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Summersaults
Mountain hikes?
Picking cherries?
Curve balls?
Ice cream cones?
Blackouts?
Bee swarms?
Thunderstorms?
Ninety degrees?
However you answered, Douglas Florian will convince you that summer is great. His poems and pictures add up to the best vacation imaginable -- and it is one you can have at any time of the year. A companion volume to the highly praised Winter Eyes,Summersaults proves that Douglas Florian is a poet for all seasons.
Picking cherries?
Curve balls?
Ice cream cones?
Blackouts?
Bee swarms?
Thunderstorms?
Ninety degrees?
However you answered, Douglas Florian will convince you that summer is great. His poems and pictures add up to the best vacation imaginable -- and it is one you can have at any time of the year. A companion volume to the highly praised Winter Eyes,Summersaults proves that Douglas Florian is a poet for all seasons.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published March 26, 2002
1 person is currently reading
40 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 18, 2022
So with regard to the selection of over forty summer themed poems Douglas Florian presents, his 2002 picture book Summersaults is in my humble opinion pretty much lyrically delightful in and of itself. And as such, with Summersaults, Florian does not only show with his smorgasbord of varied and diverse verses a glowing and delightfully caressing poetic celebration of summer as the season of flowers, of warmer temperatures and delightful depictions of in particular children enjoying summertime fun and games out of doors, no, Douglas Florian also (and for me truly thankfully) presents a select number of poems in Summersaults that are not altogether positive concerning summer as a season, he also shows that not everyone automatically loves summer. And indeed, the not so positive towards and celebratory of summer as a season poems encountered in Summersaults, I for one really and truly do very much appreciate these verses (few in number as they may actually be) with all my heart and all my soul, since summer has always been and will always be my absolutely least favourite of the four seasons (for yes, I really do hate, hate, hate the heat and the humidity of summer and it certainly has been very much wonderful for me to realise that Douglas Florian's summer poems are not ALL a glorification of summer, that fortunately, Summersaults also includes lyrical verses for those of us who do not like, and who might indeed even rather despise summer).
And furthermore, to and for me, with Summersaults Douglas Florian not only thematically shines with flower and summertime activities filled verses, but also and equally poetically and textually so, with Florian showing to his readers (both young and old) a diverse and successfully rendered variety of very many different poetic forms (from traditional rhymes to blank verse, lists and even some concrete poetry), and thus making Summersaults not just a lyrical celebration of summer but also a great introduction to poetry in general. Five stars for Douglas Florian’s presented summer poetry, but yes, my final rating for Summersaults will be four and not five stars, as personally, the accompanying artwork (while certainly bright and cherry) is just a bit too human being centred and often a bit too naively unrealistic for me. And as such, while Douglas Florian’s poems in Summersaults work really, work exceedingly well on a textual, on a lyrical level (and yes, even for someone like me who is not at all a fan of summer), his accompanying illustrations really just do not aesthetically cut it for me, neither as a visual mirror of and for the featured poetry nor even as a decorative trim, they are visually adequate perhaps, but certainly do not in any manner shine like Douglas Florian's poems for Summersaults absolutely do.
And furthermore, to and for me, with Summersaults Douglas Florian not only thematically shines with flower and summertime activities filled verses, but also and equally poetically and textually so, with Florian showing to his readers (both young and old) a diverse and successfully rendered variety of very many different poetic forms (from traditional rhymes to blank verse, lists and even some concrete poetry), and thus making Summersaults not just a lyrical celebration of summer but also a great introduction to poetry in general. Five stars for Douglas Florian’s presented summer poetry, but yes, my final rating for Summersaults will be four and not five stars, as personally, the accompanying artwork (while certainly bright and cherry) is just a bit too human being centred and often a bit too naively unrealistic for me. And as such, while Douglas Florian’s poems in Summersaults work really, work exceedingly well on a textual, on a lyrical level (and yes, even for someone like me who is not at all a fan of summer), his accompanying illustrations really just do not aesthetically cut it for me, neither as a visual mirror of and for the featured poetry nor even as a decorative trim, they are visually adequate perhaps, but certainly do not in any manner shine like Douglas Florian's poems for Summersaults absolutely do.
February 4, 2017
(KidLit ED204 category: poetry)
This is an enjoyable poetry book by Douglas Florian, who all did the illustrations, which are paintings. A fun book of poems all about summer. Florian also has a poetry book about winter! :)
The illustrations are colorful, in a hazy, summery sort of way. The poems are fun to read and could provide good discussion points with students after reading. For example, "Sidewalk Squawk" is all about what the sidewalk is good for, not "just for walking". Children could be asked if they like doing the things that are in the poem. Some of the text is in "shapes" to go with the poem, not just traditional straight text, which helps keep interest and adds variety. Nice short poems, so they can be read quickly, maybe just sharing one or two when there are "between times" in the school day.
This is an enjoyable poetry book by Douglas Florian, who all did the illustrations, which are paintings. A fun book of poems all about summer. Florian also has a poetry book about winter! :)
The illustrations are colorful, in a hazy, summery sort of way. The poems are fun to read and could provide good discussion points with students after reading. For example, "Sidewalk Squawk" is all about what the sidewalk is good for, not "just for walking". Children could be asked if they like doing the things that are in the poem. Some of the text is in "shapes" to go with the poem, not just traditional straight text, which helps keep interest and adds variety. Nice short poems, so they can be read quickly, maybe just sharing one or two when there are "between times" in the school day.
August 11, 2016
Lovely, fun, and aimed directly at children. No adults need run interference or assist w/ interpretation. Almost as good as the companion Winter Eyes.
February 6, 2020
This book contains a collection of poems about summer. I think this book would be good to read to my class, because there are a few high-frequency vocabulary words that they can learn from this book. Some of the vocabulary words that I liked from this book were: summer equinox, phosphorescent, incandescent, cicadas, etc. These words may be too big for first graders, but I think the author uses the words in a good context for them to be able to understand them.
September 19, 2020
This author always surprises me with their unique title which I love a lot. It talked about a good variety of things about summer, but I was hoping it to be a bit more diverse about summer than to have similar poems relating to one topic all together. For example, there was more short poems about insects which does describe about them than other varieties summer has. However, overall I can see children would enjoy it by reading short poems to gain a better understanding about summer.
July 25, 2019
Use one of these rhyming poems for a storytime on summer! There are many to choose from.
March 1, 2020
Delightful!
October 12, 2021
There are many poems within this book. The first poem was fun to read because the action words were depicted visually. An example would be vaulting and tumbling.
May 19, 2022
Sweet simple and crafty with delightful.
May 12, 2015
Summersaults; Douglas Florian; Copyright: 2002, 48 pg.
*Poetry #3*
This series of poems about summer is just titillating! The poems in this book capture the essence of summer almost perfectly. Not only the positives of being out of school and the warm weather fun with friends, but also the sticky heat and the stinky parts, too! These poems are rather comical, and would be extremely fun to read aloud to your class.
I will be adding this book to my classroom with not only to present with poetry and seasons but also to read aloud to my students. This is what good poetry looks and sounds like! I would read these poems to my kids before they were even in school and would continue to read them throughout school until about 5th grade. Some students at this age may feel as though they are too old for silly poems. I highly, highly recommend this book of poetry.
*Poetry #3*
This series of poems about summer is just titillating! The poems in this book capture the essence of summer almost perfectly. Not only the positives of being out of school and the warm weather fun with friends, but also the sticky heat and the stinky parts, too! These poems are rather comical, and would be extremely fun to read aloud to your class.
I will be adding this book to my classroom with not only to present with poetry and seasons but also to read aloud to my students. This is what good poetry looks and sounds like! I would read these poems to my kids before they were even in school and would continue to read them throughout school until about 5th grade. Some students at this age may feel as though they are too old for silly poems. I highly, highly recommend this book of poetry.
March 23, 2014
Summersaults by Douglas Florian 4- 7
It is a very beautiful poetry book about Summer. The vocabulary, sequence, and rhymes are engaging, and full of imagery, wordplay, and energy. The best part is when he describe what he likes and dislikes about Summer, he describe exactly how I feel. This book is amazing for any teacher to have, it combines a lot of ideas and information such as when he describe in each month in Summer what is going to happen in plants, June: We seed, July: We weeded, and August: we ate. Also it was funny when he said “three words most cruel: Back to school’. I think children and teachers will love this book.
The best poem is “What I love about summer” and what I do not like about Summer.
It is a very beautiful poetry book about Summer. The vocabulary, sequence, and rhymes are engaging, and full of imagery, wordplay, and energy. The best part is when he describe what he likes and dislikes about Summer, he describe exactly how I feel. This book is amazing for any teacher to have, it combines a lot of ideas and information such as when he describe in each month in Summer what is going to happen in plants, June: We seed, July: We weeded, and August: we ate. Also it was funny when he said “three words most cruel: Back to school’. I think children and teachers will love this book.
The best poem is “What I love about summer” and what I do not like about Summer.
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August 11, 2011Another wonderful book of poetry for children! His poems "What I Love about Summer" and "What I Hate about Summer" contain fun rhymes with quick rhythms and short lines with much truth! "Dandelion" is adorable; I want to memorize this so I can recite it to my children out in the yard when we next see that yellow flower. "Some Summers" has an excellent use of vivid verbs. The rhythm of "Double Dutch Girls" sounds exactly like a jump-rope rhyme. Great!
September 15, 2013
Douglas Florian, how come I have never heard of you?
Now this is the kind of poetry that I can get on board with! Too bad I'm reading this just as summer is fading away into fall. Ah well, there's always next year. (=
Now this is the kind of poetry that I can get on board with! Too bad I'm reading this just as summer is fading away into fall. Ah well, there's always next year. (=
February 23, 2020
My cooperating teacher had lent me this book and I'm in love! The figurative language is unlike any other, and even though I have a bunch of things to do, I read this book and it put at ease and made me excited for summer! Such an amazing book!
May 8, 2008
"No Fly Zone". I loved the creativity of the poem and especially the ending with the little girl needing a six-foot swatter for the hundreds of bugs.
May 8, 2008
Poem: Dog Day
I like the rhyming in the poem and that it was implying it was about a dog.
I like the rhyming in the poem and that it was implying it was about a dog.
April 18, 2009
I love this poem: A SUMMERY
June: We seeded.
July: We weeded.
August: We eated.
June: We seeded.
July: We weeded.
August: We eated.
March 26, 2010
This is a great poetry book for kids and one that I am using right now to introduce the whole concept of poetry before we enter our new writing unit next week on poetry.
July 18, 2011
Used "What I Like About Summer" and "What I Hate About Summer" poems to inititate some good conversation in large elementary age group.
September 1, 2012
This book would be wonderful to share with the classroom for poetry. The illustrations are colorful and the words are simple and fun.
September 19, 2013
This book is filled with wonderful poems about summer. It describes the beauty and excitement of summer. It also describes what people hate about summer as well.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews