SCIENCE POETRY

A MIRROR TO NATURE: POEMS

ABOUT REFLECTION

Photo Retrieved from Amazon.com

A. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Yolen, Jane. A MIRROR TO NATURE: POEMS ABOUT REFLECTION. Photographs by Jason Stemple.  Wordsong: Honesdale, PA, 2009.  ISBN 9781590786246

B.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND REVIEW

Yolen is an award winning poet, and has written over 170 books over her lifetime.  She is known for her storytelling across the country, and many of her works have been translated into other languages for the world to enjoy.  MIRROR TO NATURE was the winner of the John Burroughs Nature Books for Young Readers Award. The collection is a very gentle peek into nature, and the photography allows readers to enjoy the splendid images nature has to offer.  Her poems are light-hearted, yet provide enough science content to be included in a unit study on ecology. ages.  This collection of short poems by Jane Yolen is a combination of poetry and magnificent photography. Animals are the featured subject of her poetry, and real life pictures make this poetry book an excellent choice for connecting poetry and science content. In this collection of twelve poems, she uses mostly rhyming patterns, lyrical rhythms, and she touches on haiku in Spoonbill Haiku. She uses imagery, similes, and onomatopoeia, such as –pop! across her poems.

Jane Yolen provides short captions for each featured animal, and gives brief and interesting facts about the animal.  The captions are all placed at the lower parts of the pages, and are italicized. This separation makes a clear distinction for the reader that this text is not part of the poem. These captions support the poem and allow for the reader to “reflect” back on the poem and even perhaps re-read it with a deeper understanding of the animal.  In the poem The Deer Reflects Himself, Yolen writes, “A deer that stays too long reflecting is a deer called meat.”  In her caption, she explains how deer can be considered a nuisance when they are overpopulated.  By doing this, Yolen provides clarity to her poem and affords the perfect opportunity for discussion.  The organisms and animals Yolen has chosen for her poetry are typically ones of great wonder for young children, and even adults.  Animals such as the spoonbill, snail, cockle, and coyote are photographed and paired with their poems for a great combination of visual and reading enjoyment.

Each poem is arranged across a two page spread, and is placed opposite of the still-life photograph of the animal.  The background color of the spread compliments the animal and its habitat, making for a very pleasing presentation.  Jason Stemple captures each animal against water, and he uses this as the reflection method in his photography.  Yolen then uses the characteristics captured in the photographs in her writing.  In Moorhen’s Mirror, the awkward image of the bird’s reflection is the subject of Yolen’s poem.   

As a feature of the book, Yolen provides a useful Table of Contents for the reader, and an author’s note providing background information on the creation of the book.



C.  HIGHLIGHT POEM AND POETRY BREAK 

How The Wood Stork Population Might Grow

How to double your population?

Stand in water smooth as glass,

This is not mere speculation.

Check the wood storks by the grass.

I count seven in the group,

But by viewing their reflection,

Double up the wood stork troop-

A population resurrection.

After reading the poem, have students think about and do a little research for their favorite animal.  They will draw a picture of their animal and attempt to draw the animal’s reflection.  At the bottom of their drawing, they will provide two or three fun facts on their animal.