Safe, mostly conservative choices in an expansive gathering, with dazzling visuals.
Some 200-plus short poems about U.S. places, people, and events are superimposed on big, bright landscape and other photographs.
Notwithstanding Lewis’ grandiose claim that these “chiseled words and fabulous photos” present “the underside, backside, inside, and other side of America,” the general tone is blandly celebratory, with only occasional, mild dissension. Robert Frost’s paternalistic “The Gift Outright” (“The land was ours before we were the land’s”) is paired, for instance with Carole Boston Weatherford’s protest litany “Power to the People” (“You Are On Stolen Land”); and Walt Whitman’s “I Hear America Singing” appears, rather obviously, side by side with Langston Hughes’ “I, too, sing America.” The poetry largely steers clear of abstractions, violent imagery, or even, aside from a strongly rhythmic final chant by Leigh Lewis, declamatory slam or hip-hop language. Topics range from natural wonders to local festivals, regional food, salutes to celebrities including John Wayne and Willie Nelson, elegies for Emmett Till and Trayvon Martin, sports, religious observances, and statements of ethnic or national identity. Nods to the diversity of American voices include frequent entries by immigrant and minority writers as well as poems in Spanish, Arabic, and Korean with accompanying translations into English by, usually, the poets themselves. The photos, gorgeous as they are, largely serve a decorative function as only a handful bear identifying captions.
Safe, mostly conservative choices in an expansive gathering, with dazzling visuals. (bibliography, indexes) (Poetry. 8-13)Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4263-3185-5
Page Count: 192
Publisher: National Geographic
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
From snapping shrimp with bubble-shooting claws to the Osedax worm that digests whalebones on the ocean floor, intriguing and unusual sea creatures are introduced in this collection of 18 engaging poems written in a variety of forms. A paragraph or two of identification and explanation follow each poem. This attractive small volume is illustrated with hand-colored linoleum block prints set on a blue-green background that darkens page by page as the reader descends. “Dive In!” introduces the habitat, and, on the last page, “Hooray for the Sea and the ROV” celebrates the ocean and the vehicles humans use to explore its deepest parts. One piece calls for two voices, a leopard sea cucumber and an emperor shrimp. Shape poems introduce the violet snail and a swarm of krill. These poems lend themselves to reading aloud, and many are short and catchy enough to be easily memorized. Concluding with a helpful glossary, a clear explanation of the poetic forms that points out rhymes, patterns and beats, suggested further resources and acknowledgements, this is an ideal title for cross-curricular connections. This gathering of humorous poetry and fascinating facts should be welcomed as a companion to Bulion and Evans’ previous collaboration, Hey There, Stink Bug! (2006)—even the surprise among the school of krill on the endpapers will make readers smile. (Informational poetry. 8-12)
Pub Date: April 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-56145-565-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2011
Students may not be convinced these are real poems, but they’ll enjoy creating them anyway, whatever they are.
Found poems can be found right here in a small anthology of original poems.
Found poems are exactly what their name implies: poems created out of words and phrases found in all sorts of places—on Facebook, in a thesaurus, in newspaper advertisements in magazines, on detergent boxes and signs in a hardware store. But, as the introduction cautions, “If you put a frame around any text and insert line breaks and stanzas—it won’t necessarily be a poem.” It takes vision to see the potential of poetry all around us, and then it takes magic to elevate and deepen the language. The first lines of Heard’s opening poem, “Find a Poem,” define the finding poet’s process: “come across / chance upon / stumble on / discover / turn up / bring to light.” Aimed at young readers, with an eye to helping them learn to write their own found poems, the collection will be a handy guide to an accessible form. Not so easy will be getting students to understand what makes these poetry, and a bit of elaboration in the introduction would have helped make the case. But certainly in the spirit of helping young people play with language, this will be a welcome addition to every teacher’s writing toolbox.
Students may not be convinced these are real poems, but they’ll enjoy creating them anyway, whatever they are. (Poetry. 8-12)Pub Date: March 27, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-59643-665-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2012
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