Post #5

Where the Sidewalk Ends

By Shel Silverstein

When I first got the assignment to write about good poetry, I was flabberghasted. While I always liked poetry when I was younger, I hated determining whether it was good poetry and I was always terrible at distinguishing what the meanings behind the poems were. One specific thing I do remember about liking poetry was Shel Silverstein books. When I was in grammar school, I had to make a book of poetry. It was my masterpiece. I took my favorite poems from Shel Silverstein's books and drew fabulous pictures. I worked on it and worked on it until it was perfect. (I was always an overachiever when it came to creativity.)Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein. I read the book and had several flashbacks. But there was still one problem. While I loved all of the poems, I still didn't know what "good poetry" consists of. I asked the library teacher and she helped me out. She gave me a handouttitled: What Makes Good Poetry. I remember that book like I made it yesterday. Therefore, I went to the library in my school and took out

This handout really helped me out. I am going to list some of the things it told me, and maybe it may help some of you who struggled in the same ways I did. 

First, the opening paragraph opened my eyes to a new idea about good poetry:

"Poetry, good poetry that is, bites and stings. It arouses your senses. It burns a hole in your brain. It stimulates your imagination. You think, "I never thought it like that before." Yet, It (whatever it is) was always there for everyone to see. A fork in the road - some snow in the woods at night - some gold rushers slugging it out in a Yukon saloon… the difference is the view that the writer brings to the reader. And that has made all the difference ages and ages hence."

Now, there are several other important ideas to help distinguish between good and average poetry:

1. "Good poetry has to say something. It gives meaning, value, or worth to a person, place, or thing. It speaks-about or focuses-on something that everyone can relate to. If it does this, it’s got a good start. But it can’t just be wishy-washy, pie in the sky, by and by, dribble. It’s got to hit home. It’s got to get you where you live. You’ve got to feel it in your heart, experience it in your mind, reflect on it in your thoughts."

2. "Good poetry has great word choices - the very best.  The words should impart sensory impressions that take your breath away – like when you step outside on a winter day and the wind sucks away your breath while it pelts your face with snowflakes and you feel the wind-chill factor of –20^{o F} down into your bones. Like that."

3.  "A good poem should visually arouse the reader. "What do you mean by that?" For me, it's not enough to simple write black words on white paper. I want more communication than just that. So I search for ways to visually confirm what the words are saying. I use the tools at my disposal, like different style fonts, fonts with different colors, bold print for emphasis, and small fonts for diminished restraint or quietness.
Search for words within words, like cLOUDs for the thunder and lightening in clouds. One word of caution though. Don't overdo this! It's easy to get carried away by all of these choices and do too much - like too much salt in a chicken soup or too much garlic in the spaghetti sauce. When this happens, the visually superfluous can rob the reader of the true taste and flavor of the words."

4. "A poem can be fun. Even a short limerick or nursery rhyme can make you laugh."

So, there you have it. That is what makes good poetry. Twenty-three years old and I've finally figured it out. And after reading Shel Silverstein, knowing all of these ideas, I now know (for a fact) that Where the Sidewalk Ends is good poetry. From the moment you open the book, you know you are in for a good time.The first poem invites you in. It is call "Invitation"

"If you are a dreamer, come in, 

If you are a dreamer,

A wisher, a liar,

A hope-er, a pray-er,

A magic bean buyer...

If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire

For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.

Come in!

Come in!"

The poems are endless. The longest poem, only 24 lines, but they are all wonderful--short and witty. All of the poems end with the reader laughing. That is one reason why it is an excellent introduction of poetry for children. Silverstein hits upon 137 different topics in 137 different poems. They are all engaging topics for children. When I was reading the first paragraph of the poetry handout, I noticed right away that all of Shel Silverstein's poems did exactly what the handout said. All of his poems make you think, "Wow, I never thought of it that way", and it is in a humorous sense that we have never thought of these things in.

Silverstein gives meaning, worth, and value to all of the topics in his poems. He gives meaning to children about the idea of magic in his poem "Magic". Everyone can use magic, but you have to make magic yourself. He gives valueto hugging instead of "tugging" in "Hug O' War": 

"I will not play at tug o' war.

I'd rather play at hug o' war,

Where everyone hugs

Instead of tugs,

Where everyone giggles

And rolls on the rug,

Where everyone kisses,

And everyone grins,

And everyone cuddles,

And everyone wins."

Children can be very rough. It is important to give valueto hugging instead of fighting. He gives worth to the flag and to colors and to being early in "Flag", "Colors", and "Early Bird". Many of these poems have little lessons in them, while they are short, funny, and entertaining to read.

Silverstein also has great word choices in his poems. Some examples are "Kerplop" in "Sky Seasoning", and many words in the sing-songy poem, "Boa Constrictor". (That poem has meaning to me. My friend's mom used to sing the "Boa Constrictor" song and act it out when I was little. I didn't realize until reading this book again that it was a Shel Silverstein poem.) Every poem has good word choice in them; I would name them all if I could.

Shel Silverstein uses different word sizes and fonts in Where the Sidewalk Ends. This makes readers emphasize some words, and pay special attention to some words. His illustrations are significant as well. They are all simple illustrations but I think that makes it more enjoyable to children. They are all very funny and children get a kick out of them because they are very ficticious. All of Silverstein's poems are very entertaining and very funny. They are perfect for children, and brilliant for adults as well. I enjoyed reading this book again, and I am going to purchase it and add it to my library. It has great worth to me thinking back to my childhood and I will continue adoring it into my adulthood.

 
 

Post #4

Chicken Sunday
by Patricia Polacco

When I was assigned this multicultural blog assignment, I wanted to use a Coretta Scott King Award winning book. This award is named after Martin Luther King Jr.'s wife, Coretta Scott King. It recognizes outstanding African American authors and illustrators. The book must be about the African American experience, and must be written for a youth audience. When I went to Barnes and Noble to find a book, I was having trouble because I was specifically looking for Coretta Scott King Award winners. After some time, I asked one of the employees for help. He couldn't help me find and away winner but he informed me that Chicken Sunday, by Patricia Polacco is an excellent multicultural book. Once I read the first few pages, I agreed with him. It is now one of my favorite childrens books.


Chicken Sunday is about three children. The narrator, in my opinion, is based on Patricia Polacco. The narrator has two neighbors who are African American. They spend a lot of time together. The narrator also spends a lot of time with the two boys' grandmother, Miss Eula. She learns a lot about their culture from Miss Eula. She attends church with the family and she eats 'chicken dinner' with them on Sundays. Throughout the story, Polacco talks about two other nationalities. The narrator shares her traditions of coloring eggs with her 'Babushka" in the story. There is also a man named Mr. Kodinski. He is German and he owns a hat store. The children work at his store selling the eggs they painted to buy Miss Eula a hat. While they work with him, he teaches them about his nationality as well, and he even teaches them a few words from his language.


This story is an excellent multicultural story for many reasons. One reason is that it explains more than one ethnicity. It teaches about three nationalities and their traditions, while telling a nice children's story. This story is also important for children because it shows how all of the children, and adults, in the story are of different backgrounds, but they are all related. The children are best friends, the families interact, and they all teach each other. Without each other, life would not be as interesting. That is an important lesson for children to understand. This story portrays how significant traditions are. They last within families and they are shared with others.


In my opinion, Chicken Sunday would be a Coretta Scott King Award winner, but Patricia Polacco is not an African American author. It is about the African American experience, being that three of the main characters are African American. It also explains traditions of the African American culture. Although it is not a winner it is still an excellent story and I would recommend it to the world.

Post #3

FABLES by: Arnold Lobel

 

Title: Fables

Author and Illustrator: Arnold Lobel

Harper Collins Publishers

Fables, written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel, is exactly what you are imagining it is--a book full of fables! This book is a greatly deserved Caldecott Gold Medal Winner. I think it is significant for an author to be his/her illustrator. Many illustrators never even meet with the authors of the books they are illustrating until the books are published! While their drawings may be excellent and the books may be wonderful, the connection between the author and the illustrator is missing. Arnold Lobel knew what he wanted in his book, and he accomplished what he wanted on his own. That is a great feat, in my opinion.

There are 20 different fables in Lobel's book, each one page in length. The length of the fables keep children's attention, but also keeps them wanting more. Each drawing portrays each story wonderfully, which is important for children. It helps them to find meaning in the story. Another concept that helps children find meaning in a story is the lesson it teaches them. Every fable teaches a lesson. While many times the lesson is evident simply by reading the story, Arnold Lobel makes it clear to readers at the end of each fable. Lobel has each moral, or lesson, of each story written in italics at the bottom of the page. 

Some of the morals are:

Taking small risks will add excitement to life.

It is always difficult to pose as something that one is not.

All's well that ends with a good meal. (My favorite!)

Love can be its own reward.

Satisfaction will come to those who please themselves.

...along with many more.

While the wording of some of these lessons may be difficult for children to understand, it gives the class more reason to talk about what each lesson means, and how it can affect each child's life. When children can make a connection with a story and their own lives, that is making meaning. Some of these lessons, even as an adult, were very significant. These fables are very influential to everyone's lives, not only the children's. An important strategy a teacher can use in teaching these fables is to tell his/her students how the lesson can affect his/her life. Children love hearing about their teachers' lives.

There are many strategies and activites teachers can use for this book. Being that there are twenty fables in the book, the teacher can dedicate a whole month to fables and all of the lessons the class learns. He/she can also shorten it to however long he/she wants to focus on fables. The teacher can read one a day and have a lesson a day that the children learn. This will give them structure and they will look foward to hearing the new story each day. Some activites that can be done are comparing fables, using graphic organizers and such. When the class finishes the book, they can make their own little books of all of the lessons they learned and how they can apply them in their lives. I am positive that if a child did this activity, the lessons he/she writes about will stick with him/her for the rest of their lives.

I think this is an excellent book and an excellent way to teach children about fables and about important life lessons. The stories are wonderful as well as the pictures that go along with the stories. If anyone has a young class, I suggest purchasing this book.