A Poke in the I

A Collection of Concrete Poems
Selected by Paul B. Janeczko

Janeczko, Paul B., comp. A Poke in the I. Illustrated by Chris Raschka. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2001. ISBN 0763606618

This book is a collection of 30 concrete poems written by visual poets and selected by Paul B. Janeczko. Each poem has been used in another published text, but was selected because of its style and concrete nature to be part of this book. When Janeczko puts together a book focusing on concrete poems he does not disappoint. Every piece of text in this book is written in concrete form, including the title page verso and notes from the editor. The notes from the editor content is arranged like the sounds coming out of a saxophone, and teach the reader about the form of concrete poetry. Janeczko goes all out and even writes his table of contents in the shape of a table. Each item in the table of contents is listed by the poem title, poet, and page number. There does not seem to be a particular reason for the arrangement of the poems. Readers will easily be able to locate certain poems through the table of contents, and they will be able to find their original sources with the acknowledgement pages in the back of the book.

Chris Raschka's illustrations are original and imaginative. His artistic style includes a mixture of watercolors and torn paper collages. The illustrations are extremely important to this book because they play a major role in the poem's structure. Some of the poems only contain one word, so the illustration helps the reader connect to the poem. Raschka does a great job in not overwhelming the reader with illustrations by having a white background so the text and art can stand out. While the focus of this book is concrete poems, readers will still experience all sorts of sounds and figurative language, particularly will alliteration consonance, assonance. Readers will have fun reading this book in class or for entertainment. They will also enjoy the multiple ways to display and read poems. The intended audience for this book is children ages eight to fourteen years old. This book will make a positive addition to a classroom or library collection. 

The poem I have selected to highlight for a poetry break is "Tennis Anyone?". In the book, this poem is written on two pages and a line is drawn between the two to represent a tennis ball going back and forth in a tennis game. A fun way to present this poem would be to have two students on opposite sides of the room toss a tennis ball back and forth. The students will recite their lines of the poem when they have the ball. Students will be engaged by the movement and actual interaction in the presentation of the poem. Below is the poem, but keep in mind that it has more power when accompanied by illustrations or an appropriate presentation.

Tennis Anyone? 
by Monica Kulling

Tennis                                                   is a
game I                                                  could watch
for hours                                               but my
neck won't                                            let me

Forest Has a Song

Poems by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater

VanDerwater, Amy Ludwig. Forest Has a Song. Illustrated by Robbin Gourley. New York, NY: Clarion Book, 2013. ISBN 9780618843497

This book is a colorful collection of 26 poems written by one poet, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. Each of the 26 poems is strong enough to be used independent of this book, but when they are kept together they tell a beautiful story. The theme of this book is a forest. Every poem either has a connection to the forest or is the forest whispering. The poems will give readers a chance to listen to what the forest has to say as it invites a little girl and her dog to visit. Along the journey through the forest, readers will experience all sounds, rhythms, and uses of figurative language. Readers will easily make a connection to the forest. VanDerwater provides just enough emotional impact with this feel good book of poems. To allow readers to easily identify when a poem has different voices, VanDerwater uses italic lettering to distinguish who is speaking. This book is geared toward elementary and middle grade children as the intended audience.


The illustrations done by Robbin Gourley are beautiful. Gourley is represented on every single page of the book, from patterns of different colored leaves on the inside front and back covers, to an illustration for every poem, to a solid color painted blank page. Gourley's artistic style and use of watercolors is delicate and realistic. The illustrations and poems are perfectly matched, and each illustration definitely enhances the power of the poem. The layout of this book is simple and only contains illustrations and poetry. There is no table of contents, index, or reference page to find individual poems by. I would definitely recommended this book for libraries who serve children and young adults.


One poem I would highlight from this book to use in a poetry break is "April Walking". I chose this short poem because it packs a punch with alliteration and a touch of end rhyme. One way to integrate this poem into a lesson is in a speech or theater class. To assist with public speaking students recite sayings to help them not to get tongue tied. As a warm up, students will read this poem aloud several times. This poem is fun to read because it can twist the tongue. This could also be used in a reading classroom to take a mental break from serious work. 

April Waking
by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater


Ferny frondy fiddleheads
unfurl curls from dirty beds.
Stretching stems they sweetly sing
greenest greetings sent to Spring.

Stop Pretending

What happened when my big sister went crazy
by Sonya Sones

Sones, Sonya. Stop Pretending : What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. New York, NY: Harper Collins, 1999. ISBN 0439250706

This novel is a collection of free-verse poems all written by one poet, Sonya Sones. This novel is an exploration through a young girl's life as she deals with the hospitalization of her older sister for mental health reasons. Each poem is a stepping stone through her emotional roller coaster during a difficult time in her life. Some of the poems are simple transitions between events, while others have deep meaning and presence in the story. The poems in this book were meant to be used together to explain the story Sones has to tell. This novel is not overly sentimental, but it does contain serious and emotional subject matter. Readers may empathize or sympathize, but they will definitely have some kind of emotional connection to this story. There are happy, serious, and depressing moods that are exhibited through the poems. In Sones' free-verse poems there is not a prominent sound or rhythm. She mainly writes with emotional impact and a touch of figurative language and sense imagery. The intended audience for this novel is females grades six through nine.

The layout of the book is important to the story that is being told. The only illustration for this book are the three pictures on the dust jacket. The pictures display blurry images of a female with a camera. Two of the pictures are the same image. Before the story beings, the author provides an acknowledgements page where she gives thanks to the people who guided and supported her in the journey of writing this novel. There is not a table of contents or index to help readers find individual poems. However, there is an author's note in the back of the book that gives the readers an insight into Sones' motivation in writing this novel. In this note, Sones writes about the preceding and resulting events of the story. In her conclusion, Sones offers resources on seeking help for mental health problems for yourself or someone you may know by listing helpful company names and phone numbers. This is a great novel to open people's awareness to mental health disorders, and how a whole family is affected by this disease. I would recommended this book for school and public libraries.

When thinking about how I would integrate this book into a lesson I decided that I would like to do a unit on the book, but have little activities and extension with certain poems. One of those poems would be "Minus". I chose this poem mainly for the last stanza in the poem. After reading the poem aloud together and then silently on their own, the student will give their interpretation of "4-1=0". Students will write their thoughts on a post it before they leave class as an exit ticket. The next day the teacher will have arranged the common interpretations and present them to the class. 

Minus

by Sonya Sones

Last night

Sister wasn't there

to help me study for my math test.

Father tried to fill in

but he's never been as good at math

as her.

This morning

I'm sitting here

taking the test

but the numbers on the page

keep scrambling

in my head

and the only equation

I really understand is:

4 - 1 = 0.