Review: This Is Just to Say

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sidman, Joyce. This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. ISBN-10: 0-618-61680-2

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
After reading the poem "This Is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams, Mrs. Merz asks her sixth grade class at Florence Scribner School to write "sorry" poems. They enjoyed their poems so much, they decided to put them all together to create a book. They then added to the original idea when they decided to have responses from the people who received those poems make up the second part of the book.

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Is this compilation by Joyce Sidman, she writes from the perspective of a fictional sixth grade class, and does so beautifully. She is able to portray emotions using language that a sixth grader would use to capture relationships between friends, siblings, teacher and student, parent and child, pets and their owners, just to name a few. Some poems have a bit of a humorous tone, like when Thomas ate a stolen jelly doughnut from the teacher's lounge and was given away because "the powdered sugar spilled all over" his shirt, while many go much deeper in talking about loss, broken relationships, and unmet expectations, as readers witness when Anthony wrote to his mother seeking her approval: "I saw you turn away from me and in that moment would have given anything to be your champion". Throughout the book, readers will find poems that speak to them about the silliness of just being a child, making mistakes, or even just wanting to impress a boy. 

Through Sidman's haiku, pantoums, two-art poems, snippets, and rhymes, the reader will be given the opportunity to learn the art of apology and forgiveness. Though many of the fictional poets are very sorry for their actions and truly seek forgiveness, others, such as Bobby, are sorry "(but not really)". On the other hand, the reader sees different aspects of forgiveness in part two of the book. Some of the characters responding pour their hearts out, another writes a short and sweet "roses are red, violets are blue" poem to express that she is still really upset about eh situation, while others did not understand why the poets were apologizing in the first place, like Mrs. Merz' mother, when she says "Why are you sorry, my little Ruth?"

The author's ability to portray a young child makes the poems relatable to the targeted 9-12 year old audience. The well-thought out poems and responses allows readers to see the complex relationship between characters, but not without a little bit of effort. After the first read for enjoyment and to grasp Sidman's style and ideas, a reader might find themselves flipping between the poems and their responses in order to connect and truly understand the extent of the characters relationships.

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Claudia Lewis Poetry Award
Cybils Poetry Award
Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
IRA Teacher's Choice Book
New York Public Library's "100 Titles for Reading and Sharing"
Book Links Lasting Connection Book
From School Library Journal: “Sidman's ear is keen, capturing many voices. Her skill as a poet accessible to young people is unmatched.”

From Booklist: "Children will find much to identify with in the situations presented in the apology poems, and they'll appreciate the resolutions given in the responses."

From Kirkus Reviews: "Packed with the intensity of everyday pain and sorrow, kids and adults exchange the words that convey grief, delight, love and acceptance of themselves and others."

5.     CONNECTIONS

Gather other children's poetry books to read such as:

•                    Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings. ISBN  0060256672

•                    A Child's Garden of Verses. ISBN 0689823827

•                    Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes. ISBN 1402718454

Gather other Joyce Sidman books to read such as:

•                      What the Heart Knows: Chants, Charms, and Blessings. ISBN 0544106164

•                      Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors. ISBN 0547014945

•                      Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems . ISBN 0618135472

Use as a lesson about apologies and forgiveness

Use when introducing self-to-text connections to allow students to reflect on what was read
Use it as an introduction to narrative writing - have students write about a time they had to
    apologize for something they had done and how it felt  to be forgiven