This poetry book is all about the city, and the whimsical events that take place within ordinary objects. The poems focus on strangers passing by, trashbags and daily vendors.
This book is themed in that it has poems about many things you would see around a city. For example, a collection of short poems on various everyday things such as garbage, a junkyard, and a factory. These are unique because he picks out little details that you may have never noticed about an object before. It has many different styles of poems, some long and some short, that could help a child see that a poem does not have to follow one simple pattern, but can be made up in a variety of ways. This would be a good book for 2nd to 4th grade students to read because of how much the illustrations help bring the poems to life. This book used elements of design to help illustrate the poems. The font is different for each poem. The different way that the words are arranged on the page helps to tell the story.The pages contain a lot of white space that has the pictures done in watercolor paints and black pen depicting the themes of the poems. My favorite poem Garbage Bags discussed trash day. All of the trash bags wait on the corner in their black tuxedos with bow ties, awaiting the opera. It is fun to think of trash in this way and I think children would really like the way the author, James Stevenson, thinks about these things.
The poems herein are whitty, whimsical, and pithy, by turn. Get all of Stevenson's "Corn" poetry collections about every day life as observed by one who has lived a long one. These are great to share in company, each immersed in a volume, sharing favorites, and passing the books person to person. Delightful way to spend an afternoon or evening.
Topics in this volume include a bug's eye view of a loaded picnic plate("Somebody small and brave Left his Base Camp At Pink Paper Plate, Trekked across slippery Green Pickles..."); fathers in the park with their kids; a furniture repair store; a paintbox; a junkyard / wind chime; a writer's waste paper basket; garbaage day in the city; and so much more.
One of my favorites? A simple poem, simply illustrated by the author with a sparse array of lines... A l o n g t h e s h o r e T h e p e r f e c t s h e l l A w a i t s t h e p e r f e c t c h i l d.
Personal reaction: I really like how this book used elements of design to help illustrate the poems. The font is different for every poem and sometimes the way the words are arranged on the page helps tell the story, such as in the 'Paperwhite Narcissus.' The word 'swooned' is bent over like it has fallen to help describe what the word means. I really like how these types of elements were present throughout the poems.
Purpose: This would be a good book for 2nd to 4th grade students to read individually because of how much the illustrations help bring the poems to life. I think this would be a good introduction to a poetry section because it has many different styles of poems, some long and some short, that could help a child see that a poem does not have to follow one simple pattern, but can be made up in a variety of ways. This would also be a good book for them to see the power of illustration and other elements of design like described above.
This book of poems is very unique. It has poems about many things you would see around a city. Some poems discuss factories, a hamburger in a diner and a woman walking. They are all unique because he picks out little details that you may have never noticed about an object before. For example, in one poem he talks about how the flagged toothpick got into the top of a cheeseburger. He claims it must of been a brave climber dodging pickles and hanging off onion rings. My favorite poem discussed trash day. All of the trash bags wait on the corner in their black tuxedos with bow ties, awaiting the opera. It is fun to think of trash in this way and I think children would really like the way the author, James Stevenson, thinks about these things. I would definitely keep this in my classroom to help children get their creative juices flowing.
K-3 Read Aloud/Independent Reading Stevenson gives us a collection of short poems on various everyday things such as garbage, a junkyard, a factory. The pages contain a lot of white space illustrated with pictures done in watercolor paints and black pen depicting the themes of the poems. The poems do not rhyme and are written with an assortment of text types. Each poems carries a descriptive thought illustrated through the pictures. Children would appreciate the colorful illustrations and light humor in the depictions of various everyday things.
Language Arts/Science
Students could do research on factories and find out if they are polluting our air.
This book was great! I think I've fallen in love with the work of James Stevenson, his poems and illustrations are delightful...a breath of fresh air! His poems are short and to the point, with great line breaks...each capture a snap shot from every day experiences and things we encounter. I can't wait to read his other books!
I liked the poems in this book. They are very different from the ones I enjoy most, but there were a couple that struck my attention. The first poem about a hamburger that looks like a Big Mac made my stomach growl from just reading the details used in it. I would use this to support a lesson about poetry and how not all poems have to rhyme or have a certain rhythm.
I thought that this book had a good variety in its poems; however, there was also a variation in quality (in my opinion). I enjoyed quite a few of the poems, and I do see myself using this as a resource for my future students. I also thought it was a good idea to have the illustrations, because many times they helped with the understanding of the poems.
This book has a lot of different short poems by James Stevenson with illustrations by the author. Each poem provides good pictures. Good book for visual learners.
I think this book would be great for introducing poetry. It has many poems about a variety of different topics. Each poem uses text design to bring the poem to life.