Sidman, Joyce. Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. New York: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. 2010. ISBN 9780547152288
SUMMARY: This picture book combines lyrical poetry and beautiful art along with science concepts. This book of poetry is all about nocturnal life in the forest. The twelve poems feature nine different creatures, two plants, and ends with a poem by the moon, as night fades into morning. The author organizes the twelve poems as if the reader is traveling through the night from the early darkness into the morning. These poems about the woods at night contain biology facts that are explained in notes on each double-page spread.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS: This book contains twelve poems about nocturnal creatures. The book is arranged in chronological order. The book begins with the first poem at dusk and the other poems organized like the reader is traveling through the night, with the final poem happening just before morning’s light. Using descriptive words and imagery, the author creates a mood of quiet and tranquility. Some of the poems are written with rhyming couplets, while others are in free-verse. The title's dark emperor, the great horned owl, is the only concrete poem. The author also uses a poetry style called “ubi sunt,” which he explains, “is a medieval poetry that laments the loss of heroic, beautiful things.” He also uses alliteration and metaphors to make his poetry come to life. Each poem is written on the left side of a two page layout with informational text written on the right to further explain the creatures and their nightly habitats. A final glossary concludes this wonderful book of poetry. The book also includes a Table of Contents.
The illustrations by Rick Allen, are bold, richly detailed linoleum prints colored in gouache. Allen also includes a salamander that appears somewhere on each page for students to find. A great book for any poetry collection. This book should appeal to grades 3-6.
POETRY EXCERPT:
Welcome to the Night
“To all of you who crawl and creep,
Who buzz and chirp and hoot and peep,
Who wake at dusk and throw off sleep:
Welcome to the night.
To you who make the forest sing,
Who dip and dodge on silent wing,
Who flutter, hover, clasp, and cling:
Welcome to the night!
Come feel the cool and shadowed breeze,
Come smell your way among the trees,
Come touch rough bark and leathered leaves:
Welcome to the night
The night’s a sea of dappled dark,
The night’s a feast of sound and spark,
The night’s a wild, enchanted park.
Welcome to the night!”
EXTENTION ACTIVITY: All the poems in this collection could be used to introduce an elementary science unit. As the class studies nocturnal animals, a poem could be read each day. Students may also want to write their own poems about other nocturnal animals or work in groups to find some in other poetry collections. Students could also illustrate their poetry.
RESOURCES:
Sidman, Joyce. Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. New York: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment