Poetry Review: DIRTY LAUNDRY PILE selected by Paul B. Janeczko

Janeczko, Paul B., selected by. 2001. Dirty Laundry Pile: Poems in Different Voices. Ill. by Melissa Sweet. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

What do a broom, a bacterium, a scarecrow, and a snowflake have in common? They are all given a voice in this collection of poems selected by respected poet and anthologist Paul Janeczko. Both well-known and lesser-known children's poets "let their imaginations fly" (from Janeczko's introduction) in humorous and engaging poetry that delves into what it's like to be an object, animal, or creature.

Says Patricia Hubbell's vacuum cleaner, "I swallow twigs. / I slurp dead bugs. / I suck the cat hair / from the rugs." Jane Yolen's grandfather bear lulls cubs to sleep, while Ronald Wallace's hippopotamus dreams of being a gazelle. Each of the poems exhibits just the right tone for its persona: a cat's aloofness, an old elm's sagacity, a bright crayon's exuberance.

Readers will enjoy the poets' clever use of perspective, language, and sound devices like Marilyn Singer’s catchy rhyme and rhythm in “Turtle in July”: “But I lie / Nose high / Cool pool / No fool / A turtle in July.” A few of the poets also play with form. Jacqueline Sweeney curves and loops her lines to mirror the movement of the soaring kite of her poem.

The friendly layout of the book gives each poem its own page, and Melissa Sweet’s eye-catching watercolor illustrations dance with the poems, interacting with each of them in a delightful, individually complementary way. Autumn leaves tumble down the side of a page. Red gloves in a variety of vignettes on a golden yellow background form a border framing the poem about them. A velvety-blue night sky spans its way across two pages, the only white space, the glint of stars.

Janeczko and Sweet have put together a charming collection of well-illustrated poems to tease the imagination.

Poetry Break: "Speech Class (for Joe)" by Jim Daniels

Introduction
This poem lends itself to a discussion on myriad topics of concern to young people: friendship, ridicule and bullying, change, empathy, role models, and being different. Be sure to mention that the poem is a serious one about feelings so that children will listen reverently. Sharing that this poem is a true story, that Jim Daniels (pictured below) had a speech impediment and went to speech class from kindergarten to eighth grade, will make it more meaningful for students.

Speech Class (for Joe)
by Jim Daniels

We were outcasts—
you with your stutters,
me with my slurring—
and that was plenty for a friendship.

When we left class to go to the therapist
we hoped they wouldn’t laugh—
took turns reminding the teacher:
“Me and Joe have to go to shpeesh clash now,”
or “M-m-me and J-Jim ha-have to go to
s-s-speech now.”

Mrs. Clark, therapist, was also god, friend, mother.
Once she took us to the zoo on a field trip:
“Aw, ya gonna go look at the monkeys?”
“Maybe they’ll teach you how to talk.”
We clenched teeth and went
and felt the sun and fed the animals
and we were a family of broken words.

For years we both tried so hard
and I finally learned
where to put my tongue and how to make the sounds
and graduated,

but the first time you left class without me
I felt that punch in the gut—
I felt like a deserter
and wanted you
to have my voice.

[from The Place My Words Are Looking For, poems selected by Paul Janeczko (Bradbury Press, 1990)]

Extension
The serious nature of this poem doesn't require fancy formal extension. The best extension is heartfelt discussion with students, allowing them to make connections and express their own concerns, experiences, and possible solutions to the negative aspects. You can guide students to think about the positives of the poem, too, and what real friendship means (the selflessness of the narrator's wanting to give Joe his voice), as well as how adults like teachers (the therapist, in the poem) can provide a steady rock for students to lean on. The fact that one of the boys in the poem "graduates" from speech class before the other may lead to talk about how sometimes there is change within friendships or to friendships, which is not necessarily a bad thing, or how people work at their own pace and that one person's earlier achievement of a goal doesn't make him or her better than another person.

Poetry Review: TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: CAMPING POEMS by Kristine O'Connell George

George, Kristine O'Connell. 2001. Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems. Ill. by Kate Kiesler. New York: Clarion Books.

Kristine O’Connell George gifts us with a collection of exquisite poems told from the perspective of a young girl on a camping trip with her family. Her imagery catches the very essence of the camping experience, from pitching the tent to pulling up stakes.

George is a genius at transforming simple language into something more, something so grand, the end effect is more sweeping than the simple sum of the words. In one poem, for example, she writes, “River words run / in scallops and scribbles, / scrolls of eddies / and watery ripples.” She arranges everyday words into extraordinary word-pictures.

Rain Shower

It was dry
under these trees,
until a confetti of birds
in the wet leaves
danced
another
rain shower.

Here, form strengthens the image of latent rain drops slipping off the leaves after a rain with dwindling lengths of lines. The single word lines, combined with the connotation of “dance,” evoke the less intense drip of the second “rain.”

Ms. George captures the vastness of the universe we feel when gazing at the depth of a star-filled night sky with the poem “Sleeping Outside,” the naiveté of children, whose imaginations spin a shimmer of fancy even around rusted out jalopies in “Old Truck,” the longing to stay just one more day in "Anchored," and the reluctance to give up memories of a special time in "Flannel."

Metaphors, such as “I’m a caterpillar/ in a cozy cloth cocoon/ that zips” (describing her sleeping bag) show readers the startling connection between ourselves and nature and give us a refreshing view of familiar objects. Alliteration, assonance, and subtle rhyme within lines appeal to the ears, enhancing the fond tone throughout the poems. Even the one poem about a "negative" aspect of camping, mosquitos, shows an odd fondness for the pest in the title, "Mosquito Song." Told from the mosquito's perspective (the only poem NOT in the girl's voice), "Mosquito Song" shows us an endearing little thing wanting nothing more than a bit of dinner.

The softened, almost-impressionist-style illustrations give a sense of wistful reminiscence and wonder, portraying how people look back on fond times, the edges blurred just as memories are blurred with time.

Both children and adults will find sweet marshmallows to toast on this camping trip!

Poetry Break: "The Little Blue Engine" by Shel Silverstein

Introduction
Tell the story (or read a version) of the Little Engine That Could. Then follow up with this version that ends differently. Focus on the refrain ("I think I can, I think I can , I think I can.") It plays up to the "unexpected" ending. The students will have fun joining in on the refrain, chanting "I think I can" together.

The Little Blue Engine
by Shel Silverstein

The little blue engine looked up at the hill.
His light was weak, his whistle was shrill.
He was tired and small, and the hill was tall,
And his face blushed red as he softly said,
"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."

So he started up with a chug and a strain,
And he puffed and pulled with might and main.
And slowly he climbed, a foot at a time,
And his engine coughed as he whispered soft,
"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can."

With a squeak and a creak and a toot and a sigh,
With an extra hope and an extra try,
He would not stop--now he neared the top--
And strong and proud he cried out loud,
"I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!"

He was almost there, when--CRASH! SMASH! BASH!
He slid down and mashed into engine hash
On the rocks below...which goes to show
If the track is tough and the hill is rough,
THINKING you can just ain't enough!

[from Where the Sidewalk Ends: 30th Anniversary Edition (2004, HarperCollins)]

Extension
Ask students which story they agree with. Do they believe anything is possible if a person wants it enough? Or do they believe there are some obstacles which just can't be overcome?

Focusing on refrain, challenge students to find other poems with refrains.

Poetry Review: BRAINJUICE: SCIENCE, FRESH-SQUEEZED by Carol Diggory Shields

Shields, Carol Diggory. 2003. Brainjuice: Science, Fresh Squeezed! Ill. by Richard Thompson. New York: Handprint Books.

Carol Diggory Shields opens her collection of poems with a letter to the elementary school science teacher who inspired her, in which she espouses, "No more 25-pound textbooks to lug to and from school! No more memorizing! No more charts and graphs!"

This collection of forty-one short poems takes a light but factual look at the often mind-boggling subject of science, including the fields of earth and space science, life science, chemistry, and physics. The brief format of the poems distills the main concepts, getting to the essence of each topic. Humor, rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, repetition, and other poetic devices make the information fun to discuss and easy to remember. A few of the poems parody familiar children's songs and rhymes. For example, Shields turns "Itsy Bitsy Spider" into a lesson about the water cycle: "Out came the sun, / Dried up all the rain, / Which drifted high as vapor, / Forming clouds again."

Green banners across the tops of the pages give suggestions for sharing the poem: "To be sung to the accompaniment of a battered acoustic guitar. Chords: G, C, and D," (for "Inside of Old Smokey," a poem about volcanoes); factoids: "One bee can fly around the world fueled by two tablespoons of honey"; and mnemonic devices: "The stages of cell mitosis: 'Purple Monsters Are Terrifying.' (Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase)." Richard Thompson's cartoon ink drawings display wry humor and add to the overall enjoyment. A title-index by section in the back gives an overview of the contents.

This book is great for both budding and reluctant scientists. It offers poems on a wide range of scienctific topics, and teachers and librarians will find it a valuable source of poems to introduce topics, extend them, or just provide a poetry break.

Poetry Break: "March" by Bobbi Katz

Introduction
Ask students to share what they know about the seasons and the things or activities they associate with each season, especially winter and spring. This poem lends itself to a multiple-voice reading, so ask for volunteers, if you choose. Divide the poem into parts for the readers. One option is Part 1: "March is...SNOW"; Part 2: "and March is....mitt"; Part 3: "two palms...bat"; Part 4: "and ten fingers...higher!" Make sure all students have their own copy of the poem to read.

March
by Bobbi Katz

March is
when a cheerleader
no longer 
      cartwheels
   inside your chest
 because the forecast is
"SNOW"
  and
March is
when your hands begin to dream:
one hand dreams
 about being a fist
   thumping
 into the soft leather cup
   of a baseball mitt;
two palms dream
about closing around a wooden bat;
and ten fingers dream
 about the pull of the wind
  as it catches a kite
   and carries it high in the sky
    and even higher! 

[from Once Around the Sun by Bobbi Katz. (Harcourt Children's Books, 2006 )]

Extension
Invite children to share their reactions to the poem and talk about the images springtime pursuits. Give them paper to draw other images they think of when they think of spring. Point out that this poem shows us what our body parts (hands) associate with spring and invite them to think about how our mouths, feet, skin, ears, noses, etc., might experience it. (Ex. Our mouths taste cold, sweet popsicles. Our noses smell freshly cut grass, newly blooming flowers, or the earthy smell of rain.)

Poetry Review: TRUE BELIEVER by Virginia Euwer Wolff

Wolff, Virginia Euwer. 2001. True Believer. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Fifteen-year-old LaVaughn is growing up, and in the process, she must deal with her crush on Jody, the boy who lives three floors below her; her mother's new dating situation; growing away from her friends; and working toward getting out of her squalid apartment and the housing projects.

A National Book Award winner and Michael L. Printz honor book, True Believer is the second book in Virginia Euwer Wolff's Make Lemonade trilogy about spunky urban teenager LaVaughn, whose story she tells in powerful first-person, free verse poetry. LaVaughn is a richly developed character: sensitive yet strong, bright yet confused. Amid concerns about sexuality, she and her friends Myrtle and Annie vow to save themselves for their "right husband / when he comes along." The life-long friends begin to grow apart, however, when Myrtle and Annie join the Cross Your Legs for Jesus club and LaVaughn does not: "And Cross Your Legs for Jesus seems like a good idea at first. / But it doesn't feel right / when I think about it."

Instead, LaVaughn decides to trust her own common sense and her plan to go to college, which drives her determination to stay away from the dream-killer of possible pregnancy or worse. She knows that college is her only hope of escaping the poverty and violence that define her current lifestyle. However, her focus is tested when Jody, a boy from her past, moves back into the projects. "He is suddenly beautiful," she says. He makes "my heart too loud for comfort / and my brain not so level either." Meanwhile, she's placed on a more rigorous academic track at school, which separates her even further from her friends, and her mother begins dating for the first time since LaVaughn's father's death when she was a baby.

Through LaVaughn's candid reflections, Wolff creates a strong sense of voice and shows us the innermost doubts and fears of adolescents, thoughts that most young people keep deeply hidden but that everyone has had. The art of her poetry is her ability to put words together in surprising and refreshing ways. My favorite phrases include "My throat was full of heartbeat," "In gym, Myrtle & Annie were so sideways to me, / their private looks detoured around me," and "my whole body went twang." With a subtle but clever substitution, Wolff highlights LaVaughn's isolation from her friends stylistically by always replacing the conjunction "and" with an ampersand when referring to Myrtle and Annie: "Me and Myrtle & Annie could say 1,000 examples." They become inextricably tied together by the ampersand, leaving LaVaughn disconnected from the friendship.

True Believer is a poignant coming-of-age verse novel with a hopeful message about succeeding despite the odds. Some sensitive subject matter makes this book most appropriate for high school and upper junior high/middle school grades.