Language and Literature

BIBLIOGRAPHY : Reynolds, J. (2019). Long way down . New York, NY: Antheneum. ISBN:9781481438261 SUMMARY: Long Way Down is a mystical realist novel for young adults by American author Jason Reynolds. Focused on the subject of gun violence, particularly the survivor’s journey from grief and trauma to catharsis and spiritual recuperation, it is told by teenager Will Holloman, who takes a surreal elevator descent through his apartment building on his way to avenge his brother’s death in a gang shooting. ANALYSIS : The book Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds is a unique free verse poetry book. Long Way Down has one main setting in this story, an elevator. In this elevator, Will, the main character, is greeted by ghosts who knew his older brother Shawn. As Will ventures out to obtain justice for Shawn’s death, the spirits try to subliminally stop him from taking a life, just for revenge. Reynolds utilizes the format and details in the story to have different perspectives in one particula

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Nye, Naomi Shihab. Salting the Ocean; 100 Poems by Young Poets .  Illus. by Ashley Bryan.  Greenwillow, 2000. ISBN 978-0688161934. SUMMARY: Naomi Shihab Nye's extensive work with students and their writing in the classroom led to this wonderful collection of poems from the past 25 years. Nye chose 100 poems from students that she worked with, ranging from grades 1-12. In her introduction, "To the Poets," Nye gives this encouragement: "You are making a map of the days you live." ANALYSIS : The poetry represents a range of life experiences mostly written in free verse.  Some of the poems are readily understandable while others take a little more contemplation to capture the author's message. The poetry is personal and genuine, ranging in length from two lines to filling two full pages.  There are many heartfelt and emotional scenes as in the poetry of Jennifer Caraway as she remembers the life of her cat. Other poems reflect humor as in Amy

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Janeczko, Paul B. (Selected by). 2014. FIREFLY JULY: A YEAR OF VERY SHORT POEMS. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763648428. SUMMARY: It only takes a few words, if they’re the right words, to create a strong image. Whether listened to in the comfort of a cozy lap or read independently, the thirty-six very short poems in this collection remind readers young and old that a few perfect words and pictures can make the world glow. Selected by acclaimed poet Paul B. Janeczko and gorgeously illustrated by Melissa Sweet, Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems invites children to sample poems throughout the four seasons . ANALYSIS: Several classic favorite poets are included, such as William Carlos Williams, with THE RED WHEELBARROW, Robert Frost, and Emily Dickenson. Janeczko also chose many popular poets of today in this compilation, such as April Halprin Wayland, J. Patrick Lewis, Joyce Sidman, and many more. Each seasonal segment of

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sidman, J., & Zagarenski, P. (2010). Red sings from treetops:A year in colors . New York: Scholastic ISBN: 978-986-6273-30-8 SUMMARY : Joyce Sidman's poetry brings the colors of the seasons to life in a fresh light, combining the senses of sight, sound, smell, and taste. illustrator Pam Zagarenski's interpretations go beyond the concrete, allowing us to not just see color, but feel it. ANALYSIS: Poet Joyce Sidman takes on the challenge to create poems about seasons using colors. This book was written with astounding creativity, as it portrays the changing of the seasons by bringing color to life. We experience each season through a series of poems. The colors, actually written as words, are elaborated in a way that heightens the senses. The placement of short lines creates a natural rhythm. Rhyme is used occasionally as if each rhyme effortlessly fell into place without straying from the overall flow. For example, “In summer, white clinks in drinks.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Grimes, N (2018).One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance. Bloomsbury USA. ISBN:978:1619635548 SUMMARY: In this collection of poetry, Nikki Grimes looks afresh at the poets of the Harlem Renaissance—including voices like Langston Hughes, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and many more writers of importance and resonance from this era—by combining their work with her own original poetry. Using "The Golden Shovel" poetic method, Grimes has written a collection of poetry that is as gorgeous as it is thought-provoking. Analysis: Between the covers of this compact volume lies artistic, literary, sociocultural, and curricular gold.   Taking her inspiration from the poets of the Harlem Renaissance and her poetic form from a method first developed to honor Gwendolyn Brooks, Grimes offers an introduction and a homage to these strong African-American voices. After providing brief author’s notes on the Harlem Renaissance and its role in inspiring her own work, she

B IBLIOGRAPHY: Hoberman, M. A., & Emberley, M. (2001). Very short stories to read together . Boston: Little, Brown. ISBN: 0-316-36350-2 SUMMARY: A unique book in two voices that uses traditional reading teaching techniques alliteration, rhyme, repetition, short sentences, to invite young children to read along with an adult. Each of the twelve short stories fit on one spread and features childlike themes- family, friendship, pets, and seasons. ANALYSIS: Mary Ann Hoberman playful introduction to one of her series of read-together books explains how the dynamics of the text work. Hoberman designed these books specifically to provide an engaging shared reading experience for a pair of beginning readers or one beginning and one more advanced reader. You Read to Me, and I Read to You is a collection of thirteen very short, humorous stories printed to allow one reader to read the words presented on the left,a second reader to read the words on the right, and both readers share t

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Nelson, Marilyn. 2001. Carver: A Life in Poems. Asheville, N.C. Front Street. ISBN 1-886910-53-7 SUMMARY: This 59 poem novel depicts George Washington Carver’s life from different point of views. In this novel, Carver’s life begins from an infant and continues all through his death. His challenges of being born into a slave family, coupled with his intense desire to learn, guide the book as Carver manages to use his intelligence, determination, and ingenuity to follow his dreams. Even while facing seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Carver managed to inspire others and lived a life of learning and aiding others. These poems vividly portray Carver through some of his accomplishments and take the reader through a journey of his life. ANALYSIS: This novel is replete with imagery that helps the reader visualize what is happening. In “Watkins Laundry and Apothecary: Mariah Watkins, Neosho, Missouri,” the speaker states, “He was sweet with the neighbor children. / Taught the

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Hemphill, S., Nielsen, S., Friedman, M., Ciulla, C., & Caruso, B. (2011). Wicked girls a novel of the Salem witch trials . Solon, OH: Playaway Digital Audio. ISBN:9780061853296 SUMMARY: A fictionalized account, told in verse, of the Salem witch trials, told from the perspective of three young women living in Salem in 1692: Mercy Lewis, Margaret Walcott, and Ann Putnam, Jr. Ann Putnam Jr. is the queen bee. When her father suggests a spate of illnesses in the village is the result of witchcraft, she puts in motion a chain of events that will change Salem forever. Mercy Lewis is the beautiful servant in Ann's house who inspires adulation in some and envy in others. With her troubled past, she seizes her only chance at safety. Margaret Walcott, Ann's cousin, is desperately in love. She is torn between staying loyal to her friends and pursuing a life with her betrothed. ANALYSIS: Hemphill plumbs the psychological underpinnings of the Salem witch trials in blank

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bulion, Leslie. 2015. Random Body Parts: Gross Anatomy Riddles in Verse. Ill. by Mike Lowery. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers. ISBN 978-1-56145-737-3 SUMMARY: This book highlights the numerous anatomical body parts that readers know about, but may not know specifically what they do. In this collection, each body part is presented with a riddle as a poem and a scientific text box where readers can see factual information related to the specific body part. Different body parts, such as teeth, stomach, tongue, and alveoli are given a page each on the novel, and readers get to ‘see’ and ‘hear’ as the body parts speak to us, telling us what they do. ANALYSIS: USE: Figurative language is present throughout the poem. In the poem “The River of Life,” the speaker states, “Three boats sail / Along the river of life- / A sticky situation. / A breath of wind / Where rivulets bend. / Hoist the red sails!” In this example, the river is really the plasma, which prov

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Latham, I., Waters, C., Qualls, S., & Alko, S. (2018). Can I touch your hair?: Poems of race, mistakes, and friendship . Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books. ISBN: 978-1-5124-0442-5 SUMMARY: Irene Latham, who is white, and Charles Waters, who is black, use this fictional setup to delve into different experiences of race in a relatable way, exploring such topics as hair, hobbies, and family dinners. ANALYSIS: Two classmates serving as stand-ins for poets Latham and Waters, reluctantly pair up on a poetry-writing project and reflect on their identities, relationships, and the role race plays in their lives, in more than 30 candid, thought-provoking poems. The students aren’t initially close (“She hardly says anything. Plus, she’s white,” thinks talkative Charles after being assigned to work with Irene), but that soon changes. The children’s passions and preoccupations are revealed in poems that explore topics in parallel such as new shoes, dinnertime, parental pu

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Holt, K. A. (2015). House arrest . San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN: 978-1-4521-5648-4 SUMMARY: Timothy is sentenced to house arrest after impulsively stealing a wallet and he is forced to keep a journal into which he pours all his thoughts, fears, and frustrations. ANALYSIS: Twelve-year-old Timothy has a probation officer, a court-appointed psychologist, and a yearlong sentence of house arrest. He also has a 9-month-old brother who breathes through a trach tube that frequently clogs. Heavy oxygen tanks and a suction machine are as loud as a jackhammer are their everyday equipment. Timothy’s crime: charging $1,445 on a stolen credit card for a month of baby Levi’s medicine, which his mother can’t afford, especially since his father left. The text shows illness, poverty, and hunger to be awful but barely acknowledges the role of, for example, weak health insurance, odd considering the nature of Timothy’s crime. The family has nursing help but not 24/7; the real

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Grandits, J. (2007). Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems . New York: Clarion Books. ISBN:978-0-618-56860-4 SUMMARY: A 15-year-old girl named Jessie voices typical and not so typical teenage concerns in this unique, hilarious collection of poems. Her musings about trying out new makeup and hairstyles, playing volleyball and cello, and dealing with her annoying younger brother are never boring or predictable. ANALYSIS: This crafty collection of poems is an expression of Jessie’s, a fifteen-year-old girl, words and thoughts about the world and people around her. The poems express her emotions of having a bad hair day, choosing friends, and even her super annoying brother. Her laughable, sarcastic take on high school life is shown through concrete poetry: words, ideas, and design that combine to make pictures and patterns. The illustrations and text really make each poem magical. Blue Lipstick is a great example of young adult poetry, the poems are told in the first person an