Me I Am!, by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Christine Davenier, celebrates the individuality in every child.
Based on a single poem by Prelutsky, Me I Am! follows the exuberant personality of several children as they show their stuff--baseball stances, roller skating, bike riding, insect-studying, ballet dancing, and dressing up. The kids are gleeful as they pursue their passions in a chaotic, kinetic kid-like style.
Today's Poetry Friday is the first 8 lines of Prelutsky's poem, "Me I Am!"
I am the only ME I AM
who qualifies as me;
no ME I AM has been before,
and none will ever be.
No other ME I AM can feel
the feelings I've within;
no other ME I AM can fit
precisely in my skin.
Me I Am! is the perfect choice for a child who is feeling a little out of place. Best suited for children ages three to seven, Me I Am! encourages children to find the special within themselves. Christine Davenier's illustrations are simply wonderful--colorful, busy and full-of-life. Children will search for kindred spirits in these pictures. Davenier includes not only active, busy kids, but also the detritus of their lives. Books, frogs, flowers, items of clothing, and art supplies litter the pages, just as they do the lives of young children. Enjoy!
============================
Here's the early roundup.
Liz Garton Scanlon celebrates a big birthday in verse over at Liz in Ink. Happy Birthday, Liz!
HipWriterMama contributes her own "A Salute to Shel Silverstein" (in verse, of course).
This is Elaine's month! She's in full poetry activity with an original poem dedicated to Susan of Chicken Spaghetti, "Mainly Speaking" at Wild Rose Reader. Also at Wild Rose Reader, Elaine reviews Here's a Little Poem, by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters (ill. by Polly Dunbar). At Blue Rose Girls, Elaine contributes a Poetry Friday potpourri. Not to be missed!
Speaking of Susan at Chicken Spaghetti, Susan calls attention to Randall Jarrell's "Bat-Poet" this week.
Wendy at Blog from the Windowsill contributes a song from the musical The Frog Prince.
lectitans shares a selection from "The Mermaid," by Alfred Lloyd Tennyson.
Tricia contributes "From the Shore," by Carl Sandburg, over at The Miss Rumphius Effect."
Mary Lee celebrates Diane Siebert and Stephen T. Johnson's Tour America over at A Year of Reading.
MsMac enjoys spring break, beautiful weather, and Jean Little's "Today" at Check It Out.
Mrs. K shares "Homeless Bird," by Tagore, at Readathon. (This poem was the inspiration for Gloria Whelan's Homeless Bird.)
Charlotte contributes ee cummings' wonderful "maggie and milly and molly and may" over at Charlotte's Library.
Little Willow finds comfort with Emily Bronte's lovely "Love and Friendship" at Slayground.
Michele thinks about Time with the help of Horace, Milton, and Frost at Scholar's Blog.
Kelly Fineman prepares for a school visit with plum poetry. Wow! Plum looks like an awesome book--must find it.
Betsy continues to post the Collected Works of Susan Ramsey at A Fuse #8 Production. Thanks, Betsy and Susan!
Susan Taylor Brown shares Edna St. Vincent Millay's classic "My candle burns at both ends..." at Susan Writes.
Laura Salas reviews Tracy Vaughn Zimmer's Reaching for Sun at Wordy Girls.
Wordy Girls also share a collection of 15-words-or-less original poems. Check 'em out!
Barbara Johansen Newman is a cowboy fan and has just discovered cowboy poetry. She shares a ton of great resources on cowboy poetry and the poem "Hands," by Linda M. Hasselstrom. Thanks, Barbara.
And there's more:
Nancy relies on an old favorite, Robert Frost, at Journey Woman.
Emily shares "When I Grow Up," by William Wise (maybe the best name ever for a children's poet) at Whimsy Books.
Lisa at Passionately Curious talks about using poetry in the classroom and posts some recent favorites.
Sherry at Semicolon contributes some George Herbert on the occasion of Easter.
Twice Bloomed Wisteria thinks about Daylight Savings Time with a little help from Robert Louis Stevenson. We know where you're coming from, Wisteria, and welcome to Poetry Fridays!
Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast is in. This week Eisha is "grooving on her new nephew" with "Only Child," by D. Nurske.
Adrienne shares Karla Kuskin's "Green as a Bean" over at What Adrienne Thinks About That.
Snow contributes "Wild Nights! Wild Nights!," by Emily Dickinson, at Kiddie Lit. Snow is also, like Gregory K. and Elaine, posting a poem a month for National Poetry Month!
Speaking of Gregory K., today's poem at GottaBook is "A Single Wish."
Jennie from Biblio File shares "The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter," by Li Bo, as translated and adapted by Ezra Pound.
Becky at Farm School drops in with a little Edna St. Vincent Millay--"Song of a Second April."
Three more entries:
Miss Erin shares "Evening Star," by Edgar Allan Poe.
Monica Edinger has big plans for her lucky students involving "Jaberwocky" and a literary salon. Check it out at Educating Alice.
It's cloudscome's birthday too! Happy Birthday. She celebrates with Ogden Nash's "Always Marry an April Girl" at A Wrung Sponge. Great choice.
new posts in all blogs
By: Kelly Herold,
on 4/6/2007
Blog: Crossover (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Poetry Friday, Jack Prelutsky, book review, Picture Books, Poetry Friday roundup, Christine Davenier, Add a tag
By: Elaine Anderson,
on 1/3/2007
Blog: Fahrenheit 451: Banned Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: school, Jack Prelutsky, Rolling Harvey Down Hill, Nightmares, banned, The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight, Add a tag
His 35 plus books have been translated into several languages and have sold more than a million copies.
Prelutsky says that before becoming the Poet Laureate, he was the "Poet Laminate" as so many of his poems have been laminated and hung on the walls of schools.
He is proud that one of his books, The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight and Other Poems to Trouble Your Sleep, was banned by some school libraries. The UCLA College Library states that The Headless Horseman was challenged at the Victor Elementary School media center in Rochester, N.Y. in 1982 because it "was too frightening for young children to read."
According to The Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association, two other titles, Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep and Rolling Harvey Down Hill have also been challenged or banned.
Check out Reading Rockets for more information on this poet or to view videos and interviews.
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: Jack Prelutsky, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 26 - 27 of 27
By: Kelly Herold,
on 4/6/2007
Blog: Crossover (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Poetry Friday, Jack Prelutsky, book review, Picture Books, Poetry Friday roundup, Christine Davenier, Add a tag
15 Comments on Poetry Friday: Me I Am!, last added: 4/8/2007
Display Comments
Add a Comment
By: Elaine Anderson,
on 1/3/2007
Blog: Fahrenheit 451: Banned Books (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: school, Jack Prelutsky, Rolling Harvey Down Hill, Nightmares, banned, The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight, Add a tag
Recently author Jack Prelutsky was given the title of Children's Poet Laureate, the first ever named by the Chicago-based Poetry Foundation, according to the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
It's a title, complete with $25,000 cash prize and an inscribed medallion, he will hold for two years, a sort of blessed community service that compels him to give two major public readings and act as adviser, ambassador and pollinator of his art.
His 35 plus books have been translated into several languages and have sold more than a million copies.
Prelutsky says that before becoming the Poet Laureate, he was the "Poet Laminate" as so many of his poems have been laminated and hung on the walls of schools.
He is proud that one of his books, The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight and Other Poems to Trouble Your Sleep, was banned by some school libraries. The UCLA College Library states that The Headless Horseman was challenged at the Victor Elementary School media center in Rochester, N.Y. in 1982 because it "was too frightening for young children to read."
According to The Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association, two other titles, Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep and Rolling Harvey Down Hill have also been challenged or banned.
Check out Reading Rockets for more information on this poet or to view videos and interviews.
0 Comments on "Poet Laminate" as of
Add a Comment
I'm in! Thanks!
http://journey-woman.blogspot.com/2007/04/little-poetry-for-you-frost.html
I'm in. Thanks for rounding up!
http://whimsybooks.livejournal.com/36815.html
PLUM is gorgeous, both in text and in appearance (I do so love Mary GrandPré's work). I got it at Borders, but these days I believe you'd have to order it.
Here's what I said in a brief review post once upon a time:
Plum is a rich, luscious book of poems by British author Tony Mitton. It's a collection of 20 poems, which is not constrained by any single theme. Some of the poems, such as "Mrs. Bhattacharya's Chapati Zap Machine" and "Elegant Elephant Delicatessan", are quite long story poems spread over a number of pages with many illustrations. Others, like "Shore Music" or "Freak Cat-Flea" are short.
This is one of my very favorite poetry picture books ever. The poems are varied, rich, and complex, but readily grasped by children. Mitton uses a variety of poetic forms and vivid imagery to convey his ideas, whether the whimsical single-sentence poem "Flightpath", the sly temptation of "The Snake and the Apple," or the brooding hidden menace of "Green Man Lane." The wonderful illustrations by Mary Grand Pré, known widely for her cover art and illustrations in the United States' editions of the Harry Potter series, make this book a feast for the eyes.
I'm in! Thank you!http://passionatelycurious.typepad.com/passionately_curious/2007/04/poetry_window.html
I'm sold, Kelly!
7-Imp is in, with "Only Child" by D. Nurkse. Thanks for doing the round-up!
http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=574
Thanks, Kelly! I'm in:
http://www.watat.com/archives/2007/04/green_as_a_bean.html
Thanks for rounding up!
Biblio File is in with "The River Merchant's Wife: A Letter"
http://tushuguan.blogspot.com/2007/04/love-is-in-air.html
Before I fall off the blogging/Poetry Friday bandwagon completely, yikes!
Edna St. Vincent Millay on the month of April
Thanks, Kelly!
I just posted this in the last post's comments, but thought I'd do it here too in case you didn't see it...
http://misserinmarie.blogspot.com/2007/04/evening-star.html
Thanks for the round-up!
I did a lengthy post on Jabberwocky yesterday (http://medinger.wordpress.com/2007/04/06/jabberwocky-part-1/)
I am afraid I didn't figure out where the Poetry round up was until Saturday morning, so I am late... sorry!
It's my birthday too (Happy Birthday Liz!) and I posted my favorite Ogen Nash; Always Marry and April Girl.
Kelly, sorry you missed me yesterday. I posted early on about cowboy poetry along with an excerpt by a poem by Linda Hasselstrom at:
http://johansennewman.typepad.com/cats_and_jammers_studio/2007/04/poetry_fridaywa.html
Sorry about that, Barbara! I thought I had read your blog yesterday. Hmmm...Maybe my days are messed up!! In any case, fixing now....
Me I Am sounds like a delightful edition. I will look for it.