Social Studies Poetry: The Watch That Ends The Night

The Watch That Ends The Night: Voices From the Titanic
By Allan Wolf

Wolf, Allan. The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic. Somerville, MA: Candlewick, 2012. 9780763637033

Plot Summary

Twenty-four voices come together to tell their stories of their time on the wonderous Titanic. The immigrant, shipbuilder, millionaire, navigator, gambler, spark, socialite, bagpiper, lookout, dragon hunter, stoker, tailor, tailor's son, second violin, businessman, baker, junior officer, entrée cook, refugee, captain, undertaker, postman, Carpathia's wireless man, the ship rat, and the iceberg give their first hand account of that fateful journey. Some are journeying to freedom, opportunity, a new life, or are searching for a promising future. All throughout this book, the undertaker's voice can be heard, foreshadowing the tragedy that is destined to occur. The story begins on April 1st as the ship prepares to sail and the passengers begin boarding. Setting out on April 10th, the Titanic traveled to one last port in Queenstown, Ireland on April 11th before sailing out to open sea on April 12th. The passengers and crew enjoyed several days of traveling before disaster struck on the night of April 14th, when the Titanic met its match in the form of the iceberg. 

Analysis

Allan Wolf has carefully sifted through the stories of over two thousand passengers to expertly craft this novel-in-verse; a story that is well-known but still highly intriguing to millions around the globe. Everyone knows about the tragedy of the Titanic, yet Wolf was able to write a book of poems that brought fresh and new perspectives. Readers will find themselves connecting with each of the twenty-four voices despite knowing that some will not have a happy ending. Its heartbreaking to read, knowing how the story ends and yet readers will feel compelled to continue reading. Wolf titled each poem with the name and title of each character to avoid any confusion. Choosing to write each poem in first-person (or rat-person and iceberg-person), gives this book a greater emotional impact.

Wolf gives each character in this novel their own unique voice, and reflects this in the style of poetry that he uses. For example, the ship rat's poems are in the concrete style and give readers the feeling of sneaking around like a rat might do. The language reflects the class of character as well. Frederick Fleet, a lookout on the ship, speaks speaks as a sailor would saying, “You might say the crow’s nest / is me own special room. Ha. / Although there’s no place t’ sit” while the well-spoken millionaire John Jacob Astor says, “We wished to linger longer in the Valley of the Kings, / but it just wasn't meant to be. A private matter had come up.” Wolf changed his tone to make each character feel more authentic and true to their nature.

Because some of this novel is based in fact, Wolf has included an extensive Notes section that includes a note from the author himself, notes on each of the characters, Morse code messages with a translation, notes about the RMS Titanic, and a lengthy bibliography of each of the sources that he used. The notes are just as interesting to read as the novel itself and readers will enjoy finding out more about the characters, the ship, and trying their hand at decoding Harold Bride's Morse code messages.

Excerpt

Watch how the water licks Titanic's hull.

Hear how the water makes her rivets creak.

See how, before her trip even begins,

the water is obsessed with getting in.

Connections

There are many resources and videos on the internet about the Titanic, including a video that shows the sinking in real time and many recordings of the wreckage after her discovery. After finishing this novel, it would be interesting to explore the wreckage footage as a group. If the audience is older, it may be appropriate to view James Cameron's 1994 Titanic.

Reviews

Melinda Adams from the Library Media Connection wrote "This is a well-detailed and historically accurate portrayal of the events and brings the feelings and emotions of the characters alive . . . This book will make a wonderful addition to any library, as well as the high school English Language Arts or History curriculum."

Adams, Melinda A.1. 2012. “The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic.” Library Media Connection 30 (5): 74. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=73798547&site=ehost-live.

John Peters wrote for the School Library Journal saying, "Wolf gives another watershed historical event a fictional, strongly internalized, obsessively researched treatment . . . Rounded off with more than 30 pages of published references, summary biographies, and factual material condensed from the "sea of information" compiled about the disaster's course and victims, this doorstopper will likely overwhelm younger audiences, but will be meat and drink to "Titaniacs" (as the author dubs them) of the more rabid sort."

Peters, John. 2011. “The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic.” School Library Journal 57 (10): 152. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=525514847&site=ehost-live.

Biographical Poetry: How I Discovered Poetry

How I Discovered Poetry
By Marilyn Nelson
Illustrations by Hadley Hooper

Nelson, Marilyn, and Hadley Hooper. How I Discovered Poetry. New York, NY: Dial Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 2014. 9780803733046

Plot Summary

Take a peek at the early life of Marilyn Nelson, a National Book Award finalist and Newbery Honor winner. Written from her perspective and spanning from age four to fourteen, Nelson shares fifty intimate poems about growing up in a military family during the Civil Rights Movement, the "Red Scare", the atom bomb, and the beginning of the feminist movement.

Analysis

Though this is not considered a true memoir that is based on her memories, this poetry book condensed a tumultuous time of Marilyn Nelson's life into fifty poems that are quick to read and can be enjoyed by children from age twelve and older. The poems are unrhymed sonnets with fourteen lines and roughly ten syllables per line. She has included difficult topics, such as racism, the "Red Scare", and the constant fear of atomic destruction, but the way that she presents these topics makes them less overwhelming and more personal. Throughout this book, the poems become more complex as Nelson's understanding of the world around her grows. The poems start by feeling very scattered and fast, just as a child's train of thought zips from thought to thought. In her poem Bomb Drill, she writes, "We ducked and covered underneath our desks,/ hiding from drajen bombs in school today./ Maybe drajens would turn into butter/ if they ran really fast around a tree." She was able to present a very scary topic in a softer way, through the eyes of a child who does not fully understand it. As she grows older, Nelson adds more to each poem giving them more depth and emotion.

Younger readers may have trouble understanding all of the topics presented in these fifty poems, but older readers would be familiar with Nelson's experiences. There will be readers who have experienced some of the same things, and this should be taken into account when reading this book in a group. Some readers will be familiar with her military lifestyle, having to move across the country frequently as she detailed in the settings of the poem, which have been indicated underneath each title. Choosing to include the location and year help readers build a timeline of her life from age four to fourteen and visualize how chaotic and sporadic it was at times for her.

Excerpt

After the stop bath and fixer, we hang

with clothespins on a line over the tub,

living colors reduced to black-and-white,

a lived moment captured in memory

Mama will put in the photo album.

Connections

After choosing several of Nelson's poems to read aloud, talk about how she used her own memories and general experiences in life to write them. Encourage children to think about an event in their lives that was either positive or negative and have them write a poem about it. Have them try to write an unrhymed sonnet like Nelson has done in this book and see if it changes how the poem sounds or feels.

Reviews

One reviewer for Publishers Weekly wrote, "Nelson’s 50 poems, which are complemented by muted screen print-like illustrations, are composed of raw reflections on formative events, including her development as a reader and writer . . . An intimate perspective on a tumultuous era and an homage to the power of language."

“How I Discovered Poetry.” 2014. Publishers Weekly, November, 110. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=99627038&site=ehost-live.

Laura Younkin wrote for the Library Media Connection saying, "The problem will be getting it into students' hands and having them understand some of the subtle references to the times. It's easier to imagine this as a class read-aloud rather than an individual choice. The topics could lead to rich discussions about American life in the 1950s."

Younkin, Laura. 2014. “How I Discovered Poetry.” Library Media Connection 33 (2): 19. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=98590718&site=ehost-live.

 

Science Poetry: Animal Ark

Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures
Words by Kwame Alexander
Photographs by Joel Sartore

Alexander, Kwame, Mary Rand Hess, Deanna Nikaido, and Joel Sartore. Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2017. 9781436237681

Plot Summary

Explore over forty stunningly detailed animal portraits, from the recognizable Asian elephant and Giant panda to the exotic Bengal slow loris and Malayan tapir. Haikus float across the page, demonstrating the twisting, turning, leaping motion of the animals that they accompany. Four pages unfold to reveal three large page spreads of even more highly detailed photographs along with the names and International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources status. These status codes include extinct (EX), extinct in the wild (EW), critically endangered (CR), endangered (EN), vulnerable (VU), near threatened (NT), least concern (LC), data deficient (DD), and not evaluated (NE).

Analysis

Kwame Alexander and Joel Sartore have seamlessly blended nature and poetry to create a compelling and educational poetry book that can be shared with children and adults of any age. The three large page spreads provide more information to readers, giving them the explanation of names, place, and IUCN status. This gives each photograph more gravity, as readers understand how many of each creature are left. The middle page spread, title Chorus of Creatures is especially full of meaning as Alexander and Sartore plead for togetherness with nature, explaining that "WE ARE FAMILY. Miraculous each." Alexander and Sartore have included two pages of explanations at the end of this book that go into greater detail about the poetry and photographs respectively.

Alexander's poetry shimmies and snakes across each page, flowing around the animals. Some words are in bold, giving them extra emphasis. When reading this poem aloud, readers might find themselves speaking louder or softer, or moving their bodies with the movement of the words. Alexander explains that this poetry book is written in haiku, but that each haiku might take a different form than the traditional five, seven, five syllable format; it can vary due to cultural and linguistic differences that are difficult to translate. The brevity of each poem matches the instant connection that readers will feel with each photograph. This book leaves readers feeling melancholy but hopeful as they contemplate how they can make a difference in the world around them.

Excerpt

homes of courage

on humble backs

this is not a race

Connections

Kwame Alexander encourages his readers to try creating their own haikus about the animals featured in this book. Pieces of paper with blank spaces on them can help children to count out the seventeen syllables needed for a haiku. After reading this book, it would be a fun exercise to explore some conservation efforts around the world. The Wildlife Collection is a company that partners with Orca Research Trust, Sea Turtle Conservancy, Save the Elephants, and Polar Bears International. They have pages on their websites where users can track the animals and see where they are in the world. It's a fun way to learn more about the animals and where they live, and how people can help them.

Reviews

Sharon Rawlins wrote for Booklist, "Sartore’s eye-catching photographs, accompanied by Alexander’s poetry—most notably the multistanza “Chorus of Creatures”—movingly affirms that “our actions matter” and may lead readers to endeavor to help save these endangered species."

Rawlins, Sharon. “Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures.” Booklist 113, no. 14 (March 15, 2017): 40. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=121906702&site=ehost-live.

Della Farrell wrote for the School Library Journal, "Ideal for sharing one-on-one or with a small group, this impassioned and timely call to reevaluate our relationship with nature is a must-have for poetry collections."

Farrell, Della. 2017. “Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Picture.” School Library Journal 63 (3): 156. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=121631907&site=ehost-live.