A Child's Introduction to Poetry Revised Edition
Authors: X.J Kennedy & Dorothy M. Kennedy
Illustrator: Karen Lee Baker
ISBN: 0-316-48800-3
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
WHAT DO POEMS DO?
Make You Smile
Tell Stories
Send Messages
Share Feelings
Help You Understand People
Start You Wondering
This mini question and answer is just one part out of four that was given in the beginning of the book I chose, which is Knock at a Star by X.J. Kennedy and Dorothy M. Kennedy. The book is a collection of poems and like it says it in the title a great way for a child to be introduced to poetry. The poems are separated into categories throughout the book. The categories give a description of what the poems goals are in that section. For instance, to send a message- "the poems often have a point to make. They leave us with something to think about, and they don't waste words."
I loved that the poems had the 3R's that we used once before, rhyme, rhythm and repetition and where written in an easy way for children to understand. The poems where expressive and detailed to a point where a child would be able to close his/her eyes and imagine what the picture would look like using descriptive words. One of my favorite poems in the book is called Childhood by Frances Cornford. Cornford's poem describes a time from when he was a child thinking that as a adults got older they chose to look the way they do. It was so sweet because it reminds me of when I was a child not understanding why people looked they way they did. Who decided that? and Why? I think now of how the children in my class ask questions to all the adults not meaning to be rude but curious. "What is that?" (pointing to a birthmark). "Why do you have that?" (pointing to a pimple).
I think this poetry book can help a child understand why certain things are the way they are, as well as reading them just for pleasure. The few poems closer to the end in part three especially because they have music tones to them. I also liked the fact that the book gives the reader an opportunity to write their own poems after reading the book and help give ideas in the end of part four. So if your ever wondering what poems are used for or how to introduce poetry into the classroom, this book is the one you would want to use.
Cristal, I love the ways in which you explain why this book would be beneficial in the classroom. I think it is extremely important for teachers to be able to explain poetry in a way that is not overly complicated and therefore intimidating. Even the word "poetry" causes some adults to panic because many people believe it must be complicated and difficult and abstract to truly be poetry. This is one of the reasons that I adore children's poetry, it simply is what it is, they are often times not pretentious.
ReplyDeleteI love that the poems in your book focus on everyday items and experiences. I blogged on the Shel Silverstein book "Falling Up" and know that I feel more comfortable reading poetry when the subject matter is something I understand and feel as though that would obviously make children more comfortable. I also think that at least when beginning a unit on poetry there be some similarity between the poems which is why rhyme, rhythm and repetition can be so important.