"Thunderclap Laughter"

Recommended for grades 2-5

     This month at school, my students will be studying Black History in some fashion.  I’ve decided that my 2^nd and 3^rd graders will be studying Black poets before they create their own original poems.  The Black figure I have them basing their study around is Langston Hughes, a Missouri born poet.  The students began the study by listing the first words that come to mind when they think of poetry (which I had to emphasize doesn’t mean writing a poem).  We shared these and then we moved on to looking up Langston Hughes on World Book Student.  I used the text to speech feature and asked students to listen and write down one thing they learned about Hughes. 

     The book I’m using to connect it all is Langston’s Train Ride by Robert Burleigh.  The story focuses on when Hughes wrote “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and at one point I asked my students to write down all the words they could to describe a river without using the word river.  I began by reading the ‘Author’s Note’ in which Burleigh says he wanted to describe the moment where Hughes realized he was a writer.  Burleigh does a beautiful job emulating Hughes’ poetic form; the words come alive in first person narration.  I liked that I was able to focus my student’s attention on certain parts: 

     At one point, the main character states that he drifts back and this allows me to question my students if the story will stay in the present. 

     One of my favorite lines, “No matter what, I’ll keep on going,” allowed for my students to mention character traits—such as being brave, strong, having courage and allowed me to contribute a new word—perseverance. 

     Another point I enjoyed was when the protagonist mentions Illinois and in turn I am able to not only ask my students what it is, but show them the state on the ‘Interactive Maps & More’ feature on World Book Kids. 

     The book ends with the complete poem and I will be using Nikki Giovanni’s CD from Hip Hop Speaks to Children that has Hughes reading his poem.  The illustrations are gorgeous mixed-media, rich in color, sometimes covering a two page spread and other times opposite a page of text, which has the background of wood cuts against a solid color. 

Burliegh, R. (2004). Langston's train ride. New York, NY: Orchard Books.

Giovanni, N. (2008). Hip hop speaks to children: a celebration of poetry with a beat. Naperville: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky.

It’s a Picturebook, Not a Choice

This week, the New York Times published an article about the decline of the picturebook….REALLY, people?! This news was also shared through several other literary e-newsletters. Basically, what should be the staple in every young child’s literary development is seeing a downhill slide. What does this say for our culture? Parents push kids to read more text heavy books because they feel pressured to get their child up to par for state tests. Yikes! This shouldn’t be happening! Parents should feel free to let their child be a child and read what s/he wants. This is the point where any of my readers can feel free to say, “Opinionated, much?”

I don’t want to completely believe this article (I'm in denial)—I mean, maybe libraries have seen an increase in picturebooks being loaned out. I can’t even blame e-books for this one yet ;). Yes, the article still points out that perennial favorites, like Sendak, Carle, and Seuss still sell well, but there are so many great picturebooks that have come out within the past ten years alone.

The picturebook is in a class of its own—it is a great challenge to write and illustrate—time needs to be taken to pick just the right words (words can even be more difficult than a chapter book at times) because there is typically a limit to the words per page depending on the age the book is geared towards. Illustrations become part of the story and many times readers need to pick up on context clues provided in the illustrations to fill in what is not said with the text (higher order thinking).

Even publishers within the past several years increased the amount of picturebooks they produced for older readers because it helps kids that are reluctant, striving, or visual. Many picturebooks offer a greater challenge than a chapter book; in fact, many are on the same reading level as their chapter book counterparts. I will admit cost was another issue factoring into this decline as well. Maybe it’s time to encourage publishers to have certain picturebooks go straight to paperback—first time authors get published in paperback and if their first title sells like “gangbusters,” then the publisher has justification to bring out his/her next book in hardcover (just an idea).

Many studies have been conducted as to the benefits of picturebooks for young children. Children are visual learners first, than they pick up on text. That’s why there are the transitional stages of books. I’m not saying that a parent shouldn’t read aloud Junie B. (LOVE Junie B.!) or Stuart Little (Classic!) to his/her five year old, but there needs to be a balance—throw in Bats at the Library by Brian Lies, The Friend by Sarah Stewart, or John Philip Duck by Patricia Polacco.

I will now step down from my soap box. Thank you for reading ;)

Bosman, J. (2010, October 7). Picture Books Languish As Parents Push 'Big-Kid Books'. Retrieved October 10, 2010, from New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/08/us/08picture.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&emc=eta1

Lies, B. (2008). Bats at the library. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Polacco, P. (2004). John philip duck. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

Stewart, S. (2004). The Friend. New York, NY: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux.