Autumnblings by Douglas Florian


BIBLIOGRAPHY: Florian, D. (2003). Autumnblings: Poems & paintings. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 0-06-009278-5
SUMMARY: A collection of poems that portray the essence of the season between summer and winter. This collection of poems and paintings welcomes fall with all the crisp energy of a joyful tumbling run.
ANALYSIS:  the wordplay in this fall bouquet of poems seem slightly worn, while repeated and obvious puns often strain for effect. For example, "What to Do with Autumn Leaves" instructs readers to "leave them"; the same pun recurs in "Symmetree" ("The leaves all leave") and in "Awe-tumn" ("Autumn leaves/ Leave me in awe"). Similarly, the device of seeing the word "fall" displayed as if the letters were falling is less effective, as other poems recycle the same device. Florian's paintings, on the other hand, are fresh and childlike (e.g., the bite taken out of the apple shown for "Apple Picking" looks like a face in profile; a girl literally feels "Decembrrrr's freeze" in a portrait that turns her neck and chin into a thermometer). And at its best ("Naughtumn," for example, describes what happens "as autumn slowly gets winturned"), the wordplay can be as vivid as fall foliage.
USE:  One of the poems that show a highlight of the analysis is “What to do with Autumn leaves.(38) “Kick them.Catch them. Pick them.”If you want to,Even leave them. Douglas uses this poem to describe ways in which you could use word play. I could use this poem when introducing ways  to use words to write simple poetry to describe a topic. This could be used as a starter to introduce poetry. I could teach a lesson on how to write a Two Word line poem.

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