1. ENCHANTED AIR: TWO CULTURES, TWO WINGS: A MEMOIR by Margarita Engle
Bibliography
Engle, Margarita (2015). Enchanted air: two cultures, two wings: a memoir. Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
Plot Summary
This book is a memoir about the author’s life. Margarita Engle comes from a Cuban mother and a Ukrainian American father. She chronicles her parents’ courtship, to their move to her father’s home state of California, through her childhood and into adulthood. It’s a deeply personal look into American-Cuban relations in the middle of the 20th century through poetry.
Critical Analysis
The poems of Enchanted Air are organized chronologically to tell the author’s story in verse. Duality is the theme of her memoir. Engle is very proud of her family, but often felt like two halves of a whole. “Living in between two ways / of speaking / and hearing / makes me feel as divided / as the gaps between languages.” She uses juxtaposition throughout the memoir, like in Escape, “Everything looks just as wild and free / as I’ve half-remembered / and half-imagined.”
Engle masterfully communicates her emotions. As a reader, you understand her perspective and sympathize with it. “Lost in Translation” is her experience of feeling insulted by a Cuban relative with what they intended as a compliment. In Junior High she shares with self-deprecating humor, “It doesn’t take long to learn that I’m ridiculous.”
Figurative language is frequently used to convey her feelings. In Learning, she shares, “Inside those miniature verses, I feel safe, as if I am a turtle, and the words are my shell.” And in Feeling Almost at Home, she writes, “...but now there are vultures, too, circling like a wheel of darkly winged questions...”
The author has a unique bicultural perspective as the daughter of a Cuban immigrant in the middle of the 20th century. Her memoir is a window into the conflict and turmoil of that time period. In Revolutionary, she shows a glimpse of life during the revolution in Cuba. In Out of Reach, she laments, “Mami turns into Mom, changing / before my eyes / …a lost wanderer / whose country of birth / and extended family / suddenly seem / as remote / as the moon / or mars.” In April 1961, she writes, “It’s all over the news... / The vast United States loses, / while tiny Cuba wins... / Travel restrictions are tightened. / There’s no way we’ll ever / be able to visit the faraway half / of our family.” And in Reality, “Mom is nervous. Anxious. Fearful... / The farm is gone, confiscated. / Cattle, horses, and cousins / have vanished.”
Review excerpts
- Booklist: “The book’s poignancy and layered beauty make it a worthy addition to any collection...”
- Horn Book Magazine: “Engle explores her own past in this collection of emotionally rich memory poems. ...Engle’s personal reverie gives young readers an intimate view of a complicated time and life.”- School Library Journal: “Any child who has felt like an outsider will recognize themselves in Margarita's tale.”
Connections
- Examine maps of Cuba and the world with students, then have a discussion about distance and travel.
- Compare and contrast the two main settings in the novel (California and Cuba)- Further reading: The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom
2. A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: THE POETRY OF MISTER ROGERS by Fred Rogers
Bibliography
Rogers, Fred. (2019). A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood: the poetry of Mister Rogers. Ill. Luke Flowers. Quirk Books.
Plot Summary
This is a collection of 75 songs from The Children’s Corner and the well-known Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. Later, many were also featured on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood on PBS Kids. Most of the poems deal with emotions and growing up. It’s a treasury for any home, especially those with children.
Critical Analysis
The book begins with a Contents page, followed by illustrated poems. At the back is an index of song titles, a traditional index of subjects, and a short biography of Fred Rogers. The illustrations are colorful, gentle, and cheery – a perfect complement to the poems. The audience is children, and these poems are meant to be sung or read aloud.
Many of the poems/songs contain rhymes, like in I Like You as You Are, “Exactly and precisely! I think you turned out nicely...” He uses both rhyme and figurative language in Perfect Day, “The wind and trees played hide-and-seek / The sun and clouds danced cheek-to-cheek...” This makes the words perfect to sing and easy to remember.
With these words, Mister Rogers taught, and continues to teach, generations of people that they have value. This book feels like a hug from someone who loves you.
Review excerpts
- - Publisher’s Weekly: “His on-point vocabulary, cadence, and rhyming, in concert with the universal childhood experiences the poems address, give this compilation broad accessibility and appeal.”
Connections
- Play recordings or videos of the songs for students to sing along to.
- Children can make their own puppets to go with the poems.
3. INSECTLOPEDIA by Douglas Florian
Bibliography
Florian, Douglas. (2002). Insectlopedia. Harcourt.
Plot Summary
Insectlopedia is a collection of animal poems about different arthropods by Douglas Florian. There are 21 different creatures featured in the book. Every poem is paired with an illustration by the author.
Critical Analysis
Douglas Florian's delightful collection of illustrated poems teaches about different insects and spiders with a sense of humor. Clever word play can be found in his poems, such as The Praying Mantis, “A caterpillar, Moth, Or bee – I swallow them Religiously.”
The book opens with a Contents page and follows with double-page spreads: a poem (black lettering on a stark white background) on one side, and its illustration on the other. Many of the poems are concrete poems. “The Whirligig Beetle” is a unique concrete poem. By reading the circular poem, you participate in the visual representation. Your eyes start out reading left to right and then downward. Next, you find yourself fighting against the current and reading right to left and then upward. Florian forces you to whirl with the poem and creates not only a graphic representation but also movement.
In the poem “The Weevils”, the author uses assonance in the words: weevils, evil, aggrieved, and primeval. In “The Dragonfly” he writes, “Behold my bold enormous eyes. I sweep I swoop I terrorize,” using both alliteration and rhyme to create a particular rhythm and sound.
Review excerpts
- Kirkus Reviews: “The watercolor illustrations, abstract and stylized, achieve a comic effect by incorporating collage elements reminiscent of an entomologist's field notes.”
- School Library Journal: “The words are arranged in pleasing patterns and the rhythms fit the characteristics of the subjects.”
Connections
- Have a Poetry Café with students performing poems from the book.
- Students can create three-dimensional arthropods from a chosen poem.- Further reading: Beast Feast, On the Wing, and Mammalabilia by Douglas Florian
4. BOOKSPEAK!: poems about books By Laura Purdie Salas
Bibliography
Salas, Laura Purdie. (2011). BookSpeak!: poems about books. Ill. Josée Bisaillon. Clarion Books.
Plot Summary
BookSpeak! is a collection of book-themed poems. There are 21 poems in the book. Each one honors either the design (i.e., “I've Got This Covered”), purpose (i.e., “Top Secret”), or the treasures found within books (i.e., “The End”).
Critical Analysis
Salas’s poetry and Bisaillon’s illustrations are whimsical. Every poem is illustrated on its own page and with a unique font. The titles are emphasized in larger text. On the book jacket you can find information about the author and illustrator. These poems were written for children, educators, and librarians.
In “Hydrophobiac”, Salas uses descriptive language to paint a vivid picture: “puddles attack”, raindrops sprinkle, and the book is left “soggy and wrinkled”. Readers can easily envision a ruined book and comically relate to why they would fear water. The author uses rhyme in most of the poems, such as the words mine/shine and flight/night in “Top Secret”.
Review excerpts
- Horn Book Guide: “Buoyant mixed-media illustrations celebrate books as concrete objects while reinforcing their role as springboard for imagination.”
- School Library Journal: “This is an appealing offering that will be especially popular with librarians.”
Connections
- Invite students to write their own poems about books.
- Project the poems on the board and read them aloud in unison with the class.- Further reading: In the Middle of the Night and the Can Be series by Laura Purdie Salas
