Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Margaret at Reflections on the Teche for Roundup.
With the help of my really excellent library system, I've been catching up on poetry books released the first half of 2019. One that I'm completely enamored of is CLIMBING SHADOWS by Shannon Bramer, pictures by Cindy Derby, brought to us by Groundswood Books.
In this collection, the author wrote a poem for each child in a Kindergarten class -- which all by itself is such a lovely thing! The poems are as varied as the children who inspired them. And the art is delightful!
There are fun poems like “Skeleton Song” (you can imagine) and
“The
Envelope” which begins
“My mommy is an envelope
an antelope an artichoke
a fine porcupine”
In “Three Hearts and No Bones at All,”
“Octopuses dream of climbing trees. They want
to climb trees more than anything else
in the world.”
There are heartbreaking poems, like “afterschool,” which tells of a hard day and ends with “I want/to be a puddle.”
You'll find thoughtful poems, too, like “You Speak Violets” which begins...
"sometimes you are quiet as a
trillium yet your eyes speak,
the language of wild basil red
butterflies impatient"
My favorite might be “Eleanor's Poem”
which catalogs all the ways this poem is “just like Eleanor.” Like...
“This poem is tired of wearing a pink snowsuit,
just like Eleanor.”
I'm pretty sure my poems feel that way sometimes, too. :)
Wordplay, imagination, surprise emotion, child appeal... it's all here! Please do check it out!
Oh my, this does sound wonderful, Irene. I didn't write, but used to find poems for each of my students, searching for one that fit. I will look for this. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI'm sold! The idea for the book and the gems you've shared are precious. I'm kinda fascinated with meta-poetry...like in Eleanor's Poem. I really love the way a meta poem speaks.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm off to my library to find a copy. Thank you!
This is a special book, for sure, Irene. Even more so knowing how kind and generous Shannon is. It's filled with love... and such beautiful illustrations too! For anyone interested, I share a couple of the illustrations from this book here: https://michellehbarnes.blogspot.com/2019/04/classroom-connections-with-shannon.html
ReplyDeleteThe little taste of this book is delightful. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Irene for sharing this collection. I am so happy that my library has a copy and I will be able to read it soon.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a wonderful collection. Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteI love this book for what is in it and why it exists!
ReplyDeleteOh, this sounds wonderful. I came across the title somewhere else recently, and thought it looked like something to investigate. Your shared bits and pieces have convinced me of that! I especially love your excerpt from, "You Speak Violets." I'm off to see where I might find this beauty! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSounds delightful, and I enjoyed all the fantastical, dreamy passages you shared here Irene, and the art is lovely, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds like one that teachers would gravitate toward. Children will love to create their own thoughts from the poetry shared-prompts like, "My mommy is an...", "just like...", or metaphor work. Thanks, Irene.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like such a wonderful book!
ReplyDeleteLooks like another winner to add to my list. Thanks for sharing, Irene.
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