Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Keeping the Night Watch

by Hope Anita Smith
illustrated by E.B. Lewis


image by Barnes & Noble

Smith, Hope Anita. Keeping the Night Watch. Ill. E.B. Lewis. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 2008.
ISBN: 978-0-8050-7202-0.


Poetic Elements

This novel in verse contains 35 poems depicting the struggles of a thirteen year old boy trying to understand why his father walked out on his family and if he’ll stay once he returns. Through reference, Smith relates C.J.’s hesitance to forgive his father as quickly as the other members of the family. He has assumed the man of the house position and must endure a lot of soul searching to come to terms with his new place in the family.


Appeal

I think the narrative poems will hold young people’s interest as they are familiar with that form of text. I got caught up in the story rather quickly once I read the first few poems. Hope keeps you guessing as to whether C.J. will ever let go of his anger and forgive his father.


Overall Quality/Poet

Hope Anita Smith wanted this story to have a different ending, “an ending that proves wrongs can be righted and it’s never too late to say ‘Im sorry.” Keeping the Night Watch is a companion novel to The Way a Door Closes and earned the Coretta Scott King Honor award in 2009. E.B. Lewis’ watercolor illustrations are simple, yet effective in complementing the story. He has illustrated more than thirty-five books, including Coming on Home Soon, for which he received a Caldecott honor. He teaches illustration at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.


Layout

Keeping the Night Watch has a table of contents divided into “Fall” and “Spring” with Spring being a time C.J. experiences a lot of changes including puberty and eventual forgiveness. Each poem’s title is in a color matching the poem’s illustration.


Spotlight Poem

The Jeweler
  
I
can not
understand
how this black gem
who   is   my   father                   
could  just  stop  shining.
I  am  the  family  jeweler.
I  can  give  him  value,
praise and appraise him,
but not just yet.
He must wait
for me
now.


I chose this shape poem as the spotlight poem because it’s just so raw and true. C.J. and C.J. alone decides whether or not his dad can come back into his heart and when. If he chooses to hold onto his anger and resentment, there is nothing his dad can do but be patient. It’s all about C.J. feeling as if he is in control.


Activity: I think I would use Keeping the Night Watch for a writing activity and have students recall a time when they were extremely angry and unforgiving. They can discuss and write about the ways that holding onto that anger affected their relationships with their friends and family.


America at War



selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
illustrated by Stephen Alcorn

cover by Barnes & Noble

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. America at War: poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins. Ill. Stephen Alcorn. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2008. ISBN: 978-1-41691-832-5.


Poetic Elements
Poetic elements are utilized throughout this collection and are as various as the authors themselves. From the rhythm in “Stanzas”
Eyes of men running, falling, screaming
Eyes of men shouting, sweating, bleeding
to the imagery in “The Whippoorwill Calls,”
No one sees her
Hiding
In the woods
By day
For she is like
A whippoorwill
Blending into leaves
On the forest floor.
these poets depict the emotional impact warfare has on our society, young and old.

Appeal
Although wartime may not necessarily be a popular topic with children or young people, it is a topic most are familiar with in one way or another. If children have not experienced personal loss due to war, they probably know someone who has. This collection by Lee Bennett Hopkins will certainly enrich one’s insight or knowledge of the effects of war and stimulate the emotions and imagination of the audience.

Overall Quality
I am not sure I am a competent enough judge of poetry to comment on the quality of poetry included in this anthology; however, the fact that the poems were selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, one of America’s most distinguished poets and anthologists would indicate a very high level of quality. Mr. Hopkins did include familiar poets as well as new poets and all of the poems included are compatible with and reinforce the purpose of the book,  “about the poetry of war.”

The Poets
In addition to works from numerous celebrated poets, this volume collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins contains over thirty new poems specifically commissioned for this anthology from contemporary poets.

Layout
The book is divided into eight sections in which warfare is depicted in poetry from the American Revolution to the Iraqi War. Each section is preceded by the name of the war, a timeline, a prominent quote from the era, and a brief description of the cause, effect, and outcome of the war.  Watercolor illustrations in various styles by internationally acclaimed painter and printmaker, Stephen Alcorn, complement each poem and further invoke the raw emotions expressed by the poets in this anthology. Hopkins also included a table of contents, introduction, prologue, epilogue, and index of authors, titles and first lines. The epilogue is in the form of a poem by Ann Wagner titled “Vocabulary Lesson” including wartime vocabulary.

Spotlight Poem
Graveyard
Rebecca Kai Dotlich

It is settled then.

This is where
you will sleep.

This is where
while I grow old,
you will not.   

This is where
I will tell you secrets.
where I will never
hear yours.

This is where
we’ve ended:

You, my soldier.
I, your sister.

You will never
fall in love.

You will never
dance at my wedding.     

I chose this poem for my spotlight poem as I believe it will resonate the loudest with the middle school students on my campus who do not think so much of death being a permanent state. I believe they can relate to the lines in this contemporary poem.

Activity: This book would be a great work to share in American History classes and perhaps use in conjunction with their research projects. The eighth graders on my campus are usually required to do extensive research on the Civil War and I believe that section of poetry in this anthology would greatly enhance their projects and make the experience much more meaningful.