Out of the Dust

Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust. Read by Marika Masburn. Listening Library, 2006.

Through the voice of a fifteen-year old, Karen Hesse relates the times and trials of living in the dust bowl during the Great Depression. Through short poems, Billie Jo relates her family's hardships of trying to raise wheat during this hard time. No rain, just dust, washes over the fields day after day. The family struggles for survival, all the while helping others when they can. Even after a tragedy strikes the family and begins to tear it apart, you feel for Billie Jo as you watch her pull herself through the trying times.

Hesse does a magnificent job creating the images of the dust, the wheat, and the family itself. Using concise language in this free-verse novel, she is able to make us feel the grit in our teeth, dust under our eyelids, and the desperate wish or rain. You can almost hear Billie Jo playing the piano in the background as she tells the story. Despite the hard times, the love and support of family can be seen throughout. This is a wonderful story to listen to and is performed beautifully by Ms. Masburn.

I would use this novel as a collaborative lesson on the dust bowl between a language arts class, Earth science class and a social studies class. The social studies class would first learn about the dust bowl in general, what happened, and how the government tried to help. After that, the Earth sciences class would learn about the ways farmers rotate crops in order to maintain soil and nutrient balance. Finally, the language arts class would read and/or listen to Out of the Dust. The book would be a look into the lives and feelings of the people during this time period and emphasis the concepts learned during the other two classes.

(I do not have an excerpt since I listened to this book on CD.)

Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems

George, Kristine O'Connell. Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems. ill. Kate Kiesler. Clarion, 2001. ISBN 0-618-04597-X

Kristine George's book brings the adventures of camping to those of us who live in cities or have allergies. (Ah-choo!) The free-verse novels in this book share the experiences of getting dressed in your sleeping back, sitting by the campfire, and enjoying the lake. The overall mood of the book is mellow and calm. While there is very little rhyme in the book, the poems have a sense of rythym and use figurative language to share the experiences of camping. The illustrations are beautiful and accompany the poems nicely. George expresses things in creative and unique ways such as feeling like a caterpiller in your sleeping back and how the moon is eavesdropping on our secrets. This book is a wonderful way to experience camping without getting itchy.

To share these poems, I would go to www.kristinegeorge.com. On her website, she has audio files of several of her poems. I would have the kids sit or lie down and close their eyes. We would listen to a poem and discuss the types of imagery each poem evokes for them. If time allows, I would ask if they have any camping stories, build forts, camp in the back yard, etc. One of the poems I would share is "Owl."

"Owl"

I hear you, Owl.
Your one lone vowel
drops like a stone
in night's dark pond,
an almost-echo
funnels round,
a hollow sound.
I hear you, Owl.
The wind rush
of your wings
shouldered and spread,
pleating the night,
the satin flap
of your feathered cape.
Owl? I hear you.
I'm awake, too.

Outside the Lines: Poetry at Play

Burg, Brad. Outside the Lines: Poetry at Play. ill. Rebecca Gibbon. Penguin Putnum Books, 2002. ISBN 0-399-23446-2

Who would have thought that poetry would make you want to jump up and run to the park?? Brad Burg's book of concrete poems about activities kids do when playing will make you want to swing, slide, throw frisbees and make sand castles. Some poems rhyme, some have meter, and all are fun to read. Let your eyes follow the path of the soccer ball, the "it" person in tag, or a firefly. The poems have a lot of alliteration, consonance and onomatopoeia that will hold kids' attentions. The mood of the poems are fun and really evoke the sense of playing and bring to mind all of the senses you use when playing, running, and swinging. For example, the poem(s) about playing baseball brings to mind memories of standing at shortstop, smelling the fresh grass and the dirt, and feeling the anticipation of the next hit coming your way. In addition to the fun of the poems themselves, the illustrations that accompany these concrete poems without taking away from the movement of the poems themselves. What a fun way to talk about fun activities!

If possible, to read these poems, I would take the class to the playground. I would have them do certain activities (such as take turns swinging, go down the slide, kick a soccerball) and then ask them what their words would look like if they were doing those activities. I would then have them sit while I sat on a swing and shared the poem about swinging. I would follow this with a short lesson on what a concrete poem is and ask the students to each pic their favorite activity then write a short concrete poem about that object.

"Swing"
*While reading this, imagine the words following your feet as you swing back and forth.

From way
back here
down
through
the
air
down
down
I rush
to
way
down
there,
then
up
again
up
up
I fly
to
where
my
feet
can
tough
the sky!

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You

Hoberman, Mary Ann. You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tales to Read Together. ill. Michael Emberly. Little Brown and Company, 2005. ISBN 0-316-14431-2

Mary Ann Hoberman takes a new look into Mother Goose Rhymes with her third read-together/aloud book. All of the poems in this book are meant to be read aloud and shared amongst a group. The poetry is color-coded and very clear. In addition, the rhyme, meter, and and meaning of the poems is clear and simple. The illustrations are all colorful and relevant to the poems. Hoberman reworks the traditional Mother Goose rhymes and makes them fun. Essentially, the poems are like looking into the lives and feelings of the characters during what we would see as the traditional part. She also delves into their lives after the traditional Mother Goose occurences. For example, Jack Sprat and his wife, after discussing how he eats no fat and she's huge, talk about how the doctor recommends they try new diets so she gets flatter and he gets rounder. Another example is how Old Mother Hubbard orders in food after discovering her cupboard is bare. This book is a fun way to give the 'old classics' a new twist for poetry readers young and old!

I can see myself using this book in several different ways. The first would be for the younger students such as Kindergarten and first grade. We would talk about the nursery rhymes in the traditional sense and recite a few of the favorites. Afterwards, I would introduce the poem in the book and we would read in a Round-Robin fashion. We would then compare their traditional rhymes with the rhymes in the book and discuss them.

The second way I would use this book would be in collaboration with an English lesson for older students 4-6th grades. The teacher, before coming to the library, will have taught a few basic poetry techniques such as aliteration, rhyme, and repetition. Then, as a class, we would read a few poems Round-Robin style or as the teacher and I doing the two voices. After each poem, we would see if the students could identify some of the literary techniques previously taught. Here is an excerpt of a poem that I would use to demonstrate literary techniques.

"Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater"

I am Peter.

I'm his wife.

I've liked pumpkins

All my life.

Pumpkins cooked

And pumpkins raw.

They were all I ever saw.

Pupkins raw

And pumpkins cooked,

Pumpkins

Everywhere I looked.

Pumpkins night

And pumpkins day,

...

Dinothesaurus

Florian, Douglas. Dinothesaurus. Simon and Schuster, 2009. ISBN978-1-4169-7978-4

Douglas Florian's Dinothesaurus is a colorful, fun way to learn about dinosaurs. Incorporating both facts and poetic meter and rhyme is a win for Florian. The poems are all short, rhythmic, and uncomplicated. Comparing dinosaurs to cranes and pondering the different ways these critters might use parts of their bodies and even wondering if there is an IguanoDONNA for the IguanoDON are the fun ways Florian present dinosaurs through the poetry. All the poems bring wonderful images of dinosaurs swinging clubs at the end of tails, slow-moving, and swimming through the pages of history and this book. The illustrations Florian includes in his book bring an intriguing visual design to the book. Overall, this book will appeal to all ages of both boys and girls.

In the library, I would use this book as an introduction to a unit on dinosaurs in a science class or before the class goes to a natural history museum. I would present the first poem in the book and choose a couple more based on the dinosaur skeletons that are available in the museum or that specifically address the curriculum of the dinosaur lesson. Here is the first poem, "The Age of Dinosaurs."

"The Age of Dinosaurs"

The dinosaurs

First lived outdoors

During the time Triassic.

While most died out,

Some came about

Later in the Jurassic.

Then they evolved,

As Earth revolved,

In times known as Cretaceous.

But now indoors

Great dinosaurs

Fill museum halls, spacious.

Yum! ¡Mmmm! ¡Qué Rico!

Mora, Pat. Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico!: American Sproutings. ill. Rafael Lopez. Lee & Low Books, 2007. ISBN 978-1-58430-271-1

Pat Mora's book of haiku brings food to life. The food about which she has written is all indigenous to the Americas. Each two-page spread has a haiku about a particular food and a short blurb about the food including where and how it is grown, how it's eaten, and even where the name came from. This is a wonderful way to learn about the different types of foods and how they fit into the cultural "stew" that makes this hemisphere so wonderful!

When I began reading this book, I kept thinking to myself, "Why are all these poems three lines??" If I had read the cover page a little more closely, I would have realized that they were all haiku! The poems themselves are quite simple and express a lot about a food in just those 17 syllables. I have to say that I find this a brave step for Mora. Haiku is one of the most disliked forms of poetry by both children and adults. It can be frustrating and complex to read. However, Mora's haiku create a great sense of imagery that is complimented by Lopez's artwork. They are simple, clean, unique, and evoke the senses we each have in connection with certain foods. Children will want to taste the prickly pear, feel the roly-poly tomato, and taste the leafy jungle of the papaya.

To introduce this book, I would begin by asking students which food(s) they would choose as their favorite. Perhaps have them draw a picture of it and choose some words about how that food makes you feel. I would then read them my favorite haiku (see below). Afterwards, I would do a mini-lesson on haiku: 5, 7, 5 syllables, simplistic words, etc. Then I would have them write their own haiku about their favorites.

"Chocolate"

Fudge, cake, pie, cookies.

Brown magic melts on your tongue.

Happy, your eyes dance.