Post #5 Poetry

Title: Where the Sidewalk Ends

Author: Shel Silverstein 

ISBN-10: 0060572345

Where the Sidewalk Ends  

There is a place where the sidewalk ends

And before the street begins,

And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,

And there the moon-bird rests from his flight

To cool in the peppermint wind.
Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black

And the dark street winds and bends.

Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow

We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,

And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,

For the children, they mark, and the children, they know

The place where the sidewalk ends.

Shel Silverstein 

 

For this week's blog post, I decided to choose Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.  The book Where the Sidewalk Ends the poems and drawings of Shel Silverstein is the first in the collection of children's poems and drawings by Shel Silverstein, first published in 1974.  Shel Silverstein was an American poet, songwriter, cartoonist, etc. whose work includes A Giraffe and a Half, The Missing Piece, A Light in the Attic, The Giving Tree, Falling Up, Runny Babbit, and many many more!  I have enjoyed Shel Silverstein's poetry since I was a child, I remember begging my parents to buy me A Light in the Attic and Where the Sidewalk Ends from one of those school book fairs.  

The poem, Where the Sidewalk Ends has had many different interpretations and/or applications in classrooms.  The way I interpret the poem, is that the way to look at life is through the eyes of children.  Children listen to they're heart, they follow it, they don't make things more complicated than they need to be the way adults do, they face challenges and goals head on, they know what they want and how to find it.  

Shel Silverstein's poems are funny, entertaining, and inspirational.  Silverstein's poems grab the reader and bring them in with an "Invitation" at the beginning of the book.  The "Invitation" is catchy and wonderful... 

If you are a dreamer, come in. 

If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar, 

A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer . . . 

If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire, 

For we have some flax golden tales to spin. 

Come in! 

Come in!

When told that we would be posting about poetry, my first thought was of Shel Silverstein.  Silverstein's poetry uses his vivid imagination to connect with his audience.  Poetry is a form of expression, it allows the writer to express their feelings through a selection of words.  The words are often selected because of the rhythm and effects that they have when written together.  Poetry is often used to evoke feelings from the reader/listener.  Many poems require the audience to find meaning in what they are reading/hearing. Silverstein's poems are often accompanied by his black and white drawings.  The pictures sometimes help the audience to understand or relate to what is happening in the poem.  

Where the Sidewalks Ends can be extremely beneficial for teaching students about poetry.  The book is chock full of wonderful examples for students to study.  The poems that Silverstein writes vary from topic, size, illustrations,style, format, etc..  Many of these topics can assist the teacher is making connections for the students to relate to.  Students will be able to see that poetry can be creative and inspirational, and hopefully you will all see this too and run to your local library to check it out!!  Enjoy!

 

Post #4 Multicultural Books

I ALMOST FORGOT TO POST MY DRAFT ... I KNOW ITS A FEW MINUTES LATE BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOY, IT IS DEFINITELY ONE OF MY FAVORITE BOOKS!!

The Coretta Scott King Awards are presented annually by the American Library Association to honor African-American authors and illustrators who create outstanding books for children and young adults. The award was first started in 1969 to be awarded to authors and then was expanded to include a separate award for illustrators in 1979. The awards are given to remember the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and to honor Mrs. Coretta Scott King for her continuing efforts in working for peace and civil rights issues.

The Coretta Scot King Book Award also presents the John Steptoe Award for New Talent.  Jerome Lagarrigue received this award for his illustrations in Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles.  This book is a multicultural book, it approaches the Civil Rights Act from an unexpected perspective and because of this, it is an extremely powerful story, one that could be beneficial to any classroom or person, young or old.

Freedom Summer has been one of my favorite books since the first time it was read aloud to me by a college professor.  The professor wanted to share the book with the class, which was a course on creating inclusion classes and she thought it was appropriate to speak about differences and how to overcome differences.  The professor read the book aloud during class and I returned to my dorm that night and ordered the book from Amazon.com.  After receiving the book, I proceeded to show it to each and every one of my friends (who were also elementary and secondary education majors).  Everyone loved the book.  

Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles is about two boys in Mississippi during the summer of 1964.  One boy is white, Joe, and one boy is African American, his name is John Henry.  The story depicts a time right after the passage of the Civil Rights Act. Joe narrates the book, telling of the times Joe and John spend swimming together in the creek because John is not allowed in the public pool.  The boys decide that on the day the Civil Rights Act is passed and enacted, they will visit the town pool together.  On that day, instead of swimming in the public pool, the boys are faced with a work crew filling in the pool with asphalt. The way the author wrote the story, having Joe narrate, makes it more powerful by seeing it through the eyes of an innocent young boy who doesn't think the way most people in that time would have.  The illustrator Jerome Lagarrigue, who received the John Steptoe Award for New Talent for Freedom Summer did an awesome job with the illustrations.  Lagarrigue used close-up portraits of the boys' faces to bring their emotions to the pages as well as using specific poses for the other characters to bring in their body language and feelings. Overall, one of my favorites!  I hope you enjoy!

Post #3 Folk & Fairy Tales

This week's topic is Folktales and Fairy tales.  Folktales are stories that grew out of the lives and imaginations of the people, or folk. It is a tale circulated by word of mouth, of the common folk.  Fairy tales differ from folk tales because they contain magical characters or fairies.  The children's book that I chose for this weeks post is a folktale.. sort of.  The book is Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter.

Title: Follow the Drinking Gourd
Author: Jeanette Winter
ISBN: 0-679-81997-5


The book Follow the Drinking Gourd is based on a simple folk song.  The folk song Follow the Drinking Gourd was first published in 1928 and was supposedly used as a code for escape directions through the Underground Railroad. The Drinking Gourd is used as a code name for the Big Dipper star formation, which points North, the direction the slaves needed to head. In this book, Jeanette Winter creates a story based on the song about one brave family who followed the drinking gourd (big dipper) to freedom. 

I was first exposed to this book during my student teaching.  Each week, one of the retired teachers would come in and sing songs with the students using his guitar, and they kept asking for him to sing "Follow the Drinking Gourd".  The students had read the story the year before and really enjoyed singing the song that is in the back of the book.  The students learned many things just through reading the book and singing the song.  The book offers great insight into history and traditions.  I hope you enjoy!