SCHOOL POETRY REVIEW FOR MODULE 1

Photo retrieved from Amazon.com

A. Bibliography

Salas, Laura Purdie. STAMPEDE: POEMS THAT CELEBRATE THE WILD SIDE OF SCHOOL. Ill. by Steven Salerno. New York, NY: Clarion Books, 2009.  ISBN 9780618914883

B. Review and Critical Analysis

The poems in this book are written in simple poetic rhyming verse.  The collection contains over fifteen poems written in a humorous fashion, and are intended for young readers. Salas delights the readers with charming poems, comparing school children to insects and animals by using similes and metaphors.  In the poem New Mouse, Salas illustrates the often lost feeling a child must feel in a “school maze,” and makes the imagery come to life with the illustrations by Steven Salerno.  It is easy for a child to relate to the feelings aroused by typical everyday school life.  Many components of a child's school day are touched upon in each of the poems.

The poems in the collection are very appealing to young readers and listeners.  Each page turn brings curiosity as to what new animal or insect a child will be compared to.  The illustrations highlight the poems, and it makes for a great read aloud for story time.  The children in the poems are illustrated to accompany the animal or insect, and the reader at times needs to study the illustrations to find the clues.  In Prickly, the girl’s hair resembles a porcupine, as her personality comes to life in the poem.  I like that the poems are quick and are easily understood by children, and the lighthearted delivery of the poetry by Salas.

Although the language remains simple, Salas does a great job in exposing children to similes and metaphors throughout the book.  It would make a great companion for teaching figurative language to young children.  Students can easily begin to think about how they, too, are in some way like one of the creatures from the book.  They can also reflect on the diverse behaviors they exhibit in the different locations of a school.

The poems are arranged in a very child friendly format. Each poem has a title, and none are longer than four stanzas. Each poem is also accompanied by its own illustration, done on watercolor paper and with gouache. The book does not contain a table of contents and does not feature an index. The author information and bibliographic information is found in the back of the book.


C. Poem Highlight from STAMPEDE

New Mouse

Go left, then right.
Wrong turns, dead ends.
Can't find my class,
I've got no friends.

Each hallway is
a hallway clone
Can't find my way
around alone.

A thousand halls,
a thousand ways,
I'm lost inside
this new school maze.

I chose to highlight New Mouse from the book because of its appeal to children entering a new school or campus.  It can be an overwhelming experience for kids transitioning to a new school or transitioning to their next campus, for instance, from fifth grade to middle school.  

On the first day of school, this would be an excellent choice for a read aloud at the carpet. First start a discussion about some of the different hallways in the school, and where the library is, the office, etc.  Draw a map as the children describe the different locations, and discuss what the map begins to resemble.  Encourage the students to realize that it looks like a maze, and that it is normal to feel lost at first.  After the discussion, read the poem to the students, and discuss what feelings they were able to connect to from the poem.