Poetry Friday - A review of Poetry for young people by William Blake

When I was in school, we unfortunately didn't study much poetry, but my father enjoyed sharing his favorite poems with me. One of these was a poem by William Blake. Today I have a collection of William Blake's poems to share with you. 

Poetry for Young People

William Blake

Edited by John Maynard

Illustrated by Alessandra Cimatoribus

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 10 and up

Sterling, 2006, 978-0-8069-3647-5

   William Blake was one of the world’s great artistic personalities. He was an artist and a poet who liked to combine his illustrations with his poems to give readers a special experience as they explored his work. A strong, wise, and simple man, he scrutinized the world around him, trying to better understand and appreciate what he saw.

   For this book, the editor has selected poems from Blake’s collections, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience. He has also taken excerpts from some of Blake’s more complex writings to share with readers. For each of the poems, the editor gives readers background information in a short introduction, and for each there is a glossary to explain some of the words that might be unfamiliar.

   In the Songs of Innocence section, there is a poem about a shepherd who follows “his sheep all the day” and “is watchful while they are in peace.” There is the poem that captures the voices of a nursemaid and her charges. She tells them that it is time to come home because “the sun is gone down,” and they respond by asking her to let them play a little longer “for it is yet day.”

   Further on in the book, readers will find the Songs of Experience poems. Here is they will come across the well known poem about the tiger who walks through the “forests of the night.”

   This is an extraordinary collection of poems that will not only introduce readers to William Blake’s poetry, but it will also help readers to better understand the poet, his art, and his world.

  

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book two hundred and three

When I was eight or so I started to take horse riding lessons and I loved them. Then one of the horses decided to roll on his back when I was riding on him and I nearly got squished. Though I got back on his back after this event, I lost my nerve and stopped riding for a while. 

Getting your nerve back after an unnerving experience is never easy, no matter how old you are. In today's picture book you will meet a famous spider who almost gives up something she loves to do because gets frightened. 

The Eensy Weensy Spider Freaks Out! (Big time!)

Troy Cummings

Picture Book

For ages 4 to 6

Random House, 2010, 978-0-375-86582-4

   The Eensy Weensy spider has been washed out of the waterspout and she is not happy. Actually, that is an understatement. She was “freaked out” by her experience and she is not going to climb anything again.

   Eensy’s story is soon all over the Internet, and feeling embarrassed by all the fuss, she stays “holed up in her garden apartment” for a few days. Then her friend Polly, who is a ladybug, comes and visits her. Polly refuses to accept that Eensy’s climbing days are over, and she encourages her friend to “start with something small and work your way up.”

   Eensy carefully climbs a potted plant, and though it wasn’t easy, she is pleased when she finds herself at the top. As she admires the view, Polly congratulates Eensy and suggests that she should climb a fire plug next. At first Eensy is appalled at the idea, but then she gives it a try. Could this be a new beginning for Eensy?

   Most children know the rhyme about the Eensy Weensy spider who has the misfortune to be washed out of a waterspout. Now they can find out how this dreadful sounding event affected the spider and how she had to work very hard to regain her courage and her love of climbing.

   With a loveable main character and a meaningful message that is beautifully and amusingly presented, this is a picture book that children and their grownups are sure to enjoy.

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book two hundred and two

Everybody has something that they are good at, but is isn't always easy to figure out what that something is. Today's picture book tells a delightful story about a stuffed animal who finds out what his special gift is.

A very special hug

Steve Smallman

Illustarted by Tim Warnes

Picture book

For ages 4 to 

Tiger Tales, 2008, 978-1-58925-410-7

   There is a new toy in bedroom and his name is Bumbletum. The other toys welcome him and then they ask him what he does. Bumbletum is sure that he does something good, what he doesn’t know what it is yet. The toys decide to help Bumbletum to figure out this puzzling matter.

   Milly the mouse squeaks when her tummy is squeezed, but Bumbletum’s tummy is squeakless. Teddy can growl when he stands on his front paws, but Bumbletum is growless. He cannot wag his tail like Puppy, or wet the floor like Baby Drink and Wet. Could it be that Bumbletum is a “doesn’t do anything kind of toy?”

   Sometimes it is hard to find out what your special gift its. You have one, but you don’t know how to find it. In this charming picture book, we join a group of toys who do their best to help a rather strange stuffed animal find out what his métier is.

   With charming characters and a sweet story, this is a book that every child should read. It will put a smile on a face, and give a heart a warm “soft and snuggly” feeling.

Bookish Calendar: The anniversary of the first Moon Landing

On this day in 1969, human beings walked on the moon for the first time. As millions of people watched, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon and took those first incredible steps. Over the years I have been lucky enough to review some wonderful books about the moon landing and you can see my reviews on the Through the Looking Glass Book Review website in the Man goes to the Moon feature. There are some wonderful titles in this collection, and I hope you find a title or two that you would like add to your library.

Here is a video of that famous landing. Enjoy!

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book two hundred and one

Search-and-find books can be a lot of fun. Some authors create incredible photographic scenes for children to explore, and some create illustrations that are full of details that are interesting and often amusing. Today's book is a stunning example of an illustrated search-and-find title.

Look! A Book!

Bob Staake

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 10

Little Brown, 2011, 978-0-316-11862-0

   Most of take the world around us for granted. We don’t take the time to really look at the little details, the cool stuff that is happening right under our noses. In this book, Bob Staake invites us to explore some truly bizarre worlds full of incredible animals, people, robots, aliens, and otherworldly creatures. He challenges us to really look and see.

   There are very few words to read in the book, most of the words being rhyming invitations to “Look!” and to find certain things in the artwork that he shows us through die-cuts on the pages.

   For example, our first seek-and-find challenge is to “Look!” to find “A book! A hook! A cowboy cook!” When we turn the page, we are presented with a double page spread showing “Weird and kooky things that go!” Which is an understatement. In the artwork, (among other things) we can see a zebra flying a biplane, a tiger flying a very strange looking flying machine, a bear riding a peculiar looking green bicycle, and a bird driving a truck that delivers escargot.

   On subsequent pages, we are presented with scenes showing escaped museum creatures, an underwater landscape, a fun park, a haunted house, a robot land, and a treetop town. He ends the book but challenging us to go back to the beginning to find the things on a list that he has put together for us. He hopes that the book will help his readers “to SEE the world anew.” 

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book two hundred!

Today is the 200th day in this picture book celebration. Thank you all for sharing picture books with me for these two hundred days.

Today I have a graphic novel for you that is funny, often silly, and yet that also looks at problems and issues that are very real for many children. Using humor and colorful characters, Jimmy Gownley gives his readers an entertaining AND thoughtful book to read.

Amelia Rules: The Whole world’s crazy

Jimmy Gownley

Graphic Novel

For ages 9 to 12

Simon and Schuster, 2006, 978-1-4169-8604-1

   Two months ago, Amelia’s mother and father split up. Amelia and her mother now live with Aunt Tanner, and Amelia still hasn’t unpacked her stuff. She has a new friend called Reggie and a new enemy called Rhoda who likes (yes in that way) Reggie, and who therefore considers Amelia to be a threat.

   Amelia is inclined to think that everyone in her life is crazy. She is the only sane person around. Reggie is obsessed with superheroes and he likes everyone to dress up as a superheroes. One day Amelia, Reggie, Rhoda, and Reggie’s friend Pajamaman meet in the G.A.S.P (Gathering of Awesome Super Pals) headquarters and Reggie proposes that they should do something about two bullies who have been terrorizing the neighborhood for years. For some reason he is convinced that his cape will protect him when he confronts the two. Actually, his cape is no help at all, but his allergies are!

   On the first day of school, Amelia walks to school with Reggie, Rhoda (who still hates her) and Pajamaman. She soon identifies the cliques in the school, and all of them are familiar. The only one that she does see are the “nerds.” Where are they she asks. Which is when she finds out that Reggie, Rhoda, and Pajamaman are the nerds in the school. Amelia is a nerd “by association.” Fantastic. In no time at all Amelia ends up in the principal’s office for being “disruptive.” Surely her first day in school cannot possible get worse. Ah, but it can because there is gym class ahead.

   There is no doubt that young readers who enjoy graphic novels are going to love this book. Though Amelia’s adventures are outrageously funny, there is a thread of true-to-life-experiences running through the book that young readers will quickly pick up on. Amelia is having a hard time adjusting to her new life, and she feel helpless because she has so little control over what happens to her. This is surely a feeling everyone can identify with.

   This is a first in a series of graphic novels about Amelia and her friends.

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book one hundred and ninety-nine

For many people adjusting to a change can be very difficult. We don't want to have to get used to a new person or a new situation. What is wrong with things just as they are?

In today's picture book you will see how one cat struggles when a change is brought into his life.

Bandit’s surprise

Karen Rostoker-Gruber

Illustrated by Vincent Nguyen

Picture book

For ages 5 to 7

Marshall Cavendish, 2010, 978-0-7614-5623-0

   One day Bandit the cat’s owner, Michelle, takes his cat carrier out to the car telling him that she will be back soon “with a surprise.” Naturally, Bandit is keen to find out what kind of surprise is in store for him. Will it be a new toy or a tasty treat?

   When Michelle comes home, Bandit finds out that Michelle has brought home a kitten called Mitzy. Bandit is not at all happy about the new arrival. No one asked him if he wanted a new kitten! Mitzi eats Bandit’s food, drinks his water, uses his little box, and then she commits the ultimate sin; she starts to play with his toy mouse. This is more that Bandit can stand, and he swipes at then kitten who starts to cry. Michelle scolds Bandit for scaring the kitten, which is when Bandit decides that he is not going to stay in a house where he is not wanted. Out the window he goes.

   Though this amusing and sensitive story is clearly about a cat, it is very relevant to  young humans who have to adjust to having a newcomer in the midst. Getting used to change is not easy for cats or humans, and reading Bandit’s story will help children to understand that their feelings regarding a new sibling or a new adult in their life are perfectly normal.

   Told from Bandit’s point of view (using speech bubbles) and in the third person, and using comic book style art, this second story about Bandit is sure to be a firm favorite with young readers and their adults. 

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book one hundred and ninety-eight

Learning how to do something new almost always is a challenge. Very rarely are we able to do this new thing properly the very first time we try it. Recently I started learning how to play the violin, and I have learned that I need to have two things: patience and a willingness to practice.

In today's picture book you will meet a very small penguin who has to learn a similar lesson. He is not going to be a good swimmer the very first time he tries.

Penguin Pete

Marcus Pfister

Translated by Anthea Bell

Picture Book

For ages 4 to 6

NorthSouth, 1994, 978-1558583566

   Pete lives in a colony of penguins in the Antarctic, and he is the smallest of the young penguins. He is eager to grow up so that he can go swimming in the sea with the sleek and elegant adult penguins. He soon notices that on land all penguins waddle, even the adults. They are no better than he is at getting about on the snow and ice.

   Pete decides that he is going to find a way to move about on land that is more graceful. He practices flipper skating on the ice, and though he looks good, he often ends up landing “on the ground with a thump.” Then Pete meets Steve, a little bird, and he discovers that there is something else he cannot do. He cannot fly.

   Children will immediately identify with Pete, a “pint-sized” penguin who is a “good loser.” They will see that there are many things in life that take practice to make perfect, and that it is perfectly all right not to be good at something when you first start doing it.

   This is the first in a series of books about Penguin Pete. 

The TTLG 2011 Picture Book Celebration: Book one hundred and ninety-seven

There are certain things that parents don't consider. For example, becasue they were once children, they have a pretty good idea of what their children are doing when they are in school or playing at a friend's house. They know what it is like to be a child. Children on the other hand have no idea what it is like to be a parents or a grownup. What do their grownups do all day? What kinds of things do grownups do for fun?

In today's picture book we go inside the imagination of a little boy who shows us  what he thinks his parents do when he goes away for a night.

What do parents do? (…when you’re not home)

Jeanie Franz Ransom

Illustrated by Cyd Moore

Picture Book

For ages 5 to 7

Peachtree Publishers, 2007, 978-1-56145-409-9

   A boy and his little sister are going to spend the night at their grandparent’s house, and as they leave home, they ask their parents, “What are you going to do?” As they drive away, the boy starts to imagine what his parents are doing at home at that moment, and his imagination runs wild!

   First Mom and Dad will jump on the bed with their shoes on. In short, they will do what they are always telling their children “not to do.” Then they go sledding down the stairs on pillows, which is not very good for the pillows. After all this rambunctiousness, they sit and watch the TV “for ages.” They watch all kinds of junk and they sit far too close to the TV screen too.

   While the little boy is drinking lemonade at Grandma’s house, he imagines that his parents are pigging out on waffles, ice cream, and Kool-Aid. In fact, while he and his sister are pursuing wholesome activities with Grandma and Grandpa, Mom and Dad are going crazy!

   It is hard for young children to imagine what their parents do when they are not around. In fact, it is something of a mystery. Now, at last, all is revealed, and children will find out that the truth is just as terribly decadent (and naughty) as they thought it would be.

   Cyd Moore’s lively and amusing illustrations perfectly compliment the text in this delightful story. 

Poetry Friday - A review of In the Spin of things.

The world is full of motion. Everywhere you look things are moving in some way. A cat's whisker is twitching, a branch is swaying, a fly is zipping around the room. In today's poetry book, Rebecca Kai Dotlich explores and celebrates some of the everyday sounds that fill our lives.

In the spin of things: Poetry of Motion

Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Illustrations by Karen Dugan

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 7 to 9

Wordsong, 2010, 978-1-59078-828-8

We live in a world that is full of movement. Leaves on trees shiver, birds fly through the sky, cars whizz down roads. Most of the time we barely notice what is going on around us because we are so busy being in motion ourselves.

   In this clever collection of poems, the author explores everyday moments when something is in motion. She begins by looking at the way in which cereal bobs in a bowl of milk. There are “flagging flakes,” “soft moons” and even cereal stars that do “the butterfly stroke” in the milk. Then there is the pepper shaker that gets busy sprinkling “a million / midnight dots” on hash browns and scrambled eggs. When it’s work is done, the shaker is back on its base “hot dots settle / into place.”

   In the classroom the pencil sharpener “nibbles” away at pencils, and a pair of scissors “slides open, / squeezes shut.” The globe spins around “a swirl of blue / a whirl of brown” as oceans and continents going flying by.

   Later in the book, we explore the movement a “crumpled” empty soda can makes as it tumbles across a sidewalk. We watch wind chimes dancing like “tin ballerinas” on their strings in the wind, and we see the flame of a candle with its “curvy wave” flickering before it is blown out.

   With wonderful word pictures and a clever use of rhyming and non-rhyming verse, Rebecca Kai Dotlich turns the ordinary into something extraordinary.