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In the Land of Words: New and Selected Poems
This treasured poetry collection by Coretta Scott King Award-winning collaborators Eloise Greenfield and Jan Spivey Gilchrist journeys to a place where words, creativity, and imagination abound. Featuring twenty-one poems illustrated with sewn fabric collages, this tribute to the written word invites readers to look within themselves to discover what inspires them. Eloise Greenfield, winner of the National Council of Teachers of English Excellence in Poetry for Children Award, The words can come from a memory, or a dream, or something I see or hear or wonder about or imagine. . . . Maybe there's a place where words live, where our minds and hearts can go and find them when we want to write or read. I like to imagine that there is such a place. I call it "The Land of Words." Includes an author's note, a table of contents, sources, and an index.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published December 23, 2003
42 people want to read
About the author
Eloise Greenfield
74 books54 followersGreenfield was born Eloise Little in Parmele, North Carolina, and grew up in Washington, D.C., during the Great Depression in the Langston Terrace housing project, which provided a warm childhood experience for her.[1] She was the second oldest of five children of Weston W. Little and his wife Lessie Blanche (née Jones) Little (1906–1986). A shy and studious child, she loved music and took piano lessons.[2][3] Greenfield experienced racism first-hand in the segregated southern U.S., especially when she visited her grandparents in North Carolina and Virginia.[4] She graduated from Cardozo Senior High School in 1946 and attended Miner Teachers College until 1949. In her third year, however, she found that she was too shy to be a teacher and dropped out.[5]
Greenfield began work in the civil service at the U.S. Patent Office. In 1950, she married World War II veteran Robert J. Greenfield, a long-time friend. She began writing poetry and songs in the 1950s while working at the Patent Office, finally succeeding in getting her first poem published in the Hartford Times in 1962 after many years of writing and submitting poetry and stories.[6] After joining the District of Columbia Black Writers Workshop in 1971, she began to write books for children. She has published more than 40 children's books, including picture books, novels, poetry and biographies. She says that she seeks to "choose and order words that children will celebrate".[5][7]
Dismayed by the depiction of blacks and black communities in popular media, Greenfield has focused her work on realistic but positive portrayals of African-American communities, families and friendships.[1] These relationships are emphasized in Sister (1974) a young girl copes with the death of a parent with the help of other family members, Me and Nessie (1975) about best friends, My Daddy and I (1991) and Big Friend, Little Friend (1991) about mentoring.[5] Her first book, Bubbles (1972), "sets the tone for much of Greenfield's later work: Realistic portrayals of loving African American parents working hard to provide for their families, and the children who face life's challenges with a positive outlook."[1] In She Come Bringing Me that Little Baby Girl (1974), a boy deals with feelings of envy and learns to share his parents' love when his baby sister arrives. The poignant Alesia (1981) concerns the bravery of a girl handicapped by a childhood accident. Night on Neighborhood Street (1991) is a collection of poems depicting everyday life in an urban community. One of her best-known books, Honey I Love, first published in 1978, is a collection of poems for people of all ages concerning the daily lives and loving relationships of children and families. Her semi-autobiographical book Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir (1979) describes her happy childhood in a neighborhood with strong positive relationships.[5] In the introduction to that book, she explains her interest in biography:
People are a part of their time. They are affected, during the time that they live by the things that happen in their world. Big things and small things. A war, an invention such as radio or television, a birthday party, a kiss. All of these help to shape the present and the future. If we could know more about our ancestors, about the experiences they had when they were children, and after they had grown up, too, we would know much more about what has shaped us and our world.[8]
In 1971, Greenfield began work for the District of Columbia Black Writers' Workshop, as co-director of adult fiction and then, in 1973, as director of children's literature. That group's goal was to encourage the writing and publishing of African-American literature. She was writer-in-residence at the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities in 1985-86 and taught creative writing in schools under grants from the Commission. She has also lectured and given free workshops on writing of African-American children's
Greenfield began work in the civil service at the U.S. Patent Office. In 1950, she married World War II veteran Robert J. Greenfield, a long-time friend. She began writing poetry and songs in the 1950s while working at the Patent Office, finally succeeding in getting her first poem published in the Hartford Times in 1962 after many years of writing and submitting poetry and stories.[6] After joining the District of Columbia Black Writers Workshop in 1971, she began to write books for children. She has published more than 40 children's books, including picture books, novels, poetry and biographies. She says that she seeks to "choose and order words that children will celebrate".[5][7]
Dismayed by the depiction of blacks and black communities in popular media, Greenfield has focused her work on realistic but positive portrayals of African-American communities, families and friendships.[1] These relationships are emphasized in Sister (1974) a young girl copes with the death of a parent with the help of other family members, Me and Nessie (1975) about best friends, My Daddy and I (1991) and Big Friend, Little Friend (1991) about mentoring.[5] Her first book, Bubbles (1972), "sets the tone for much of Greenfield's later work: Realistic portrayals of loving African American parents working hard to provide for their families, and the children who face life's challenges with a positive outlook."[1] In She Come Bringing Me that Little Baby Girl (1974), a boy deals with feelings of envy and learns to share his parents' love when his baby sister arrives. The poignant Alesia (1981) concerns the bravery of a girl handicapped by a childhood accident. Night on Neighborhood Street (1991) is a collection of poems depicting everyday life in an urban community. One of her best-known books, Honey I Love, first published in 1978, is a collection of poems for people of all ages concerning the daily lives and loving relationships of children and families. Her semi-autobiographical book Childtimes: A Three-Generation Memoir (1979) describes her happy childhood in a neighborhood with strong positive relationships.[5] In the introduction to that book, she explains her interest in biography:
People are a part of their time. They are affected, during the time that they live by the things that happen in their world. Big things and small things. A war, an invention such as radio or television, a birthday party, a kiss. All of these help to shape the present and the future. If we could know more about our ancestors, about the experiences they had when they were children, and after they had grown up, too, we would know much more about what has shaped us and our world.[8]
In 1971, Greenfield began work for the District of Columbia Black Writers' Workshop, as co-director of adult fiction and then, in 1973, as director of children's literature. That group's goal was to encourage the writing and publishing of African-American literature. She was writer-in-residence at the District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities in 1985-86 and taught creative writing in schools under grants from the Commission. She has also lectured and given free workshops on writing of African-American children's
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 15, 2011
This book of poems was divided into two parts, and I really liked the poems in the second part and wasn't too keen on the ones in part one. The opening poem, "In the Land of Words," was lyrical and made me realize what a blessing it is to be able to read. My favorite poem was "Books," because it describes me perfectly.
Books
I've got
Books on the bunk bed
Books on the chair
Books on the couch
And every old where
But I want more books
I just can't get enough
I want more books about
All kinds of stuff, like
Jackie's troubles
Raymond's joys
Rabbits, kangaroos
Girls and boys
Mountains, valleys
Winter, spring
Campfires, vampires
Every old thing
I want to
Lie down on my bunk bed
Lean back in my chair
Curl up on the couch
And every old where
And
read
more
books!
I even had bunk beds when I was a kid. And my house even now is crowded with books. I also liked "Story," which describes me when I read.
Story
I step into the story.
I leave my world behind.
I let the walls of story
Be the walls around my mind.
New faces and new voices.
I listen and I see,
and people I have never met
mean everything to me.
I worry when they worry,
I quake when danger's near,
I hold my breath and hope
that all their troubles disappear.
I don't know what will happen,
I never know what I'll find,
when I step into a story
and leave my world behind.
Oh yes! I also enjoyed the illustrations, which are sewn and made out of felt, cloth, and yarn. Very enjoyable!
Books
I've got
Books on the bunk bed
Books on the chair
Books on the couch
And every old where
But I want more books
I just can't get enough
I want more books about
All kinds of stuff, like
Jackie's troubles
Raymond's joys
Rabbits, kangaroos
Girls and boys
Mountains, valleys
Winter, spring
Campfires, vampires
Every old thing
I want to
Lie down on my bunk bed
Lean back in my chair
Curl up on the couch
And every old where
And
read
more
books!
I even had bunk beds when I was a kid. And my house even now is crowded with books. I also liked "Story," which describes me when I read.
Story
I step into the story.
I leave my world behind.
I let the walls of story
Be the walls around my mind.
New faces and new voices.
I listen and I see,
and people I have never met
mean everything to me.
I worry when they worry,
I quake when danger's near,
I hold my breath and hope
that all their troubles disappear.
I don't know what will happen,
I never know what I'll find,
when I step into a story
and leave my world behind.
Oh yes! I also enjoyed the illustrations, which are sewn and made out of felt, cloth, and yarn. Very enjoyable!
June 25, 2019
This collection of 21 poems is split into two parts, "The Poet/The Poem" and "In the Land." Greenfield wrote these poems based on inspirations through memories, dreams, and experiences. The first part has an explanation before each poem to describe its inspiration.
I think this poetry collection is a creative way to express Greenfield's imagination and inspire others to create their own words from the heart. This book has illustrations included with each poem and a variety of formats in which each poem is written. It is a great tool for teaching personal writing.
I think this poetry collection is a creative way to express Greenfield's imagination and inspire others to create their own words from the heart. This book has illustrations included with each poem and a variety of formats in which each poem is written. It is a great tool for teaching personal writing.
April 23, 2021
I think this book is very suitable for all people. Because this poem it many people thinking maybe when they finish this book they will feel better. I choose this book because it has many colors to make readers be happy. And it all a poem so I think maybe it will make me relax. And it same as my expectations because when I finish this book I feel very relax and know my thinking is true.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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March 4, 2021This is a good poetry book for children because it has fun pictures to keep them engaged, but also because it is all about words and can get them interested in learning about words.
Age level: 4-8 years
Lexile Level: 3.8
Age level: 4-8 years
Lexile Level: 3.8
October 29, 2019
This book has poems about many topics, I specifically like this one because the author includes a description of where she got her inspiration from for some of her poems.
March 8, 2015
Greenfield's collection of poems is a great addition to any classroom. "In the Land of Words" is a great teaching tool for poetry. Greenfield gives great examples of the different components of poetry such as the spacing, capitalization, metaphors, and meaning. This book has two parts: The Poet/ The Poem and In the Land. The first part is a more personal selection of poems about the writer or personal stories. The second part has poems about different experiences. I love how she shares the story of why the poem was written along with the poem.
My favorite poem was Books. The author clearly has a love for reading and this poem does a fantastic job sharing that. This poem also has different spacing on some of the lines and at the end some words are bigger than others. This poem has much to be interpreted. Whereas the theme of this poem is much easier to understand there are many writing features that can be interpreted by the class.
Some of the poems have a deeper meaning than others, but all of the poems have different structures and styles that need to be interpreted by the class. I think that this collection of poems would be a great way to teach poetry to the class. I think these poems could be taught in the upper elementary 3-5 classes. I wouldn't read this book all at once to my class. I could see using it as a poem a day during a poetry unit or splitting it into a poem per week where the class focused on one poem for a week or the topic of that poem during the week. These poems have a range of topics that all students can relate to and will enjoy. I would love to see my students use these poems as references for writing their own poetry!
I loved Greenfield's collection of poems and I plan to look at her other work as well. She has nice illustrations and topics that upper elementary children would enjoy!
My favorite poem was Books. The author clearly has a love for reading and this poem does a fantastic job sharing that. This poem also has different spacing on some of the lines and at the end some words are bigger than others. This poem has much to be interpreted. Whereas the theme of this poem is much easier to understand there are many writing features that can be interpreted by the class.
Some of the poems have a deeper meaning than others, but all of the poems have different structures and styles that need to be interpreted by the class. I think that this collection of poems would be a great way to teach poetry to the class. I think these poems could be taught in the upper elementary 3-5 classes. I wouldn't read this book all at once to my class. I could see using it as a poem a day during a poetry unit or splitting it into a poem per week where the class focused on one poem for a week or the topic of that poem during the week. These poems have a range of topics that all students can relate to and will enjoy. I would love to see my students use these poems as references for writing their own poetry!
I loved Greenfield's collection of poems and I plan to look at her other work as well. She has nice illustrations and topics that upper elementary children would enjoy!
March 10, 2011
This is a great model poetry text for young writers because of its variety. Greenfield plays with font, type size, color, spacing, rhythm, rhyme, and numerous other aspects of poetry to create a lively poetry book filled with light-hearted fun and humor. Students will be exposed to a vast range of different ways to play with text and enhance meaning -- techniques students will enjoy using and find fun and entertaining. The bright and simple pictures are created through felt cut-outs, making them seem almost three-dimensional. It's as if both the words and pictures are jumping off the page into the reader's world. My favorite section is a serious of conversations between the poet and words and/or the poem itself. Students will easily relate to the frustrations the poet is feeling about finding the correct words to write and best ways to express himself/herself. All in all, this is a great book to share with young writers to encourage poetry writing and to demonstrate the freedom and creativity the genre of poetry can provide them.
February 19, 2016
Greenfield's collection of 21 poems is a mix of old favorites and new verses that are ideal for reading aloud. Greenfield prefaces her book with an author's note that explains this work is an answer to a question she is often asked "where do your words come from?" In response, she has provided a sentence or two with each verse to provide readers with a glimpse of the inspiration behind each poem. The works vary in style and length from the rhythmic beat of "Nathaniel's Rap" to the gentle musing of "To Catch a Fish" and include both rhyme and free verse.
This book is a lovely opportunity to peek into the process of this very successful poet and perhaps encourage young readers to express their own creativity as Greenfield shows that inspiration can be found anywhere. All we have to do is look and listen for the words.
Gilchrist's illustrations are equally inspired in her use of sewn fabric collage that adds depth to the page while her use of basic colors and shapes provide an uncluttered background for the words.
This book is a lovely opportunity to peek into the process of this very successful poet and perhaps encourage young readers to express their own creativity as Greenfield shows that inspiration can be found anywhere. All we have to do is look and listen for the words.
Gilchrist's illustrations are equally inspired in her use of sewn fabric collage that adds depth to the page while her use of basic colors and shapes provide an uncluttered background for the words.
March 11, 2013
In this book, author Eloise Greenfield shares how she came up with ideas for poems and then the poems themselves. Before the first part of the book, there is a free-standing poem titled "In the Land of Words." I particularly loved the lines "and let the words rain down on me./ Come, rain, bring/ your knowledge and your/music..." The pictures are very simplistic yet extremely intriguing because they are a not-often seem mixed media of sewn fabric collages. I found the fix of poems to be very deep and require much reflection. Overall, the idea that words are a vehicle with which to share these deep ideas and topics made it a great read.
This would be a great book for upper-elementary students as a mentor text because it alludes to the author's process as well as their final product.
This would be a great book for upper-elementary students as a mentor text because it alludes to the author's process as well as their final product.
November 8, 2015
This is one of my poetry picture books.
Eloise Greenfield's poetry is child-friendly and rhythmic. She writes about family and nature and things that are part of a child's world. Her poetry is paired with wonderful illustrations in this book. The illustrator is Jan Spivey Gilchrist. She uses a unique method of illustrating by using felt. The illustrations are as playful as the text and upon first glance make the reader want to know how she made it look the way she did.
I have read this collection with my Kindergarten students and they understood and enjoyed the poems quite a bit. I could see this book being used in first or second grade as well because of the variety of poems she creates.
Eloise Greenfield's poetry is child-friendly and rhythmic. She writes about family and nature and things that are part of a child's world. Her poetry is paired with wonderful illustrations in this book. The illustrator is Jan Spivey Gilchrist. She uses a unique method of illustrating by using felt. The illustrations are as playful as the text and upon first glance make the reader want to know how she made it look the way she did.
I have read this collection with my Kindergarten students and they understood and enjoyed the poems quite a bit. I could see this book being used in first or second grade as well because of the variety of poems she creates.
October 31, 2013
Word Count: 1,941
Reading Level: 3.8
Interest Level: K-3
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 3.8 / points: 0.5 / quiz: 103504 (02/02/06) / grade: Lower Grades
This poem book is filled with 21 little fun poems about every day life things like making friends thunders storms, poems, books, catching fish, and fun imaginary boy named Nathaniel who can rap. This poem book would be great for any poetry lesson on rhyme and rhyme scheme. This is a good book to introduce to students who are being introduced to what poetry is.
Reading Level: 3.8
Interest Level: K-3
Accelerated Reader: reading level: 3.8 / points: 0.5 / quiz: 103504 (02/02/06) / grade: Lower Grades
This poem book is filled with 21 little fun poems about every day life things like making friends thunders storms, poems, books, catching fish, and fun imaginary boy named Nathaniel who can rap. This poem book would be great for any poetry lesson on rhyme and rhyme scheme. This is a good book to introduce to students who are being introduced to what poetry is.
March 20, 2010
This Coretta Scott King winner is a collection of poems that uses words to shape their stories. The words can come from a memory, or a dream, or something I see or hear or wonder about or imagine. National Council of Teachers of English Excellence in Poetry for Children Award winner Eloise Greenfield journeys to a place where words, creativity, and imagination abound. Gilchrist used illustrations that contain textural aspects that you can pick from the page.
March 10, 2013
Great poetry book. I think that this book would be a great book to use to introduce poetry to kids. There are many poems with different topics. I would use some of these poems and have them fill in the blank to describe themselves.
Its a great book, and fun to read. I think you can use this in all grades. Poetry can be daunting to students, and this book lets you know that doing poetry can be fun.
Its a great book, and fun to read. I think you can use this in all grades. Poetry can be daunting to students, and this book lets you know that doing poetry can be fun.
October 6, 2014
In this collection of twenty-one poems, National Council of Teachers of English Excellence in Poetry for Children Award winner Eloise Greenfield pays tribute to words through creative and imaginative verses. Brightly colored fabric collage illustrations mixed with enlightening prose make this a very good poetry book for transitional readers. The author uses rhythm as a style to create the meaning of the poems. The content allows for concept learning of sensory images and language forms.
October 13, 2011
I like some of these a lot. The ones I didn't like as much were more like prose poems. I bet these would be great performance poems--the kind that are much better when read aloud than when digested silently on the plate of a page. I liked the ones about poems/words/books/language the most.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2009
The illustrations in this book were beautiful! It was pictures of felt embroidery. I loved it.
August 19, 2012
Books is my favorite poem in this book.
"I want to lie down on my bunk bed
lean back on my chair
curl up on the couch
And every old where
And
read
more
books!"
"I want to lie down on my bunk bed
lean back on my chair
curl up on the couch
And every old where
And
read
more
books!"
Read
August 28, 2013cute book for poetry and kids
April 13, 2014
How is this the first I've read of her poetry? It's amazing. Words put together in such a delicious way I wish I could eat them.
November 26, 2014
Fun variety of poems best read aloud to others.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews