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Joyce Sidman is one of my all-time favorite poets. Her books concentrate on the natural world and evoke beautiful images. Coupled with excellent illustrations, these poems are great for sharing with young readers, or for paging through with a cup of tea.
Sidman's latest effort, Before Morning, is illustrated by Beth Krommes!!! (Caldecott award winner, Beth Krommes, that is.)
I have this book on hold at my public library.
Check out Sidman's earlier book, Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold. In it, Sidman, examines how various animals and insects survive through the cold months.
Doug Florian is an American poet/painter whose poetry books delight kids everywhere. Winter Eyes is one of my favorite Florian titles. The words and pictures remind me of brisk cold skies and the coziness of winter sunsets. His palette is perfect.
0 Comments on Books of December - Poetry as of 12/14/2016 2:31:00 AM
This month I'll be highlighting some of the top-notch poetry published in the last year--so top-notch that it was deemed by the Cybils Award Round 1 panel to be a finalist for the award. As a Round 2 judge, I'm going to share some excerpts from each book this month. Since it finally got cold here in Maryland this week, I'll begin with...
This book, illustrated by Rick Allen using a complicated combination of linoleum block prints hand-colored, "digitally scanned, composed, and layered," contains just 12 poems. Some are free verse and some are rhymed and metered. This collection has received 5 starred reviews and almost a dozen awards, including in 2014, since it was published in November of 2014.
excerpt from "Winter Bees"
We scaled a million blooms to reap the summer's glow. Now, in the merciless cold, we share each morsel of heat, each honeyed crumb. We cram to a sizzling ball to warm our queen, our heart, our home.
excerpt from "Chickadee's Song"
The sun wheels high, the cardinal trills. We sip the drips of icicles. The buds are thick, the snow is slack. Spring has broken winter's back.
How's that for a little taste of the cold?
Please join Tabatha for some more of the muscle and grace of great poetry--she's got the Roundup at The Opposite of Indifference today.
0 Comments on cybils poetry finalists I as of 1/1/1900
To follow on from my review of Penny & Jelly: The School Show last Friday, I am very happy to have the author, Maria Gianferrari on the blog today to share about the inspiration for her debut picture book and offer … Continue reading →
Happy National Poetry Month! All throughout April, we will interview poets about working in this digital age. Recently, we spoke with award-winning writer Joyce Sidman.
Q: How did you publish your first book? A: My first book, Just Us Two, was published by Millbrook Press. I had been keeping an eye on the SCBWI newsletter Marketing section (back when it came on paper in the mail!) and noticed that Millbrook was looking for trade books with a curriculum tie-in. I’d been working on a book of poems about animal fathers, and it seem a good fit. Amy Shields, a Millbrook editor at the time, thought so, too!
Q: Has the Internet changed the way you interact with readers? A: I interact nationally with teachers, librarians–even editors and agents–much more online than I would ever have had the opportunity to do in person. My Facebook page allows me to share upcoming publications, events, and ways my books have been used with young readers, as well as celebrate my colleagues’ work. Although it takes a great deal of time and is often a distraction, I see it as a positive thing.
Q: What type of research process do you undergo for when you’re writing poems? A: I write frequently on science topics and research them thoroughly. My primary sources are books, and I supplement those with current journal articles. Sometimes I will contact scientists directly. Even for What the Heart Knows, which has nothing to do with science, I researched ways people have used invocation poems through history. I love research; it always adds to the depth of my work.
Q: Do you have any tips for people who want to read and perform poetry in front of an audience? A: I believe poems need to be read aloud, to appreciate the music in them. Don’t rush your reading–make sure you speak clearly and slowly. Try to identify beforehand the most powerful language in the poem and linger over it in your reading. Practice until you really believe the words you are speaking.
Q: What advice can you share for aspiring poets? A: Read lots of different kinds of poetry and see what inspires you. Avoid rhyme; until you can really master its use, it just ties up your meaning in knots. Collect luscious words. Notice sensory details and use them in your poems. Explore different ways of writing–like these poetry challenges on my website: http://www.joycesidman.com/teachers/poetry-ideas.
Q: What’s next for you? A: My next book will be out in fall 2016; it’s a collaboration with Caldecott-Winner Beth Krommes called Before Morning. I wrote a poem about wishing for a snow day and she has spun it into a wonderful story set in an old-fashioned city. The art is breath-taking!
Illness precluded a Friday post, but a visit to the doctor (combined with 72 hours forced rest) has led to a slight improvement and a Saturday post. In response to the Ditty of the Month Club challenge hosted by Michelle Heidenrich Barnes and inspired by Joyce Sidman's work in Winter Bees, I offer the following. Like Liz Steinglass, I opted to explore the wisdom of an everyday object rather than of nature, and I took a little liberty with the form as well.
What Does the Knife Know?
What does the knife know? Red tautness of tomato's skin. Onion's shallot's garlic's kin. Juicy slick of vitamin. Jolt of pit or stone within.
What does the knife know? Tender coarseness of the crumb. Whack of steel on boarden drum. Whorl and loop don't armor thumb. Better bleeding cut than numb.
Heidi Mordhorst 2015 all rights reserved I have only just realized that knife goes with spoon. I guess a fork poem is on its way...and is anyone else having trouble, as they read these deeper wisdom poems, screening out repeated mental blarings of "What does the fox say?"
0 Comments on deeper wisdom as of 1/24/2015 8:29:00 AM
Today, I continue our Teaching Authors “What Are We ‘Plotting’ for 2015?” series. Deadlines loom for two educational publisher projects as well as a couple other things I hope to accomplish soon, so I promised myself I would keep this short. What I’m plotting is mostly more of the same: more writing, more submitting, and—this is the new part—more sticking my neck out.
On the first of the year, I wrote about my schedule for 2015. I blocked out more time to exercise and added in some time every week to focus on long-term goals. I have been walking more, which is good for my writing because something about the rhythm makes me think differently. I find myself jotting down notes and dictating text messages to send to my email. When I get home, surprise! Ideas!
my walking companion, Bea
One way I hope to stick my neck out is by participating in Poetry Friday more often. Today, I posted a poem on my blog in response to a challenge Joyce Sidman issued last week in an interview with Michelle Heidenrich Barnes on Today’s Little Ditty: a “Deeper Wisdom” poem, modeled after Joyce’s thoughtful “What Do the Trees Know?” in her gorgeous new poetry collection, Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold. I really enjoyed the process, especially with such an inspiring model poem.
I’m also researching editors and trying to submit more manuscripts more regularly. I’d love to participate in conferences. And my web site desperately needs updating. I’d better get to work!
Next Friday - only one week from right this very second - the day of the 100th Perfect Picture Book post - is when I leave for the SCBWI conference I'm teaching at.
Teaching GROWNUPS! IN REAL LIFE not online!
(Can you say petrified? :))
I am finishing the pile of critiques. I am trying to prepare my workshop in a way that will hopefully sound coherent and give the participants a fun and meaningful experience. I'm also winding up my May online class and starting my June one. My children are arriving home from college which necessitates driving to pick up, loading and unloading cars, masses of laundry, and packing things away for the summer. Oh, and I'm babysitting for my granddaughters on Sunday and in charge of the barn chores until my friend gets back from her mini break. All good things in every way, but I'm feeling a little like I just don't have enough time in the day!
So I'm not sure if I'm going to manage to plan a party.
And you will also have to (please!) forgive me for recycling a Perfect Picture Book today!
I don't feel bad too about it, though, because this book is one of my all-time favorites. I use it as an example of beautiful language in my class, and if you haven't had a chance to read it you're truly missing out. Get thee to the library right quick!
Red Sings From Treetops: A Year In Colors Written By: Joyce Sidman Illustrated By: Pamela Zagarenski Houghton Mifflin Books For Children, April 2009, Fiction
Suitable For: ages 5 and up
Themes: Colors, Seasons, Poetry
Opening: "In SPRING, Red sings from treetops: cheer-cheer-cheer, each note dropping like a cherry into my ear. Red turns the maples feathery, sprouts in rhubarb spears; Red squirms on the road after rain." (Don't you just love that? Can't you just hear that cardinal singing and see the worms wiggling on the pavement?) Brief Synopsis: From the jacket: "Color comes alive in this whimsical, innovative book." That pretty much sums it up! Links To Resources: Junior Library Guild Activity Guide, Poem Starters, Readers Guide Why I Like This Book: I love the lyrical language of this book. The author was so creative in her thinking - the way she describes the colors makes you see, feel, hear, touch, and taste Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The art is exquisite and perfectly suited to the poetry. How can you not love lines like, "Green waits in the hearts of trees, feeling the earth turn."
I hope you'll get a chance to read this book, linger over the language, enjoy the images it evokes, maybe challenge yourself or your children to come up with your own descriptions!
I want to take this opportunity to let you all know that PPBF will be going on hiatus for the summer as usual. I am open to popular opinion as to whether next Friday (June 6) or the following Friday (June 13) will be the last day. As I said, I will not be here next Friday. Princess Blue Kitty (my car for those of you who don't know her) and I will be on the road to the aforementioned SCBWI conference. But y'all can carry on and I'll catch up after the weekend. Assuming I survive :) Feel free to voice your opinion in the comments. As for a party, I guess we could maybe have it a week late...???
PPBF bloggers please be sure to leave your post-specific link in the list below so we can all come see what delights you have in store for us this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! :)
0 Comments on Perfect Picture Book Friday - Red Sings From Treetops as of 5/30/2014 9:15:00 AM
I just read the beautiful book, Firefly July, full of super-short poems (I LOVE super-short poems) celebrating the seasons. Our own April Halprin Wayland is in there, and Joyce Sidman, and so many other fantastic poets.
Here's one of my favorites. I adore both cinquains and fall, so this poem really hits me every time! This is by Adelaide Crapsey, who invented the cinquain form of 2-4-6-8-2 syllables.
November Night
Listen... With faint dry sound, Like steps of passing ghosts, The leaves, frost-crisp'd, break from the trees And fall.
We're talking about writing clippings here on Teaching Authors, so I will share a few of mine. I collect mostly two kinds of things: 1) bits of text from other books (usually fiction) that I think might make a cool jumping off point for my own poetry or picture books, and 2) articles I tear out of science magazines or bookmark that I think are good topics for assessment nonfiction or poetry passages.
Here are 3 random ones:
1) "serpentine spaghetti" - highlighted in a book I was reading on my Kindle. That has got to make it into a poem!
2) "We see their flights as perfect forward motion, but nothing could be further from the truth. In truth, every flap is followed by a tuck and a sweep, hasty and high stakes; hot on the heels of every flickering gain in altitude comes a small, heart-thudding drop." - a description of bird flight, also highlighted in a book on Kindle. I love this concept. No idea how I might use it in my writing, but I love it.
[I don't know what books the above came from. I just started saving highlighted quotes in a Word document a couple of months ago. I'm realizing that I need to also note what book they came from!]
3) http://discovermagazine.com/2012/oct/16-things-you-didnt-know-about-cars - Here's an article I read in Discover Magazine. Then I searched for it online and saved it as a bookmark, because my paper files are so overstuffed! I thought these nifty facts might spark a nonfiction passage for older readers.
If you’ve never attended the NCTE Annual Convention, then I’ll let you in on a little secret: wear comfortable shoes! You’ll be on your feet hustling between sessions, walking around the exhibit hall,… Read More →
If you’ve never attended the NCTE Annual Convention, then I’ll let you in on a little secret: wear comfortable shoes! You’ll be on your feet hustling between sessions, walking around the exhibit hall,… Read More →
In case you, like me, missed Sylvia Vardell's fantastic series of clips from the ALA Poetry Blast (organized and hosted by Marilyn Singer and Barbara Genco), I'm posting links here. She shared the text of Marilyn's lovely introduction for each poet along with a brief video clip to give you a taste of the work presented. Brilliant!
My son is 8 and although he knows a lot about the world, I'm sometimes surprised at what I assume he knows and doesn't. We had another 2" of snow overnight on Tuesday and therefore (somewhat absurdly) a 2-hour delay on Wednesday, so we had time to gear up and head out to the bus stop half-an-hour early. It wasn't great snowball snow--fine and flaky and extra-sparkly in the sun--so we found other ways to amuse ourselves, like shaking snow off branches (and is there anything more beautiful than dark branches frosted in sparkling snow against a blue, blue sky?) .
"Look at all the buds," I said. "They know spring will come again even though it doesn't feel like it now." I bothered to say it out loud because this knowledge added to my hopeful, sunny, fresh-air feeling. Duncan looked up and said, "What buds?" You know, like he'd never heard of buds. I pointed out the little textured teardrops at the end of each twig on the--actually I don't even know what kind of tree we were standing under. "Each of those is a tiny beginning of a leaf, just waiting for the weather to warm up." "Really? Cool," he replied, and went to jump daringly into the snow from a wall which is rumored to contain a snakehole.
There was time when I eschewed exclamation marks as a sign of weak writing in need of bolstering by flashy punctuation. Frank O'Hara changed my mind about that (and has inspired many others), and see how WCW uses one surprisingly! in this otherwise softspoken poem. I think it renders perfectly the feeling we have when we can cross something big off our to-do list, relax and store up wisdom. Hm. I miss that feeling...
Winter Trees by William Carlos Williams
All the complicated details of the attiring and the disattiring are completed! A liquid moon moves gently among the long branches. Thus having prepared their buds against a sure winter the wise trees stand sleeping in the cold.
Enjoy Poetry Friday today with Laura Purdie Salas at Writing the World for Kids--and congratulations indeed to Joyce Sidman for her Newbery Honor medal--it'll look great on the cover of Dark Emperor. Go Poetry!
i know what you mean about exclamation points, and here i think it works because wcw doesn't exactly set you up for it. you don't "scan" the exclamation at first sight and have to go back and start over, to reevaluate the poem even before it's finished. so much more effective than if he'd repeated those first three lines like an old blues song.
Hi, Heidi. Those trees are wise indeed. I'm looking at the interaction between title and first lines -- how WCW relies on the title to tell us "who" is attiring and disattiring. Trust between poet and reader is key!
I love this poem, Heidi. I shared it almost exactly two years ago after a night cross-country skiing outing. That liquid moon draws me in as completely now as it did then.
And I know what you mean about that ! When I finish a tough or exhausting task, it's usually with a "Whew!" And that's the feeling I get from this tree, too.
Thanks for sharing:>)
P.S. Funny that my Captcha is "cultiver," which is almost horticultural. Goes with your bud story. Gorgeous photo!
I adore this story of you and your son just talking about tree buds...especially the words "textured teardrops at the end of each twig." Writing with exclamation marks is kind of like goosing a reader - it has to happen at the right time! A.
Last week, I mentioned that I would feature Cybils Finalists on the next several Poetry Fridays. Who knew that today I would be doing that while celebrating a Newbery Honor for one of the poets I look up to most, and whom I'm proud to be in a critique group with: Joyce Sidman.
Joyce's collection Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night is full of mystery, darkness, and wildness. I shared a poem from it a while ago, and I hope her publisher won't be upset that I'm sharing another. (Shhh! Don't tell.) I love so many poems in it, but I'm going to share this one because not only is it an exquisite poem, but it's also a wonderful metaphor for what I want to do in my own writing. And it's what I look for in the books I read, too!
Snail at Moonrise Each night, Snail unhooks himself from earth, climbs a slick trail of silver up, up the horizon of log, up stems of leaves to their dewy tips, seeking with his tiny sandpaper tongue morsels of green to mix in his dark, moist body and spin into whorls of light.
Shell-maker Moon-maker gleaming silver-bright. Each night: darkness into light.
--Joyce Sidman, all rights reserved
I'm elated to see ALA recognizing poetry in its awards (though I echo Lee Bennett Hopkins' wish that there be an actual poetry category). How can kids NOT be hooked when they're exposed to fabulous poetry like this?
The roundup is right here today, so leave your link with Mr. Linky. I can't wait to see what you all have to share and to celebrate the way poems spin darkness into silvery lights.
I am SO excited that Joyce Sidman won a Newbery Honor for her Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night (see my post here for an excerpt). Joyce is a warm and generous person and a genius poet! I'm also thrilled to see poetry recognized in the ALA Awards!
This book of poetry delighted me. It is a story and a collection of poems rolled into one. It is an inspiration too. Imagine what life might be like if we all took the time to write a sorry poem to the people we upset.
Anthony K is a six grader in Mrs. Merz’s class at FlorenceScribnerSchool. Inspired by a poem written by William Carlos Williams, Anthony and his classmates decided to write some “sorry” poems to people that they have wronged in some way. They then asked the recipients of the poems to write poems in response to the apologies. The children have complied the two sets of poems into this book and they hope that we - their readers - will enjoy the poems that they wrote and that they received.
The collection opens with a poem from Thomas. The poem is for Mrs. Garcia, who works in the office. Thomas confesses that he stole “the jelly doughnuts / that were in / the teacher’s lounge.”
Reuben and Kyle apologize to each other for hitting each other too hard with the dodge ball. Reuben knows that he got carried away, and Kyle even goes so far as to say that he will probably “do it again.”
Carmen apologizes for making fun of Mrs. Merz’s dress. She admits that she “felt like a traitor,” and she wishes she could “rewind” her hurtful words and say something kind instead.
Each of the poems in this book beautifully captures the personalities of the people who wrote them. As we read them, we can almost see Mrs. Merz, her students, their families and their friends. We can appreciate the sentiments of the writers, and understand their transgressions and their hurts, their apologies and their forgiveness. There is humor and pathos in the words, and the various poetical forms used are beautifully complimented by Pamela Zagarenski’s memorable multimedia art.
I believe that there are different muses of children’s literature. You have you Beautiful Spine muses, your Great Editor muses, your Awe-Inspiring Marketing muses, and your Copyediting Magnificence muses. Each one of these references those elements of the production of a book that authors and illustrators cannot wholly control. In terms of picture books, however, the greatest muse of all these, the big mama muse on high, would have to be the Serendipity Muse. This is the muse that pairs great authors with great illustrators to produce books of unparalleled beauty. And as I see it, poet Joyce Sidman and artist Beckie Prange must have independent alters dedicated to this muse tucked in a back corner of their gardening sheds or something. How else to explain their slam bang pairing? Besides a clever editor, of course. I mean first we saw them working together on Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems, which immediately went on to win a highly coveted Caldecott Honor. Now this year we get to see their newest collaboration Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors. Much like Water Boatman this new pairing combines factual information with poems and pictures, but its focus is entirely different. And, of course, it’s an equal pleasure to both ears and eyes. The muse knows her stuff.
“Ubiquitous (yoo-bik-wi-tuhs): Something that is (or seems to be) everywhere at the same time.” Imagine having to select those denizens of earth that at one time or another were or are ubiquitous. The species that have managed to stay in existence long after most have gone extinct. It can’t be easy but poet Joyce Sidman has her ways. In a series of fourteen poems she examines everything from the earliest bacteria on the globe to the very dandelions beneath our feet. Each subject gets a poem about its life and existence, and then Ms. Sidman provides accompanying non-fiction information about the subject. So in the case of coyotes, the poem “Come with Us!” is told in the voice of the coyotes themselves, urging others to “Come drink in the hot odors, / come parry and mark and pounce.” On the opposite page we then learn the Latin term for coyotes, how long they’ve been on this earth, their size, and any other pertinent information about them. Beckie Prange’s linocuts and hand-colored watercolors perfectly offset both the grandeur and the humor of Sidman’s work. A Glossary of terms can be found in the back.
Sidman’s poems could easily have all been the same format. They could have all had the same ABAB or AABB structure. Instead, they mix things up a bit. Here we can see concrete poems and poems that follow ABAB with AABB. And some, like the squirrel poem “Tail Tale” (which is my favorite in the book) don’t even rhyme. This constant change keeps r
6 Comments on Review of the Day: Ubiquitous by Joyce Sidman, last added: 10/29/2010
This is a gorgeous book–and that diatoms poem is one of my favorites in it! Both the art and the words.
I’m a huge fan of the melding of poetry and nonfiction, and I think it helps kids (and grownups) see the facts but then also see more deeply into them, into their exceptions, their irregular edges, and their shades of grey.
Go Joyce and Beckie!
Toby Speed said, on 10/29/2010 6:34:00 AM
I have Joyce Sidman’s Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night, which is similarly varied in its structure and includes a rich nonfiction component. It is a joy to read her poems created with such skill and care. Beyond that, what makes a great picture book is a great collaboration where author and illustrator enhance each other’s work, and that sounds like the case here. Thanks for your thorough review.
Irene Fahrenwald said, on 10/29/2010 6:56:00 AM
Fuse,
Uh, concept of time difficulty. “Months between Halloween and Thanksgiving…”
Too much Halloween programming getting to you?
Elizabeth Bird said, on 10/29/2010 7:16:00 AM
Ugh. Too true. Zee brain, she is on zee fritz.
Angela Sherrill said, on 10/29/2010 12:38:00 PM
Double Whammy is right! This book is on our Best of the Year list and represented both Science and Poetry. We shelve it in both places.
57th Street Books, Chicago
Laura Shovan said, on 10/29/2010 1:31:00 PM
I love the subtitle of the book. Nature’s survivors — great topic for kids to be talking about. It looks like a book rich in art and poetry.
An award-winning poet guides us through the "dappled dark" of the night woods to where the living things are in this beautiful, evocative book.
"To all of you who crawl and creep, / who buzz and chirp and hoot and peep, / who wake at dusk and throw off sleep: / Welcome to the night," Sidman writes in her opening poem.
Sidman's verses are exhilarating, as she embraces the feel of night, and its smells and sounds, while Allen's block prints envelop us in the dark beauty of things barely seen.
Richly textured and stunning to look at, Allen's engravings show only what the waning light or moonlight affords.
In one spread, the moon illuminates the filaments of a spider web as if dusted with glitter, and in another, the bold shadows of sunset divide trees between darkness and light.
Sidman, author of the Caldecott Honor-winning Song of the Water Boatman and Other Poems, describes the night woodlands as a "wild, enchanted park" where some of most humble creatures live.
Here you learn about the woodland snail, who slides up leaves "to their dewy tips" and spins morsels "into whorls of light," and the primrose moth whose wings open into delicate pink petals in the moonlight.
Every poem feels tenderly written. In one poem a mother porcupine and her baby "mew and coo a soft duet" as the baby nurses; in another, a bat tumbles to his tree after catching his last bug, grasping the bark to snuggle in.
At times Sidman shows drama unfolding. In her title poem, "Dark Emperor," she explores what it's like to be prey and you feel her compassion for this little creature.
Over the course of the poem, a mouse tries to scramble out of view of a great horned owl and is fully aware that the owl could snatch him up if it wanted to.
As the mouse makes his way through the forest litter, he sizes up the owl. High above him, the ow
1 Comments on Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night, last added: 10/25/2010
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night Written by Joyce Sidman Illustrated by Rick Allen Houghton Mifflin 2010
Well, Joyce Sidman has done it again! She has written another topnotch collection of nature poems. This time her focus is on the flora and fauna of the woods. This time she examines her subjects through the lens of night. She brings the dark forest to life with her words and imagery. In her poems, Sidman illuminates the nocturnal actions of the snail, primrose moth, great horned owl, orb spider, baby porcupette, cricket, oak tree, mushrooms, eft, tree bat—and provides insight into the moon’s thinking. Dark Emperor is a "must have" book for teachers who enjoy connecting science with poetry/literature--and for kids who are budding naturalists!
Joyce Sidman explains how this book started . . .
I used to be just the teensiest bit afraid of the dark. I loved the concept of the nighttime, its mystery and dark beauty, but the reality was a different story. For us humans—diurnal, sight-oriented creatures that we are—the darkness is alien and forbidding, especially in the woods (which already have dark, mythic undertones). But there are all sorts of creatures that prefer the dark, that thrive in the dark. Why? And how? This book is my exploration of those questions. And you know what? Now that I know so much about these fascinating night creatures, I'm not as afraid of the dark anymore!
Welcome to the Night
Welcome to the Night, the first poem in the collection, is a poem of address. In it, Sidman speaks to woodland creatures and invites them to immerse themselves in their habitat and to use their senses to experience their world after dark:
Come feel the cool and shadowed breeze, come smell your way among the trees, come touch rough bark and leathered leaves: Welcome to the night.
To be sure, Sidman is also welcoming readers to immerse themselves in her poems. She takes readers on a sensory field trip. We experience night in the woods along with the flora and fauna. Sidman even has certain animals, an oak tree, and the moon relate their poetic tales in their own voices.
A young porcupine describes its life after the sun has set:
From I Am a Baby Porcupette
I am a baby porcupette. I cannot climb up branches yet. While mom sleeps in the trees I curl beneath a log till sun has set.
I am a baby porcupette. I nibble in the nighttime wet: a sprig of leaves, a tuft of grass, in hidden spots I won’t forget.
In Cricket Speaks, the winged insect expresses its desire to sing “till the branches tremble/and life/swells/to a single/searin
6 Comments on Book Review: Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman, last added: 9/11/2010
I think Oak After Dark is my favorite, but I don't know, the mushroom one is in a close second place. The illustrations are wonderful. Swirl by Swirl sounds great, too. Thanks for the heads-up!
Wow! is all I can say. Another tour de force from Joyce. Love all the sample poems you shared, and the linocuts are simply gorgeous. I'm especially looking forward to reading this because I live in the woods, and always marvel and am curious about all the creatures. Thanks for the fabulous review, Elaine! I am in love ♥...
Excellent review, Elaine. This book will be mine soon. All of Joyce Sidman's books are going to be mine, mine, MINE! She is so good. Great illustrations, too.
#23 in the Poetry Potluck Series, celebrating National Poetry Month 2010.
Joyce and her Small Munsterlander, Watson.
The calendar says, "April 30th," but I can't believe it.
It's the final day of National Poetry Month! *sniff sniff*
Time sure flies when you're busy juggling biscuits and buns, snarfing down candy, cookies, crisp and cake, investigating paprikash, practicing your French and Spanish, balancing on airplanes. Wasn't it just yesterday I served up the wine and appetizers?
I sure hate for this party to end, but if it must, let's go out with a bang, by welcoming an extra special surprise guest! I was thrilled when Joyce Sidman agreed to join us for the Potluck. She's actually my dream guest, because she wrote one of my absolute, all-time favorite children's poetry books ever -- Red Sings from Treetops (Houghton Mifflin, 2009). Every time I reread it, I marvel at its pristine beauty and soaring lyricism. It's the kind of book that makes you fall in love with the English language all over again.
Today, Joyce has brought the perfect poem to round out the potluck. Remember how we kicked things off with Elaine Magliaro's "Chick Chatter" -- new life pecking its way out of an egg? With Joyce's poem we come full circle -- another egg poem, this one echoing ancient creation myths.
Joyce: I was obsessed with eggs a few years back, and wrote a whole manuscript of poems about them. Nobody in the publishing world was quite as keen as I, however, so that manuscript has languished. This is my favorite poem from the group, expressing my feelings about the perfection, promise, and power of eggs.
Maybe the world was once an egg, plump and shining. Maybe that egg sat silent, thinking, for a long time. Maybe one day it felt like hatching. Maybe it split clean in two. Maybe the bottom half became the earth, heavy as chocolate. Maybe the top half became the sky, light as mist. Maybe the yolk flew up, burning, and became the sun.
Poetry and science are two of my passions. When I was an elementary teacher, I loved connecting poetry with the different science units I taught. I was always looking for poems to integrate with my units on trees and soils, astronomy, animals, and the life cycle of butterflies. I suppose that’s one of the reasons why Joyce Sidman is one of my favorite children’s poets. She is able to weave her knowledge of nature and science seamlessly into her extraordinary poetry. I was thrilled when I heard that Joyce was publishing a collection entitled Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors this year—especially after I watched the trailer for the book.
Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors Written by Joyce Sidman Illustrated by Beckie Prange Houghton Mifflin, 2010
Joyce Sidman explains how her book Ubiquitous started at her Web site:
My sister is a biologist who works with insects. One day, on an impromptu nature walk, she snagged a beetle, held it in her hand, and remarked about how successful beetles are--how many species there are in the world. She went on to explain that they had mutated from flies; their forewings had become hardened and armored, allowing them to survive better than flies under extreme conditions. This discussion started me thinking about what allows one group of organisms to stick it out here on earth, while others become extinct. Boy, was it ever interesting to find out! I did more research for this book than any other; but I learned more, too--I basically ended up studying evolutionary history.
I emailed Joyce to ask if she could give me further information about the book. I wrote: “I also saw in your book's acknowledgments all the different scientists you thanked. I was wondering if you'd care to provide me with any other information about the time it took you to complete this book and/or how much research you had to do in evolutionary history.”
Joyce responded:This book took a long, long time to write, because I really had to feel my way. I am not a scientist, and the further I dug into research, the more science seemed to be involved. I started thinking about the idea about eight years ago. I thought it would be fun to find lots of "survivor" organisms to wri
5 Comments on UBIQUITOUS by Joyce Sidman & Beckie Prange: A Poetry Book Review, last added: 4/30/2010
Thabks for reviewing, Elaine! I look forward to this new book by Joyce. I've only recently discovered her and have a couple of her older books checked out to enjoy ("Butterfly Eyes" & "Song of the Water Boatman").
I'm in awe of Joyce's abilty to write so many exceptional collections of children's poetry. There isn't a mediocre book in the bunch that's she's published to date.
Elaine, I am always humbled by your reviews of my books. Wish I could have been in your classes when I was a kid. I bet all your students had a wonderful appreciation for poetry!
So many people are doing so many cool things across the kidlitosphere in honor of National Poetry Month! I need to find a centralized list to share. (Addendum: Laura Evans at Teach Poetry K-12 has a comprehensive list in the righthand sidebar--check it out!) Meanwhile, I'm traveling a lot in April, so I'm keeping it fairly simple. Every day, M-F, I'm sharing one poem I love from a kids' or YA poetry book. I'm happy to kick off the month with one of my very favorite poets!
Joyce Sidman has done it again. Joyce is one of my poetry idols, and her new collection, Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors (Houghton Mifflin, 2010), is a captivating combination of poetry and nonfiction, deliciously illustrated by Beckie Prange. It's hard to choose a favorite from this very varied collection, but here's one where I love the poem and art equally:
The Mollusk That Made You
Shell of the sunrise, sunrise shell, yours is the pink lip of a pearled world.
Who swirled your whorls and ridges? Was it the shy gray wizard shuttered inside you? I hear he walks on one foot and wears a magic mantle, trailing stars.
O Shell, if only I could shrink! I'd climb your bristled back, slide down the spiral of your heart. I'd knock on your tiny door and ask to meet the mollusk that made you.
I'm battling a recurring blue screen of death this morning, so this will be brief!
Poet and writing friend Joyce Sidman is having an AWESOME year. I fear I don't have time to list all her honors before my computer shuts down. But tomorrow, she will be accepting the Claudia Lewis Poetry Award from Bank Street College of Education. She won for her beautiful book Red Sings from Treetops.
Joyce is having such a fabulous year that our critique group probably isn't giving her as much woohoo as we should...another award for Joyce? No big deal. But that's not true! Joyce is so talented and quietly passionate about her work, and every award deserves a giant party!
*Picture book for preschoolers through second graders *Rating: Red Sings from Treetops is a beautiful picture book that explores the seasons and the colors in them.
Short, short summary: If you are looking for a new book to teach colors or seasons, then Red Sings from Treetops might be just what you are looking for. Joyce Sidman, an award-winning poet, starts with spring and the color red in spring–from the buds and cardinals to the red worms after rain. She goes onto summer where “white clinks in drinks” and “yellow melts everything it touches.” Fall comes next, of course, and this time, “yellow grows wheels” because the bus is taking the children to school. And finally, the picture book ends in winter and with red and the cardinals again. It is a circle story.
So, what do I do with this book?
1. You can ask students to focus only on the colors when you read this book if that is the objective that you are teaching. You can even assign a certain color to certain children, and ask them to be able to tell you objects from the book that are that color when you are finished reading. The fun thing about this book is that sometimes Joyce Sidman does not just come out and tell you what objects she is talking about. For example, the first page of summer says, “White clinks in drinks.” She is talking about ice, but students would have to use the illustrations and their listening skills to figure that out. You can do a shared writing when you are finished reading. Students can tell you things in the book that are red or blue or so on, and then you can add items from your room to the color lists also.
2. Children who are learning the seasons will also benefit from this book. You can ask students to draw pictures of their favorite season and write a sentence about it. They can base their illustrations on the illustrations by Pamela Zagarenski, which are lovely and full of color!
3. One of the 6 traits of writing is word choice. This book is an excellent study in word choice. Joyce Sidman is a master at language and the text sings to the readers. Ask students to pick out some of their favorite phrases and sentences, and discuss why they like these word choices.
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Yes! I love poems (and art) about trees. Thanks also for the O'Hara link.
I think sometimes my kids are surprised by what *I* don't know, as well.
i know what you mean about exclamation points, and here i think it works because wcw doesn't exactly set you up for it. you don't "scan" the exclamation at first sight and have to go back and start over, to reevaluate the poem even before it's finished. so much more effective than if he'd repeated those first three lines like an old blues song.
thanks for sharing this!
Hi, Heidi. Those trees are wise indeed. I'm looking at the interaction between title and first lines -- how WCW relies on the title to tell us "who" is attiring and disattiring. Trust between poet and reader is key!
I love this poem, Heidi. I shared it almost exactly two years ago after a night cross-country skiing outing. That liquid moon draws me in as completely now as it did then.
And I know what you mean about that ! When I finish a tough or exhausting task, it's usually with a "Whew!" And that's the feeling I get from this tree, too.
Thanks for sharing:>)
P.S. Funny that my Captcha is "cultiver," which is almost horticultural. Goes with your bud story. Gorgeous photo!
This is such the perfect winter poem and you picked a wonderful picture to accent it! Thanks for sharing it.
I adore this story of you and your son just talking about tree buds...especially the words "textured teardrops at the end of each twig." Writing with exclamation marks is kind of like goosing a reader - it has to happen at the right time! A.
What a great little moment with your boy! I love those little gems of things we get to pass on once we know there is a small gap.
So glad you got over your exclamation mark phobia! ;)