Adoff, Arnold. Families: Poems Celebrating the African American Experience. Dorothy
S. Strickland and Michael R. Strickland, ed. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press Inc., 1994. 19.
This untitled poem was found in Families: Poems Celebrating the African American Experience is a poetry anthology that features all African American poets. Arnold Adoff is an accredited poet who has written many children’s poems about African Americans Adoff describes a young boy who is proud to be African American. His sister tells him about how tall, strong, and great African American men are. It is a great example for young African American boys. It illustrates the importance of family and academics to many African Americans. It also references there history, “we must be free”, and uses some black dialect, which is beneficial to helping all students understand more about African American culture. The poem can also be used as an example of some typical traits that help all children reach success.
Adoff, Arnold. “Flavors.” A Jar of Tiny Stars. Bernice E. Cullinan, ed. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press, 1996. 55.
The poems in A Jar of Tiny Stars were all chosen by children as their favorites. Children were given a selection of authors by the National Council of English Teachers and then children selected their favorite poems from those poets. Flavors, by Arnold Adoff was chosen for my anthology because it describes a mixed race-family. The child narrator uses ice cream to describe their family. Her mother is white or vanilla. Her father is African American or chocolate and she is butter. She describes herself as new and the best. That she is butter and she loves it because her parents both love her. It sends a very positive message to all kids that it is okay to have a different kind of family.
Alarcon, Francisco X. “Family Garden.” Poems to Dream Together: Poemas Para Sonar
Juntos. New York: Lee and Low Books, 2005.
All of the poems in Poems to Dream Together: Poemas Para Sonar Juntos are written in both Spanish and English. The poems are effective because although they have hints of Latino/a culture any child could relate to all of the poems in the book. Family Garden describes how a family works together to help their garden grow. It uses the Spanish words for Mom, Dad, and Grandmother. From the use of family Spanish words as well as from the strong family ties in the poem, children will learn about the importance of family to the Latino/a culture.
Chris, “My Brother.” Poems and Essays.
November 15, 2008.
My Brother, was written by a 12 year old boy named Chris about his younger brother who has down-syndrome. I chose this poem because it has a very personal feel. Although, it is from a personal website for families with down-syndrome, the poem is credible because poetry should illustrate personal feelings. It does not claim to represent all people with down-syndrome, but rather just this boy’s brother. The young boy does an excellent job of representing his brother realistically, but turns anything that could be a viewed ad negative into a positive situation. He also shows how much love his family has for brother. This is an uplifting poem for children and families who have down-syndrome as well as a positive depiction of down-syndrome for people who have little experience with down-syndrome.
Etter, Dave. “Marcus Millsap: School Day Afternoon.” Poetry 180.
Poetry 180, is a website of poems compiled by the Library of Congress for teachers. There are poems for every day of the year. Although, the website is credible because it was published by the government, it is aimed for mostly high school students. Therefore, only a few of the poems were appropriate for elementary or young students. One poem Marcus Millsap: School Day Afternoon depicts the day to day life of young boy who lives on a farm. It does a good job of staying away from “redneck” stereotypes or “hick” language, but rather just describes the scenes that someone who lives on a farm might see after school one day. Marcus likes roosters and pigs, he describes the silos, and is going to the fair with his family this weekend. Students who read this poem will better understand that all people live differently, but will still see how kids are similar.
Clark, Sheryl. “Gift Horse.” Farm Kid. Poetry for Kids.
Sheryl Clark has written two books of poetry for children. The poems in Farm Kid, focus on farm life, but the poem Gift Horse discusses poverty in general, as opposed to rural poverty. This poem explains not only the hardships of living in poverty, but having to understand that not everyone does. Having to accept hand me downs and living with next to nothing is a reality for many children. Children who read this poem will feel that they aren’t alone in wanting more things. The poem doesn’t depict the family as invalid or unworthy, but rather just as your everyday friendly neighbors, who can’t afford to buy new things. This poem is especially powerful because it is told from a child’s point of view.
Greenfield, Eloise. “Missing Mama.” Families: Poems Celebrating the African American
Experience. Dorothy S. Strickland and Michael R. Strickland, ed. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills Press Inc., 1994. 23.
I chose Missing Mama because it depicts an underrepresented family group. Many children have lost parents and are living in single parent homes or with other family members. This poem is narrated from a young boy’s point of view which creates a sense of connectivity for young readers. The boy acknowledges that there is pain and it is not easy to get over the pain of losing his Mom. Yet, he also says how he is getting over it and what he does to move on. Students will take a way a positive message from a touchy subject. The anthology that this poem comes from has poems that are all written by acclaimed African American poets. Although, Eloise Greenfield, didn’t lose either of her parents she said she struggles to make each word of her poetry just right for kids.
Kammeraad, Kevin. “Concert of the Blind.” The Tomato Collection. Grand Rapids, MI:
Cooperfly Books, 2000. 13.
Kevin Kammeraad is a native of Michigan. His book, The Tomato Collection, is poetry
based off his own childhood experiences. Concert of the Blind is great poem that talks about the power of words. He uses the example of someone who is blind, and how they can’t see you, but can only hear what you say. He doesn’t patronize the blind, but rather just talks about what words can do and how much pain words can cause on their own. In fact the only place in the poem the word blind is used is the title. Children can walk away with this poem with appreciation of their sight and a caution to how they use their words.
Kammeraad, Kevin. “Well Hey.” The Tomato Collection. Grand Rapids, MI:
Cooperfly Books, 2000. 14.
This poem is also from Kevin Kammeraad’s Tomato Collection. Although, he is not a well known poet he is a favorite of my younger brothers, which is what led me to his poetry. Kammeraad’s, Well Hey, is a poem about depression. It is short and simple so all kids, despite ability, can read it. It is great because many children have to deal with depression, but it is not a well discussed topic. In the poem he discusses the feelings of being sad and how he doesn’t know why or what to do about it. The great part of the poem is that in the end he decides the best thing to do is just keep on trying.
Kennedy, X.J. “The Girl Who Makes the Cymbals Bang.” The 20th Century Children’s
Poetry Treasury. Jack Prelutsky, ed. New York: 1999. 17.
This poetry anthology features poems from all different esteemed poets. The poems were selected by well known poet Jack Prelutsky. The poems cover a wide range of topics from seasons to animals. This particular poem is in a section about instruments, but is a great depiction of empowering females. The poem portrays a young girl who was told that she wasn’t strong enough to play the cymbals. The girl proves her teacher wrong and becomes the first ever female cymbal player in her school band. It is a great tale to show girls that they can do anything they set their mind to. It introduces the stereotype that females are inferior to males and then successfully breaks it.
Mora, Pat. “Abuelita’s Lap.” Confetti: Poems for Children. New York: Lee & Low
Books, Inc. < http://crsla.tripod.com/id10.html> November 17, 2008.
The website, Abuelitas’s Lap is from, was produced by an elementary classroom. They chose a selection of multicultural children’s poems for a school project. Although, the author’s of the website (the class) is not that credible, they cite all of the poems. I chose to use the poem Abuelita’s Lap because it highlights some of the things that Latino/Latina’s hold important such as food, family, and music. The poet describes sitting on her grandmother’s lap listening to “cuentas” or stories about her family’s heritage. I chose this poem because it incorporates the Spanish language without, explicitly stating what each word means. It also depicts important parts of Latino/Latina culture, but is still easily relatable to other children
Prelutsky, Jack. No Girls Allowed.” The Random House Book of Poetry for
Children. Jack Prelutsky, ed. New York: Random House, 1983. 111.
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children is a collection of 572 poems by lots of poets various categories such as, nature, animals, kids, etc. This poem by Jack Prelutsky at first seems to illustrate the stereotype that girls may be inferior to boys in some sports. However, in the last line of the poem Prelutsky says, “besides they might win.” Girls can read this poem and see that they in fact can compete with the boys and may even win.
“The Circle of Thanks.” The Circle of Thanks: Native American Poems and Songs of Thanksgiving. Joseph Bruchac, ed. Bridge Water Books, 1996. 1.
Although, the illustrations in this book support stereotypical depictions of Native Americans the poems are well researched and illustrate Native culture on their own. Joseph Bruhac, who selected these poems is also an insider to the Abenaki tribe. Each poem is labeled with the specific tribe that this particular poem is from. The Circle of Thanks is from the Micmac, Northeast Coast. The poem does a great job of describing some of the most important things to the Micmac culture. The poem centers around the drum and a circle, both of which are central to Native culture. The poem also talks about the other important aspects of their culture, the trees, sun, moon, stars, and even their people. Children will be able to understand key aspects of the Micmac culture and will most importantly distinguish that these characteristics are unique to one tribe, not all of them.
Wayman, Tom. “The Poet.” Poetry 180. < http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/015.html> November 17, 2008.
Poetry 180, is a website of poems compiled by the Library of Congress for teachers. There are poems for every day of the year. Although, the website is credible because it was published by the government, it is aimed for mostly high school students. Therefore, only a few of the poems were appropriate for elementary or young students. I chose The Poet because it describes a struggling student who has trouble with reading and writing. The student has trouble understanding the textbook and even remembering what he did in school from day to day. Tom Wayman, a Canadian poet, never actually says that his poem is about learning disabilities but students who have learning disabilities or who struggle in school can connect with this poem. Also, the poem doesn’t make judgments about the hardships, but rather just describes them making it more acceptable.
Wong, Janet. Gonggong and Susie. Janet S. Wong.
Gonggong and Susie is from Janet Wong’s personal website. Janet Wong has published many poetry books for children about her Chinese heritage. Gonggong and Susie depicts her Grandpa’s experience as a Chinese American immigrant during the Great Depression. This particular poem is from her book A Suitcase of Seaweed, which was featured on the Hallmark channel and in New York’s Subway and Bus Posters. The poem uses Cantonese words which illustrates to children that within China there are many different dialects and cultures. It is also truly illustrates her families history and what the life of an immigrant would be like in 1920. As Janet Wong says, “it is one of those stories I used to hear over and over at the dinner table.”
Wong, Janet. Coin Drive. Janet S. Wong.
Often the word refuge is restricted to people fleeing foreign countries for political reasons, but in 2005 thousands of people fled from the devastation and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. These people are refugees within our own country. Janet Wong’s poem Coin Drive, depicts a child’s take on the events of Hurricane Katrina. I chose this poem because Katrina refugees are living lives all over the U.S. and it is important for students to understand and at least have a background of what those families went through. Janet Wong does an excellent job of depicting the scene from an outsider’s point of view. She doesn’t try to imagine how the families felt, but rather she depicts how she was confused. This poem was taken from Janet Wong’s personal website.
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