry found within Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout is divided into poetic style and include poems for one voice, tongue twisters, poems for two voices, list poems, short poems, bilingual poems, and limericks.  The poetry selected by Janeczko is written by some authors we know well: Shakespeare, Whitman, Florian, Heard but also include some authors that aren’t so well known.  Even though some of the selector’s authors are not children’s writers, Janeczko managed to select poetry that was silly and would appeal to a younger audience.  The illustrations (watercolor, ink, and paper collage) were interesting and provide visual interest to the poetry which is often lengthy and written in a smaller, bold and black font. 

Personally, books with too many different styles are very distracting for me as a reader and aren’t something I enjoy all that much.  However, if you’re looking for a book that has a little bit of everything, then this is probably a good starting point.  Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout has the ability to appeal to many different types of readers at once but also serves as a sufficient introductory tool when sharing poetry.   Since there are so many different types of poetry, it is likely that each child will be able to find one they like.  Adding this as a classroom reader is recommended but I don’t see it appealing to a self-selector, reluctant reader, or parent. 

Spotlight Poem

Innuendo by David McCord

You are French? Je suis.

You speak French? Mais oui.

I don’t speak French. Non?

I speak English. Bon!

The use of bilingual poetry could be an interesting and fascinating introduction to geography and multicultural subjects in the elementary classroom. 

Books like Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout

A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms by Paul B. Janeczko

A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems by Paul B. Janeczko

Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers

Franco, Betsy (Editor).  2008. Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers.  Somerville: Candlewick Press.  ISBN 9780763634377

(Image obtained from amazon.com)

Summary

Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers poetry anthology edited and compiled by Betsy Franco.  The poetry found within Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers is written by teenagers regarding teenage romance.  The intended audience for this anthology is 9^th grade and up. 

Quality and Appeal

The poetry found page by page in Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers is written by teenagers aged 12-18 and mostly in free verse.  Franco mentions that these poems were compiled mainly through email and she initially did not know anything demographically about these children.  The end result is a diverse group of teenagers from all sexual orientations and cultural backgrounds.  While the main theme is obviously love, the emotions are varying throughout this book.  Some of the poetry is intense and breathtakingly deep and some of it is humorous and slightly cheesy which creates a well-rounded end result.  While reading this I was transported back to my teenage years, feeling love for the first time, and I found it rather refreshing.  I was also thoroughly impressed with the talent and ability of these young readers!  Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers is a perfect candidate for creative writers and reluctant readers simultaneously. 

It’s worth mentioning that yes, this book includes poetry with sexual undertones and about the physical manifestations of love.  While its usually guarded and implied, there are some poems where it is clearly spelled out and utterly obvious.  I still recommend this book – falling in love (or falling out) is a scary thing for youth.  By sharing this book of poetry written by the children for the children can somehow help others, why not share it? 

Spotlight Poem

Love Poem by Juan Nunez, age 15

I am

the flour

to your tortilla,

Baby.

This book can be used to introduce feeling, imagery, and metaphor into the beginning of a high school creative writing class.  

Books like Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers

A Maze Me by Naomi Shihab Nye

First Crossing: Stories About Teen Immigrants by Donald R. Gallo

Poetry Speaks Who I Am: Poems of Discovery, Inspiration, Independence, and Everything Else by Elise Paschen