Poetry Review 9

The Crossover

by Kwame Alexander

Bibliography

Alexander, K. (2014). The crossover. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 9780544107717.

Summary

The Crossover is a novel in verse that consists of 237 pages of a narrative poem provided from the perspective of Filthy McNasty, also known as Joshua Bell. Bell is a basketball player who is the son of a retired professional basketball player. Appropriate for ages 8-13, the novel poems weave a story about changes in Bell’s life: as a basketball player, as a twin brother, as a unique individual, as a son, as a friend. He plays junior high school basketball and does not like disruptions to the status quo, including brotherly interferences and girls. The poetry is written in free verse and plain, conversational language. At first glance, readers will notice how the language of the poem becomes concrete in some fashion, the words and letters spaced, capitalized, punctuated, and turning or tumbling according to the action and meanings purveyed, for example bouncing and leaping with a basketball. However, the depth and intensity of the poetry develops alongside the story, revealing no amateur poet but an author who capitalizes upon structure and format to share important questions and answers in a young boy’s changing life. Such skilled writing makes obvious the choice for the Newbery Medal Honor and Coretta Scott King Awards.

Analysis

The striking thing about the novel in verse is that basketball becomes a metaphor. The crossover of the title is not only a defined basketball term with a tricky, unstable, and deviating meaning, but a specific occurrence (i.e., the crossover instead of crossover or a crossover). Bell constantly refers to his family in terms of the game (e.g., his family is the court).

There are no coaches

at funerals. No practice

to get ready. No warm-up.

There is no last-second shot, and

We all wear its cruel

midnight uniform, starless

and unfriendly.

I am unprepared

for death.

This is a game

I cannot play.

It has no rules,

no referees.

You cannot win.

Spotlight Activity

Students of middle grades who are a prime audience for this novel in verse will enjoy thinking of metaphors for life… similar to the crossover and basketball in the novel. Students could have a discussion about what “the crossover” means or represents in the novel. Students may think critically about a crossover in their own lives, applying the metaphor/conceit by making text-to-self connections. By brainstorming hobbies, interests, and events in their own lives, students may consider a metaphor for life and aspects or details to support and enhance the metaphor. Students may then create a poem from these thoughts and ideas.

 Poetry Review 8

The Christmas Pine

by Julia Donaldson

Illustrated by Victoria Sandoy

Bibliography

Donaldson, J. (2020). The Christmas pine. (V. Sandoy, Illus.). Scholastic Press. ISBN 9781338829273.

Summary

The Christmas Pine is a single narrative poem spread across 30 pages. Rhyming quatrains dot each page and at key times are broken up over several pages. The main character is a majestic spruce tree growing beautifully in a forest. Carefully selected, it is felled to travel as a gift from Oslo, Norway to Trafalgar Square in London, England. There the tree is decorated for Christmas and shines and brings light and hope and awe and happy memories to the many who witness its presence. No worries for tree lovers concerned about The Little Fir Tree! Beautiful artwork and images reinforce the optimistic and radiant tone exuded by the words. The positive and uplifting outlook makes very young ages (4-8 years) and even tree-huggers an appropriate audience.

Analysis

Strong description and imagery, reinforced by the glowing artwork, help the reader see the world from the tree’s perspective. Indeed, the tree is personified, anthropomorphized, and ultimately positioned as very humanlike. Indeed, one may see their own life or the life of a loved one represented by the symbolism of the tree.

At the end of the book, a note on the final page brings to life the true story of the Christmas pine, how it is nurtured, loved, and praised as well as how and why it journeys over land and sea. Short, rhyming couplets and quatrains honor the tree and bring reflective comfort to those like myself (who use a plastic Christmas tree) desiring a change of tone and sentimentality:

I cannot stay

  forever here.

Another tree

  will come next year.

But think of me

  when I am gone;

Remember how

  I grew and shone.

Spotlight Activity

Loving the narrative poem, provide students with a narrative poem they may illustrate across several pages to their liking. For older children, allow them to write and craft the narrative poem carefully. Next, teach lessons (perhaps collaborating with an art teacher) on how to imagine and craft images for important parts of the poem. Finally, discuss how, when, where, and why to break lines, stanzas, or pages across their own illustrated book of a single poem.

 Poetry Review 7 

Cricket Never Does: A Collection of Haiku and Tanka Poems

by Myra Cohn Livingston

Illustrated by Kees de Kiefte

Bibliography

Livingston, M.C. (1997). Cricket never does: A collection of haiku and tanka poems. (K. de Kiefte, Illus.). Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN 0689811233.

Summary

Cricket Never Does: A Collection of Haiku and Tanka Poems is a collection of 75 poems about different aspects of nature and the natural world around us. There are a few exceptions to their topics, and some laser focus insight and meaning while others delight and describe. A few poems are isolated to a page while most share a page with 1-4 other poems. Even though the poems are on the same page, they may be unrelated or having different focuses. However, most are gathered around a similar topic or setting. As an entire collection, Livingston divided the book and categorized the poems by season, though many poems are not strapped to one season in particular. The black-and-white watercolor illustrations are light and realistic, not dominating pages but making shy, yet important appearances. With the beloved haiku form and form many, the introduction of tanka, readers of middle grades will be reading, quickly rereading, and counting syllables!

Analysis

Especially important when publishing and sharing poems with form and limited syllables, attention to diction is paramount. All of the literary elements still present: figurative language, metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, imagery. However, the expression is taut where words and syllables are a luxury an author cannot afford to send messages or make points. Few words must kerplunk with depth and resonate in restricted space.

A few points exhibiting the literary craft, include:

from Spring

Along railroad tracks,

junkyards lie camouflaged in

pink oleander

and from Autumn (separate poems)

Ocean, how do you

know when to curve and make of

the earth a round ball?

Eclipsing the sun,

Moon leaves, for a moment, a

golden wedding ring . . .

Outside the walls of

townhouse gardens, weeds grow in

happy abandon

We pass old friends still

living in California—

the eucalyptus

Spotlight Activity

Teach students the structure of haiku and tanga poems. Read a few! Have students create their own haiku and combine into an anthology or display with artwork and images of their subjects. For students a little older, try tinkering with the tanka form of poetry. Finally, for even more mature or even gifted students, share the history of the Japanese poetry forms as well as the haiku competitions and how they were used along with the language in society and performance. Watch a performance online or even have students compete with one another! Tip: Be sure to clarify how to judge the winner!

 Poetry Review 6

Hopscotch Love: A Family Treasury of Love Poems

by Nikki Grimes

Illustrated by Melodye Benson Rosales

Bibliography

Grimes, N. (1999). Hopscotch love: A family treasury of love poems. (M.B. Rosales, Illus.). Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard Books. ISBN 0688156673.

Summary

Hopscotch love: A family treasury of love poems consists of 22 poems depicting all kinds of love: first crush, siblings, parents, grandparents, friends, and more. While many of the poems address the sweetness of romantic love, others address a different kind, sacrificial, agape, parental. Appropriate for ages 8+, the poetry addresses some light-hearted and innocent themes as well as serious and painful ones. Sisters reject adoption to stick together, a caring father has mercy and blesses his child via unconditional love, and many first crushes and loves come alive. The poetry types are varied from couplets and quatrains to an epistolary poem and free verse.

Analysis

This anthology is peppered with humor by this award-winning poet for authoring poetry collections to children. Below is a list poem with light-hearted humor:

Words

Sugar

Honey

Sweetie Pie

Shortcake

Cupcake

Sweet Dumplin’

Chocolate Drop–

Seems to me

That love

Might lead

To cavities.

Note how the list generates imagery and simultaneous humor. The em-dash following Drop “drops” the momentum and shifts the poem and its syntax. A clever twist of poetic diction typical to the award-winning author.

Spotlight Activity

Students may create their own love poetry for a specific person or occasion. Provide students with choices for formats: letter, e-mail, blog, text message, poem form or free verse, whatever their preference. Have them focus on the person to write to which would be someone they care about. The project would work well assigned for an occasion or holiday, such as Valentine’s Day, Christmas, or Mother’s Day. The poem may be handwritten or typed and decorated with artwork and images.

 Poetry Review 5

Locomotion

by Jacqueline Woodson

Bibliography

Woodson, J. (2003). Locomotion. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN 0399231153.

Summary

Locomotion is a collection of approximately 60 poems that create a novel in verse. The main character is Lonnie Collins Motion (a.k.a. Locomotion), who has a poem book he composes for class that depicts his tragic autobiography as an orphan whose parents died in a house fire. It follows him through his emotions, fears, post-traumatic stress, and foster homes as well as visits to his sister whom he strives to reunite with. If only he could. Topics covered include his emotions, acclimations to foster life and school, first crushes, and finding ways to cope. The positive and uplifting outlook interspersed throughout the book makes ages 7-12 an appropriate audience.

Analysis

This Coretta Scott King Honor Award-winning verse novel shares a coming-of-age narrative via poetry. While the poems combine to create a novel in verse, they are not all free verse. Many forms include haiku, list poetry, and even an epistolary poem. Some prose forms also convey a poetic sound and tone with more stream-of-consciousness thinking.

One poem, June, shares the optimism and hope the narrator develops over the course of the supportive experiences from his foster mother, new brother, sister, teacher, and friends:

… But now it’s June

and you’re walking in Prospect Park

with you little sister, Lili,

her new mama’s back there at a picnic table

with some people from her church

that you go to now

every other Sunday not because of church

or her new mama’s god

or the Bible your sister gave you.

You go because her new mama said, Well, I guess so

when you asked if you could start going.

You go because

you get to sit next to your little sister

for two whole hours and after, if the weather’s nice

you and your little sister get to go to Prospect Park

and spend some more time

together….

Note how the last word is juxtaposed in meaning with its separation from the other lines, stanzas, and words in the poem.

Spotlight Activity

How do you teach a student to write their own novel in verse? Just a suggestion: Have the student respond to a prompt once a week in their writer’s notebook or journal for class. Prompt them to write a poem about something important that happened that week. Prompt them to write about something more specific, such as a family activity over a holiday weekend or a performance, or a friendship. Prompt them with a particular form: letter, prose, rhyme, lyric, haiku, blog entry, etc. Provide them with several prompts from which to choose their crafting of a poem for the week. It may take many weeks to craft a novel of verse, but if students consistently write poems without the pressure of writing an entire novel, they may find themselves ready to publish and share their experience!

 Poetry Review 4

A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems

selected by Paul B. Janeczko

Illustrated by Chris Raschka

Bibliography

Janeczko, P.B. (2001). A poke in the I: A collection of concrete poems. (C. Raschka, Illus.). Candlewick Press. ISBN 0763606618.

Summary

A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems is a collection of 33 poems that delight the eye as well as the ear. The concrete poems are clever, witty, thoughtful, and savvy. Each poem is easily contained to a page or spread with letter arrangement and illustrations, even some words and letters that form pictures! The shapes, words, and meanings tend to delight and exude optimism, problem-solving, and enjoyment, making the anthology suitable for young elementary-aged children who may identify forsythia as a plant, merging traffic as letters taking turns, and speeding drops and turns as a pigeon diving, sledding sliding downhill, or jump rope turning.

Analysis

Some of the poems rhyme, and a few maintain a structure of some kind (rhyming couplets or sonnet or other form). However, most exhibit a free verse to rhythm and/or rhyme, emphasizing instead the concrete nature of the poem, the visual contribution (often essential) to the meaning or theme.

A number of poems would show a particular typography, using white space and even punctuation to adjust pacing, illustrate a picture, or to emphasize the meaning. One such poem example shows how the lettering, carefully chosen diction, and visual aspect create to the meaning of the poem, literally creating a work of art:

STOWAWAY

Spotlight Activity

Children love concrete poems. One thing students may try is creating their own concrete poems on the page, simply looking at an object that is important to them or imagining something they would love to see or view. Art students may draw a work of art and then fill in an outline with words that recreate the piece in a concrete poem. A further opportunity for writing across the curriculum would include students creating a concrete poem for a specific item in their reading or studies (e.g., the periodic table, crystals, the water cycle, an animal at the zoo, shapes, etc.).

 Poetry Review 3

Remember the Bridge: Poetry of a People

by Carole Boston Weatherford

Photos and Illustrations by Various Artists

Bibliography

Weatherford, Carole Boston. Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People. Illustrations and Photographs by various artists, New York: Penguin Putnam  Books for Young Readers, 2002. ISBN 0399237267.

Summary

Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People is collection of approximately 30 poems that span the major milestones of African-American history starting with Africa as the birthplace of humankind and then using one or two poems to capture major historical experiences: capture, enslavement, transport, and auction of African-Americans; labor experience through slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation; cultural values and heritage to include religious worship, artwork, and family; key figures in historical battles, sports, and music; as well as important activists and influencers. Most poems are contained to either one page or spread, with powerfully selected language, diction, and heart-piercing events that arouse emotions on behalf of the exploited people. Even through the painful injustices, Weatherford celebrates moments of joy, family, music, and achievement for many people in her poems. Equally as impactful are the photos and illustrations drawn from libraries, museums, historical societies, and state archives. The poetry and images (some depicting mistreatment of humans) are mature enough in content to share with upper elementary levels although the text matches the reading ability of those in Grades 2-5. 

Analysis

Many poems rhyme in quatrains or couplets while some are free verse. All are accessible to most elementary grades with carefully chosen diction to share thoughtful emotion and poignant imagery crafted into few lines: “Remember the bridge/that your ancestors crossed,/the sweat that was spilled/and the lives that were lost” or “the stinging command,/the cat-o’-nine-tails whipping bare skin.” Alongside each poem, and in a few spaces on its own spread, lay illustrations and photographs that share a tone, mood, or theme with the poem. Indeed, the project started as a photo essay for one of Weatherford’s graduate school assignments. She not only researched and found these powerful images, but she was inspired by them to write poetry for the pictures she said “begged for words.”

Particularly powerful are poems that capture a particular person’s experience as it becomes a representation of so many people who experienced the pain, joy, fear, hope, triumph…. Once such example is focused on a young person’s experience in Africa:

The Capture

Through tangled vines and dense trees,

Ayo treads a path trod by his father

and his father before him, a path

where he will stare down a lion,

stalk a warthog and cross over 

to manhood. Not yet a man,

no longer a boy, Ayo is unafraid.

He will spear the warthog and return

to the village. Drums and dancing 

will greet him, and his father 

will lead him to the circle of elders.

Pondering the rite of passage, 

Ayo does not hear the footsteps 

of slavers behind him, the rustle 

of ropes that will bind wrists and ankles, 

or the clink, clink of trade beads 

against rifle barrels. Ayo 

does not know that he is hunted, 

that he will never be his own man.

Spotlight Activity

What photo or illustration “begs for words”? Have students research and find a photograph or illustration of artwork in which they take interest, in particular, a piece that “begged for words” like Weatherford’s photo essay. Students will research the artist, the background, the time period, and the subject of the piece. Following this research, students will give voice to their selected visual artwork by composing a poem.

Variations of this assignment may include compiling the poetry into an anthology for the class, or group the artwork into student-chosen topics to have an overarching theme or subject for each anthology. For cross-curricular extension and reinforcement, when studying a particular unit, provide the opportunity to compile a poetry anthology and photo/illustrated essay for a provided topic or list of possible topics.