Picture Book Resources
Stardines Swim High Across the Sky by Jack Prelutsky, ill. by Carin Berger
Prelutsky takes the names of common animals, changes or adds one letter, and writes a poem about the new creature imagined. The poems are accompanied by unique and eye-catching collages and dioramas.
My favorites of these cleverly created poetic creatures were: the Fountain Lion, who is a great party addition; Plandas, who do so much planning they never get anything done; the SobCat, who is rather morose; and the Bardvarks, uninspired poets. A very fun poetry collection which incorporates some rather excellent vocabulary.
Activity Tie-ins:
- Creative Writing: Have students write poems about their own new animals. They have to follow Prelustky's rules and only change one letter of a real animal's name by switching one letter, adding one letter or subtracting one letter.
- Brain Puzzles: Wake up your class with a little mental exercise. For classes of students who have not read this book yet, you could prompt the class by telling them the next original animal's name for the next spread (before showing it). Then have them try and guess how Prelutsky changed it for his poem. Ex. Tell them the next page used to be Bobcat and see if they can come up with SobCat. For younger kids, it may be a hard enough exercise to have them try and figure out what the original animal's name was (some of the animals may be unfamiliar to kids depending on where they live and how animal crazy they are). Ex. Have them try and figure out that SobCat came from Bobcat by changing the first B to an S.
- Recycling crafts: The artwork in the book was pretty much completely done with recycled materials. Give students a pile of "junk" and see what they can create with it.
- Vocabulary & Word Choice: Prelutsky manages to work in pretty hefty vocabulary into his poems that help the poems better say what he wanted to say and increase the word variety. For just a taster, he manages to use slovenly, aqueous, cavort, copious, cacophonic, and benign all in the poems in this book. Secondary teachers could use this to help students have a more memorable example of the usage of these words, or could use this as an example and ask students to use other tough vocabulary in their own poetry. It's also a great segue into talking about word choice in writing.
Follow Follow: a book of reverso poems by Marilyn Singer, ill. by Josée Masse
This is Marilyn Singer's second book of reverso poems. Her first is called Mirror Mirror. Never heard of a reverso poem? You're probably not alone. I'd never heard of them before I stumbled across Singer's books either. In reverso poetry you read the words down and you get one version of the tale. When the lines are read in the reverse order with only changes in punctuation and capitalization, you get a completely different spin on the story. Just like in Mirror Mirror, Follow Follow tells several fairy tales through the reverso poetry, like the Princess and the Pea, the Emperor’s New Clothes, Puss in Boots, and the Twelve Dancing Princesses to name a few. The Aladdin poem was one of my favorites in this bunch, but all of them are clever. Singer continues to astound me with her word smithing skills, these poems must take ages to come up with in both the complexity of construction and the way she is able to adequately summarize the tales in just a few lines. The animation-like illustrations are bright, colorful and perfect complements to the poems.
Activity Tie-ins:
- Fairy tales: A great book to include when you're covering fairy tales. It will give a unique spin on whatever story in both presentation style and point of view.
- Point of View: A great book to use when talking about point of view. Each poem includes two different perspectives of the same fairy tale.
- Poetry: If you're looking for poetry to read in a poetry unit, this is a must. Guaranteed to blow kids' minds.
- Gifted Students Challenge: Every class seems to have those students who always get done early or are super hard to challenge mentally. Next time they finish early or are bored during a creative writing assignment, have these students see if they can write a reverso poem to tell a tale of their choice from two view points.
- Writing Exercise: Writing an elaborate reverso poem like Ms Singer may be a bit hard for most students at first, but see if they can just write one sentence that can read backwards in a different light or two lines if they want more room.
- Math Connection: Reversos are basically palindromes with words. Math teachers can tie this book in with a study of those special numbers that read the same forwards or backwards.
Chapter Book Resources:
Instead of telling you about a book of poetry for older readers, let me tell you about a chapter book story told entirely through poetry. Such bookish beasts are called novels in verse and they seem to be a growing trend. Two of the three Newbery winners this year were written in verse. Perhaps what appeals most about them to our high-paced world is how quick they read. Most people can easily tear through these in just a few hours. I love many of the ones I've read, but I'm going to highlight my favorite and list some runners-up below.
The Surrender Tree: poems of Cuba's struggle for freedom by Margarita Engle
Through free verse poems from various points of view, Engle tells the tale of Cuba’s struggle for freedom from 1850-1899 by following the life of Rosa la Bayamesa and those around her. At the start, Rosa is a girl learning to be a healer. She is a slave who learns how to treat the illnesses and injuries of her fellow slaves. But she goes on to become a woman of legend, a healer who primarily aids those fighting for freedom. But above all a healer of any injured, regardless of their alignment.
This is a beautifully told tale of a part of history rarely explored in English literature and from a very unique perspective. Rosa is an inspiring historical woman who gave up a lot of comfort to help those in need. She is a woman pioneer in the medical field I had never heard of before, and she left a great legacy in how she cared for so many and without prejudice. You would think that a story that covers so many years in so few words would be lacking depth, but it is rich and full. I am not fluent in Spanish by any means, but those of you who are should appreciate that the story is available in both English and Spanish in the edition we have.
Activity Tie-ins:
- Poetry: Novels in verse are often written in free verse poetry, like this one is. So if you're looking for examples of free verse, this is one option. It also has Spanish poetry too.
- Spanish reading skills: With the support of the English version in the front, Spanish language learners can practice their reading and build their vocabulary.
- Reluctant Readers: Novels in verse are great picks for reluctant readers because they manage to tell the story in fewer words than normal. Average or slow readers can feel like they are reading super fast as they tear through pages sporting just a few lines.
- Busy Readers: Since novels in verse are such quick reads, they are also superb picks for those readers who think they are too busy to read a book in a reasonable amount of time.
- Cuban History: If you're studying Cuban history or Latin American history, this is a great insider perspective of the struggle for freedom that is fair to both sides.
- Women in History: If you're looking for books on women who made an important impact in history, this Rosa is one worth the study.
- History of Medicine: Rosa was the best thing these people had in terms of medical care, though looking at her skills now, they may seem pretty basic. This is a great book to use when studying the development of medical care and the role of herbalists in that timeline.
- Point of View/Voice: Engle tells Rosa's story and the story of the Cuban revolution from multiple points of view, both friends and enemies and even Rosa herself. Ask students to analyze how Engle gave each person a different voice and why she might have chose to tell the story in this way.
- Loving Your Enemies: Rosa's indiscriminate care of all the injured who came to her, regardless of which side they were on is a great example of a real person who loved her enemies with her actions. She could have easily refused care to anyone she didn't like, but she didn't. Have students discuss if they would do the same thing in Rosa's place and if current medical field practitioners in conflict zones should or should not do as she did.
A Time to Dance by Padma Venkatraman:Veda is a Bharatanatyam dancer on the rise in India, but just after a great dance competition win, she loses a leg in a car accident and then must rebuild her life. (Incidentally, this book has been a great example of the power of teachers talking books with each other and their students. It has been almost constantly checked out since it's arrival because of a train of recommendations. I recommended this book to teachers, one teacher raved about it in front of another teacher who then recommended it to a student who recommended it to a friend who also recommended it to a friend and so on. In all, it's been read and loved by about 6 different people in 2.5 months all because of book conversations.)
The Crossover by Kwame Alexander: This is the most recent Newbery Medal winner. Through a variety of poetry types, Alexander tells the tale of middle school basketball star Josh Bell as he maneuvers the ups and downs of changes on the court and at home.
Salt: a story of friendship in a time of war by Helen Frost: A boy from the Miami tribe and the son of a trader form an unlikely friendship, and the conflict between the Americans and the British puts that to the test as it sweeps into the area.
The Wild Book by Margarita Engle: Another of Engle's book set in historical Cuba, this one based on her grandmother who struggled with "word blindness" (now called dyslexia).
May B. by Caroline Starr Rose: May has to survive the winter on her own on a homestead in the West. (This one also features a protagonist who struggles with dyslexia.)
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech: A reluctant poetry writer falls in love with it over time. (There's also a sequel, Hate That Cat.)
Heartbeat by Sharon Creech: A girl who loves to run is figuring out who she is amongst the changes of life.
Witness by Karen Hesse: Step back in time to 1920s Vermont and see how the town reacts to the Klu Klux Klan moving in.
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse: Billie Jo and her family are trying to survive the Dust Bowl and Great Depression on their farm in Oklahoma.
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson: A multiple award winner in 2015, this is the author's autobiography of her childhood.
Carver, a life in poems by Marilyn Nelson: A biography of George Washington Carver told through poems.
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