New Page Title

Cullinan, Bernice E., ed. 1996. A jar of tiny stars: Poems by NCTE award-wining poets. Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Boyds Mills Press. ISBN: 1563970872

A jar of tiny stars is a general anthology of poetry composed of five poems from each of the first ten winners of the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for children (NCTE award). This award is presented to a living American poet for a distinguished collection of poetry over a period of time. The award was established in 1977 and thirteen poets have currently been honored. The poems in this book were chosen by more than 3500 children who read and/or listened to the poems and then listed their top five choices from each poet. Each section begins with a sketch of the poet, quotes from the poet, followed by the five favorite poems as chosen by the children. The table of contents lists each poet and his poems. The index in the book lists the author, title and first line of the poems included.

Simple pen and ink drawings by Andi MacLeod compliment and make the poems come to life. The poem “Snake” by Barbara Esbensen has a snake intertwined with the words of the poem. Each poet is introduced with a portrait drawn by Marc Nadel. A limited bibliography is included as a resource for further reading.

David McCord was the first poet to receive the award. His poems describe common childhood experiences and often have a nature theme. His use of rhyme, rhythm, repetitive lines and playful use of words make his poems appealing to children.

Aileen Fisher’s poetry reflects her love of nature. Simple rhythms, alliteration, personification of animals make her descriptive poetry a delight to read.

Karla Kiskin’s simplistic humorous poetry uses alliteration, word sounds and repetition of words in her poems to create rhythm, feeling and meaning. Her themes are drawn from common childhood activities and are humorous.

Myra Cohn Livingston’s serious simple rhymes reflect common activities and things kids see and feel. Her poetry deals with emotions and human needs.

Eve Merriam’s creative use of repetitive phrases, internal rhyme, rhythm and alliteration make her poems a musical treat. In the poem “Windshield Wipers,” the placement of the text and the repetitive phrases make the words swish like windshield wipers. Her subjects are common childhood experiences.

John Ciardi’s lyrical poetry relies on the play of rhythm, rhyme, word play and alliteration to establish a distinct cadence to his work. The themes are common childhood experiences.

Lilian Moore’s poems are told from a first person child’s point of view. There is extensive use of figurative language and repetition of words in her humorous poetry.

Arnold Adolff’s poetry uses the placement of words, spacing and line breaks on the page to add a dimension of time to his poetry. He refers to this as shaped form poetry. His humorous poetry deals with childhood experiences.

Valerie Worth’s poems contain lines composed of a single word or a short word phrases. The poetry reflects a different view of common objects.

Barbara Esbensen demonstrates a love of words and word play in her descriptive poetry.
The words take on the characteristic of what their name means. For example, the poem “Elephant” begins

ELEPHANT

The word is too heavy
to lift - - ---- - too cumbersome to
lead through a room filled with
relatives or small
glass trinkets

The poem continues describing the elephant in two more stanzas. Barbara Esbensen displays a good use of space and line breaks in her poems to give added meaning. Adding to the appeal of the poem is the drawing of two elephant legs flanking the poem on either side of the page.

These poems reflect a child's love of humorous poetry. Children can identify with the poems because they deal with childhood objects and experiences. Each section of the book reflects that poet’s unique style. “What’s good and what’s popular come together in this attractive anthology.” (Rochman 1996). This book is a useful collection of poetry from NCTE award winners. It would be used for grades 3-5 but could be read to younger children.

Rochman, Hazel. 1994. A Jar of Tiny Stars (Children's review). Booklist 91(7): 668.

Florian, Douglas. 1994. Bing bang boing. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN: 0152337709

Bing, Bang, Boing is a collection of poetry written and illustrated by Douglas Florian. Mr. Florian’s love of inventing new words is demonstrated by his choice of title. His language is figurative and the poems represent a unique view of the world. His poems take common ideas and things and view them from a unique perspective that children can relate to. From the School Cafeteria to Styrofoam to the Washing Machine, his poems take the ordinary and make it interesting and funny.

Different kinds of poetry are presented in this book. There are limericks; “The Serpent that lives in Loch ness”, “Gloves and Galoshes” and more. There are concrete poems; “No Nose” is written in the shape of a nose, “The Thin Man” is made of short lines to make a “thin” poem, “The Incredible Shrinking Poem” that starts with a large font and shrinks, and “Square” where the poem is in the shape of a square. The poems contain alliteration (‘In cheetahs, chipmunks, and chimpanzees:/fur fills fleas with glee.’ in “Flea Fur All”); repetition of words (‘Pew!/Pew!/Pew!/Pew!/…’ in “Shoe View”); and internal rhyme (‘The bread is as hard as a brick in a yard;.’ in “School Cafeteria”).

Simplistic pen and ink sketches by Mr. Florian compliment his humorous poetry. The poem “Corny” ‘If you were born/With ears of corn,’ is accompanied by a drawing of a head with an ear of corn sticking out of each ear.

One of the short poems included in the book demonstrates Mr. Florian’s love of word play and free spellings.

Turnips Turn Up

Turnips turnup their noses at moles.
Turnips turnup in salad bowls.

This short poem starts with a common item and looks at it differently. Alliteration and word play make this a funny poem.

The poems are not organized and different poetry styles are mixed together. An index of titles and an index of first lines are included. The last page of the book contains acknowledgments by the author in the form of a poem complete with alliterations, ex. “perceptive perusal”.

This book “ promises laughs--and it delivers” (Phelan 1994). The number of poems and range of topics is sure to attract most children. Mr. Florian’s poems are “sometimes clever, sometimes silly-and almost always off the wall.” and he “is right on target with elementary school humor” (Bing 1994). Read-aloud-able poems make this volume a classroom asset for elementary school age children.

Phelan, Carolyn. 1994. Bing bang boing: (Children's Review)(Brief Article). Booklist 91(7): 668.

Prelutsky, Jack. 1990. Something BIG has been here. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 0688064345.

Something BIG has been here is a collection of poems by Jack Prelutsky. Another winner by a favorite children’s author, this book contains may poems destined to make children and adults laugh. The objects of the poems are often familiar, e.g. “Little Bird Outside My Window”, “The Spider”, and “Bats”. Some of the poems deal with more serious subjects, e.g. “I’m Sorry!”, “We Moved About a Week Ago”, and “I Should Have Stayed in Bed Today”. These poems deal with situations children can identify with in a light hearted way to help children deal with life. Some poems contain imaginary creatures: Twickels who do not like to be tickled, Fuddies that “fly about the dale”, and the Know-nothing Neebies to mention a few. Some poems are written about imaginary children. There is angry Belinda Blue, Fred who wears underwear on his head, Denson Dumm with light bulbs in his hair, Watson Watts who balances objects, and a slow girl named Denson Dumm.

One poem is made up of puns. It begins -

“I wave good-bye when butter flies
and cheer a boxing match,”

Many of the poems are told in the first person.

Alliteration is used in ”I am Wunk” It begins

“I am Wunk
a wacky wizard,
and I wield a willow wand.”

There is even a poem about “Mold, mold”.

Jack Prelutsky’s poetry has good cadence, rhymes and rhythm. Most of the poems end with a punch line that makes the poems especially appealing to children. The last lines delightfully turn an ordinary poem into a funny verse. In “Little Bird Outside My Window” the bird is praised for its singing ability -

Little Bird Outside My Window

Little bird outside my window,
I can hear you in my room
as you gaily serenade me
and eradicate the gloom.

Your chirping is the sweetest
that my ears have ever heard,
it awakens me each morning –
zip your beak up, little bird!

Simple rhymes and cadence combined with a surprising last line make this an appealing poem.

The black and white pen and ink drawings by Jack Stevenson are the perfect accompaniment to the poetry. They add to the poems. In “My Sister Ate an Orange”, the poem talks about a sister that ate on orange with the final lines -

“it’s a novel thing to do,
then she also ate a yellow
and a purple and a blue.”

The illustration shows the brother looking at his sister holding a box of crayons. The illustrations are throughout the book, one or two per page. The beginning pages of the book and the index pages have drawings of kids and animals racing into the book. This visual pull into the book is an added bonus.

The book contains an index by first line and an index by title. The poems appear randomly within the book. This collection of poetry has a timeless quality that will appeal to children. “Prelutsky’s language is neither simple nor sappy, but rich with challenging words” (Pulaski 1990). “A fine prescription against the blues at any time of year” (Twichell 1990). Something BIG has been here would make a good addition to the classroom and school libraries. The appeal is to many ages; grade 4 - 6 and for reading aloud to grades K - 3.

Pulaski, Lee Bock. 1990. Something BIG has been here. School Library Journal 36 (10): 112.

Twichell, Ethel R. 1990. Something BIG has been here (Book). Horn Book Magazine 66 (6): 756.

Milne, A. A. 1924. When we were very young. New York: E. P. Dutton. ISBN: 0525444459

When we were very young is a collection of poems by A. A. Milne. This book is one of the best selling children’s books in hardcover according to Publishers Weekly (All-time 1996). Some of these poems are familiar to children. Christopher Robin and Pooh (featured in other poetry books by A. A. Milne) have become popular characters to children. Christopher Robin is mentioned in these and the foreshadowing of Pooh can be seen in the “Teddy Bear”. The poems are not new but have stood the test of time well. The book is dedicated to Christopher Robin Milne. There is a brief introduction to the poems explaining that if it hadn’t been for Christopher Robin, the poems would not have been written. There is a table of contents. The poems are not grouped in any particular order except “Vespers” is the last poem in the book.

Ernest H. Shepard illustrates the poems. The whimsical black and white sketches add to the books charm. The sketches are scattered throughout the book, occasionally in the middle of the poems, occasionally on pages facing the poems. The poetry effectively uses rhythm, rhyme, and repetition to create a pleasing cadence. “There are poems of quiet loveliness balanced by the most delightfully stories…” (Forbes 1924).

Poems about commonplace items like rice pudding, puppy, sand on a beach are interspersed with nonsensical tales about the king, queen, knights, little Bo Peep, etc. There are also poems dealing with more serious topics: politeness, happiness, growing up and some nature poems.

The first stanza of one of my favorite poems is -

Halfway Down.

Halfway down the stairs
Is a stair
Where I sit.
There isn’t any
Other stair
Quite like
It.
I’m not at the bottom,
I’m not at the top;
So this is the stair
Where
I
Always
Stop.

This whimsical poem takes a common object every child is probably familiar with and looks at it from a child’s perspective. Stopping halfway down the stairs to sit and think, is something a child would do. The poem ends -

“It isn’t really
Anywhere!
It’s somewhere else
Instead!”

The poem lines visibly make stairs. The use of repetitive words, simple rhymes and imagination adds to the poems appeal.

Another favorite poem begins –

Buckingham Palace

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace-
Christopher Robin went down with Alice,
Alice is marrying one of the guard.
“A soldier’s life is terribly hard,”
------------------------- Says Alice.

They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace-
Christopher Robin went down with Alice,
We saw a guard in a sentry-box.
“One of the sergeants looks after their socks,”
------------------------- Says Alice.

This poem consists of two rhyming couplets per stanza with the repetition of “Says Alice” at the end of each stanza. The first two lines are repeated at the start of each stanza. This gives the poem a rhythmic cadence similar to the soldiers marching in front of the gate at Buckingham Palace. The theme of royalty appeals to children.

This collection of poetry needs to be read aloud to younger children. There are a wide variety of poems, some humorous, some silly, some serious, all enjoyable. This book has stood the test of time and is still a favorite for children.

All-time bestselling hardcover children’s books. 1996. Publishers Weekly 243 (6): 27-28.

Forbes, Helen Cady. 1924. Delicious Sillies. New York Herald Tribune Books December 14: p. 6. Reprinted in Children’s Literature Review. Vol. 26. Source database: Literature Resource Center. Accessed March 3, 2005 through Texas Woman’s University library.