Showing posts with label April 2022. Show all posts
Showing posts with label April 2022. Show all posts

Thursday, April 28, 2022

Shakespeare Bats Cleanup by Ron Koertge

Genre: Middle Grade, Poetry
Source: I own this book


So this is the fourth poetry book I've read today. I love the month of April when I start my Poetry unit in my classroom.  This book may just bet he one that pulls in my reluctant boys.  Kevin loves nothing more than playing baseball. Suddenly he is knocked out of playing by a severe case of Mono. He barely has the strength to walk across the room. Not only can he not play baseball, but he can't go to school. When he isn't napping  he has started writing poetry. His writer father has given him a notebook. In his father's office he finds a book about writing poetry that he sneaks to his room. He doesn't want anyone to know that he is writing poetry. For him this becomes a way of looking at and dealing with so many things in his life. It is a way of connecting with his thoughts and feelings about losing his mother.  So loved this book. I can't wait to read the second one, "Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs".

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Diamond Willow by Helen Frost

Genre: Novel in Verse, Upper Elementary, Middle Grade
Source: I own a copy






Like Helen's book "Hidden", this book has hidden gems inside each of the diamond shaped poems. It gives us a more indepth look at the story.  This is a story of a young girl named Willow who feels like she doesn't fit in anywhere except with their dogs. She loves them. When she is finally given the opportunity to take them out on her own, something terrible happens. Willow finds out she is never alone. Part of the story is told through the voice of ancenstors. There is so much to love about this book that as I have said with the last few books, this is a must read and a must have four school book shelves.
There are always interesting things within Helen's books. I had never heard of the diamond willow. I had to look it up and realized I knew an old man years ago when I was a child who had a diamond willow cane. I thought that he had burned the diamond shape into it. It is always wonderful to learn something new as an adult.

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Imperfect II by Tabatha Yeats, editor

Genre: Middle Grade, Poetry
Source: I own a copy




Once again we have a book of poetry geared toward kids. In this book we look at poetry from different perspectives. The perspective is what alter's the meaning. If you are interviewing someone about a fire that has just happened you will get different version of it based on the perspective of the person who was involved in the fire.  So it is with poetry. I can give my students the same topic, yet I will have a variety of poems, each different from the other, because they view the topic through their own unique perspective.

Through this book there are a variety of poetry forms. You have your simplest the acrostic on up to a golden shovel poem. There is something for everyone here.This is another great book I have on my shelves at school.

Monday, April 25, 2022

Spinning Through the Universe by Helen Frost

Genre: Middle Grade, Poetry, Novel in Verse
Source: I own a copy


Once again another favorite author. Helen Frost writes novels in verse. This is a book of poems from "room 214". This is a book that kids will be able to identify with. Although the teacher and students in this book are fiction, they could be any teacher or any student anywhere. She touches on topics such as; bikes. Jon's bike has gone missing in one poem. He talks about how special it is, noise and all. Then on the next page we read a poem by Andrew who took the bike because he had seen it lying in the rain. He didn't steal it because he wanted it. He took it to fix it up and return to Jon in better condition. There are poems about abuse, families and babies.  These are all topics kids deal with today. Helen's books are a must for all school and classroom libraries. I think the thing I enjoy the most about her books is at the back of each one. She has a section on the forms of poems she used and how to write them. Since reading her books I write more poetry and I have my students write more poetry. This is a must read.


Sunday, April 24, 2022

One Last Word by Nikki Grimes



Genre: Middle Grade, Poetry
Source: I own this book


I was first introduced to this book through another author. Helen Frost writes books in verse. One of my students asked how in her book "Hidden" she had written an extra message at the end of each line. I asked her and she told me it was through Nikki Grimes and her Golden Shovel Poems that she had copied this method.  She told me I needed to purchase this book, so I did. This is perfect since my students must create a book of their own original poems each year.  One of my requirements is that they must write at least one Golden Shovel Poem. Through her book and the wonderful illustrations we learn about a time in history most students of any color know little about, "The Harlem Renaissance". When she talks about that time int he front of her book we learn that this was a time where art was used to tell what life was like for black through their own perspective.  This isn't a book just for the blacks. This is a book for all races as we all face some of the same obstacles. Through her poetry we learn so much. We also see how some of what we hoped we would leave behind is still with us today.  This is such a wonderful book for so many reason and should be in every classroom.