Button Up! - Poetry

Bibliography:

Schertle, Alice. 2009. BUTTON UP!. Ill. By Petra Mathers. New York: Harcourt Children's Books. 978-0-15-205050-4

Plot Summary:

Button Up! is an adorable children's book compiled of fifteen short poems written from the perspective of various articles of clothing.  Some of the poems are heartwarming, such as Hand-me-down SWEATSHIRT, while others are just down right funny, such as Emily's UNDIES.  These poems are funny, smart and sometimes nostalgic!

Critical Analysis:

This is one of the most amusing children's poetry books.  The animal characters are cute and full of character, the illustrations are full of life, the topic of each poem is so original and each story is very relatable for children and adults.  The tone in Bertie's SHOELACES matches perfectly with the illustration of a cool, purple mohawk and sunglasses wearing character.  There is almost an attitude that is shared between Bertie's character and the phrasing of the poem.  The last line in the poem, "We're hang loose lances and we don't do bows!" is the exact attitude that you see in the illustrated character of Bertie.

The Song of Harvey's GALOSHES  is a fun story of a pig who splashes through puddles with galoshes on.  The way this poem is written is like a song with repetitious lines like "we're together when the sunny weather's gone, weather's gone" that adds such a great element to the story.  You can see the enjoyment of splashing through mud on Harvey's face but the way the poem is written with the repetitious, rhythmic lines and how it sounds as if you can sing the poem matches perfectly. 

Hand-me-down SWEATSHIRT is a poem that brings out a lot of emotion, it makes one think back to their favorite articles of clothing as a child and wonder where they are, who inherited them and were they loved as much as you loved it?  "I've been lost and recovered, been torn and been sewn, been dribbled on, tumbled in, rained on and blown."  This creates such a vivid image and almost gives the sweatshirt a human quality, you want happiness and enjoyment for the sweatshirt like you would a human or animal.  The illustration of a child wearing the sweatshirt standing by the ocean makes this poem almost cozy and warm and rather nostalgic for those who might be able to think back on their own favorite sweatshirt.

Review Excerpts and Awards:

2010 winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award

"The whimsical illustrations pair perfectly with the wittiness of the text, and the whole is a clever and original poetic treat."--Booklist, starred review

"From delicately comical to downright funny, the art perfectly reflects the contagiously rhythmic, playful verse. Made for sharing, and worth learning by heart, too."--Horn Book, starred review

Connections:

• This is such a great book about different articles of clothing, all of which are their owners favorite!  A great school aged children project would be to have an open discussion about what their own favorite clothing item is after reading the book and then having each child write a poem about it would be and how they feel about that item would be so much fun!  The children would benefit from sharing their poems with the class too.  The children should draw an illustration to go along with their poem and then put together a bulletin board in the classroom, hallway or library showcasing their poetry and illustration skills. 

Boy Wonders - Poetry



Bibliography: 

Brown, Calef. 2011. BOY WONDERS. New York: Simon & Schuster. 978-1-4169-7877-0.

Plot Summary:

Boy Wonders is a wonderful rhyming picture book about a boy who is very inquisitive and asks a lot of questions, some of which are strangely obvious questions to ask.  His crazy inquires along with beautiful illustrations bring this book alive and make it so much fun to read aloud and explore the pictures. 

Critical Analysis: 

Boy Wonders is a beautiful rhyming picture book; it is what would be considered typical poetry because of its flow, rhythm and rhyme.  There are such lines in the book as, “Do bees get hives?  Do onions cry?  Is pepper apt to sneeze?  Do paper plates and two-by-fours remember being trees?”  Such great questions that can even stump an adult!  The flow of the book is fantastic, going from one crazy question to the next.  The rhyme of the story changes a little throughout and it is somewhat dependent on the type of question that is being asked by the boy.

“Do sleepwalking lumberjacks hunger for slumbersnacks?  Stacks of flapjacks perhaps?”  What a great tongue twisting line to say out loud that many children would get such a kick out of!  The words and sounds that Calef Brown uses are truly impressive and surprising, they are written in a way that really challenges a child’s vocabulary.  Brown uses such words as dickens, Argonaut, cantankerous and forage, all words that are not in the average vocabulary but are fun to say for children, they are meaningful addition to the overall impact of the story, as well as expand children's vocabulary.  Strangely enough Calef Brown has found the ability to write meaningful phrases and questions and illustrate the most perfect, fun pictures to go along with the crazy things the boy says. 

One of my favorite illustrations in this book is of a toucan dressed in a sweater, hat, boots and scarf.  Calef Brown personified this little character by giving the toucan the greatest expression of disbelief and annoyance on his face with this MASSIVE bill that takes up almost the whole page.  The wording in this poem is so odd but so fun to contemplate, “Would a HAPPY toucan from the Yucatan become cantankerous up in Anchorage or the Yukon?  How about Tucson?”  What an unusual thing to write and so much fun to say!

Review Excerpts and Awards:

2011 National Book Festival Author

Connections:

·         It would be so much fun to read through this book, have children answer the questions Calef Brown’s Boy asks and have them interpret what they don’t understand.  Illustrations can really enable a child to understand words or phrases they wouldn’t understand without the illustrations.  What a fun open discussion that would be to have children yelling out answers about whether they think all giraffes have a high pitched laugh and if gargoyles actually gargle with garlic oil!

What My Mother Doesn't Know - Poetry



Bibliography: 

Sones, Sonya. 2003. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW. New York: Simon & Schuster. 978-0689855535

Plot Summary:

Sophie is a typical high school student dealing with typical high school issues; boyfriends, friends and where she fits into it all.  What My Mother Doesn’t Know is a lovely story about Sophie, her first love, wanting acceptance from her friends and finding love in the least likely place.      

Critical Analysis:

What My Mother Doesn’t Know is a unique novel written in verse, it is not what someone would consider traditional poetry.  The story is made up of a series of named poems, when you read them all together you have an amazing coming of age high school tale told from Sophie’s perspective.  Each poem is made of up of approximately 3-6 stanzas, each line of the stanza is like a short phrase but the stanza as a whole is a full thought or sentence.  There isn’t any particular rhythm or beat to each poem or the book as a whole, it’s a series of simple, meaningful, moving thoughts that come together to make a complete story. 

As stated previously What My Mother Doesn’t Know is not what someone would consider typical poetry.  The first element that most people think of when they hear the word poetry is that it rhymes and the vast majority of this book does not, for the most part it is written in prose.  There is an example of rhyming poetry within the book called More or Less where Sophie describes her boyfriend Dylan and had she not seen with her eyes everything she loves about him then she thinks she would have liked him less. This is an example of a typical teenage girl trying to understand why she has fallen for Dylan and why she is confused by those feelings.  Needless to say there is a nice flow to the lines and story but the author did not set out to make a rhyming novel written in verse.  This does not take away from the story or the feeling that you are reading something in verse.

There is a part of the story where Sophie begins to feel confused about how different she and Dylan are, the poem is called At the County Fair.  She starts each stanza with the words “If Only” and goes on to describe little things she likes but Dylan doesn’t or vice versa.  This is a turning point in the story that shows that Sophie is beginning to contemplate their differences and if it’s okay to be different.   

Culture Clash adds an element to this story that is completely unexpected; it addresses the idea that some people might not be comfortable with people who are Jewish.  “Dylan says when I meet his mother today I shouldn’t mention I’m Jewish.  I say okay, but can I tell her about the HIV positive thing?  He gives me a look.  I give him one back.”  It is such a simple poem but incredibly meaningful and shows how Sophie will not let someone push her around or make her feel bad for who she is and how she was raised.  This is such a great example to young people to always believe in who you are.

It’s a Beautiful Tree, “So tall and full, with all of its arms swooping up at the tips as if to say, “Ta da!”  This poem continues to describe the afternoon Sophie spent with her friend Murphy and his family, it felt like something out of a movie, you were there experiencing the decoration of a Christmas tree and Christmas songs for the first time with Sophie.  The imagery was so perfect in this poem it made you wish it was Christmas time.

Due to the content of this book and the length it is absolutely for a teen or young adult.  An adult would find pleasure in reading it’s unique style and the familiar story.  The story brings up emotions that many people could identify with and Sophie is a girl that many girls can admire and look to as a good example.  There are little life lessons within the story that are age appropriate for teens.  It’s a great novel written in a style not seen often but a very enjoyable read. 


Review Excerpts and Awards:

“Fast, funny, touching” – Booklist

Claudia Lewis Poetry Award

Winner of the Iowa Teen Book Award (2005-2006)

American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults (2002)

Booklist Editor’s choice (2001)

Connections:

·         Sonya Sones’ books are great books that encourage an open discussion.  Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy is another book by Sonya Sones that is autobiographical about her older sister having a nervous breakdown and being hospitalize.  Books such as Sonya Sones allow an open discussion for teenagers to identify with books and their own experiences.  Teenagers often feel they are alone in their feelings but Sonya Sones books put the teen years in perspective and allow teens to identify with the characters in her books.  Book clubs are a great way for people to identify with characters and share their own experiences, putting teens in small groups to host a book club would be a great lesson.  Having the teens dissect and interpret parts of the story and poem and share experiences is a great learning experience.