Poetry Review 2

Alphathoughts: Alphabet Poems

by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Marla Baggetta

Bibliography

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Alphathoughts: Alphabet Poems. Illustrated by Marla Baggetta, Wordsong: Boys Mill Press, 2003. ISBN 1563979799.

Summary

Alphathoughts: Alphabet Poems is a child’s alphabet book with a single word specified for each letter of the ABCs followed by a short verse describing and defining the term representing the letter. Since the book shares poems according to the alphabet, there are approximately 26 poems. The book and terms are appropriate for early readers with some words in the descriptions more challenging for emerging readers. There is one alphapoem per page (i.e., one letter per page) with a delightfully selected word to represent a letter. Bagetta’s illustrations are vibrant and colorful, filling every page. Images of the alphabet letter’s word appear on the page alongside greater setting and context to support the poems. For example, with the poem J/JELLY/A/jolly/peanut-butter/playmate, a marvelous closeup painting of smeared, splotchy jelly and peanut butter fill the page. On the page next to it, I/IGLOO/A/house/of/ice/to/keep/warm/in, an arctic sky of stars and crescent moon are high above a small igloo with glowing light and footprints in snow leading to its entrance. Great for readers to include those Grades K-2+ or those learning English.

Analysis

While the poems are written in free verse and do not rhyme, children of elementary levels will not struggle with an overwhelming volume of text as there is no more than one poem to a page, often brief poems that convey detail with choice diction. The rich imagery, emotions, and content is appropriate for all who are learning letters, those helping them learn, or those who love delightful poems and artwork. Most of the tone is warm and light-hearted, addressing nouns (people, places, things, animals, foods, concepts, and ideas) that young children learning letters would have at least some exposure to (U/UNICORN/A/unique/fantasy/wanting/to/become/true). While a few poems have challenging vocabulary for the target age group (e.g., terms such as culture, zealously, implements, ornithologists), the vocabulary is largely accessible and provides opportunity for learning more advanced terms. The content is accessible and familiar to young children. 

Many poems capture strong meanings and emotions with very, very few words:

T

Teacher

One

who

touches

your

all-tomorrows

Spotlight Activity

The alphapoems book Alphathoughts, acts as a great mentor text for a class poem anthology. Each student may contribute one or more poems to their own alphabet book. First, the teacher may read the Alphathoughts book to the class and ask for their thoughts or reactions. It may be helpful to have a copy of the poem pages for kids to look at. Questions may include: What was your favorite poem in the alphabet book? Why? After answering these questions, tell the students to focus upon their favorite or selected alphapoem. Ask questions that emphasize author’s craft: Why would the author choose this particular word? Why write this poem using the words they did (diction)? How does the illustration help communicate the message of the poem?

The class will make their own alphabet book! Each person will select a letter of their choice. Depending upon the number of students, they may select more than one letter or there may be more than one student creating a page with the same letter. Allow the students to follow their passions. Decide as a class whether or not to have a common theme for the anthology. Will the theme be school? The holidays? Family heritage? National parks? Outer space? Science? Music? Animals? Teachers may suggest themes or provide choices, even as children have studied previous units and topics in class. As poets, students will carefully select a word to represent their letter of the alphabet. They will write a brief poem about the alphabet word to present on a single page, publish the poem, and then decorate and illustrate the page to enhance and reinforce their poem. Teachers may check in before publication of poems and offer sentence stems or specific questions to ask to help prompt students needing assistance with the writing of the poem (e.g., Why is this word important? What tone, feeling, mood, or emotion would you like to convey about this word? What imagery or examples come to mind when thinking of this word?). As poems are completed, they are compiled into a class anthology.