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I honestly think the illustrations in this lovely poetry book span every single color of the rainbow! Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors is written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. A collection of poems of different seasons, each with it's own span of beautiful colors, it's really the perfect poetry book to kick off the warm seasons with!

There are poems about Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter and each poem includes descriptions of that season through color. In Winter we have "white whispers" and "black tree bones," in Fall there are yellow school buses and red apples, in Summer purple evenings and turquoise water, and in Spring pink baby birds and red birds.

Incredible description just fills these pages and the descriptions are often metaphors for something else. It will be fun for your children to see if they can guess what the author is writing about, simply listening to the poem and looking at the illustrations. A beautiful, sweet book, perfect for libraries!

To learn more or to purchase, click on the book cover above to link to Amazon.

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors
Joyce Sidman
32 pages
Poetry
Houghton Mifflin
9780547014944
April 2009

 

I attended an event called "Poetry on the Spot" at the Minnesota Reading Association's convention last Saturday. Featured guest Nikki Grimes (whose Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope is #1 on the NYT Bestsellers List) joined with five area (Minnesota-Wisconsin) poets: Joyce Sidman, Susan Marie Swanson, Lisa Westberg Peters, Sharon Chmielarz, and Rob Reid for a kinda-sorta-little-bit-likea-poetry-slam.


Sharon Chmielarz, Nikki Grimes, and Rob Reid




Susan Marie Swanson, Joyce Sidman, and Lisa Westberg Peters

The event was sponsored by the Children's Literature Network, and it worked like this: Nikki would read a poem, any poem, from any of her many published or unpublished works. Then it would go around the table, with each poet reading a poem of their own that in some way connected with Nikki's poem.

It was fun to see their minds scrambling as they sought and found connections between poems. Sometimes it was serious: "This poem also touches on the theme of goodbye or loss." Other times it was more tangential: "This poem also mentions a shoe!"

Some of my favorite poets were reading here, and in addition to enjoying their poetry, I learned a few tips about presenting poems in front of a large room! I've got to work on my own presentation style as I get ready to present and promote my book Stampede! next year, so I'm going to try to remember that:

While quiet, serious, or wry poems may work well in a smaller, coffeehouse-intimate setting, you have to really have presence to pull them off in front of a large room. I think each person in the audience has to be focused solely on you, and you have to have created a connection. For a scattered audience, like teachers tired after a long conference day, very funny or very dramatic (not quietly dramatic) poems work best.

Sometimes it works well to have a "poetry persona." You can tell Susan Marie does tons of school residencies and works with kids a lot. She has a "poem voice," a child's voice and inflection that isn't present in her regular speech but that comes out when she reads her kids' poems. It helps the audience connect the poem to kids, I think.

Update your poems! Rob Reid performed a fabulous rap (I'm going to have to find out exactly what it's called and where you can find it), and he said later that the original was decades old, but that he updates it periodically. It now contains a reference to Harry Potter and other more recent cultural touchstones.

Be dramatic. Nikki Grimes has a dramatic, confidence voice when she reads her work. She demands attention--and gets it.


My daughter Annabelle is also naturally dramatic. Here she is during open mic.

Speak up. Sometimes, in quieter, more serious poems, the poets let their voices drop to reflect the intimacy of the thoughts in the poem. But that just made it hard to hear.

Slow down. Listening to poems is hard work. The language is dense, and a lot is going on in just a few words. I really appreciated it when the poets spoke clearly and very slowly, giving my mind a chance to keep up.

OK, right now, I just have to work on being able to say my poems out loud without my voice shaking. Lisa Peters called me up for the open mic part, and I read one poem from Stampede! But the presentation was not good. But once I master the basics and get decent at reading in front of a crowd, I'm going to try to implement some of the things that worked beautifully during this Poetry on the Spot event. After the event, I got to chat with the poets (most of whom I already knew because they're local). That was fun to catch up and also to chat with Rob Reid, whom I didn't already know. And then later that evening, my husband and I went to dinner with Nikki Grimes. It was terrific to get to chat with her about her travels, her experiences with her Barack Obama book, and lots of other things. And I tried Indian food for the first time. (I know, I know. I'd NEVER eaten at an Indian restaurant. I don't like the flavor of curry, and I thought pretty much all Indian food had curry in it. Wrong.) The whole evening was delightful!

Me with Nikki Grimes

It’s time again to nominate your favorite books for the Cybils Award, the Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards. This year, awards will be given in nine categories including poetry, of course. Anyone can nominate books in these categories (one nomination per person per category). Nominated titles must be published between January 1st and October 15th of this year, and the books must be in English (or bilingual, where one of the languages is English).

To nominate titles, visit the Cybils blog between October 1st and 15th. A separate post is available for each category - simply nominate by commenting on those individual posts. If you are not sure which category to choose for a particular book, a questions thread is also be available. The Cybils were founded by Anne Boles Levy and Kelly Herold in 2006. This year's winners will be announced on February 14th, 2009.

Kelly Fineman reminds us: When deciding if something belongs in the poetry category, ask yourself "Is this a collection of poems?"
* A picture book that is written in rhyme belongs over in the picture book section, not here.
* Poetry collections for older kids and teens belong here as well.
* A novel written in free verse belongs with all the other novels for the appropriate age range.

I have been honored to participate in this process each year in the poetry category. Interestingly, poet Joyce Sidman has won the poetry award BOTH years for:
*Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
*This Is Just To Say; Poems Of Apology And Forgiveness (Hougton Mifflin, 2007)
Who will be next?

If you’re looking for poetry to nominate this year, I’ve been trying hard to compile a comprehensive list of this year’s poetry for young people (and review each title here—although I’m behind!) and will share my list-in-progress. Please let me know if you spot any poetry books that I’ve missed. (NOTE: My list is very inclusive and embraces verse novels and poetry-linked books that aren’t eligible in the poetry category, but are eligible in other categories. FYI)

Poetry for Young People 2008 (so far)

1. Adoff, Jaime. 2008. The Death of Jayson Porter. New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion.
2. Alarcón, Francisco X. 2008. Animals Poems of the Iguazú / Animalario del Iguazú. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
3. Ardelius, Gunnar. 2008. I Need You More Than I Love You and I Love You to Bits. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
4. Ashman, Linda. 2008. M is for Mischief. New York: Dutton.
5. Ashman, Linda. 2008. Stella, Unleashed. New York: Sterling.
6. Beck, Carolyn. Buttercup’s Lovely Day. Custer, WA: Orca Books.
7. Bryant, Jen. 2008. A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams. New York: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.
8. Bryant, Jen. 2008. Ringside 1925; Views From the Scopes Trial. New York: Knopf.
9. Cheng, Andrea. 2008. Where the Steps Were. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
10. Dickinson, Emily. 2008. My Letter to the World. Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault. New York: Kids Can Press.
11. Elliott, David. 2008. On the Farm. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
12. Engle, Margarita. 2008. The Surrender Tree. New York: Holt.
13. Fehler, Gene. 2008. Beanball. New York: Clarion.
14. Field, Eugene. 2008. Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. Illustrated by Giselle Potter. New York: Schwartz and Wade Books.
15. Frank, John. 2008. Keepers: Treasure-Hunt Poems. New York: Roaring Brook.
16. Frost, Helen. 2008. Diamond Willow. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
17. Gerber, Carole. 2008. Winter Trees. Ill. by Leslie Evans. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.
18. Ghigna, Charles. 2008. Score! 50 Poems to Motivate and Inspire. New York: Abrams.
19. Giovanni, Nikki. Coll. 2008. Hip Hop Speaks to Children. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
20. Greenberg, Jan. 2008. Side by Side: New Poems Inspired by Art from Around the World. New York: Abrams.
21. Greenfield, Eloise. 2008. Brothers and Sisters: Family Poems. New York: Amistad/HarperCollins.
22. Harley, Avis. 2008. The Monarch’s Progress: Poems with Wings. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
23. Harrison, David. L. 2008. Pirates. Ill. by Dan Burr. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
24. Herrick, Steven. 2008. Naked Bunyip Dancing. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
25. High, Linda Oatman. 2008. Planet Pregnancy. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
26. Holbrook, Sara and Wolf, Allan. 2008. More Than Friends; Poems from Him and Her. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
27. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2008. America at War. New York: McElderry.
28. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2008. Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees. New York: HarperCollins.
29. Iyengar, Malathi Michelle. 2008. Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press
30. Katz, Alan. 2008. Oops. New York: Margaret K. McElderry.
31. Larios, Julie. 2008. Imaginary Menagerie: A Book of Curious Creatures. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
32. Lawson, Jonarno. 2008. Black Stars in a White Night Sky. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
33. Lewis, J. Patrick, and Janeczko, Paul B. 2008. Birds on a Wire. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
34. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2008. The World’s Greatest: Poems. San Francisco: Chronicle.
35. LeZotte, Ann Clare. 2008. T4. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
36. Maddox, Marjories, 2008. A Crossing of Zebras: Animal Packs in Poetry. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
37. Michael, Pamela, Ed. 2008. River of Words. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed.
38. Mora, Pat. 2008. Join Hands! The Ways We Celebrate Life. Photographs by George Ancona. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.
39. Nelson, Marilyn. 2008. The Freedom Business. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
40. Nye, Naomi Shihab. 2008. Honeybee. New York: Greenwillow.
41. Prelutsky, Jack. 2008. Be Glad Your Nose is on Your Face and Other Poems. New York: Greenwillow.
42. Prelutsky, Jack. 2008. My Dog May Be a Genius. New York: Greenwillow.
43. Prelutsky, Jack. 2008. Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry; How to Write a Poem. New York: Greenwillow.
44. Reibstein, Mark. 2008. Wabi Sabi. Ill. by Ed Young. New York: Little, Brown.
45. Rovetch, Gerda. 2008. There Was a Man Who Loved a Rat; And Other Vile Little Poems. New York: Philomel.
46. Salas, Laura Purdie. 2008. Lettuce Introduce You: Poems About Foot (A+ Books). Minneapolis, MN: Capstone.
47. Sanderson, Ruth. 2008. Mother Goose and Friends. New York: Little, Brown.
48. Sierra, Judy. 2008. Beastly Rhymes to Read After Dark. Ill. by Brian Biggs. New York: Knopf.
49. Singer, Marilyn. 2008. First Food Fight This Fall. New York: Sterling.
50. Singer, Marilyn. 2008. Shoe Bop! New York: Dutton.
51. Smith, Hope Anita. 2008. Keeping the Night Watch. New York: Henry Holt.
52. Soto, Gary. 2008. Partly Cloudy; Poems of Love and Longing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
53. Wassenhove, Sue Van. 2008. The Seldom-Ever-Shady Glades. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
54. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2008. Becoming Billie Holiday. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
55. Wesiburd, Stefi. 2008. Barefoot: Poems for Naked Feet. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
56. Weston, Robert Paul. 2008. Zorgamazoo. New York: Razorbill/Penguin.
57. Winters, Kay. 2008. Colonial Voices, Hear Them Speak. New York: Dutton.
58. Wong, Janet. 2008. Minn and Jake's Almost Terrible Summer. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
59. Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn. 2008. 42 Miles. New York: Clarion.
60. Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn. 2008. Steady Hands: Poems About Work. New York: Clarion.

For more this Poetry Friday, go to Two Writing Teachers.

Picture credit: http://dadtalk.typepad.com/cybils/

Sara Lewis Holmes gives us a “sneak preview” of the DC Kidlit Book Club discussion this month at her blog Read Write Believe. The book the club has selected for discussion is the Cybils award winning poetry title This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness, which was written by Joyce Sidman. (Sara served on the Poetry judging panel.) Sara says: “You can participate virtually in the comments anytime, or if you live near DC, we'd love to have you join us this Sunday.

You can read Sara’s post about the discussion and a take a “sneak peek” at some of the discussion questions here.

This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness

by Joyce Sidman

More about This Is Just to Say, Joyce Sidman, & Poems of Apology

JOYCE SIDMAN

I think it's safe to assume that many kidlit bloggers are already familiar with the name of children’s poet Joyce Sidman. Sidman was the winner of the 2006 and the 2007 Cybils Awards for Poetry. Her Cybils are just two on a long list of awards and prizes that Joyce has won for the seven poetry books she has published since 2000. Other acknowledgements—and this is just a small sampling— include a Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, the Claudia Lewis Poetry Award, a Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book, the ASPCA Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award, and a Bank Street Best Book of the Year.

Sidman’s poetry books are worthy of high praise indeed. She is a master poet like J. Patrick Lewis and Janet Wong, two other children's poets I interviewed for Wild Rose Reader earlier this month. In addition to being a writer, Sidman is also a lover of nature…a poet who believes in connecting much of what she writes about to the “physical world.”

Rather than write a lengthy introduction to my interview with Joyce Sidman, you can read about her and her books in posts that I wrote for the Blue Rose Girls blog in 2006 and 2007.

Poetry Friday: Joyce Sidman, Part I
Poetry Saturday: Joyce Sidman, Part II
Poetry Friday: This Is Just to Say

INTERVIEW WITH JOYCE SIDMAN

Elaine: You have said that you began writing when you were young—that you felt “compelled” to write. When did you decide that you wanted to have a career as a children’s poet?

Joyce: I began writing for children after my own children were born, but experimented with lots of genres at first. I’d been a poet for adults, and a friend suggested I try poetry for children. It immediately felt “right.” It only grew into a career when I began to experience some success!

Elaine: Do you keep a notebook in which you jot down ideas for poems?

Joyce: I only keep notebooks when I’m traveling. Usually what I have littering my desk are pieces of paper with notes scribbled on them. Or, when I have a coherent thought, theme, or idea, I’ll type it right into the computer. Writing on the computer really helps me organize my thoughts. My handwriting is atrocious and I can type faster (even though my typing is really atrocious, too!). I do a lot of planning, thinking, and organizing in my head, though, because once an idea hits paper, it changes somehow, takes on a life of its own, loses a little of its promise. The words can sometimes take over and head the idea in the wrong direction . . . this doesn’t really make sense, I know, but to me, ideas are the future—what COULD happen—and words are solid, immutable, alive. Once you “birth” them, you never know where they’ll take you. It’s not always the direction you want to go.

Joyce: Yes, those two books and many others I’ve written took a lot of research, but I loved it. One problem writers have is how to be productive when we’re not writing well—because of course you can’t make magic every day. Research is so fun and enriching and gives you something to do in those horrible blank spaces. Plus, it’s like a treasure hunt—tracking down what you need. These days, with the Internet, the chase is thrilling because you have the whole world at your fingertips.

Elaine: You say that nature inspires you. You seem to have a real passion for learning about the “physical world.” Have you had this interest in plants, animals, and the natural environment since you were a little girl?

Joyce: My sisters and I spent much of our free time outdoors and went to a summer camp that had unheated, unelectrified wooden cabins. Although my younger sister was the real animal nut (lizards & snakes in the bedroom), I felt a deep affinity for the natural world and its beauty; it filled me with peace, even as a child. Cities make me nervous, and I always gravitate toward green space. My interest in natural science, though, has grown steadily in the last decade or so. Now my favorite part of the New York Times is not the Book Review, but the Science section!

Elaine: You told me before that your most recent book, This Is Just to Say, came out of your work as a writer-in-residence—that it came pouring out of you in a way that other books haven’t. How long does it usually take for you to write a collection of poems? What is the process like?

Joyce: Well, it’s different for every book, but generally I start with an idea, or an image, or an emotion. I have a book coming out next year called Red Sings from Treetops—it’s about color in nature. This book started with the deep thrill that color gives me: a flaming red maple or the soft green of new buds. But an emotion or image is not enough—I have to figure out a “voice” for the book: a way to write it so that it captures that original emotion. I played around with all sorts of color poems, touching on this idea or that, and then retreating when it didn’t feel right. This happened over the course of a year. Finally one spring I looked down at some tracks in the mud, and a line came into my head: “Look down—brown. Deer were here, and a dainty raccoon.” That line isn’t even in the book anymore, but I knew that I’d found a way in, a way of talking about color as though it were alive. After that, the book took about three months to write and another few months of tinkering. I have to go slowly. If I force it, it’s just bad poetry. And I have to give it time to rest so I can look at it with fresh eyes and see if it still works.

Elaine: I’d like to ask you a question that a second grade student asked me more than a dozen years ago: How come you know so much about poetry?

Joyce: What a great question! How did YOU answer it? And who says we know so much, anyway? Poetry is ultimately mysterious. The thing I love most about it is that I don’t understand it—can’t say for sure what makes one poem more powerful than another, or even WHY a poem is powerful. Ten year olds can write poems that are as breath taking as fifty year olds. The playing field is completely level. That’s why I love to go into classrooms: I feel as if I’m walking into a room of potential colleagues.

None of us knows everything about poetry. You can analyze it to death and still not know. And then a child—who has never written a poem—can come up with a line like “Fear feels like a spider web in my heart.”

Elaine: Do you think that you’ll ever attempt writing a picture book or a nonfiction book for children?

Joyce: Oh, I’ve written many picture books. They’re not very good. I have trouble with plot! I’ve also written novels and one nonfiction book. I would love to get one of them in good enough shape to publish. Some day!

Elaine: Would you like to tell us about any new poetry projects that you’re working on?

Joyce: I mentioned the color book. Also in production are a book called Ubiquitous about survivor organisms, and a book in the Water Boatman/Butterfly Eyes vein about the woods at night. And I’m playing around with some other poetry projects, nothing that has entirely coalesced. I hate the in-between periods, when I’m not settled on anything; they make me extremely nervous. What if I never have a good idea again?? Every writer would like to move smoothly from one project to the next, but that doesn’t always happen. And my husband will tell you that I get very whiney during those fallow periods!

Invitation to Write a Poem

Joyce and I would like to invite readers of this interview to write their own poems of apology as Joyce did for her book This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Do you think you need some inspiration? You can read my review of This Is Just to Say here. It includes excerpts from some of the poems in the book. I also recommend reading the funny and touching poems of apology Jone’s students wrote. You’ll find the poems in this post at her blog, Check It Out.

And here, with Joyce’s permission, is a poem from This Is Just to Say:

Brownies--Oops!
By Joyce Sidman

I smelled them from my room:
a wafting wave of chocolate-ness.

I listened for movement,
ears pricked like a bat’s.

I crept down, stepped
over the sleeping dog.

I felt the cold linoleum
on my bare toes.

I saw the warm, thick
brick of brownies.

I slashed a huge chunk
right out of the middle.

The gooey hunks of chocolate
winked at me as I gobbled them.

Afterward, the pan gaped
like an accusing eye.

My head said, Oops!
but my stomach said, Heavenly.

by Maria


Last year, I was inspired to write a poem of apology and a response poem after reading Joyce’s book. Here are my two poems:

This Is Just to Say: A Poem to My Daughter

I have eaten
the chocolate bunny
I bought you
for Easter

a big-eared, brown hunk
of deliciouness
you probably saw
hidden
in the closet
and were expecting
to unwrap and savor
on a flower-filled Sunday

Forgive me
it was bittersweet
and creamy
and melted in my mouth
like snow
on the first warm day
of Spring.


A Daughter’s Response to Her Chockaholic Mother

Mom! How could you???
You know
I love chocolate, too!

You’re an adult
and should have better control
of your candy cravings.
Set an example
for your only child
who also has
a significant sweet tooth.

Next year,
open your wallet a little wider
and buy two bittersweet bunnies
so we can rhapsodize
in a duet
of ooohhhs and uuummmms
and indulge
in our chocolate Easter dreams
together


NOTE: If you write a poem of apology and post it at your own blog, please send me the link. If you’d like me to post your poem at Wild Rose Reader, type it in the comment section or send it to me via email.

ANOTHER NOTE: I would like to express my appreciation to Joyce Sidman for this in-depth interview about her "writing life," for writing wonderful books that connect poetry to the "physical world," and for granting me permission to post a poem from her book This Is Just to Say.

******************************

At Blue Rose Girls, I have the poem Ars Poetica by Archibald MacLeish.

The Poetry Friday Roundup is at The Well-Read Child.

Congratulations to Joyce Sidman who has won the Cybils award for poetry for young people, for This Is Just To Say; Poems Of Apology And Forgiveness (Hougton Mifflin). It is a collection of poems of apology and forgiveness in the voices of a classroom of children. (I wrote about it earlier since I chose it as one of the best of 2007: It’s funny, poignant, and true, with Sidman’s trademark gift for the craft of poetry in an amazing variety of poetic forms.) It is also an honor book for this year’s Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for Children’s Poetry. Sidman won the Hopkins award two years ago for Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems (Houghton Mifflin). Sidman also won last year’s first ever Cybils Bloggers’ prize for children’s poetry for Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow (Houghton Mifflin) which was also one of my picks for the best of 2006. She is piling up the prizes fast!

FYI: The Cybils, a loose acronym for Children's and YA Bloggers' Literary Awards, began with nominations open to absolutely anyone. Then five nominating committee members (including yours truly) read the nominated books (with different committees in ten categories, from poetry to fiction to nonfiction to graphic novels). This is the second year of the administration of the award.

Sidman is one of my favorites, so I’ve posted about her work often—about her wonderful dog poetry [The World According to Dog: Poems and Teen Voices (Houghton Mifflin, 2003) and Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry (Houghton Mifflin, 2006)], about her reading at the ALSC Poetry Jam in June (in DC) and the NCTE Poetry Blast in November (in New York), and about her downloadable bookmark book poem, “This Book," for National Children’s Book Week.

Here’s a brief excerpt about her from my own resource book on children’s poets, Poetry People:
“Joyce Sidman was born on born June 4, 1956, in Hartford, Connecticut. She is the middle sister of three, and spent summers at camp in Maine. From an early age, she felt motivated to write, and started writing as far back as elementary school. She discovered poetry in high school, encouraged by a sympathetic teacher. She earned her bachelor’s degree in German from Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and a teaching certificate at Macalester College in Minnesota. Joyce lives in Wayzata, Minnesota, with her husband and two sons, near the edge of a large woodland. When she isn't writing, she enjoys teaching via week-long poetry-writing residences in the schools. Her hobbies include gardening, identifying birds, insects and frogs, and reading and baking cookies."

This year’s prize winner, This is to Say, is a gem for reading aloud with multiple voices, much like this year’s Newbery winner (Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!)-- only set in a modern classroom “village.” Here is just a taste:

to Anthony
Some Reasons Why

Why must we work so hard,
and always be the best?

Parents say:
hard work builds character.
I say:
too much hard work means no laughter.

Parents say:
only the best get ahead.
I say:
everyone’s good at something.

Parents say:
daydreaming is just an excuse for laziness.
I say:
they just never learned how to write a poem.

by Tenzin
(writing for Anthony’s mother, who said he was being ridiculous)

Follow up with more poem collections about kids in classrooms like:
Cheng, Andrea. 2008. Where the Steps Were. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
Frost, Helen. 2004. Spinning Through the Universe. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
Paraskevas, Betty. 1995. Gracie Graves and the Kids from Room 402. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.
Singer, Marilyn. 1996. All We Needed to Say: Poems about School from Tanya and Sophie. New York: Atheneum.

And for YA:
Alexander, Elizabeth and Nelson, Marilyn. 2007. Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color. Wordsong.
Glenn, Mel. 1982. Class Dismissed! High School Poems. New York: Clarion Books.
___. 1997. The Taking of Room 114: A Hostage Drama in Poems. New York: Lodestar Books/Dutton.
___. 1996. Who Killed Mr. Chippendale? New York: Lodestar Books/Dutton.
Grimes, Nikki. 2002. Bronx Masquerade. New York: Dial Books.
Koertge, Ron. 2001. The Brimstone Journals. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.

Catch the rest of the Poetry Friday round up at Big A, little a.

Picture credit: barnesandnoble.com

The Cybils have been announced, and This Is Just to Say, by Joyce Sidman, won for poetry. Yea! This is one of my top two favorite poetry books of 2007 (and now both have won major awards, hint, hint). It was fun being on the nominating committee for the Cybils, and I'm so pleased that this book won the top honor!



This book is phenomenal. If you haven't read it yet, order it from a bookseller and prepare yourself for a real treat. You can read reviews of the book here.

Congratulations, Joyce! And to all the other winners and finalists, too!

I feel like I've posted so much about my own writing, my own poetry, me, me, me lately. I appreciate all the enthusiastic, supportive response from y'all, and today, I thought I'd give you a break and post about other people, for a change! 

I wanted to share three of my favorite poets and their websites: Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Joyce Sidman, and Tracie Vaughn Zimmer.

Rebecca Kai Dotlich has been one of my favorite poets for years. Her poetry knocks my socks off! I love the way she uses concrete nouns and verbs to create a world so vivid you feel like the poem is real, instead of your life.

Here's just one of the many, many poems of hers I love.

Backyard Bubbles

One bubble
shimmies
from the wand
to waltz around
the backyard lawn.
One fragile globe
of soapy skin--
a glimering
of breath within
a perfect pearl,
I blow again!
One more bubble 
squeezes through,
one blushing bead
of water-blue;
and then 
another
rinsed in pink
(shivering
with pastel ink)
dances on 
a summer sigh,
shimmering 
with shades of sky,
s-l-o-w-l-y slides
right out of sight;
backyard bubbles
taking flight.

---Rebecca Kai Dotlich, all rights reserved

Isn't that lovely? "Shivering with pastel ink..." Love that! Anyway, Rebecca's gorgeous website is full of treats to discover. Read about her and Lee Bennett Hopkins going to Radio City Music Hall, find out What's New with her, and check out her Tips for Young Poets. And, of course, explore her books.

Like Rebecca herself, her site is full of joy and enthusiasm. It's a pleasure to spend time with.

Joyce Sidman writes poetry I wish I had written. When I read This Is Just to Say, I actually had smiles and tears on my face at the same time. Her ability to weave content into poetry also amazes me. Song of the Water Boatman is another of my favorite collections.

Joyce works extensively in the schools, and her site reflects that. She has a Writer Pep Talk, Poem Starters, and much more. She also posts poems by kids, which are fun to read.

Here's just one poem from the wonderful This Is Just to Say:

to my brother, Lamar

Secret Message

Where would you hide a secret message?
Under a pillow? In a pocket?
Between two slices of bread?
Where would you hide a message
that wants to be found?

Maybe it shouldn't be found.
Maybe writing it
    is most important.
What happens after
   doesn't matter.

Well, big brother,
here's my secret message:
I'm sorry I'm such a "weird kid."
I'm sorry I embarrass you.

I am hiding it here, under the seat in your car.
I wonder if you will
ever find it.

by DaRon

---by Joyce Sidman

I won't put DaRon's reply poem here. You'll have to get the book and read it for yourself!


Tracie Vaughn Zimmer has a website every poet should visit! Besides learning all about Tracie and her wonderful books, you can visit The Poetry House, featuring interviews with many poets, poetry quotations, etc. It's a treasure chest full of poetic gems.

Another part of Tracie's site that I enjoy is the Teacher Guides section. These guides for poetry books as well as picture books, novels, etc., are filled with activities for teachers to use to extend literature in their classroom. I find them fascinating to look at. I don't write poetry with a teaching guide in mind, but I do find myself saying, "Hmmm...teachers could do this project with this poem--fun!"

And, of course, you can read all about Tracie's lovely book, Reaching for Sun, which just won the Schneider Family Award--yea! Click here and you can also read a Q&A Tracie did with me when I was part of Wordy Girls, as well as my review post of this wonderful novel in verse.

So, if you're looking for a little inspiration, or you want to get tips from some master poets, check out these sites. Have fun!





 

During the month of April, Tricia at The Miss Rumphius Effect posted some blog articles about children exploring the natural world—and how, all too often, children seem to have much less of a connection to the world of nature around them. Our children today often spend many of their hours outside of school—inside. Yes, they are inside watching television or playing video games instead of playing with friends outdoors and climbing trees, picking wildflowers, watching ants crawling in and out of anthills, investigating the life in a pond, and stopping to listen to the different sounds of summer like cicadas stinging the still air.

From the Miss Rumphius Effect

Break a Leg-Climb More Trees!

Exploring the Natural World-Part 1

Exploring the Natural World-Part 2

Exploring the Natural World-Part 3



As I was exploring the website of Joyce Sidman, one of our best writers of nature poetry for children, I came upon Touching the World: The Importance of Teaching Poetry, a wonderful article she wrote and has reprinted from the Spring 2002 issue of Riverbank Review. She touches on some of the same things Tricia does in her blogs. I have an excerpt of the Joyce Sidman’s article below.

I

I face a roomful of fifth or sixth graders on the first day of a week-long poetry residency armed with three things: an activated imagination, a handful of poems, and a random object from the classroom, like a stapler or a roll of tape. My goal is to lead these students into the mind-set of Muhammed al-Ghuzzi's poem, "The Pen":

Take a pen in your uncertain fingers.
Trust, and be assured
That the whole world is a sky-blue butterfly
And words are the nets to capture it.

We will get there by using the tools of close observation, sensory detail, and metaphor. Younger children live and breathe metaphor; it comes to them as naturally as speaking. Older children often must be reminded, so I read them Valerie Worth, who looks at earthworms and sees

New rubies
Dug out of
Deepest earth

and describes a beetle that

Keeps
Its precious
Innards
Packed in
A laquered
Coffer of
Curious
Compartments.

Why read them poems about worms and beetles? Because the physical world--and the profound lessons that direct contact with that world offers--have, sadly, receded into the background of their lives. Kids today don't get out much, either at school or in their leisure time. They may frequent the playground as young children, but after a certain age--roughly seven--they begin to conceptualize the world in their play, approach it through the virtual avenues of television, video games, and the Internet. If they want to find out about oak trees, they cruise the Web. If they want to play a game, they hit homers with a game pad, or build roller coasters with a mouse. More often than not, the dominant images they view every day are created by other minds, other imaginations--with sometimes dubious motives.

There are times when I want to leave the classroom behind, to haul my students--and myself--outside, just to feel the sunshine and smell the wind. To collect things that we usually take for granted or barely see: blades of grass, each with its own perfect symmetry and delicate tip, feathers from unknown birds, flowers from weeds, even dollops of mud. I want us to lie on our backs and notice how clouds fold together and curl apart, how the branches of trees are echoed in their leaves, how ants meet and kiss, exchanging mysterious information before continuing in opposite directions.

To fully engage myself and my students with the physical world, I turn to poetry: the reading of it, and, more importantly, the writing of it. Poetry, with its focus on the particular, can help restore rusty powers of observation, reawaken dulled senses, rekindle a latent sense of wonder. While it is not always possible to go out and find leaves and feathers, there are always--even in the classroom--opportunities to observe.

Read the rest of Sidman’s article here.


When I was teaching second grade, the first field trip I took my students on every September was a walk in the woods. It’s amazing how excited my kids got when I pointed out the science that was right before their eyes—things they might never bother to look at carefully: insect galls, lichens growing on rocks and trees, different kinds of fungi. We would turn over rotting logs and find slippery little salamanders, sow bugs, and other tiny creatures. There is a world of wonder for kids to discover in nature…if we parents and teachers lead the way.

What Sidman does in her poetry classes is to help children to open their eyes and their minds and to prepare them to really look at things in the world around them.


To Look at Any Thing, a poem written by John Moffitt, is one I used to share with my students. It’s a poem that speaks to the same approach that Sidman writes about in her article.

From TO LOOK AT ANY THING

To look at any thing,

If you would know that thing,

You must look at it long:

To look at this green and say,

“I have seen spring in these

Woods,” will not do - you must

Be the thing you see…

You can read the full text of the poem at A Wrung Sponge.


POETRY RESOURCE FOR TEACERS

THIS IS JUST TO SAY, Joyce Sidman’s new poetry collection, is now available. Most of you may know that Sidman is the winner of the first Cybils Award for Poetry for her outstanding book BUTTERFLY EYES AND OTHER SECRETS OF THE MEADOW. I just picked up my copy of THIS IS JUST TO SAY on Tuesday—and couldn’t wait to write a review of the book.

On Wednesday morning, I wrote to Joyce Sidman. I told her I thought her most recent book was quite a departure from her other poetry collections. I also asked her if there was anything she would like to tell readers of the Blue Rose Girls blog about her new book of poems. Within an hour, Joyce emailed me her response! (How great is that?)

Here is what Joyce Sidman wrote:

Yes, THIS IS JUST TO SAY is very different from my other books. It is the only one so far to have come out of my work as a writer-in-residence at schools. The "sorry" poem is a lesson I do with kids, using W. C. Williams' poem as a model. They apologize for all sorts of things--things that we adults can't imagine they'd worry about! It started me thinking about the guilt we carry around--what things we regret, and why. "Sparkling Deer" is straight from my life (see jacketflap)--as are a few other poems which I won't claim!

This book came pouring out of me in a way that other books haven't; the characters seemed to come alive and talk to me. In fact, I'm still not sure which "Anonymous" student stole the lizard . . . I think my favorite poem is "The River of Forgiveness," which is such a hard river to cross, and yet so important to our growth as human beings and our ability to truly love one another.




THIS IS JUST TO SAY
Written by Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
Houghton Mifflin
2007

About the Book

Mrs. Mertz, a sixth grade teacher, asks her students to write poems of apology modeled after the famous poem about the cold, delicious plums written by William Carlos Williams. The children like their “sorry” poems so much they compile them in a book. Then they get the people to whom they wrote their poetic apologies to write responses. Bao Vang, one of the students, illustrates the book with the help of the art teacher.

Organization of THIS IS JUST TO SAY
- Table of contents
- Introduction written by “student” Anthony K.
- This Is Just to Say, the poem by William Carlos Williams
- Part 1: Apologies
- Part 2: Responses

Sidman displays her poetic versatility in THIS IS JUST TO SAY—a book in which each poem is, supposedly, written by a different individual. The author captures a variety of tones and voices in her poetry. Because of the nature of this book, many of its poems are less lyrical than those found in the author’s other works. Sidman does, however, include quite a bit of figurative language. For example, in What Was I Thinking?, Mai Lee writes that the principal’s dress “is the color of ripe plums”; that the principal’s eyes “are like hot sparks”; and that she, Mai Lee, slinks out of the principal’s office “like a whipped dog.” Sidman also includes a number of different poetic forms. There is a pantoum(unrhymed), a haiku, a poem in two voices, and a takeoff of Roses Are Red.

Sidman provides a whole range of reasons for why the young poets have feelings of guilt: hitting a friend too hard with a dodge ball, making fun of the dress a teacher is wearing just to get a laugh in class, pilfering jelly doughnuts from the teachers’ lounge, stabbing a sister with a pencil, breaking a mother’s precious glass deer, stealing the class lizard that dies in the thief’s possession. There is a poem by Anthony apologizing to his disappointed mother for not winning a spelling bee—a poem that reveals the angst of a child who feels pressured to always be a champion. In one poem, a child apologizes to her absent father for not being perfect—for being the reason he keeps leaving home. In some of the poems, the young writers reveal a true sense of sadness and remorse; in others, the writers appear to be—at most—mildly apologetic.

Some response poems provide sincere forgiveness to the “guilty” parties who wrote the apology poems; some response poems are written by people who were not the intended receivers of the “sorry” poems. For example, Tenzin pens the response to Anthony—not Anthony’s mother—and Ricky responds to the poem he wrote to his hamster Manga in the voice of Manga, the pet he had apologized to for keeping him locked up in a cage.

Some of the poems are very serious in nature; some are light-hearted and have a touch of humor.

From FASHION SENSE
Written by Carmen to Mrs. Metz, her teacher

I am so sorry for my rude words.

The classroom was so dead.
No one had anything more to say about Old Yeller,
and we were all crazy to go outside.
The silence seemed like a hundred crushing elephants.
So I raised my hand and made that comment
about your dress,
and everyone burst out laughing.

You smiled,
but your smile looked like a frozen pond.

Carmen goes on to explain how she feels “like a traitor” and how the words that slipped from her mouth keep echoing in her head. Then she writes:

You are really a queen, not a princess.
Our queen. Reina de la clase.
I hope you will overlook the transgressions
of your loyal but loud-mouthed subject
and forgive me…

Mrs. Mertz responds to her student in her HAIKU FOR CARMEN

Just these few warm words,
and spring sunlight fills the room;
my dress turns to sky.

There’s The Black Spot, written by Alyssa to Carrie, in which the writer apologizes for stabbing her sister with a pencil. Alyssa explains how there are two black spots left to remind her of her nasty deed: the dark spot on her sister’s palm and “the nugget of darkness/that made me stab you.” The poem ends:

Both marks, still there.
Small black
reminders.

Alyssa responds to Carrie’s apology in ROSES ARE RED

Roses are red,
violets are blue.
I’m still really
pissed off at you.

The poems in THIS IS JUST TO SAY encompass a myriad of emotions that children actually feel. Sidman has worked with youngsters and it is evident she understands their “inner world.” I think this collection of apology and response poems would be an excellent springboard for a poetry writing exercise and would also be an exceptional vehicle for helping children learn how to express their feelings on paper.

From THE RIVER OF FORGIVENESS
A Response Poem to Mai Lee from Bao Vang

Here I am,
reading Mai Lee’s poem.
I am wading into the river of forgiveness…
Thinking…
…of confusion,
and the fear that crushes your heart
when you’ve done something wrong…

Will I ever make it across?
I keep thinking of a friend
who helped explain the world,
whose hand is always around my shoulder,
a friend who stands with me in the crowd.
There she is—my friend,
on the other side of the river.

This poem ends happily with words telling Mai Lee that Bao Vang has crossed the river and forgiven her.

THIS IS JUST TO SAY includes seventeen “sorry” poems and seventeen response poems. I think that it's another terrific package from one the best poets writing for children today.

Note: This is just to say that THIS IS JUST TO SAY is a great collection of poems for kids...and adults! It’s an inspiration for creative writing. I wrote a poem of apology and a response poem after reading the book.

Thanks for the inspiration, Joyce!!! And thanks for giving me permission to include excerpts from your new book in my review.

The following two poems were written by Elaine Magliaro; they were not taken from Joyce Sidman’s book.

This Is Just to Say: A Poem to My Daughter

I have eaten
the chocolate bunny
I bought you
for Easter

a big-eared, brown hunk
of deliciousness
you probably saw
hidden
in the closet
and were expecting
to unwrap and savor
on a flower-filled Sunday

Forgive me
it was bittersweet
and creamy
and melted in my mouth
like snow
on the first warm day
of Spring.

A Daughter’s Response to Sweets-loving Mother

Mom! How could you???
You know
I love chocolate, too!

You’re an adult
and should have better control
of your candy cravings.
Set an example
for your only child
who also has
a significant sweet tooth.

Next year,
open your wallet a little wider
and buy two bittersweet bunnies
so we can rhapsodize
in a duet
of ooohhhs and uuummmms
and indulge
in our chocolate Easter dreams
together

About the Illustrations

Pamela Zagarenski did the artwork for THIS IS JUST TO SAY—and I would “say” that her illustrations definitely complement Sidman’s text. Zagarenski’s mixed media illustrations are hip, playful, expressionistic, and add touches of humor in just the right spots. I'd like to add that I was really impressed with the art she did for Maxine Kumin’s poetry collection MITES TO MASTODONS, which was nominated for a Cybils Poetry Award last year.