JAZZ by Walter Dean Myers and Illustrated by Christopher Myers

Meyers, Walter Dean.  Jazz.  Ill. Christopher Meyers.  New York:  Holiday House.  2009.  ISBN 978-0823421732.

SUMMARY AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Walter Dean Myers’ poetry collection is a celebration of jazz music and the musicians that have spread jazz music around the world.  Myers lyrical verses feel like music, moving fast and slow across the pages.  Myers’ son, Christopher, provided the illustrations and these two talented men have created an exciting jazz experience through poetry and art.  

The poetry is soulful and full of deep emotion.  In "Be-Bop" the music sounds like pure joy with "Oh bippety-bop bop, oh whee! / OH WHEE! / A Bippety-bop square / can't mess with me!"  The sad notes of lost love are heard in “Session II.”  It begins with “Mercy, mercy, mercy / Please have mercy Mr. Slide Trombone/My baby’s gone and left me."  You can feel the rhythm in “Twenty-Finger Jack” and by the end of the poem the reader might feel like tapping toes or singing along.  Myers uses rhyme to create a strong beat with “My knees don’t like it / but feet just got to dance / My heels can’t follow / but my toes will take a chance.”

The instruments take on human qualities when Myers uses figurative language in "America's Music" with "Strings crying like a midnight widow … A clarinet sassing its way through a Sunday-night sermon."  He highlights the many types of jazz, showing an appreciation for each type.  A variety of text types are used throughout the collection.  Handwritten refrains are merged with typed text.  The placement of text varies from horizontal, vertical and on a slant.  The variety adds energy to the book and creates interest.  

Walter Dean Myers opens the book with a short introduction to jazz music, beginning in the early 1800's.  He honors the musicians that laid the foundation for all of the varieties of jazz that we now know today.  He also included a glossary of jazz terms in the back of the book and a jazz time line.  Readers will enjoy the poetry and art work and will also learn about the history and origins of jazz music.   

The artistic work of Christopher Myers is stunning.  His choice of rich colors add vibrancy to the book.  Most poems feature a single individual, painted in deep hues upon contrasting backgrounds.  The tribute to Louis Armstrong is big and bold.  The reader will need to turn the book sideways to view the full length Louis standing tall, blowing his horn.  It is a dramatic scene.  Myers use of color, light and shading create dramatic effects and give depth to each scene.  Each image is filled with movement and emotion.  Musicians are swaying, bending and dancing.  They are also lost in the music with eyes close, out-stretched hands or heads thrown back.  The illustrations support and extend the poetry and provide the reader with a satisfying experience for the eyes and the ears.  This title has been recognized as a Corretta Scott King Honor Award book.  This high quality title will be enjoyed by poetry and jazz lovers alike. 

SPOTLIGHT ON A POEM

"It's Jazz" highlights the "hot" jazz of New Orleans.  Introduce the students to a sample of New Orleans jazz by playing a portion of the video titled, "Marchin' to New Orleans" found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Jlz4d3F7s.  Allow students time to respond to the music.  Project the image and poem from the book onto a screen so the students can see the poem with the accompanying art work.  Read the poem aloud twice, with music playing softly in the background.  Invite students to follow along and finally read it again with the class.  Explain any unfamiliar words and allow students time to respond to the music and the poetry.   

“It’s Jazz”

“I hear the call of the coronet

I hear a swinging clarinet

They’re playing HOT jazz in the heat

Of old New Orleans

The rattling banjo pays its dues

They’re playing HOT jazz in the heat

Of old New Orleans

There’s a crazy syncopation

And it’s tearing through the nation

And it’s bringing sweet elation

To every single tune

It’s jazz

There a drummer rat-a-tatting

There a patent shoe that’s patting

While a laid-back cat is scatting

About flying to the moon

It’s jazz

In the Heat of New Orleans

EXTENSIONS

Many types of jazz can be found on YouTube, including many of the names listed in the Jazz Time Line from the back of Myers' book.  Students may choose to listen to many types of jazz and learn more about specific artists.  Learn more about Walter Dean Myers at http://walterdeanmyers.net.  Look for the video interview with the author.  Get to know Christopher Myers while listening to his interview at https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLLxDwKxHx1yJahnGRpP8KklETmQqXS58s&v=a0rJ93QYxnE.

YOU READ TO ME, I'LL READ TO YOU: VERY SHORT STORIES TO READ TOGETHER, By Mary Ann Doberman, Illustrated by Michael Emberley

Hoberman, Mary Ann.  You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together.  Ill. Michael Emberley.  New York: Hatchette.  2001.  ISBN 978-0316013161.

SUMMARY AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS

You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together features a collections of short stories told in rhyming verse.  Each story is intended for two voices.  This title is one in a series of books created with young readers in mind.  This title features children and animals as main characters in a variety of funny circumstances.

The simple text is skillfully written by former Children's Poet Laureate and award winning author, Mary Ann Hoberman.  Readers will enjoy the accessible language, short lines and a strong rhythm and beat in each story.  Repetition is used effectively to reinforce phrases and questions.  The repetition creates humor and provides support for learning new vocabulary.   Each rhyming story ends with "You read to me, I'll read to you," reminding readers to share these stories with a friend. Alternating text color and the text layout make it easy for young readers to share the text.

Engaging cartoon-like illustrations add humor and detail to each short story. Illustrator Michael Emberley has filled each page with many small vignettes or entire scenes.  There is so much to look on each page, readers will want to linger over the illustrations.  From the funny expressions on the faces of animals and children to the actions and antics of the the same, many readers will be laughing out loud.  Two pigs solve a problem of lost money in "The Dime."  You will find two tough dogs sticking up for the pesky mice in "The Big Cat."  The reader will see a different perspective in "I Like" when two friends talk back and forth on their fire escape balconies.

The short stories are playful and promote reading success for young readers and provide a fun experience to share with a friend.  This title is an excellent selection for emerging readers.  Hoberman's engaging text is complemented and extended by Emberley's creative and funny illustrations.

SPOTLIGHT ON A POEM

Any selection from this book can be used for reader's theater presentation for the classroom.  Try "I Like," it features two friends sharing their opposites likes. The short sentences will be easy to read for most young readers and it can be read with expression.  Choose two students to prepare the poem in advance and then have them share it with the class.  Provide copies of the poem after it has been presented and allow students to read it with a partner.  Encourage students to work with a friend to create their own versions of "I Like."  Allow time for partners to share their original poems with the class.

"I Like"

"I like soda.
         I like milk.
I like satin.
          I like silk.
I like puppies.
          I like kittens.
I like gloves.
          I like mittens.
I like apples.
          I like pears.
I like tigers.
          I like bears.
I like to slide.
          I like to swing.

     We don't agree 
     on anything!

I like butter.
          I like jam.
I like turkey.
          I like ham.
I like rivers.
          I like lakes.
I like cookies.
          I like cakes.
I like yellow.
          I like blue.
I like pizza.
          I like stew.
I like summer.
          I like spring.

     We don't agree 
     on anything!

There's something else
I like a lot.
But if I like it,
You will not.
          There's something else
          That I like, too.
          But you won't like it
          If I do.
Tell me yours.
And I'll tell you mine.
          I like reading.
          Reading's fine!
You like reading?
          Yes, I do.
Why reading was
What I picked, too!

     Well, then, at last 
     We both agree!
     I'll read to you!
     You'll read to me!

EXTENSIONS

Children will enjoy all of Mary Ann Hoberman's titles.  Pick up several of them to read aloud to the class and to have on hand for students to read to themselves.  Check out her website for a complete list of her 45 titles and to see a parade of her characters move across the screen.  You will also find other interesting information on the website at http://www.maryannhoberman.com/index.html.  Don't miss Michael Emberley's website for questions and answers with the illustrator and a colorful view of his engaging artwork.  Find him at http://www.michaelemberley.com.

WINTER BEES AND OTHER POEMS, by Joyce Sidman and Illustrated by Rick Allen

Sidman, Joyce.  Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold.  Ill. by Rick Allen.  New York: HMH. 2014. ISBN  978-0547906508.

SUMMARY AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Winter Bees is a collection of twelve poems that transport the reader outdoors into the cold, snowy scenes of winter.  Sidman has used beautiful language to give creatures a voice to tell their own winter stories.  The poet has crafted poems that are pleasing to the ear.  The use of both rhyme and free verse create a beautiful lyrical and rhythmic cadence with each turn of the page.

The first person approach allows each winter creature to share an individual point of view of winter life.  Descriptive language abounds on every page.  Consider “Vole in Winter” and the snowy tunnels where vole hides out of sight.  Sidman describes the snow as “crumbly white cake/studded with delectables.” The figurative language in “Snowflake Wakes” give the snowflakes human-like characteristics with “arms outstretched and lace sprouting from fingertips.”  A snowflake “hugs earth, sighs and settles” when it lands on the ground.  The title poem, “Winter Bees” makes it is easy to imagine a mass of bees hidden within a tree with Sidman’s rich descriptions, “we boil, we teem, we hum.”

Repetition and alliteration in “Under Ice” create a strong rhythm and beat.  Assonance is used in “ripped chips and thrashing twigs” and the phrase is repeated for emphasis.  Consonance with “brown bullet” and the repetition of other phrases like “groom, snack, kiss” create a pleasing effect for listeners. 

Interesting factual information is included with each poem.  Consider it a mini science lesson on each page.  Readers will have the opportunity to learn about the habits and habitats of each featured creature.  Rick Allen’s prints are stunning and provide a colorful, textured backdrop for each poem.  They add beauty and depth to the rich poetic experiences on each page.  The book is over sized and each scene spans two pages.  Readers will naturally want to linger on the scenes, taking in the rich detail, color and texture.

Allen used linoleum cuts, wood engravings and other techniques to create the beautiful scenes.  The cut-away of the tree trunk in “Winter Bees” lets the reader peak into a bright orange nest of bees with translucent wings.  The fox looks ready to pounce in “Vole in the Winter.”  His thick orange fur is a vibrant contrast to small brown vole, running for safety under the snow.  A solitary tree branch stretches across both pages of “Chickadees Song.”  The scene has birds resting, flying, swooping, pecking in the snow and hanging upside down.  In “Triolet for Skunk Cabbage,” the rich textures of the leaves stand out against the mottled snow, and the fox’s reflection in a pond adds interest.  The fox is in nearly every scene as a silent observer, sometimes mostly hidden from view.  Readers will enjoy looking for the fox.

Each poem will be easy to locate with the use of the table of contents.  A glossary is provided at the back for unfamiliar words. The book cover is inviting with a large furry fox ready to pounce and a little bee resting on the title.  This collection of poems is a must-have for the classroom.  Sidman, a celebrated and award winning poet, has created another treasure with “Winter Bees.”

SPOTLIGHT ON A POEM 

The descriptive language and rhythmic pattern of "Big Brown Moose" will be fun for students to read aloud and to pantomime the actions of the moose.  Introduce the students to several of the beautiful photos of moose that can be found by searching "National Geographic images of moose" on the Internet.  Read aloud the poem twice, taking time to read with expression.  Invite students to listen for  action words and descriptive words.  A list of especially interesting action words and descriptive words could be listed on a chart and students could provide appropriate actions for each.  Provide students with a copy of the poem and allow them time to read it on their own.  Divide students into five groups.  Assign each group a stanza of the poem to present to the class.  Allow them time to practice reading the poem chorally and choosing actions for the presentation.  The class will listen to each presentation. Culminate the experience with a dynamic reading of the poem again by the teacher and student may follow along with their printed text.

"Big Brown Moose"
"I'm a big brown moose,
I'm a rascally moose,
I'm a moose with a tough, shaggy hide;
and I kick and I prance
in a long-legged dance
with my moose-mama close by my side.

I shrug off the cold
and I sneeze at the wind
and I swivel my ears in the snow;
and I tramp and I tromp
over forest and swamp,
'cause there's nowhere a moose cannot go.

I'm a big brown moose
I'm a ravenous moose
as I hunt for the willow and yew;
with a snort and a crunch,
I rip off each bunch,
and I chew and I chew and I chew.

When together we slump
in a comfortable clump—
my mountainous mama and I—
I give her a nuzzle
of velvety muzzle.
Our frosty breath drifts to the sky.

I'm a big brown moose
I'm a slumberous moose,
I'm a moose with a warm snuggle hide;
and I bask in the moon
as the coyotes croon,
with my moose-mama close by my side.

EXTENSIONS

Joyce Sidman's website it a great place for students to get to know the poet.  She has a tab for writers that includes writing tips. Students can learn from her advice and work on their own writing.  Find her at http://www.joycesidman.com/writers/.