City I Love

*Image from abramsbooks.com

A. Bibliographic Data: Hopkins, Lee Bennett. City I Love. Illustrated by Marcellus Hall. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2009. ISBN 9780810983274

B. Critical Analysis: Plot Summary: This is a wonderful collection of poems about living in a big, busy, full-of-life city. Lee Bennett Hopkins brings the sounds, sights and people of the city to life with her creative writing while Marcellus Hall complements the poems with impeccable illustrations. Readers from the city and country alike will love taking a trip to their favorite city with the help of these poems. This would be a great addition to any poetry collection!

Appeal: Many of these poems use rhyming words which provide readers with easy reading and natural rhythm. Rhyming poetry seems to be familiar to most kids (though they may not realize it) thus making this book very appealing to students. Many students will also be able to relate to life in the city, making the subject equally appealing to readers. The language used in these poems can be clearly understood but can also be used to enrich readers’ own vocabulary and linguistic skills. Imaginations will run wild while reading this book, taking readers back to their own city or encouraging mental journeys to new cities they’ve never been to before!

Meaning: I would describe this poem as having concrete meaning. Though the poems in this story often have funny twists and fictional characters, there are deep roots that can be tied to actual city life. Many poems contain possible elements of an actual occurrence or experience. This will provide readers with a great foundation of knowledge that can be used to compare and contrast with their own lives and draw inferences about the future. Readers will be able to build upon the knowledge gained with these poems to form their own ideas about city life and how it would feel to live in a big city.

Rhythm and Sound: Each poem has its own unique pattern and meter. This is what makes reading a collection of poems so interesting! Readers will be kept guessing about how the next poem will sound and feel! Hopkins uses endless sound devices throughout his poetry including: rhyme, assonance, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and consonance.  Some examples would be: “If you do, cities will sing back to you”, “Subway’s whoosh-my summer breeze”, “balance on beams dangle on derricks glide on girders sway on concrete slabs”, “pouring roaring gushing rushing water”, and “a razzle-dazzle razzmatazz”.

Language: Hopkins also uses great figurative language to increase readers’ enjoyment in reading his poems. Personification is most often used-giving life to people, places and things. Readers will enjoy imagining cities singing songs and the sun wearing a sweatband on a particularly hot day. This rich language will bring smiles to readers and listeners alike, making them perfect for reading aloud to friends!

Imagery: Hopkins depends mostly on his ability to bring sights and sounds to readers. This figurative language will also benefit readers by establishing connections between their mind and text. As mentioned before, each poem has a definite rhythm and cadence. The rhyming is very natural and easily noticeable to even the youngest of readers. Again, this makes sharing the poems fun and engaging! The ideas presented in these poems are also done in fresh ways, making Hopkins stick out among poets for his incredible use of language.

Emotional Impact: The tones used in these poems are relatively light-hearted and good natured. Readers will chuckle, smile and most often finish the poems with a sense of happiness. Though there are more serious poems sprinkled here and there, the overall mood and feel of the book is one of pleasure. As mentioned before, there are many outlets for students to respond to these poems. Readers that live in a city themselves will have fun finding similarities between their home-life and the experiences described with these poems; while other students will have fun imagining how different their lives could be should they ever move to the city. These poems have the ability to move students, provoke emotion and would serve as great writing prompts.  

Layout and Organization: The poems seemed to be organized in a certain way. For instance, the two poems about Taxis and Subways are placed one after the other, while the two winter poems are also placed together. As mentioned before the illustrations serve as great complements to the poems and effectively enhance the readers overall enjoyment of the book. Line breaks, spacing and poem formatting are also highly effective and add to the fun of seeing these poems on the page. The length of the poems and book itself is acceptable and not too overwhelming. Most poems were written in the 1970’s and have been republished with this book. Though this may seem outdated, the poems themselves seem relevant still, forty years later.  

C. Example: Poem:                         “Mother’s Plea”

Silence Sirens.

Hush all horns.

Quiet rumbling

traffic roars.

Please

city

have

some

pity.

Promise me

not

one

more

beep?

My newborn

pigeons

need

their

sleep.

Introduction: I would introduce this poem with the ending twist in mind. When I first read it, I thought the Mother’s plea was going to be from a human mother…not a pigeon! With writing journals in hand, I would read aloud the first four stanzas of this poem (ending at “not one more bee?”). From there I would give student a few minutes to guess what kind of mother is making the plea and why. Were there any clues in the poem that made you think so? The students would then be asked to share their predictions. After all students have shared, I will finish the poem, solving the mystery once and for all!  

Ideas for Sharing: I would begin by sharing this poem using the modeling strategy. I would then pass out the poem so students could see the poem, appreciate the spacing and placement. I also like the idea of sharing the poem in groups- allowing group one to read the first two stanzas, groups one and two read the third- “Promise me.”, and group two to read the last three stanzas. This will be a fun way to get all students engaged while honoring the poem’s natural breaks and message.

Stitchin' and Pullin' A Gee's Bend Quilt

*Image from personal.psu.edu

A. Bibliographic Data: McKissack, Patricia C. Stitchin’ and Pullin’ A Gee’s Bend Quilt. Illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. New York: Random House,2008. ISBN 9780375831638

B. Critical Analysis: Plot Summary: This collection of poems illustrates the evolution of an African American community. Strong in their traditions and beliefs, the women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama turn to quilt-making to provide a consistent foundation for passing on histories, sharing stories, and expressing themselves. These poems explore the complex range of emotions that were felt during the time of Martin Luther King, segregation and the fight for justice familiar to so many. With beautiful pictures to complement the creativity of McKissack’s words- this book would be an asset to any poetry collection.  

Appeal: This poetry book has endless ways in which it would appeal to any given audience. For example, the interesting and engaging topic provides readers with insight and an opportunity to gain more knowledge. The language of the poem is readable while modeling different ways in which language can be used to further express a certain point or idea. And readers will be taken back in time with the help of their imaginations, creativity and emotions. Lastly, the topic is interesting and will automatically appeal to young readers learning about the civil rights movement.  

Meaning: I would describe the meaning of these poems to be far more concrete than abstract. As mentioned before, the poems are based on an actual community that can be easily located and visited. Gee’s Bend, Alabama has received publicity for their quilts and remains a popular place to visit when wishing to capture the importance of quilt-making and oral history. Though the poems tell a story, they’re deep roots in non-fiction provide a much more concrete meaning to readers.

Rhythm and Sound: The poems in this book do not rhyme but have a certain rhythm about them nonetheless. The poems are easy to read and flow nicely. Though each poem is titled and starts on their own page, there is a consistency throughout the book that makes reading these poems enjoyable and easy. The patterns of the poems change with each poem, as well as the meter. McKissack uses certain sound devices such as: repetition, onomatopoeias, and dialogue.  

Language: Similes, metaphors and personification fill the pages of this book. McKissack does a wonderful job of blending and comparing objects seamlessly, giving readers the perfect recipe for making connections to the text. An example of this moving language can be found in the poem titled Colors. “Red is loud and hard to control, like fire and a gossiping tongue” and “Lavender is sweet-smelling like a newborn baby”. The use of such strong language makes the poems fun to read while supporting the author’s clear message and purpose.

Imagery: McKissack depends mostly on her ability to create mental pictures in the minds of her readers. She pays close attention to detail and continuously describes people, places and actions with her diction and language. There is also emphasis placed on touch and smell, with little dependence on tasting and hearing.  

Emotional Impact: The overall tone and mood of this book is fitting to the subject matter. Though the civil rights movement and all that African Americans were forced to endure was a time of sadness and hurt, it can also be viewed as a survival story- one of hope and faith. McKissack manages to capture all of those emotions in her poems with her ability to switch from more light-hearted subjects to more serious ones effortlessly. By the end of the book readers are left with a sense of that hope and happiness for the people of Gee’s Bend. I strongly believe any reader at any age will have an emotional response to this piece!

Layout and Organization: I was unfamiliar with Patricia C. McKissack when I chose this book, as well as Cozbi A. Cabrera. Though both are very talented, I would venture to say they would be unfamiliar to most young readers. The poem selections are fairly recent, having been out for a little over three years. The length of the poems is not overwhelming at all and they are organized in a way that encourages consistency and fluency. Each poem has its own title and is mostly confined to less than one page in length. The entire book is also at a reasonable length. Background information is given at both the beginning and end of the book. The beginning introduction explains the people of Gee’s Bend while the ending author’s note provides readers with the author’s perspective and reasoning behind creating this work. Both are great additional reading possibilities.

C. Example: Poem:                               “Colors”

Grandma says,

Blue cools.

Red is loud and hard to control,

Like fire and a gossiping tongue.

Green oozes.

Orange laughs.

Pink smiles.

Yellow warms.

Black Protects.

White shifts its shades from soft and bright to dingy.

Purple is quiet.

Lavender is sweet-smelling like a newborn baby.

Brown is hardworking.

Grandma says,

“Colors show how you

Feel deep down inside.”

I feel yellow right now with a hint of orange.

Introduction: To introduce this poem I would have a warm up activity in which each student would have a crayon on their desk. The students would be asked to look carefully at their color, think about it, think about the different objects, people and places that are this color, what the color makes them think about etc. After 5 minutes of silent reflection I would then allow the students to jot down ideas about their colors in their journals. Finally I would ask students to describe how the color makes him/her feel. After students have finished writing they will be given the opportunity to share their work in small groups and eventually to the class (on a volunteer basis). I will then share this poem with the class and see if there were similarities or differences between McKissack’s revelations and the students’.

Ideas for Sharing: Initially I would share this poem to students aloud; afterwards I think this poem would be perfect for students to read aloud in small groups or as a whole group. With seventeen lines, it’s possible for each student to read one line. I envision students acting out the emotions the different colors portray as well as dressing in their colors to complement reading (if this poem is shared with parents or other faculty). I also think it would be meaningful for students to have a chance to share the way they feel based on the different colors discussed in this poem. From then on, class discussions could begin by asking, what color describes how you feel today?