BUTTON UP! Wrinkled Rhymes

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Schertle, Alice. 2009. Button Up! Wrinkled Rhymes. Ill by Petra Mathers. Orlando, Florida. Harcourt Children’s Books.

ISBN: 978-0-15-205050-4

PLOT SUMMARY:

            Alice Schertle’s book Button Up is delightful and fun. The poems in this collection are recited from the point of view of several different articles of clothing. From the hat on top of Alice’s head to the shoes on Jennifer’s feet, and from Wanda’s Swimsuit to Joshua’s Jammies, all the articles of clothing have something to say about themselves. These poems, the critters in them and the illustrations will delight young audiences.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

            The team of Schertle and Mathers have created an unbelievably entertaining and well organized book of poems. By using short lines and end rhymes on the majority of the poems, Schertle writes poems that invite participation. Joshua’s Jammies is an excellent example of this as is The Song of Harvey’s Galoshes. After a couple of readings, children will be jumping in. The use of personification to portray the clothing as live, breathing objects adds an element of fantasy and fun and Schertle almost makes you believe they are truly alive.

            Mathers’ illustrations are simple, but colorful and bright. They are delightful to the eye and children will enjoy them. Each picture is accurately partnered with a poem or each phrase of a poem. These images paired with the language used, give the reader a very good visual picture of each poem. In Emily’s Undies, children will laugh and giggle at the sight of Emily’s underwear hanging on the clothesline. I highly recommend this book.

AWARDS:

2010 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award

REVIEWS:

School Library Journal:

". . . these poems will give readers a new perspective on getting dressed . . . Playful spreads and spot art suit the small, snappy verses beautifully. This whimsical little volume will make a delightful addition to poetry collections."

Booklist:

"The whimsical illustrations pair perfectly with the wittiness of the text, and the whole is a clever and original poetic treat."

CONNECTIONS:

            Have students choose their favorite item of clothing and have them write about what it would say if it could talk. This book would also be excellent for introducing personification.

Other books by Alice Schertle:

            Very Hairy Bear

            1, 2, I Love You

            I Am the Cat

MY MAN BLUE

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Grimes, Nikki. 1999. MY MAN BLUE. ill. By Jerome Lagarrigue. Broadway, New York. Scholastic Inc.

ISBN: 0-439-23191

PLOT SUMMARY:

            My Man Blue is a collection of poems which tell the story of Damon and Blue. Damon is a fatherless boy who meets Blue when his mother moves them to the place where she grew up.  Blue is a large, intimidating man in black clothing and Damon doesn’t trust him at first. As it turns out, Blue is an old friend of Damon’s mother. The friendship that develops between Damon and Blue unfolds in each poem where we find out that Blue had a son who was a street kid whom he couldn’t help. Because of his inability to help his son, Blue teaches Damon valuable lessons to help him survive the world in which he lives. Blue could not help his son but hopes to help Damon in the absence of his father.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

            Nikki Grimes’ poems about an intimidating man who has been through some hard times and the innocent boy without a father will touch a chord of emotion with readers. The story, told through the eyes of Damon, begins immediately with a description of Blue which creates a vivid mental picture of him; a “rugged dude” wearing black, with gold teeth but having “A harmless Gentle-giant side.”  The poems also do not have the same rhythm but as a collection they fit together well. Poems like DAMON & BLUE uses rhymes at the end of each line and other poems such as SECOND SON rhyme only every second and fourth line. The illustrations in the book are muted and seem a little dark as if to signify the type of world Blue and Damon live in. Each illustration depicts its companion poem well but in the illustrations of Blue, especially the first one, they do not depict someone intimidating and fierce as the poem suggests. He indeed looks to be more like the “Gentle-giant” that he is.

AWARDS:

100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
A Booklist Editor's Choice
A Book Links Lasting Connection Book
Bank Street College Children's Book of the Year
Society of School Librarians International Honor Book
Marion Vannett Ridgway Award
ABA-CBC Children's Books Mean Business
Newsweek Best Children's Picture Books of the Year
New Yorker Christmas Round-up
Riverbank Review Children's Books of Distinction Finalist
Capitol Choice Children's Book

REVIEWS:

Kirkus:

 “This against-the-odds book from Grimes (Jazmin's Notebook, 1998, etc.) tells of an African-American boy living in a neighborhood that cuts him no slack, and the man who helps keep his feet grounded and his self-esteem steady against the occasional buffeting of his peers.”

Publisher’s Weekly:

            “Heartfelt poems and deeply-hued paintings”

CONNECTIONS:

            Lead a discussion or have the students write about someone who has had a positive influence on their life. They could also write a letter to that person or a poem about them. A fun idea that comes from Nikki Grimes’ website would be to pick some scenes from the poems and play a charade type game.

Other books by Nikki Grimes:

            Bronx Masquerade

            Oh, Brother!

            Danitra Brown, Class Clown

ONE OF THOSE HIDEOUS BOOKS WHERE THE MOTHER DIES

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Sones, Sonya.2004. one of those hideous books where the mother dies. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.

ISBN: 978-1-4169-0788-6

PLOT SUMMARY:

Anyone who has ever lost their mother at a young age will relate to this book about a fifteen year old girl named Ruby. Ruby’s mother has just died and she finds herself on a plane headed to California where she will live with her famous dad. A dad that, according to Ruby, does not love or care about her since he has never come to see her or visit her. Being torn away from her best friend, her boyfriend and her loving aunt, Ruby writes about her feelings and other events that take place during this time. Along with the usual teen-age problems, worries, grief and anger at her deceased mother, Ruby also deals with her best friend stealing her boyfriend and a tearful reconciliation with her dad. All in all, this book has all the drama one can expect from the life of a teen-ager.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

            Sonya Sones has hit the nail on the head with this book. Teen-agers who read it will sympathize with Ruby and older readers will be left remembering their teen years. Written almost like a journal, each poem sequentially tells Ruby’s story. Sones’ use of vivid and sometimes graphic language helps the reader understand exactly what Ruby is feeling. Sones’ reference to Ruby’s dad in the book as a “sperm donor” leaves the reader with no doubt as to her feelings for her father. Powerful images are conjured up by the phrases she uses. In American Airlines Flight 6, she writes,

“and my mother’s grave,

where she lies in a cold wooden box

under six feet of dirt,

just beginning to rot.”

This passage describing the mother’s gravesite allows the reader to actually envision the cemetery and feel the same melancholy that Ruby does. In Walking to School for the First Time, she describes a jogger as “A Barbie-doll-sprung-to life.” Everything about Sones’ writing draws the reader in and has an emotional impact. Due to some of the graphic language used in the book however, I would not recommend this book to elementary or middle school readers.

REVIEWS:

School Library Journal: “Despite several predictable particulars of plot, Ruby's story is gripping, enjoyable, and memorable.”

Booklist: “A satisfying, moving novel.”

AWARDS:

International Reading Association Young Adults’ Choice (2006)

2005 Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association

2005 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers by the American Library Association

Nominated by the American Library Association to be a 2004 Teens’ Top Ten Book

CONNECTIONS:

     This book has many connection possibilities. It lends itself well to discussions about losing a parent, moving to a new place, how to handle grief to name just a few.  Students could also try writing their own story in verse.

Other books by Sonia Sones:

                       what my mother doesn’t know

                       what my girlfriend doesn’t know