Poetry Books - Reading Response

 

Brooks, Gwendolyn. Bronzeville Boys and Girls. Illustrated by Faith Ringgold. Amistad/HarperCollins, 2007. $16.99. 9780060295059 Gr. PreK-3.

Gwendolyn Brooks’ 34 poems about children in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood were originally published in 1956, but they still feel completely relevant and accurate to the inner life of a child. There is a table of contents listing each poem and its page number. The title of each short poem incorporates at least one child’s name, making very clear that children are the focus and these poems are written for children. The language incorporates many poetic techniques such as similes, metaphors, assonance, personification, alliteration, repetition, and more. Many of the poems rhyme, and many use four-line stanzas or couplets, while others are one long stanza. But the language is never overdone; the sing-song rhyming quality and the vivid, clear words allow the poetry to fit its audience. Most of all, the ideas in the poems, which vary from funny to reflective to sad to serious, all truly feel like ideas that children have. As children look at a tree, a squirrel, a star, or a clock, they are their own person and yet they also stand for the feelings that almost every child feels. It’s impressive how Brooks is able to capture the mindset of a child perfectly. Some of my favorite lines are “She knew that clouds taste better than / Oats to a little child” (18) and “What good is sun / If I can’t run?” (15).

Faith Ringgold’s artwork, with thick black lines outlining people, places, and things, suit the text well. They have a childlike quality to them, and the bright colors she uses suit the vitality of childhood – and of the text. They fit the story of each poem without distracting from the words of the poem. Most of all, they celebrate Bronzeville children just as Brooks’ poems do.

I think this is a perfect book to share with children. It could definitely be read out loud so that the sounds can be appreciated. It would be very interesting to talk about each poem to see how the children interpret the different emotions and questions that are expressed. It might also be interesting to read a poem and have children draw their own illustrations before showing them Ringgold’s, to see what most strikes their imagination as they listen to the words.

Engle, Margarita. Bravo!: Poems About Amazing Hispanics. Illustrated by Rafael López. Godwin Books/Henry Holt & Co, 2017. $19.99. 9780805098761 Gr. 3-7.

This book has a very clear purpose stated by the author in her introduction: she wants to celebrate Hispanic people. 18 notable men and women are shared through the poetry in this book. The audience is children grades 3-7; the stories are not overly detailed and often highlight one main accomplishment. Each person is introduced by name, birth and death dates, and the Spanish-speaking country of their ancestry, then described in a short biographical poem that paints an interesting picture of their life and sometimes ends with a moral or message. The poems are in free verse, in no consistent meter, with clear language that is more realistic than figurative. I believe Engle chooses not to use extremely poetic language because she wants the focus to be on the people, not the poetry. The full-page illustrations of each person were created “using a combination of acrylic on wood, pen and ink, watercolor, construction paper, and Adobe Photoshop.”  Their facial expressions are realistic-looking, and the backgrounds are simple scenes or patterns, with only a few other objects in the picture. Just like the poems, the illustrations honor the human beings rather than overshadow them. At the back of the book, there is a “Notes About the Lives” section where readers can learn a few more specific details about each person. I think Engle succeeds in introducing us to remarkable people whose lives deserve to be remembered. She does a nice job of describing someone’s essence without revealing everything, which I think could encourage students to research and learn more. A fun project might be to have students choose a favorite person from the book and learn more about them through other sources.

Harjo, Joy. Remember. Illustrated by Michaela Goade. Random House Studio, 2023. $18.99. 9780593484845 Gr. PreK-3.

This is an illustrated picture book adaptation of Harjo’s poem “Remember”, with only a couple lines of the original left out. In her author’s note, Joy Harjo says that this poem reminded her “who [she is] as a human being living on this generous earth.” Although the audience for the initial poem may have been adults, adapting it into a children’s book creates a new audience. Fortunately, the poem’s strong images and repetition of the word “Remember” create an attention-grabbing pattern that will hold the interest of children, even though the poem is in free verse and does not use rhyming. The text of the poem might seem simple as it takes the reader through elements of nature and relationships, but the central theme of our connection to everything on Earth is extremely powerful. Metaphor is used often and effectively, such as “we are earth” or “this universe is you.” The moon and the wind are both personified as “her.” Harjo engenders a love for nature when she reminds us that animals have “their tribes, / their families, their histories, too” and tells us: “Talk to them, listen to them.”

The words are powerful on their own, but Michaela Goade’s watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil illustrations, inspired by her Tlingit ancestry, truly bring the message to life. In her artist’s note, Michaela Goade shares that certain elements of her illustrations were brought to life using formline design, which is used by Indigenous Nations in the Pacific Northwest. She also incorporates Tlingit traditional stories and regalia in the images. Most pages have a darker base with brighter and lighter colors adding detail. Earth’s beauty is captured through vast skies, sparkling stars, and soft white silhouettes of animals, nature, and people overlaid on top of other elements, such as when the sun and moon appear inside a girl’s eyes. The images are beautiful, but they also match exactly with Harjo’s message that we are all one. Even the youngest children can be taught the idea of connection and respect for everyone and everything, especially when the teaching tool is this striking book.

Raczka, Bob. A Mix of Concrete Poems. Roaring Book Press, 2016. 48 pages. $18.99. 9781626722361 Gr. 3-7.

The poet Bob Raczka explains that in a concrete poem a “poet arranges words in the shape of the thing the poem is about” (1). He states his purpose by saying “I hope these poems make you smile. I hope they make you look at words in a fresh way. Most of all, I hope they make you want to play with words yourself” (1). Raczka absolutely accomplishes his aim with the ingenious poems he creates for this concrete poem collection. Some poems are puzzles to be solved as the reader figures out which direction the words go and what image they are depicting. Even his poem titles are part of the fun, such his poem “autumn” which is written with the letter “n” falling down on the page just like autumn leaves fall.

Besides the obvious concrete structure, Raczka uses other poetic language like rhyme and metaphor throughout the book. One of my favorite metaphors was when he called lightning “a cloud tantrum” (37). His inventive word choices match his inventive poetic structure. There doesn’t seem to be a specific organization to the order of poems in the book, but that creates excitement and wonder about what shape might come next, if the reader isn’t continually turning back to the Table of Contents. There aren’t extra illustrations because the poems themselves are illustrations. The pages are only in black and white, which keeps our attention on the words and their format. Some pages are white with black letters, while some pages are black with white letters, usually because the objects is those cases is things that appear at night.

The book is geared towards grades 3-7, and this is appropriate because younger ages might not have the patience to read the poems in their unique formats. I think this would be a perfect book for students who claim they don’t like poetry. The novel shape (and short length) of the poems will create interest and hold attention. The poet’s hope is that the book will inspire students to create their own playful poems, and librarians could encourage this by giving students the chance to brainstorm objects and try their hands at their own poetry. Raczka’s sense of fun could provide the missing motivational piece that some students need.