JANECZKO COLLECTION:FIREFLY JULY: A YEAR OF VERY SHORT POEMS
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 the book portrays the mood, colors, and activities of that time of year. The illustrations by Melissa Sweet are outstanding. She also illustrated BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY, which appears as an earlier post in this blog. Sweet's beautiful, two-dimensional drawings/paintings bring a fabulous color palette to the book, with the colors radiating the feelings of each season. We begin with the teals and pinks of SPRING and progress through several poems that give a sense of promise and hope, a clinging to life. In THE ISLAND, by Lillian Morrison, we understand what it means to observe new life budding: "Wrinkled stone/like an elephant's skin/on which young birches are treading." In SUMMER, the colors of the illustrations burst into reds and yellows. This season brims with activity and encourages the imagination to run overtime. A HAPPY MEETING, by Joyce Sidman, paints the perfect portrait of a summer downpour: "Rain meets dust: soft, cinnamon kisses./Quick noisy courtship,/then marriage: mud."The SANDPIPERS (April Halprin Wayland) bustle around, "hemming the ocean" and we wish for the long days to last forever. The wind gusts in with FALL, complete with crunching leaves and the mystery of fog. The illustrations settle into muted reds, oranges, and browns. Cid Corman sets the mood in HEADLINE: "A leaf on/the doorstep-/do not even/have to pick/it up to/know the news." Then, suddenly WINTER makes a hurried appearance, a flurry of blues and whites, some serious fog, and the first snow. Robert Frost's DUST OF SNOW is included in this season, a classic favorite. The stars are bright, the nights are dark, and Anne Porter's WINTER TWILIGHT prepares us for a long winter's nap: "The crescent moon/And the round squirrels' nest/In the bare oak/Are equal planets." Cozy and comforted, the reader may find this to be the perfect time to drift off to sleep.
USE: Many children love animals and have pets of their own. Charlotte Zolotow's "Little Orange Cat" will resonate with cat lovers of every age. Gather children around in a story circle on the floor so everyone can see the double-page illustrations of the "little orange cat" on the pages. Read the poem aloud twice while children listen. Encourage children to share their own experiences with their pet cats or seeing cats in the neighborhood. Allow the children to talk about how cats and small tigers both prowl and stalk. Invite small groups of children to demonstrate how to prowl around like a cat, moving around the room. Allow all children a turn to be a cat or small tiger prowling and stalking the room. Project the poem so all children can read the poem together. Provide paper for children to draw their own prowling cat in whatever kind of scene they would like. Provide small copies of the poem for children to take home and encourage them to share the poem and their original artwork with someone at home.
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 the book portrays the mood, colors, and activities of that time of year. The illustrations by Melissa Sweet are outstanding. She also illustrated BALLOONS OVER BROADWAY, which appears as an earlier post in this blog. Sweet's beautiful, two-dimensional drawings/paintings bring a fabulous color palette to the book, with the colors radiating the feelings of each season. We begin with the teals and pinks of SPRING and progress through several poems that give a sense of promise and hope, a clinging to life. In THE ISLAND, by Lillian Morrison, we understand what it means to observe new life budding: "Wrinkled stone/like an elephant's skin/on which young birches are treading." In SUMMER, the colors of the illustrations burst into reds and yellows. This season brims with activity and encourages the imagination to run overtime. A HAPPY MEETING, by Joyce Sidman, paints the perfect portrait of a summer downpour: "Rain meets dust: soft, cinnamon kisses./Quick noisy courtship,/then marriage: mud."The SANDPIPERS (April Halprin Wayland) bustle around, "hemming the ocean" and we wish for the long days to last forever. The wind gusts in with FALL, complete with crunching leaves and the mystery of fog. The illustrations settle into muted reds, oranges, and browns. Cid Corman sets the mood in HEADLINE: "A leaf on/the doorstep-/do not even/have to pick/it up to/know the news." Then, suddenly WINTER makes a hurried appearance, a flurry of blues and whites, some serious fog, and the first snow. Robert Frost's DUST OF SNOW is included in this season, a classic favorite. The stars are bright, the nights are dark, and Anne Porter's WINTER TWILIGHT prepares us for a long winter's nap: "The crescent moon/And the round squirrels' nest/In the bare oak/Are equal planets." Cozy and comforted, the reader may find this to be the perfect time to drift off to sleep.
USE: Many children love animals and have pets of their own. Charlotte Zolotow's "Little Orange Cat" will resonate with cat lovers of every age. Gather children around in a story circle on the floor so everyone can see the double-page illustrations of the "little orange cat" on the pages. Read the poem aloud twice while children listen. Encourage children to share their own experiences with their pet cats or seeing cats in the neighborhood. Allow the children to talk about how cats and small tigers both prowl and stalk. Invite small groups of children to demonstrate how to prowl around like a cat, moving around the room. Allow all children a turn to be a cat or small tiger prowling and stalking the room. Project the poem so all children can read the poem together. Provide paper for children to draw their own prowling cat in whatever kind of scene they would like. Provide small copies of the poem for children to take home and encourage them to share the poem and their original artwork with someone at home.
"Little Orange Cat"
"Little orange cat,
you prowl
like a small tiger
(stalking what?)
in the field
of white daisies
and shining buttercups."
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