Poetry: Jumping Off Library Shelves

Jumping Off Library Shelves: A Book of Poems
Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Illustrated by Jane Manning

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, and Jane Manning. Jumping off Library Shelves: a Book of Poems. Honesdale, PA: WordSong, an imprint of Highlights, 2015. 9781590789247

Summary

Lee Bennett Hopkins has compiled fifteen poems that celebrate the joys of books and reading. The poems share the marvels of finding refuge, getting your first library card, exploring the internet, searching for the perfect story, meeting a librarian who knows exactly what you need, finding the best place to read the best books. People and animals alike find solace in the comfort of the warm library, a home away from home.

Analysis

Each poem uses a different poetic element that fits the author's style. Sound, rhythm, and rhyme are the most impactful, while sense imagery and figurative language turn the words into pictures. In Book Pillows, words like "Wild things on a rumpus!/ Fat evil kings!/ Boy wizards, girl witches!/ Horses with wings!" The author of this poem, Amy Ludwig Vanderwater, uses this figurative language to bring the words of her poem to life. In Enchantment, Jane Yolen writes "Stack by stack,/ shelf by shelf,/ I pick out books/ all by myself." Not only does this poem have a playful and easily recognized rhyme scheme, it also brings forth a sense of pride that readers can identify with. It's a relatable feeling, picking out a book by themselves.

Despite the wide variety of authors from many different backgrounds and experiences, each of the poems fits together beautifully. Hopkins has collected a strong group of poems that evoke strong emotions of happiness and contentment. Many readers have positive memories in a library, and reading this book of poems helps recall those fond memories. The poems are consistent in quality and build upon each other. Reading a poem individually is entertaining, but reading the entire collection is even more enriching. 

The illustrations match the positive feelings presented in this book. Jane Manning has created warm and inviting watercolor illustrations of the various characters and perspectives that resemble the warm and inviting atmosphere of the library. 

Excerpt

BREAKFAST BETWEEN THE SHELVES

They find words

sprinkled like cracker salt

on all those pages

where genius weaves letters

into magic; beckons new readers:

Look! This is the book for you.

Connections

While reading this book aloud, encourage children to study the illustrations and think about how the words reflect what is drawn. Start a conversation about how words can form pictures in our heads. Give them poems printed and have them circle the words the are the most descriptive of the poem. 

Reviews

A review from the Journal of Children’s Literature wrote "Jane Manning’s gouache-and-pencil paintings, featuring a softened background accented with splashes of vibrant color, beautifully complement the text and speak to both the serenity and the power of the library and the books it houses."

D. P. 2016. “Jumping Off Library Shelves: A Book of Poems.” Journal of Children’s Literature 42 (2): 51. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=118900186&site=ehost-live.

Shelle Rosenfeld writing for Booklist said, "Enchanting gouache-and-pencil illustrations range from whimsical— a boy reads amid a swirling landscape of dinosaurs, basketballs, outer space, animals, and sea— to sweet, like cozily sharing a book a deux, snow falling outside. Honoring libraries as places and resources that can inspire joy, learning, and imagination, this is charming all around."

Rosenfeld, Shelle. 2015. “Jumping off Library Shelves: A Book of Poems.” Booklist 112 (5): 42. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=110689679&site=ehost-live.

 

Poetry: Ordinary Hazards

Ordinary Hazards

by Nikki Grimes

Grimes, Nikki. Ordinary Hazards: a Memoir. Honesdale, PA: WordSong, an imprint of Highlights 2019. 9781629798813

Summary

Ordinary Hazards is a memoir written by Nikki Grimes about the first sixteen years of her life. The book is broken up into four "books": the first from 1950-1955, the second from 1955-1960, the third from 1960-1963, and the fourth from 1963-1966. Using poetry, which she discovered at the age of six, she details her mother's paranoid schizophrenia, her life in foster care with and without her sister Carol by her side, her relationship with her other family members, and other "ordinary hazards" that she experienced. Some of the poems are memories from her notebooks that she wrote as a child, which were tragically destroyed by her mother. Others are originals that she coined to tell her tale. The book includes several pictures from this time period and an author's note that explains that memory can be a tricky thing, and due to the trauma that she experienced, Nikki's memory contains gaps. Without the notebooks that she wrote as a child, she relied on stories from other people from her life, including her sister Carol. 

Analysis

Ordinary Hazards is the raw and emotional memoir of Nikki Grimes' early life. Of the poetic elements, the emotional impact is the greatest. Readers who are drawn to tragedy will not be disappointed as Grimes delivers highs and lows with a true poet's lyricism. Some events in this memoir may be uncomfortably close to home for some and those who do not share these experiences will have a better understanding about the effect that these events might have. She uses familiar words that are easy to understand, and when coupled with the direction of the white space with each poem, readers will find this book to be a fast read that is difficult to put down. Because the poems are arranged chronologically, they feel more immersive. Grimes has invited readers into life her life, looking through her eyes and feeling her feelings. It's deeply personal and readers will finish the book feeling connected to her, and to others who may have experienced similar events. Each poem reflects the age about which it was written, from a small child's perspective to a teenagers rebellious spirit. in the middle of her tragedies, Grimes shares moments of compassion, kindness, and hope that inspire others to remain strong in the face of their own adversities. Her story will stick like glue and leave readers feeling heart-broken and yet uplifted at each of her triumphs.

Excerpt

RECORD KEEPING

My spiral notebook bulges

with poems and prayers

and questions only God

can answer.

Rage burns the pages,

but better them

than me.

Connections

After finishing this memoir, students should try to write their own poem based off of a major event in their lives. This event could be a happy or sad one, but should be about something impactful. Using poetry as an outlet like Grimes has done in this memoir can help students to explore their own feelings about their experiences and express themselves in a new way. Using refrigerator magnets to piece together the basic words of their experiences might be a fun exercise as well. After assembling the main points using the magnets, students can fill in the rest of the poem with their own words.

Reviews

One writer from Horn Book Magazine wrote, "Striking free-verse poems powerfully limn a childhood marked by trauma, loss, and abuse. Throughout, Grimes reveals how a passion for writing fueled her will to survive and allowed her to embrace her own resilience. A moving and searingly honest memoir."

“Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir.” 2020. Horn Book Magazine 96 (1): 18. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=141023453&site=ehost-live.

Sierra Dickey, with the School Library Journal, wrote, " In long poems, short poems, and the occasional prose poem, Grimes guides us through her past tragedies and triumphs while keenly observed moments build her inner world... This nontraditional memoir from a long-working and highly acclaimed author will speak deeply to young readers harboring their own interest in writing or otherwise squeezing art out of life's spiky fruit."

Dickey, Sierra. 2019. “Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir.” School Library Journal 65 (9): 101–4. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=138876624&site=ehost-live.

Poetry: Get Me Out of This Book: Rules and Tools for Being Brave

Get Me Out of This Book: Rules and Tools for Being Brave

By Kalli Dakos and Deborah Cholette
Illustrated by Sara Infante

Dakos, Kalli, Deborah Cholette, and Sara Infante. Get Me Out of This Book: Rules & Tools for Being Brave. New York, NY: Holiday House, 2019. 9780823438624

Summary

Max is a bookmark who used to be scared of books. After getting trapped on a page with a king cobra, he decided that he needed to go back to school and earn the Special Bookmark Badge. He wanted to learn to handle the "SCARIEST pictures of the SCARIEST books!" Using the Rules and Tools, Max learns to not be afraid of scary sharks, creepy cockroaches, or haunted houses. He earned his badge and soon found himself in a new scary book with a scary monster all alone in the dark; this time he was prepared! Breathing deeply, he made his plan and thought good thoughts, when suddenly he realized that the monster might be afraid of the dark too. Max told the monster "Don't be afraid!" because the Rules and Tools really work!

Analysis

Get Me Out of This Book is a delightful tale about overcoming your fears, using the Rules and Tools adapted from the Navy Seals' own techniques. Dakos and Cholette use sound and the occasional repeating rhyme to give their story the greatest impact. Many words throughout this book are in all capital letters and a larger font than the rest, giving them a greater emphasis and inviting readers to shout out loud. The use of capital letters and larger font beg this book to be read aloud. Throughout the book Max proclaims, "I couldn't LOOK and I SHOOK and I SCREAMED - GET ME OUT OF THIS BOOK!" Readers will come to expect this proclamation and will enjoy yelling along with Max. 

Max's fear and desire to be tough are experiences that everyone can relate, especially the children that are the intended audience. Infante has created wonderful illustrations that show us his emotions perfectly as he runs from his fears and eventually confronts them. Max can be seen breathing deeply, wiggling along to the song that he wrote, and laughing triumphantly at the pile of bones on the ground. This book gives readers an insight to their own fears and helps them to realize that they too can overcome them, if they follow the Rules and Tools.

Excerpt

And then I knew that I would be okay, too, even in

the SCARIEST pictures in the SCARIEST books

because the RULES AND TOOLS really work!

Connections

After reading this book out loud, encouraging the audience to join in when Max proclaims the repeating rhyme, children should be encouraged to share something that they are afraid of themselves. After this, adults should read the book again, guiding children through the Rules and Tools while they picture their own fears. They may be surprised to find that they aren't so scary after all.

Reviews

One reviewer from Kirkus Reviews stated, "Stylized mixed-media illustrations create an air of whimsy and encouragement in an artistic style reminiscent of Oliver Jeffers': Scribbled lines pop against generous white space and a muted, textured color palette. Repetitive and at times rhyming, the text builds a rhythm that lends itself to read-alouds, especially for educators with students who seem to have difficulty regulating fear-related emotions."

“GET ME OUT OF THIS BOOK: Rules and Tools for Being Brave.” 2019. Kirkus Reviews 87 (7): N.PAG. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=135609870&site=ehost-live.

Joan Kindig, writing for School Library Journal, remarked on the illustrations, "The art is just perfect for this story. The "scary" images are not nearly as scary as Max seems to think and the interspersing of darker images with the light takes the fright down a notch. Max, himself, is appealing and his emotions are shown best in the shape of his mouth and arch of his eyebrows."

Kindig, Joan. 2019. “Get Me Out of This Book: Rules and Tools for Being Brave.” School Library Journal 65 (5): 62. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=136705927&site=ehost-live.