Review: Inside Out & Back Again

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY

Lai, Thanhha. Inside Out & Back Again. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2011.  ISBN 978-0-06-196278-3

2.     PLOT SUMMARY
This is the story of Ha, a ten year old  girl who loves her home in Saigon, but is forced to leave when the Vietnam War reaches her home. With her family, Ha travels to America in hopes of a safer life, but has a difficult time adjusting. 

3.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Thanhha Lai's novel in verse has a touching story told through the eyes of a ten year old girl named Ha, using short poems, short lines, short stanzas and simple vocabulary. Lai's protagonist, Ha, is an innocent girl who cherishes her home, everyday life and the simplicity of watching her papaya tree grow. As readers follow Ha's journey, through what seems to be her personal and carefully dated journal entries, reader's are given an insight into war, loss, change, hardship and hard work from an easy to read perspective that flows beautifully. Though there is no rhyme pattern present, each word in carefully chosen to help the metaphors, similes and personification jump right out of the pages.  

The author is able to capture a sweet, ten year old girl's voice of humor and hope, and meticulously describe the way she would see the world and the things in it. A good example is when Ha is describing her American, cowboy sponsor, "I love him immediately and imagine him to be good-hearted and loud and the owner of a horse" or when she calls her teacher "MiSSS SScott" to emphasize her S's after a few short lessons in the English language. Through her words and use of imagery, Lai is capable to making readers feel what Ha is feeling, and imagine what Ha is talking about as if they were there with her. 

In this heart warming story for 9-12 year olds, readers see people they can relate to, like the mother who pushes their kids to be their best, siblings who argue and irritate one another, and a little girl who finds joy in the little things, but also struggles with bullying at school. Ha's experiences and the message of hope and finding humor amidst the storm is enlightening. 

4.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

2012 John Newbery Medal

2011 National Book Award for Young People's Literature

New York Times Bestseller
From Publishers Weekly: “The taut portrayal of Hà’s emotional life is especially poignant as she cycles from feeling smart in Vietnam to struggling in the States, and finally regains academic and social confidence. An incisive portrait of human resilience.”

From Booklist: “Based in Lai’s personal experience, this first novel captures a child–refugee’s struggle with rare honesty. Written in accessible, short free–verse poems, Hà’s immediate narrative describes her mistakes—both humorous and heartbreaking; and readers will be moved by Hà’s sorrow as they recognize the anguish of being the outcast.”

From School Library Journal: “Ha’s voice is full of humor and hope.”

From The Horn Book: “Lai’s spare language captures the sensory disorientation of changing cultures as well as a refugee’s complex emotions and kaleidoscopic loyalties.”


5.     CONNECTIONS

Read other poetry books about wars:

•                    From Both Sides Now: The Poetry of the Vietnam War and Its Aftermath. ISBN 978-0684849478

•                    Unaccustomed Mercy: Soldier-Poets of the Vietnam War. ISBN 0896721906
•                    Carrying the Darkness: The Poetry of the Vietnam War. ISBN 0896721884

•                      

Lesson Ideas:

•           Study on the Vietnam War through poetry
•           Compare and contrast the different points of views, perspectives and experiences of the war
•            Learn about different styles of poetry
•            Have students write a poem about a difficult time in their lives

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

Review: beast feast

1.     BIBLIOGRAPHY

Florian, Douglar. beast feast. Singapore: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1994.  ISBN 0-15-295178-4

2.     CRITICAL ANALYSIS

In this playful collection of short poems for young children, Florian plays with different rhythm, rhyme and age appropriate language to create a fun and engaging experience for the readers. The poems range from short and sweet to some that are a bit longer with more details, as it paints an image for the target audience about the animal it is describing. Florian's watercolor illustrations are simple and portrayed as paintings in a frame that compliments the color of the animals. Though one might think the illustrations may take away from the poetry itself, by filling a whole page next to the text, it is the carefully selected words and their placement that steal the show.

The black text surrounded by white space especially draws the reader's attention to the text, as its placement changes throughout the book to enhance the experience. For example, in The Sloth, the word "p a u s e" is written with spaces to symbolize the lack of movement. Throughout the book, one will find words that are written in "Oversized" font, with CAPITAL letters, diagonally, and even upside down for emphasis. Not only does Florian play with font sizes and placement, but he also introduces a play on words with text such as "Walrusty", "rhearranged", kangaroom" and "There's moa and moa and moa and moa". In addition, Florian strategically chooses to place page numbers in the middle of the page, rather than the corner, to draw the reader's attention to the next page.

This humorous interpretation of animals, through carefully thought out and placed words, with different rhyme patterns, flows beautifully off the tongue as a fun read aloud for kids. It is written in such a manner that will have kids engaged from the very first page, and the table of contents in the beginning of the book will help children go back to their favorite poems to read it "moa and moa and moa and moa".

3.     REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

From Publishers Weekly: “Florian ( Monster Motel ; Vegetable Garden ) indeed presents a feast--for the eyes and the ears--in this cheerful collection of brief, bouncy poems describing an eclectic roundup of animals.”

From Booklist: “Twenty-one animals are each the subject of both a watercolor painting and a poem. Brief and largely humorous, the poems often make rhymes or puns with the animals' names.”

From School Library Journal: “This collection is an uncluttered, short presentation by an author/illustrator who knows what children will find funny-add to that the bonus of factual information tucked into each poem, and the result is a winner. It's easy to imagine readers becoming inspired to write and illustrate their own poems after spending time with Florian. Clearly a wonderful book.”

From The Kirkus Reviews: “A frequent picture-book author-illustrator offers 21 snappy poems about animals, each depicted in a square, dynamically composed watercolor. The succinctly phrased verse is fresh, occasionally whimsical, and witty with wordplay and puns.”

ALA Notable Book Award

1995 Lee Bennet Hopkins Poetry Award

NCTE - CBC Notable Language Arts Book


4.     CONNECTIONS

Gather other children's poetry books about animals:

•                     Whipple, Laura. Eric Carle's Animals Animals. ISBN  0698118553

•                     Elliott, David. In the Wild. ISBN 0439915015

Gather other Douglas Florian poetry books to read such as:

•                    Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings . ISBN    978-0152053727

•                    Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings . ISBN 978-1416979784

•                    lizards, frogs, and polliwogs. ISBN 978-0152052485

Lesson Ideas:
Use in a lesson to introduce adjectives
Use to review rhyming words
Use as a listening activity - have students listen to one of the poems and illustrate what they believe the animal looks like, just from what they have heard