More Wild Critters. Verse by: Tim Jones. Photography by: Tom Walker. (1998).

My son got this book for Easter, and I put it on the bookshelf in his room without even looking at it, I was just looking for one more book to add to my blog when I discovered this treasure. The book is a collection of 22 poems about Alaska's wildlife written by Tim Jones. Each poem has a beautiful photograph or collection of photographs of the animals in the poems. One of my favorites is called Critters in the Garden, by Tim Jones.

"When I go walking in the woods,

I never see a thing,

I never see animal,

on hoof or paw or wing.

There are some big ones out there;

that I know of for a fact.

So how can something

big as a deer, even hide it's rack?

I guess I'll just keep walking,

ever on my guard.

Someday I hope I'll see

some kind of critter in my yard."

Next to the poem is a beautiful photograph of a Mule deer with antlers hiding in the brush. The poems are wonderful, and the photographs really grab you. This book is wonderful; I think it would be enjoyed by children and adults.

About the Author: Tim Jones has lived in Alaska since 1973. He has been a boat captain, a commercial fisherman, a home builder, he has lived in the Bush and has voyaged on the ocean. He will occasionally fall back on his experience as an editor to make a living, "when necessary", as he said. He has written Wild Critters (1992), More Wild Critters (1998), Keep the Round Side Down (1994), Race Across Alaska  (1988), and Alaska and the Last Great Race (1981).

http://alaskanwritersdirectory.com/authors/jones_tim.shtml

Genre: Poetry

Theme: Poetry, wild animals

Grade Level: Amazon recommends ages 4-8 but I think this is a great book for all ages.

Pre-reading activity: Students should have a discussion about animals that they see in the wild. They should discuss what they think about the animals they see everyday and that they see every once in awhile. What do they look like? What do they act like? Do they remind you of anything?

Post-reading activity: After reading, students should write their own poem about an animal that they have seen, or know a lot about. They should also draw a picture of this animal in it's habitat to go along with their poem.

Let It Shine. By: Ashley Bryan (2007)

The illustrations in Let it Shine  bring the spirituals to live. It is easy to get lost in the illustrations, they are absolutely beautiful. The three spirituals are "This Little Light of Mine", "Oh When the Saints Go Marching In", and "He's got the Whole World in his Hands". I sang along while I read this to my 20 month old daughter. She loves it. She wanted to go through the pictures and listen to the songs again and again. These songs are great for young children, and by adding the outstanding illustrations it really helped this book come alive. I loved it!

Ashley Bryan was born in Harlem. He has three Coretta Scott King Award winners for outstanding illustrations, including Let it Shine.  He also was awarded six Coretta Scott King Award honor books for outstanding illustrations. And in 2009 he was awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for substantial and lasting contributions to children literature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashley_Bryan

Genre: Poetry

Theme/Skills: learning and understanding poetry and song. Students will be able to sing along as they listen, and feel the poems and how these make them feel.

Grade Level:PreK-1

Pre-reading activity: Class discussion- What makes you feel happy? What kind of songs make you happy? Why do you like this kind of music?

Post-reading activity: Students will practice the songs over a period of time and eventually perform them in front of their teachers.

The Blacker the Berry. By: Joyce Carol Thomas (2008)

The Blacker the Berry , by Joyce Carol Thomas is a beautiful collection of poems by an African American author. The pictures were of African American people and it was no wonder that this won a Coretta Scott King Medal for its illustrations and was also a Coretta Scott King Author Honor book. What a great book! My favorite poem in the collection was The Blacker the Berry. 

 Joyce Carol Thomas has written more than 30 books and several plays.

<http://www.joycecarolthomas.com>

Genre: Poetry, Multiculturalism

Theme/Skill: Students will learn and read about poetry from a multicultural perspective.

Grade Level: 2-6

Pre-reading Activity: Students will read read the poems of their choice from a collection of multicultural poetry books. They will discuss with a partner how they felt about these poems.

Post-reading Activity:  Students will pick out a poem they liked best from The Blacker the Berry. They will write about what the poem meant to them and why they chose this poem in their writing journals.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers. By: Langston Hughes (2009)

The Negro Speaks of Rivers  is a poem by Langston Hughes written in 1920. It was made into a book and illustrated by E.B. Lewis in 2009. It was a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor book in 2010.

  The beautiful words of Langston Hughes create an image in your mind, but E.B Lewis’s really bring this to life. The books cover says, “Artist E.B.Lewis acts as an interpreter and visionary, using water color to pay tribute to Hughes's timeless poem, a poem that every child deserves to know”. The book is recommended for children from ages 4-8. I sat down and read it with my toddler, and while she wasn’t paying attention to the words, she was mesmerized by the pictures, and she wanted to read through it again and again. Although children of a young age can read it, I think it would be more appropriate for older readers. I would like to use it in 5-7th grades.

  Langston Hughes was born in 1902 in Joplin Missouri. He died in 1967 in New York City. He wrote the poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers, when he was 18 years old in 1920. He is one of the most famous poets/ authors of the Harlem Renaissance. He wanted to tell the stories of his (African) people in ways that reflected their actual culture including both suffering and love of music, laughter, and language. http://www.poets.org/poet.php/prmPID/83

  Earl Bradley Lewis (E.B. Lewis) was born in 1956 in Philadelphia. He illustrated more than 50 books including the 2003 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner, Talkin About Bessie, and also the 2005 Caldecott Honor for Coming On Home Soon. His amazing use of watercolor was mesmerizing in The Negro Speaks of Rivers. http://www.eblewis.com/illustration/biography.html

  I chose to highlight this book, even though it was an Honor book, not a winner, because I feel it really shows what an illustration winner would look like. The story is told though the beautiful illustrations.


Genre: Poetry, Harlem Renaissance.
Theme: Finding Symbolism. Understanding Harlem Renaissance.
Pre-Reading Activity: Have students discuss in small groups about finding symbolism and what are similes and metaphors. Have students use a simple poem to find examples of these.


Students should go through the book by  themselves, then they should listen along a few times while they read through and study the illustrations.


Post Reading Activity: Students should discuss in small groups, while teachers go from group to group: What are the rivers symbolic of? What do you think the poet, Langston Hughes was trying to say? How did you feel the first time you read this poem? Did you get more out of it after we listened to it a few times? Disscussion is important with poetry, because sharing ideas can help with understanding.


http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/vtl07.la.ws.process.rivers/