A BURST OF FIRSTS, By J. Patrick Lewis

Lewis, J. Patrick.  A BURST OF FIRSTS: DOERS, SHAKERS, AND RECORD BREAKERS.  Ill. by Brian Ajhar.  New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2001.  ISBN 0803721080 

A BURST OF FIRSTS is a collection of poems for children about record-breakers and first-time achievers.  The picture book compilation by Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Brian Ajhar celebrates accomplishments big and small, such as the world’s largest bubble-gum bubble, the original creation of blue jeans, and the first person to survive plunging over Niagara Falls in a barrel. 

Patrick Lewis has created a collection of poetry that will delight and entertain young readers, while also teaching them about many American achievers and history-makers.  Lewis uses catchy rhythm to craft poems that are fun to read and encourages children to visit them over and over again.  His creative use of rhyme and repetition will also appeal to children, such as in the poem “The Biggest Bubble-Gum Bubble Ever Blown.”  This engaging tale about a record-breaking bubble blower quips, “So she took out some gum/and she started to chew/And to chew and to chew./(Like a panda bear munching/A stalk of bamboo.)”  The poetry begs to be read aloud with the same enthusiasm and excitement of the “doers and shakers” it portrays.  Lewis spotlights many icons in our country, such as Neil Armstrong, Michael Jordan and Elvis Presley, and has helpfully included a line at the start of each poem that details the name and date of the achievement.  A BURST OF FIRSTS uses carefully considered language to convey the many moods and tones of the various poems, such as the silly cheer for pizza in “#1 Lunch Choice of School Kids,” the dignified account of the “First Recorded 6,000-Year-Old Tree in America,” and the touching story of Ruby Bridges learning the harsh reality that “nothing is ever simply BLACK and WHITE.”  A BURST OF FIRSTS showcases a wide mix of historical figures under its theme of “doers, shakers and record breakers,” and does so in a poetry collection that is clever enough to captivate children.

Brian Ajhar’s mixed media illustrations add color and whimsy to this poetry compilation.  He uses paint, glaze, pencil and airbrush to create muted portraits and scenes to accompany each poem.  Ajhar’s characters are exaggerated and cartoon-like, depicting Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin as kangaroos hopping around the moon and Muhammad Ali as a stoic bumblebee with his four gloved hands raised in victory.  The illustrations in A BURST OF FIRSTS add dimension to the poems, with layers of shadowy pterodactyls soaring across “First Time the Sound Barrier Was Broken” and a crowd of blue spectators marveling at Jackie Robinson’s dashing run to home plate.  Readers with an especially keen eye will also notice that Ajhar has cleverly hidden the floating bubble of the book’s first star, Sue Montgomery Wilson, in each picture.  While the illustrations can be a little washed out and gloomy at times, Ajhar balances the many moods of Lewis’ poetry with his colorful and detailed artwork.

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL notes that “Lewis celebrates remarkable and wacky events and endeavors” and that the book “works so well because it shows kids how a ‘simple’ poem can celebrate a great achievement-and that it is part of the poet’s achievement to make it seem great.”  KIRKUS REVIEWS praises the collection, stating “Readers will sail just as lightly (as Sue Montgomery Williams) through this gallery of achievers, marveling as they go.”  A BURST OF FIRSTS is a fun poetry compilation that will appeal to young doers and shakers who dream of reaching their own history-making milestones someday soon. 

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Students reading A BURST OF FIRSTS will enjoy coming up with their own "firsts" they can accomplish at school, such as the first class to read 100 books or the first student to stand up all day during school.  Children can come up with their own achievements and write poems describing their accomplishments.

Children can also hunt for Brian Ajhar's hidden bubble-gum bubble in each illustration, and then create their own artwork with Sue and her bubble floating secretly inside.  

For more poetry by Patrick Lewis, check out:

PLEASE BURY ME IN THE LIBRARY, By Patrick Lewis, Illustrated by Kyle M. Stone, ISBN 0152163875

DOODLE DANDIES: POEMS THAT TAKE SHAPE, By Patrick Lewis, Illustrated by Lisa Desimini, ISBN 0689848896

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Sources:

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/j-patrick-lewis/a-burst-of-firsts/

http://www.amazon.com/Burst-Firsts-Shakers-Record-Breakers/dp/0803721080

THIS IS JUST TO SAY, By Joyce Sidman

Sidman, Joyce.  THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski.  Boston: Houghton Miffin Company, 2007.  ISBN 0618616802

THIS IS JUST TO SAY is an imaginative poetry collection picture book about apologizing and asking for forgiveness.  The anthology is cleverly divided into two parts, with the first half filled with poems that express apologies and the second half including responses to each poem in part one.  The poems are authored by the fictitious sixth grade class of Mrs. Merz and cover a range of topics that beg forgiveness, such as accidently killing the class lizard, secretly loving a fellow classmate and feeling remorseful for making fun of the teacher’s dress.

Joyce Sidman succeeds at capturing the voices of an entire sixth grade class through her collection of creative, short poems.  Each page takes on a new personality of different students, adults and even animals in the book.  Sidman’s anthology varies in rhythm, sometimes flowing elegantly through a kind reprieve, such as the case in “To the Girl Who Rubs My Nose.”  Here, the lucky stone statue on campus comforts a worried student, expressing “I was a child like you. I used to run, I used to play/Now I am old, and cold,/and frozen on my pedestal.”  Other times, Sidman uses a quicker rhythm, such as in “I Got Carried Away.”  The series of descriptive words in this poem connate the young author’s casual apology for playing too tough in dodge ball, as he describes “Kids screaming and ducking/Coach bellowing/all those red rubber balls/thumping like heartbeats/against the walls and ceiling.” 

THIS IS JUST TO SAY will also have an emotional impact on readers, who will feel the fear and sorrow of a young boy who struggles with the decision of putting his dog to sleep.  Sidman’s descriptive language in “It Was Quiet” creates the image of a child feeling his beloved pet’s fur between his fingers while the machines in the vet hospital slowly quiet their beeping.  In “For Little Ruth,” Sidman evokes the nostalgia and regret a mother feels for her grown daughter, who is no longer the little girl that boisterously ran around the house, breaking crystal figurines.  Figurative language is scattered throughout the collection of poems, with similes and repetition being used frequently to create vivid and meaningful imagery. 

Illustrator Pamela Zagarenski enriches this poetry anthology with her whimsical mixed media pictures.  Through the use of paper, canvas, wood and computer graphics, Zagarenski creates delicate collages on each page that look as if the young students in the book cut and pasted them into their own handmade poetry scrapbook.  The illustrations are colorful and quirky, portraying images such as an angel dog sketched lovingly on a sheet of loose-leaf paper, two tumbling boys cut out of newspaper scraps, and a forgiving teacher floating across the page on the clouds in her dress.  Zagarenski’s illustrations are magical on the pages, perfectly complimenting the voices of each young poet and adding a special detail to the collection of poems.  Additionally, THIS IS JUST TO SAY is printed in a variety of fonts that also help express the emotion of each poem.  Some poems are shown in a curvy handwriting font, such as Lamar’s “Little Brother”, who writes his response by hand to his younger brother.  Others are printed in dark block letters that fly across the page, such as the quick poem “Dodge Ball Crazy,” in which a student scarcely has time to stop and write his apology.

THIS IS JUST TO SAY is an enchanting collection of poetry for children and young adults.  The book’s creative poems and pictures will captivate students, while its message of forgiveness and compassion will stick with them long after they put the book down.  SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL writes, “Sidman’s ear is keen, capturing many voices.  Her skill as a poet accessible to young people is unmatched.”  BOOK PAGE notes the book as “original and entertaining,” while PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY describes it as a “humorous and touching anthology.” 

Awards and Honors for THIS IS JUST TO SAY:

Claudia Lewis Poetry Award

Cybils Poetry Award

Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Book of the Year

NEW YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY’S “100 Titles for Reading and Sharing”

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Teachers and students using THIS IS JUST TO SAY in their classroom or library will enjoy poet Joyce Sidman’s website at http://joycesidman.com.  Here, they can find a play adaptation for this poetry collection and writing advice from Mrs. Merz’s class.  The book can also be used to study figurative language, such as similes.  Students can look for examples of similes in the poems and write their own descriptive poetry using comparisons. 

Other similar poetry anthologies:

FORGIVE ME, I MEANT TO DO IT, By Gail Carson Levine, ISBN 0061787256

BOOKSPEAK! POEMS ABOUT BOOKS, By Laura Purdie Salas, Illustrated by Josee Bisaillon, ISBN 0547223005

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Sources:

http://joycesidman.com/books/this-is-just-to-say-poems/

http://www.joycesidman.com/books/this-is-just-to-say-poems/reviews-for-this-is-just-to.html

WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW, By Sonya Sones

Sones, Sonya.  WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW.  New York: Simon Pulse, 2003.  ISBN 0689855532

Sophie is like most any other fifteen-year-old girl.  She wants a boyfriend, trusts her best friends’ opinions most, and swears that her parents don’t understand anything about her life.  Sophie narrates WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW like a personal journal, spilling details and emotions into each entry.  When she finds herself falling for the biggest geek in school, Sophie proves that she has learned the hard lesson so many high schoolers struggle with: it is not important what everyone else thinks about you, as long as you are doing what makes you happy in the end.

Sonya Sones’ verse novel, WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW, shines as a heartfelt story of teenage love, friendship and heartbreak.  Young girls will relate to Sophie’s emotional journey of relationships with boys, and will cheer her on as she gives in to her true feelings for Murphy.  Sones uses short poems throughout the book to so perfectly capture Sophie’s voice and the feelings and experiences of high school.  Any girl who has ever fought with her mom over what to wear to the school dance or stayed up all night with her best friends to talk about young love, will be captivated by Sophie’s poems.  Older readers will smile with nostalgia and cringe with embarrassment as they remember the good and bad of their own teen years.  WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW is a touching coming of age story that will remind young adults to always follow their hearts.

Sones uses short lines in her poetry to create a steady rhythm, allowing readers to step inside Sophie’s life and experience her feelings and emotions alongside her.  Each poem reads quickly and naturally, much like a young teen rattling off the details and drama of her day.  Sones captures the excitement and anticipation of first love in the perfect teenage voice.  For example, her poem “Close to Midnight” illustrates how Sophie can’t keep Dylan off her mind as she wonders, “Lying in bed/gazing up at the/glow-in-the-dark stars/on my ceiling,/I’m thinking of you/lying in bed/gazing up at your ceiling/maybe thinking of me/at this very same/moment.”  The details Sones includes, like the star stickers on Sophie’s ceiling, will remind young girls of their own lives and feelings.  WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW also includes a special treat for readers at its conclusion, where Sones has added a short flip book on the corner of each page, depicting Sophie’s favorite Renoir painting. The small illustration appears just as Sophie starts to admit to herself that she is falling for Murphy, and ends the book with a perfect kiss and smile, much like how Sophie concludes her tale smiling back at Robin.

The AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION named WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW as a Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers and a 2002 Best Book for Young Adults.  Tweens and teens who struggle finding a book to enjoy may quickly fall in love with Sophie and eagerly devour this easy yet emotional read.  SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL agrees, writing “Sones’ book makes these often-difficult years a little more livable by making them real, normal, and OK.”  KIRKUS REVIEWS adds “Sones has crafted a verse experience that will leave teenage readers sighing with recognition and satisfaction.”  WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW has won a list of awards, including the Iowa Teen Book Award in 2005, an INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION Young Adult’s Choice award, and was named as a BOOKLIST Editor’s Choice in 2001.  The book has also seen some controversy, appearing on the AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCATION’s list of most frequently challenged books for its descriptions of teenage body changes and sexuality, so teachers and parents should beware before recommending it to very young readers.  

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Young adults who read WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW can be encouraged to keep journals for themselves, even trying to write some entries in verse poetry.  They will also enjoy comparing Sophie’s stories with those about teens in other verse novels, such as:

 

LOVE AND LEFTOVERS, By Sarah Tregay, ISBN 0062023586

 

Readers will also be thrilled to discover that Sonya Sones has written a sequel to WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW, this time told by Sophie’s new boyfriend, Robin:

 

WHAT MY GIRLFRIEND DOESN’T KNOW, By Sonya Sones, ISBN 0689876033

 

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Sources

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/what-my-mother-doesnt-know-sonya-sones/1100363856

http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sonya-sones/what-my-mother-doesnt-know

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/censorship-watch/top-10-challenged-books-2011

THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG, By Eugene Trivizas, Illustrated by Helen Oxenbury

Trivizas, Eugene.  THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG.  Ill. by Helen Oxenbury.  New York: Macmillian Publishing Company, 1993.  ISBN 0590486225

In this mixed-up version of the classic tale, it is the three little wolves that are running around building houses, hoping to stay safe from the Big Bad Pig and his huffing and puffing.  Three fluffy little wolves are warned by their mother to beware of the big bad wolf when they leave their home and go out on their own.  Taking her heed to heart, they immediately set out building a sturdy house of bricks.  Soon that big bad pig their mama told them about comes prowling at their door and starts huffing and puffing.  When he realizes he cannot blow the house down, the pig does the next best thing - he knocks it down with a sledgehammer.  The three wolves narrowly escape the destruction and turn to concrete when they build their next home.  This time, the fearless pig’s pneumatic drill easily smashes the concrete to dust and leaves the wolves running away again.  Determined to build an even stronger home, the wolves use a gamut of materials for their next dwelling, including iron bars, metal padlocks and Plexiglas.  But again, that evil pig finds a way to destroy the house, this time quite literally blowing it down with dynamite.  Convinced they are going about it all wrong, the three little wolves build their final house out of soft, colorful flowers.  This time, when the big bad pig arrives and takes a breath to huff and puff, he is delighted by the fragrant smell.  His big bad heart grows soft and he decides to become a “big good pig,” moving in with the wolves in their flowered home.  They all – of course – live happily ever after.

Trivizas’s THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG is a satirical take on the classic THREE LITTLE PIGS tale that uses humor and erratic details to keep readers laughing as they turn the pages.  For example, throughout the story, the three little wolves meet a kangaroo pushing a wheelbarrow of bricks, play croquet in their garden, install a video entrance phone on their front door and soak in waterlily-filled bathtubs.  Trevizas’s story is quirky and silly, almost going overboard on the unpredictability of the details.  But the story’s charm makes up for its oddities and readers will surely enjoy the big bad pig’s exaggerated attempts at taking down the wolves.  His methods of destruction will entertain any kid who likes to destroy things, and his array of tools and supplies will catch the interest of innovative builders of all ages.  Triviza’s fractured fairy tale does stay true to its roots, offering several echo lines to encourage participation during a read aloud.  The pig’s actions are always described with, “he huffed and he puffed and he puffed and he huffed,” and the three little wolves always tremble not only from their chinny-chin-chins, but all the way down to the tea leaves in their china teapot.  This tale’s moral is not the usual THREE LITTLE PIGS theme of taking time to do things the hard way to make sure they are done right.  Instead, THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG teaches children to get along with each other and to be a good pig, not a bad pig.

Helen Oxenbury’s watercolor illustrations depict the three little wolves as friendly yet skittish animals who are always peering cautiously out their windows, looking out for the pig.  They tip toe out of their destroyed homes and climb down piles of barbed wire.  Oxenbury makes the three little heroes endearing and lovable, as they toss shuttlecocks across a net and work diligently to rebuild their house with an extra-friendly beaver.  The big bad pig, on the other hand, is always depicted as scowling and grumbling, never appearing happy or satisfied.  It is not until the very end when the pig has a change of heart that we see him smile, and even do a jig for the wolves.  Once he learns that he can be friends with his foes, the pig looks carefree and relaxed, playing games with the wolves in a sunny field and relaxing at home with his new family.

PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY applauds THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG, calling it “among the wittiest fractured fairy tales around.”  SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL agrees, saying “children familiar with the Three Little Pigs will enjoy the turnabout, the narrow escapes, and the harmonious ending.” 

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Children who enjoy the role reversal in this story will also enjoy reading other classic fairytales turned around, such as:

HONESTLY, RED RIDING HOOD WAS ROTTEN, THE STORY OF LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD AS TOLD BY THE WOLF, By Tricia Speed Shaskan, Illustrated by Gerald Guerlais, ISBN 1404870468

BELIEVE ME, GOLDILOCKS ROCKS! THE STORY OF THE THREE BEARS AS TOLD BY BABY BEAR, By Nancy Jean Loewen, Illustrated by Tatevik Avakyan, ISBN 140487044X

Young readers may be inspired to write their own fractured version of this and other classic tales.  For help writing fractured fairytales, visit:

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/fairytales

Or try reading:

ONCE UPON A TIME: WRITING YOUR OWN FAIRY TALE (WRITER’S TOOLBOX), By Nancy Loewen, Illustrated by Christopher Lyles

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Sources:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-689-81528-7

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/three-little-wolves-and-the-big-bad-pig-eugene-trivizas/1100630834#