Requiem

Poems of the Terezin Ghetto

By Paul B. Janeczko

Janeczko, Paul B. Requiem : Poems of the Terezin Ghetto. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2011.

ISBN 9780763647278

This powerful and heartbreaking novel in poems tells stories of life in Terezin, a Czech concentration camp. The poems are the voices of fictitious prisoners and their oppressors in a time of death, despair, and injustice. With disquieting imagery this book is better suited for a more mature age group of students. Readers will experience a wealth of anger and sadness throughout this book, but they will also hear about bravery and strength. This novel would be a great companion for the eighth grade English curriculum. 

This novel is written by one single poet, Paul B. Janeczko. Janeczko is a well-known poet and anthologist, and he has published over 40 books in the last 30 years. In this book Janeczko explains how the Nazi's used Terezin as a false realty of how they treated Jews. Readers will admire his ability to create such a true representation of the degraded in a fictitious story.

The illustrations in the novel do not seem like anything special until you learn that they are historic illustrations drawn my inmates and found after the war ended. This information changes the readers focus when examining the illustrations. You will now find yourself staring at the details of the drawings and imagine what the person was feeling at the time. The book has a table of contents, an afterword, an author's note, and information on further study of the Holocaust and Terezin. Janeczko provides selected sources of books, websites, DVDs, foreign words and phrases, and art credits to aide in extending the learning of this time and place. 

A poem I would highlight from this novel is titled "Trude Reimer / 33456". For the poetry break, the teacher will ask for a volunteer to read the poem aloud to the class. Before any discussion the teacher will then ask the students to close their eyes and find out what they envision when the teacher reads the poem again aloud. Have a discussion on how the poem made the students feel, smell, hear, and what they think the prisoner felt.

Trude Reimer / 33456

I was a cat

with cat freedom

even if for only thirty minutes

even if I spoke but two lines

before it was back to the barracks

overcrowded with

the stink of bodies

the stink of fear

the stink of death.

But for those few minutes

I was free as any cat.

Walking on Earth & Touching the Sky

Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School
Edited by Timothy P. McLaughlin

McLaughlin, Timothy P., ed. Walking on Earth and Touching the Sky : Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth 

     at Red Cloud Indian School. Illustrated by S. D. Nelson. New York, NY: Abrams Books for Young 

     Readers, 2012.   ISBN 9781419701795

This powerful collection edited by Timothy P. McLaughlin allows the Lakota youth at Red Cloud Indian School to express themselves through poetry and prose. All the poems are written by students grades five through eight and grants readers a chance to experience what it means to be Lakota and a kid in this century. It is important to read the introduction to understand the severe conditions of poverty, disease, drug and alcohol abuse, and unemployment these children live in and their cultural legacy.With the creative writing prompts of "Natural World", "Misery", "Native Thoughts", "Silence", "Spirit", "Family, Youth, and Dreams", and "Language" readers should expect to encounter a multitude of emotions including anger, sadness, appreciation, and love. 

All the poets in this book are students in grades five through eight. Some students are only present once while other students have more than one poem in one or more of the different sections. These students show their strength in allowing the world to read their deep feelings and emotions of life and their culture.

This original work is separated into seven different sections. The table of contents directs readers to the seven sections and not individual poems. This book also contains a foreword by Joseph M. Marshall III, an introduction, acknowledgments, an author's note, an index of titles, and an index of poets. Readers will have a plethora of information even through the illustrations. Each illustration is a never-before-published painting by author/illustrator, S.D. Nelson come with their own description and note from Nelson. The colors even in the layout are appealing with black backgrounds and bright text of predominately turquoise and orange. This book is an excellent introduction into a native american culture and poetry written by children. It would make a positive contribution to any public or school library.

A poem that I would highlight from this book is "Who Am I?" written by Dusty Black Elk. This poem would be a great introduction to having the students free write about who they are. This poem allows listeners and readers to reflect on the parts of their life that makes them who they truly are. The teacher will read the poem aloud to the class and discuss the symbolism and what the poet means in each line. The teacher will then read the poem aloud again and prompt the students to write a few lines about themselves in the same format.

Who Am I? 

by Dusty Black Elk

I am a rose in a patch of weeds.

I am a storybook mixed in with some dictionaries.

I am a chokecherry bush surrounded by oak trees.

I am a window that is broken.

I am a boy with lots of sisters.

I am an Indian surrounded by white people.

I am a football player at a basketball game.

I am a cat with a bunch of dogs.

I am an angel around a lot of devils.

I am a Walkman at a rock concert.

I am a block that tries to fit into a circle.

One Big Rain

Poems for Rainy Days

Compiled by Rita Gray

Gray, Rita, comp. One Big Rain : Poems for Rainy Days. Illustrated by Ryan O'Rourke. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2010.   ISBN 9781570917165

This book presents a collection of twenty rain-themed poems. The book starts off with a table of contents followed by an introduction and a note about haiku translations, and concludes with acknowledgments organized by seasons. The poems in this book are arranged by seasons starting with Autumn and finishing with Summer. Each season contains five poems with two of them being translated Japanese haiku's. Ryan O'Rourke's oil illustrations are delicate and pleasant while capturing the essence of rain with blues, grays, and olive greens.

This collection offers twenty different poems and twenty different poets including the compiler, Rita Gray. Other poets presented in this book are Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, Lilian Moore, R. Olivares Figueroa (translated from Spanish), and Sigbjrn Obsfelder (translated from Norwegian). The illustrator, Ryan O'Rourke's work has been admired in galleries, newspapers, and magazines, including a weekly illustration for the Boston Globe Sunday Magazine.

Gray has selected an appropriate variety of poems presenting different poetic styles with  the common theme of rain. This book will provide a great introduction to the different sounds and figurative language poets use. Elementary teachers will appreciate the easy link between science and English because this compilation of poems provides a connection in curriculum with poetry and weather. The poems do not contain too much sentiment, but readers will recall their own experiences in the rain from the mood expressed through the poems.

One poem I would highlight from this collection is "Rain" which is translated from the Norwegian by Sarah J. Hails. The would be a fun poem to start with the teacher reading the poem out loud and then progress by adding the students in at different times, and then finally reading the poem in cannon. This may be difficult at first attempt because the students might get tongue tied. Everyone is sure to enjoy this poetry break.

Rain
(Translated from the Norwegian by Sarah J. Hails)
-Sigbjorn Obstfelder

One is one, and two is two-
we sing in huddles,
we hop in puddles.
Plip, plop,
we drip on roof top,
trip, trop,
the rain will not stop.
Rain, rain, rain, rain,
bucketing rain,
chucketing rain,
rain, rain, rain, rain,
wonderfully raw,
wet to the core!
One is one, and two is two-
we sing in huddles,
we hop in puddles.

Plip, plop,
we drip on roof top,
trip, trop,
the rain will not stop.