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Children's poetry suggestions
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From: Bob <Rlangdon>
Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2000 13:25:19 -0800
Thank you everyone for your poetry suggestions. I would like to take this opportunity to point out three Children's Book Press award-winning titles by renowned Chicano poet Francisco X. Alarcon that are used extensively in the classroom and are very popular with children.
All three books make wonderful introductions to poetry for readers of any age, and provide a great starting point for developing one's own poetry. One exercise that students seem to enjoy involves paying particular attention to Alarcon's use of the senses in his poems. Students are then asked to create their own pieces using the senses. Another is a sort of freewrite where students are asked to suggest a few words, and are then encouraged to write their own poems using these particular words. It's always great fun when the students share the results.
All three books are bilingual English and Spanish and illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez, whose art work has been praised as "so bountiful it feels as if it's spilling off the pages." They are part of a series of seasonal poetry books written and illustrated especially for children. Following is information and excerpts for each book.
LAUGHING TOMATOES AND OTHER SPRING POEMS/JITOMATES RISUENOS Y OTROS POEMAS DE PRIMAVERA Hardcover 0?2399-1 32 pages 1997
$15.95
With joy and tenderness, delight and sadness, the poems and illustrations in LAUGHING TOMATOES honor the wonders of life and nature: welcoming the morning sun, remembering grandmother's songs, paying tribute to children working in the fields, and sharing dreams of a world filled with gardens.
My Grandma's Songs would follow the beat of the washing machine
turning our kitchen into a dance floor
consoling the chairs placed upside down
delighting the family portraits on the walls
putting to sleep the sheets on the clothesline
giving flavor to the boiling pot of beans
the songs my grandma used to sing
could make the stars come out
could turn my grandma into a young girl
going back to the river for water
and make her laugh and cry at the same time
copyright Francisco X. Alarcon
LAUGHING TOMATOES AND OTHER SPING POEMS has been honored with: Pura Belpr? Honor Award from the American Library Association National Parenting Publications Gold Medal Award Riverbank Review "Children?s Book of Distinction" Finalist
FROM THE BELLYBUTTON OF THE MOON AND OTHER SUMMER POEMS/DEL OMBLIGO DE LA LUNA Y OTROS POEMAS DE VERANO Hardcover 0?2393-7 32 pages 1998
$15.95
With a poet's magical vision, Alarcon takes us back to his childhood when he traveled with his family to Mexico to visit his grandma and other relatives. We travel with him in the family station wagon, across misty mountain range to the little town of Atoyac. There, in the beloved town of his ancestors, we hear his grandmother's stories, sample Auntie Reginalda's tasty breakfasts, learn about the keys to the universe, and take playful dips in the warm sea. Gonzalez's illustrations perfect capture the spirit of summer in the poet's Mexico where "colors are more colorful, tastes are tastier, and even time seems to slow down."
2. From the Bellybutton of the Moon whenever I say
"Mexico"
I hear my grandma telling me
about the Aztecs and the city they built
on an island in the middle of a lake
"Mexico" says my grandma
"means: from the bellybutton of the moon"
"don't forget your origin my son"
maybe that's why
whenever I now say
"Mexico"
I feel like touching my bellybutton
copyright Francisco X. Alarcon
FROM THE BELLYBUTTON OF THE MOON has been honored with: 1999 Skipping Stones Honor Award 1999 Pura Belpr? Author Honor School Library Journal Starred Review School Library Journals Am?ricas Award Commended List 1998 Cooperative Children?s Book Center Choice
ANGELS RIDE BIKES AND OTHER FALL POEMS/LOS ANGELES ANDAN EN BICICLETA Y OTROS POEMAS DE OTONO Hardcover 0?2390-X 32 pages 1999
$15.95
Alarcon and Gonzalez invite us to experience fall in Los Angeles--the City of Angels--where dreams can come true. In the poet's whimsical imagination, mariachis play like angels, angels ride bikes, and the earth dances the cha-cha-cha. Alarcon celebrates the simple joys of everyday life: a visit to the outdoor market, the arrival of the ice cream vendor, the first day of school. He honors his family and pays tribute to his mother, who taught him that with hard work and education he could realize his dreams.
My Mother's Hands are as eloquent as the finest books
they prune rosebushes with the same skill
they once picked lettuce in the fields
and later cleaned and packed sardines
nothing makes them happier than getting
good report cards from us her children
then these hands, calloused from working so hard
embrace and caress us light and soft as silk
"here you can become all you want to be"
my mother reminds us repeating:
"si se puede!-yes, you can do it!"
copyright Francisco X. Alarcon
ANGELS RIDE BIKES has been honored with: 1999 NAPPA-National Parenting Publication Award?Gold Award in the Category of Books of Folklore, Poetry & Song 1999 Parent?s Choice Picture Book Recommendation 2000 Notable Book for a Global Society Award winner
Regards,
Bob Langdon Sales & Marketing Manager Children's Book Press
Received on Thu 06 Apr 2000 04:25:19 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 06 Apr 2000 13:25:19 -0800
Thank you everyone for your poetry suggestions. I would like to take this opportunity to point out three Children's Book Press award-winning titles by renowned Chicano poet Francisco X. Alarcon that are used extensively in the classroom and are very popular with children.
All three books make wonderful introductions to poetry for readers of any age, and provide a great starting point for developing one's own poetry. One exercise that students seem to enjoy involves paying particular attention to Alarcon's use of the senses in his poems. Students are then asked to create their own pieces using the senses. Another is a sort of freewrite where students are asked to suggest a few words, and are then encouraged to write their own poems using these particular words. It's always great fun when the students share the results.
All three books are bilingual English and Spanish and illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez, whose art work has been praised as "so bountiful it feels as if it's spilling off the pages." They are part of a series of seasonal poetry books written and illustrated especially for children. Following is information and excerpts for each book.
LAUGHING TOMATOES AND OTHER SPRING POEMS/JITOMATES RISUENOS Y OTROS POEMAS DE PRIMAVERA Hardcover 0?2399-1 32 pages 1997
$15.95
With joy and tenderness, delight and sadness, the poems and illustrations in LAUGHING TOMATOES honor the wonders of life and nature: welcoming the morning sun, remembering grandmother's songs, paying tribute to children working in the fields, and sharing dreams of a world filled with gardens.
My Grandma's Songs would follow the beat of the washing machine
turning our kitchen into a dance floor
consoling the chairs placed upside down
delighting the family portraits on the walls
putting to sleep the sheets on the clothesline
giving flavor to the boiling pot of beans
the songs my grandma used to sing
could make the stars come out
could turn my grandma into a young girl
going back to the river for water
and make her laugh and cry at the same time
copyright Francisco X. Alarcon
LAUGHING TOMATOES AND OTHER SPING POEMS has been honored with: Pura Belpr? Honor Award from the American Library Association National Parenting Publications Gold Medal Award Riverbank Review "Children?s Book of Distinction" Finalist
FROM THE BELLYBUTTON OF THE MOON AND OTHER SUMMER POEMS/DEL OMBLIGO DE LA LUNA Y OTROS POEMAS DE VERANO Hardcover 0?2393-7 32 pages 1998
$15.95
With a poet's magical vision, Alarcon takes us back to his childhood when he traveled with his family to Mexico to visit his grandma and other relatives. We travel with him in the family station wagon, across misty mountain range to the little town of Atoyac. There, in the beloved town of his ancestors, we hear his grandmother's stories, sample Auntie Reginalda's tasty breakfasts, learn about the keys to the universe, and take playful dips in the warm sea. Gonzalez's illustrations perfect capture the spirit of summer in the poet's Mexico where "colors are more colorful, tastes are tastier, and even time seems to slow down."
2. From the Bellybutton of the Moon whenever I say
"Mexico"
I hear my grandma telling me
about the Aztecs and the city they built
on an island in the middle of a lake
"Mexico" says my grandma
"means: from the bellybutton of the moon"
"don't forget your origin my son"
maybe that's why
whenever I now say
"Mexico"
I feel like touching my bellybutton
copyright Francisco X. Alarcon
FROM THE BELLYBUTTON OF THE MOON has been honored with: 1999 Skipping Stones Honor Award 1999 Pura Belpr? Author Honor School Library Journal Starred Review School Library Journals Am?ricas Award Commended List 1998 Cooperative Children?s Book Center Choice
ANGELS RIDE BIKES AND OTHER FALL POEMS/LOS ANGELES ANDAN EN BICICLETA Y OTROS POEMAS DE OTONO Hardcover 0?2390-X 32 pages 1999
$15.95
Alarcon and Gonzalez invite us to experience fall in Los Angeles--the City of Angels--where dreams can come true. In the poet's whimsical imagination, mariachis play like angels, angels ride bikes, and the earth dances the cha-cha-cha. Alarcon celebrates the simple joys of everyday life: a visit to the outdoor market, the arrival of the ice cream vendor, the first day of school. He honors his family and pays tribute to his mother, who taught him that with hard work and education he could realize his dreams.
My Mother's Hands are as eloquent as the finest books
they prune rosebushes with the same skill
they once picked lettuce in the fields
and later cleaned and packed sardines
nothing makes them happier than getting
good report cards from us her children
then these hands, calloused from working so hard
embrace and caress us light and soft as silk
"here you can become all you want to be"
my mother reminds us repeating:
"si se puede!-yes, you can do it!"
copyright Francisco X. Alarcon
ANGELS RIDE BIKES has been honored with: 1999 NAPPA-National Parenting Publication Award?Gold Award in the Category of Books of Folklore, Poetry & Song 1999 Parent?s Choice Picture Book Recommendation 2000 Notable Book for a Global Society Award winner
Regards,
Bob Langdon Sales & Marketing Manager Children's Book Press
Received on Thu 06 Apr 2000 04:25:19 PM CDT
