BookSpeak! Poems About Books

 

In this poetry picture book, Laura Purdie Salas has collected a group of fun, slightly wacky, but engaging poems for young readers--and the subject is BOOKS.  There are numerous literary allusions; for example, in "Cliffhanger", a dog is clinging to rocks while a whale swims below, and the words plead: "Please, author, write a sequel fast!".  "The Middle's Lament" is a three-voice poem where the beginning, middle and end of a book discuss who's best and most important to the story.  People who produce books are honored in "This is the Book".  With its variety of poetic forms, and effective use of several language arts terms, this is a sure thing for elementary language arts classes.  The mixed media illustrations by Jose'e Bisaillon fill the pages with color and imagination.  A teacher's activity guide can be found here.  This won the Minnesota Book Award in 2012.

When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky

This may be my most favorite picture book of 2013 so far (but there are many I haven't looked at yet).  This book tells the story of the ballet The Rite of Spring, composed by Igor Stravinsky and choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky; and first performed in 1913 in Paris.  Using alliteration, onomatopoeia, and other musical language, author (and illustrator) Lauren Stringer, tells the story of the collaboration of these two musicians as they created this famous ballet.  The illustrations reflect the influence of cubism (a new artistic movement in the early 1900's).  Careful study of the illustrations will reveal hints of Matisse and Picasso, as an added treat.  The words and pictures fit together perfectly to make this a very special book.  There will be opportunities to use this in music, art, and language arts classes at the elementary level. An activity guide is available here; and a more detailed curriculum guide from Carnegie Hall can be found here. 

Cat Tale

Lillian, Tilly, and William J. are three inquisitive cats who set off on an afternoon adventure.  They plan to spend time snacking and reading, but soon are chasing words including homophones and homonyms, in what becomes a fabulous tongue-twisting adventure.  Written and illustrated by St. Paul graphic designer Michael Hall, this is a terrific book for preschool and primary language arts classes. Click here for a brief trailer to give you a sample of this tale.