Language and Literature

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...