The Palm of my Heart edited by Davida Adedjouma

Adedjouma, Davida. 1996. The palm of my heart: poetry by African American children. Ill. by R. Gregory Christie. New York: Lee & Low Books. ISBN 9781880000410

This collection of poems, a Coretta Scott King Award winner, contains poetry written by African American children as a part of an enrichment program taught by editor Adedjouma.  Each poem begins with the words "Black is . . ." and expresses the young poets' thoughts or experiences concerning race and skin color and identity.  Although each poem begins with the same words, the variety of ideas, themes, and nuances are varied and insightful.  Imagery and word choice are used to convey strong emotions.

While this collection would be inspiring for any young poets, it is a powerful resource for African American students who too often do not hear from writers who look like them or share their experiences.  Not only are the poets published in this volume African American, they are all young people ranging from eight to fourteen years old at the time of publication.To read and experience poetry from children their own age is a valuable experience for young readers and writers.  The illustrations have an appealing style and again feature African American faces that complement the poems.  Each young poet is described in a brief biography at the end of the book.

Featured poem:

Black is dark,

dark is lovely,

lovely is the palm of my heart

and my heartbeats are filled with joy.

by Felicia Renee Brazil

As a way of introducing the poem, I would probably share with students some background about the poetry collection--that the poems were written by students near their own age and that each poet began with the same two words but created a variety of moods, thoughts, and expressions from those two words.  After reading this poem, I would ask the students to discuss the emotions that the poet associates with black and possibly compare it to another poem from the collection.

I would next ask the students to brainstorm to find one unifying characteristic that they all share that could serve as a opening line for a set of poems inspired by the concept of this book.

A Poke in the I selected by Paul B Janeczko

Janeczko, Paul B. 2001. A poke in the I. Ill. by Chris Raschka. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763606619

Janeczko has selected thirty previously published concrete poems for this collection illustrated by Chris Raschka.  The variety and visual interest of these poems set this volume apart.  The artwork complements and adds interest and meaning to the unique shapes and forms of the poems.  Rather than relying on the imagery of the words alone, the poems represent and depict movement, shape, and meaning in many ways.  Most of the poems are very brief in word count, but rely heavily on sight and sound to convey meaning and engage interest.

The volume features a variety of poets (including one previously unpublished poem by the illustrator Raschka) with multiple poems by Robert Froman, Douglas Florian, and John Hollander.  While the poems vary greatly in length, complexity, and tone, they are connected by the interactive nature of the visual representations.  The poems and illustrations form one cohesive unit that will appeal to a broad range of abilities, interest levels, and moods of children. Janeczko provides an editor's note to help introduce and explain the idea of concrete poetry.  Several of the poems are grouped on a spread with poems of similar theme or meaning which adds continuity to the collection as a whole, and a table of contents provides access points to the various poems.

Featured poem:

"Popsicle" by Joan Bransfield Graham

Popsicle

Popsicle

tickle

tongue fun

licksicle

sticksicle

please

don't run

dripsicle

slipsicle

melt, melt

tricky

stopsicle

plopsicle

hand all

s

t

i

c

k

y

As it is printed in the book, the poem takes on the shape of a popsicle with all lines except the last word forming a rectangle of text and "sticky" written downward on the page to form the stick of the popsicle.

This poem is a great introduction to concrete poems because it's a simple and obvious shape that corresponds directly to the subject of the poem.  The language, made-up words, rhythm, and rhyme also make it an entertaining choice.

I would share the poem directly from the book to expose students to the shape and illustration.  Further concrete examples could also be shared from the collection.  After reading "Popsicle" and engaging students in some discussion of how shape and placement of a poem can add meaning just as much as word choice, I would encourage students to experiment with shape, font, and illustration of their own poems.