Having Fun with Language Play in Books
A Book Review Column
Linda D. Labbo
Reviews Section Editor
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia, USA
Editor's Note: The 14 books reviewed in this column lend themselves to opportunities for children to play with, contemplate, and enjoy the sounds and images of language. Books reviewed include collections of contemporary and traditional poetry, traditional folk songs, chants, jump rope rhymes, and Spanish and English versions of poems. Many that offer simple rhymes or repeated patterns will appeal to children in the primary grades; older children and adolescents will respond to the imagery and emotions evoked by poems that deal with such issues as the death of a best friend, finding a first love, or making difficult choices. Where appropriate, suggestions for extension activities are also included with individual reviews. Adults who are interested in sharing their love of poetry with children and in helping them write their own poetry may wish to read about the teacher resource book How to Write Poetry by Paul B. Janeczko, reviewed in the professional materials section.
The books reviewed are as follows:
Where possible, links to publishers' websites are provided.
A Small Child's Book of Cozy Poems. Compiled and illustrated by Cyndy Szekeres. New York: Scholastic, 1999. ISBN 0-590-38364-7. 32 pages. Recommended for ages 3 to 6.
This small book is populated by illustrations of charming woodland creatures and filled with the words of some of the best writers of children's poetry. Margaret Wise Brown's poem about bunnies is complemented by gentle illustrations of bunnies that sleep, zoom, jump, run, and sit in the sun. Christopher Morale's four-line poem about a mouse is accompanied by an illustration of a smiling mouse with a butterfly resting on its head. Langston Hughes' celebration of an April shower is illustrated with three little mice who hold daisies for umbrellas. Feelings of warmth associated with the security of being at home are noted in poems by Jack Prelutsky and Jane Yolen. In the world created by Cyndy Szekers, father rabbits wear blue vests, mother mice drink dainty cups of tea, and baby field creatures are lovingly cared for. Adults who share this book with children may wish to point out similarities to illustrations by Beatrix Potter.
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Frog Went a-Courting: A Musical Play in Six Acts. Retold and illustrated by Dominic Catalano. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 1998. ISBN 1-56397-637-4. Unpaged. Recommended for ages 4 to 6.
Opening this book is like participating in the excitement of the first night of an operetta. The inside of the cover offers a synopsis and history of the story, and informs readers that this version is based on a 17th-century Scottish folksong. Details of the illustrated title page provide a peek into the dressing room of the main character. Alert readers will note that a hot pot of tea steeps beside a platter of muffins. Shrew, a well-dressed servant, polishes boots while Frog adjusts his cravat in an ornate mirror. The page listing the cast of characters reveals that Frog is a "dandy about town and a piper of pipes," Madam Moth loves parties, and Tomcat is a music critic. Act One begins with a vibrant pastel illustration of Frog, elegantly attired in a kilt and carrying his bagpipes while mounting a saddled goose. Shrew documents the moment by taking a photograph with a box camera on a tripod. Each act unfolds through a combination of splendid illustrations and verses of the song to reveal the courtship, wedding, and reception of Frog and Miss Mouse. Unusual perspectives, such as those that give a bird's eye view of Miss Mouse's elegant wedding gown, combine with charming details to make this book one that may be enjoyed time and time again. The final page presents a simple musical score and a reminder that the melody may be used for all of the verses. Teachers may choose to use the book to help children listen for rhyme patterns and meter.
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From the Bellybutton of the Moon and Other Summer Poems: Del Ombligo de la Luna y Otros Poemas de Verano. Written by Francisco X. Alarcoñ; illustrated by Maya Christina Gonazlez. San Francisco, CA: Children's Book Press, 1998. ISBN 0-89239-153-7. 32 pages. Recommended for ages 4 to 9.
The explanation for the title of this delightful collection of poetry can be found in this poem from the collection:
"Mexico"
says
my grandma
means: "from
the bellybutton
of the moon"
"don't forget
your origin
my son"
maybe
that's
why
whenever
I now say
"Mexico"
I feel
like touching
my bellybutton.
The provocative yet sensitive combination of poems and illustrations in this collection invites a responsive riot of senses and emotions. Spanish and English versions of the poems further invite the ear to join in the cadence of the language. Readers will relive the author's favorite memories of summer visits to his mother's childhood home in Mexico. They will delight in considering how Auntie Reginalda's breakfast eggs were little yellow suns on a plate, and how the cow, named Mariposa because of the butterfly shape on her face, actually stopped to smell flowers in a pasture. Children will also enjoy the symbolism of shape poetry related to air and water wheels. For example, the water cycle is presented in a circular illustration of waves, with no beginning or ending and including a flowing stream of words. Many of the shorter poems have an elegant haiku texture to them, as in "Sunflower / somewhat a flower / somehow a sun." Adults who are eager to find ways to extend children's enjoyment of the book may first point out similarities between Maya Christina Gonazlez's artistic style and that of Van Gogh. Children may wish to try their hand at a similar style of painting to accompany their own poetry.
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God Be in My Heart: Poems and Prayers for Children. Written, selected, and illustrated by Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 1999. ISBN 1-56397-646-3. Unpaged. Recommended for ages 4 to 8.
Adults who wish to foster an appreciation of everyday events from a spiritual perspective will be eager to share this book with young children. Knowlton's fabric collages create a soft, yet colorful, backdrop for a collection of simply written poems. Themes include enjoying nature, being thankful, playing, seeking forgiveness, celebrating birthdays, appreciating nighttime, and seeking peace -- as in the following example, written in the form of a prayer:
Dear Lord,
Tonight
I pray for peace with all my might
That kids across the word unite
and teach our parents not to fight.
This book is not for everyone, but it will appeal to parents and caregivers looking for ways to celebrate and investigate spirituality with children.
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I Scream, You Scream: A Feast of Food Rhymes. Written by Lillian Morrison; illustrated by Nancy Dunaway. Little Rock, AK: August House Publishers, 1997. ISBN 0-87483-495-3. 96 pages. Recommended for ages 4 to 8.
The contents page of this book dishes up eight food-related thematic collections of poetry, chants, jump-rope rhymes, street songs, puns, and tongue twisters. Educators will be interested to note that I Scream, You Scream was selected by the New York Public Library as one of the "100 Best Books for Children" in 1997. The simple pen-and-ink illustrations cleverly link humorous images to unusual rhymes. For example, it is easy to imagine how Dunaway illustrated the following rhyme about table manners:
Mabel, Mabel, strong and able,
Get your elbows off the table.
This is not a horse's stable.
Children may well be challenged in their attempts to repeat tongue twisters such as "Eat fresh fried fish free at the fish fry" and "Betty bit a bite of butter, but the bite of butter Betty bit was a bitter bite of butter." This is a book that begs to be read aloud by teachers and children during whole-group time, referred to during food-related thematic units, or placed on an accessible bookshelf for children to enjoy independently.
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Lemonade Sun and Other Summer Poems. Written by Rebecca Kai Dotlich; illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 1998. ISBN 1-56397-660-9. 31 pages. Recommended for ages 4 to 8.
The poems in this collection celebrate summertime experiences and provide a platform for many sensory-related responses to language play. Gilchrist's acrylic illustrations provoke recollections of sipping icy lemonade, wondering at a dragonfly's fragile wings, and jumping rope to the crisp cadence of a rhyme. Dramatic reenactments of dancing, leaping, skipping, grinning, wiggling, and giggling are sure to erupt spontaneously when children hear one of the poems celebrating the glories of the sun. Drinking a cup of sweet lemonade is sure to enhance reading of several poems that celebrate "its liquid sweetness.... Splashing sunshine on frosty squares of ice." What child could resist the joy of slowly blowing a shimmery, fragile bubble while listening to a poem that celebrates how each one can "waltz around the backyard lawn / A perfect pearl / Backyard bubbles taking flight"? This collection is sure to become a favorite for adults and children who wish to enjoy the happy feelings of summer all year round.
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Old Macdonald. Written and illustrated by Amy Schwartz. New York: Scholastic, 1999. ISBN 0-590-46189-3. Unpaged. Recommended for ages 3 to 6.
In this updated version of Old Macdonald Had a Farm, readers follow the farmer's activities from the crack of dawn to the end of the day. The first two pages provide a visual overview of the farm, complete with the farmhouse, pig pen, tractor shed, garden, barn, and other out-buildings. The farmer's family wakes him up while a rooster crows to the tune of the "Old Macdonald" song. As the farmer goes on his rounds, he and his young daughter encounter meowing cats, cheeping chicks, a put-putting tractor, woofing dogs, yakkity-yakking neighbors, and a variety of noisy, contented farm animals. Readers will be interested to note that Ms. Macdonald is the one who takes care of the horse while Mr. Macdonald holds the baby. The final page of the book, which is bordered by all the noise-makers on the farm, presents a simple musical score of the song. Amy Schwartz has been honored for illustrations by the New York Times and has had a title featured on Reading Rainbow. Here she accompanies the verses of the song with crisp, gouache paintings that evoke sunshine and are farm fresh. Young children may be inspired to add their own contemporary machines, such as a blender in the kitchen, an all-terrain vehicle in a field, or a fax machine in a home office to additional verses of the song.
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Snow, Snow: Winter Poems for Children. Written by Jane Yolen; photographs by Jason Stemple. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 1998. ISBN 1-56397-721-4. 32 pages. Recommended for ages 10 to 12.
Jane Yolen, a celebrated author of almost 200 books, begins this collection with a note that explains how her son's snow photographs inspired her to write these poems. Stemple has seen his photographs published in numerous magazines and textbooks. The photographs and poems in this book are guaranteed to help readers appreciate the many intricacies of snow as it appears in different locations and at different times of the winter season. The book begins with an invitation to enjoy a late autumn snowfall. Readers will easily be able to imagine the sound and feel of icy snow crystals and crispy leaves crunching underfoot. The book ends with a hint of spring through a simple photograph of tree branches that sprout tiny buds nestled under a thin layer of snow. Winter sports are also captured in photographs and thought-provoking poems such as the following:
Skier
He goes past
So fast,
He is just a blur.
Or a her.
In snow's cold blender,
Winter has no gender.
Yolen and Stemple's book offers the perfect springboard for a creative writing activity. After reading and discussing the collection, children could be inspired to write their own poems by being given a rich variety of thematically related photographs and ample time to explore the feelings they evoke. Photographs and poems could then be bound together in a class book.
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Tea Party Today: Poems to Sip and Savor. Written by Eileen Spinelli; illustrated by Karen Dugan. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 1998. ISBN 1-56397-637-4. Unpaged. Recommended for ages 4 to 6.
Just as teapots come in all shapes, colors, and sizes, so do Eileen Spinelli's poems in celebration of all the charms of teatime. Each is accompanied by one of Karen Dugan's vibrant, jewel-toned illustrations. Traditional English rhymes, replete with shy maidens and tea cakes, appear alongside contemporary poems about grouchy tea drinkers, seaside tea drinkers, and stormy-night tea drinkers. Children will be invited to hum, whistle, or clap hands to a poem about the sounds of preparing for a tea party: "Clank / Clink / Gurgles / Whips / Ticks / Stirs / Plunks / Pings / Kettle sings." Teatime tips, displayed at the end of each poem, may inspire various response activities. For example, after reading a poem about tea around the world, children are "tipped" to research tea from another country; brew up the recipe provided for Minty Tea; or consider which favorite book character they would invite to a tea party. Adults will enjoy the memories of childhood this books is apt to evoke. Spinelli, who has received a Christopher Award and a Magazine Merit Award for fiction from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, begins the book with a personal note about the very first tea set she received at the tender age of four.
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The Itsy Bitsy Spider. Written and Illustrated by Lorianne Siomades. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 1999. ISBN 1-56397-662-5. 32 pages. Recommended for ages 6 to 9.
This book offers a colorful, stimulating romp through one of the most recently published versions of the classic children's rhyme. Short phrases of the rhyme are printed in a large font that will allow children, especially in a small group setting, to follow along with the text as it is read. The cut paper, watercolor, and gouache illustrations present a pleasing palette of vibrant colors. The first pages orient children to the setting -- a lovely pink house, a gray waterspout, and a slightly overgrown green lawn. The jaunty spider wears clunky orange shoes, yellow socks, and a blue striped t-shirt. For his climb up the waterspout, he takes along an umbrella and a flashlight. His friend, the butterfly, offers assistance when the rain begins to tumble down the spout. In his final attempt to climb up, a wetter but wiser spider equips himself with a floating device. Repeated readings may inspire children to perform the well-known finger play and to chant along with the text.
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The Purchase of Small Secrets: Poems. Written by David L. Harrison; illustrated by Meryl Henderson. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 1998. ISBN 1-56397-054-6. 48 pages. Recommended for ages 7 to 10.
Thirty-eight poems and 32 pencil illustrations explore what it is like to grow up in a rural setting. Harrison, whose previous poetry collections include A Thousand Cousins, Somebody Catch My Homework, and The Boy Who Counted Stars, is able to paint just the right word picture to capture events and situations that occur in different everyday settings. However, many of these poems go beyond a particular location by addressing issues such as flirting with a girl for the first time ("Eloise blushed / and I feel fine!? / This calls for another wink / tomorrow"), fighting with a friend who calls you a cheater ("Yesterday / we fought for honor. / Today / we're paying the price"), or thinking about insects ("The mosquito is / sneaky / a smug vampire / who / bites first / then sings in your ear"). North American youngsters will especially enjoy reading aloud the poem for two voices that captures the rhythm of a baseball game. Others will be drawn to the shape poem that traces the spiraling flight of a pair of birds of prey. Regardless of whether readers have visited the countryside, this book will give them a revealing glimpse of rural life. Children may like to try their hand at writing poems that give insights into what it is like to grow up where they live.
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Under the Breadfruit Tree: Island Poems. Written by Monica Gunning; illustrated by Fabricio Vanden Broeck. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 1998. ISBN 1-56397-539-4. 48 pages. Recommended for ages 7 to 10.
From the opening of this book, which includes a glossary of terms, Gunning's purpose is clear: to invite readers to enjoy the richness of her cultural heritage and to meet the people from her childhood who influenced her life. Gunning uses her talent for poetry and her insight into her childhood experiences to create a collection that will strike emotional chords of humor, anger, appreciation, confusion, anticipation, shame, love, grief, and commitment in all readers. A balance of emotional tones unfolds across the pages of this book. For example, feelings of contentment and appreciation evoked by poems about activities shared with a best friend are balanced by feelings of grief evoked by poems dealing with the best friend's death. Broeck's detailed black-and-white scratchboard illustrations present an appropriately stark counterpoint to the collection of lyrical, wistful, and sometimes biting poems. This book provides a robust model for teachers and children who may be inspired to write and illustrate poems about people who are influencing their lives.
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Walking on the Boundaries of Change: Poems of Transition. Written by Sara Holbrook. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 1998. ISBN 1-56397-737-0. 64 pages. Recommended for ages 11 to 14.
This collection of original poetry deals with the transition from childhood to adulthood. Sara Holbrook, whose first attempts at poetry were intended for her daughters, has put together a patchwork of assorted experiences that are bound to appeal to any youngster facing the normal tensions associated with growing up. Each of the 53 poems is likely to help youngsters understand that many changes they are experiencing are normal and shared by others. Young readers may also find some comfort in poems that deal with tragedies beyond their control, such as drive-by shootings, guns in school, and bigotry. Poems about understanding relationships, unwanted pregnancy, teen runaways, and the notion of self-concept intermingle with explorations of lighter life events such as leaving telephone messages and experiencing insomnia. This collection, attractive to both boys and girls, is likely to provide opportunities for adolescents to discuss their own moments of transition as they walk on the boundaries of change in their own lives.
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Words with Wrinkled Knees: Animal Poems. Written by Barbara Juster Esbensen; illustrated by John Stadler. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills, 1998. ISBN 1-56397-682-X. Unpaged. Recommended for ages 6 and up.
Twenty-one poems, inspired by the sound and letters of animals' names, grace the pages of this delightful book. From the tiny mosquito to the enormous whale, this book spans the breadth and depth of the animal kingdom's relationship to humankind and to language. However, Esbensen's words and Stadler's black-and-gray illustrations also provide whimsical insights that give readers a unique perspective from which to view the lives of animals. Animals, insects, and birds of many kinds cavort across the pages in a tangle of letters and line drawings. A hummingbird is described as a "zigzag stitcher of sky to flower / hemming the edges of gardens / sewing the honey in"; a snake "loops around the pencil / slides among typewriter keys / slips like a silk shoelace away"; and, as for a bat, "All day it hangs upside-down in the card catalog under B / But at sundown by the hundreds leaves the gloomy pages of mystery books / Crawls out of damp bindings / And glides into the night air / Shaking itself free of the trailing old words / DRACULA / BLOOD / FANG." These are poems that need to be seen as well as heard. Adults who introduce this book to children will want to be sure to display it in a prominent place and make it accessible to be enjoyed again and again.
Reading Online, www.readingonline.org
Posted April 1999
© 1999-2000 International Reading Association, Inc. ISSN 1096-1232