Poetry Friday Roundup is Here: YOUR ONE AND ONLY HEART

Welcome to Poetry Friday!

What is Poetry Friday?

Find out HERE. Basically, every week a host is assigned who rounds up all the bloggers ,who want to share their poems, book recommendations, and much more. Most are posting about the world of literature for young people.

I hope everyone is enjoying the seasonal change from fall to winter. Yeah. Cold weather, I know it’s not for everyone. But I enjoyed the snow fall we had this week in Syracuse, enough to make me feel and to anticipate the holidays’ arrival. I even did some baking and holiday planning.

I have a Christmas deadline for this Christmas Stocking for my Grandson. I have a long way to go so I have an excuse to watch too much television.

So today I want to recommend a non-fiction picture book,

While I attended the Highlight’s Poetry Palooza two weeks ago, I discovered a mentor text that informs the non-fiction poetry picture book I am revising about digestion. The mentor text Georgia Heard recommended is YOUR ONE AND ONLY HEART, by Dr. Rajani LaRocca and colorfully illustrated by Lauren Paige Conrad.

This picture book, about our very important heart, is able to teach us about the hard working part of us, without technical, cold, and frankly boring terms. Somewhere in my past I learned that scientific terms don’t elicit emotion. Think pericardium, aorta, systolic and diastolic. These words are difficult to relate to. especially for very young people.

LaRocca doesn’t use cold scientific terms but instead writes poems about the function of the heart in vocabulary a child might more easily relate to, words for example like ENERGETIC, MUSCULAR, COOPERATIVE, CHANGABLE, SELFLESS, AND SELFISH. The heart is all these things.

The poem below writes about how the heart is HIDDEN and protected because it’s so important.

Your heart is HIDDEN

Tucked in your chest
between pillowy lungs
in a protective cage of ribs.
Your heart is hidden because
it's so very
vital.

That the heart is hidden reminded me of the pancreas, the part of the digestive system that is protected by the stomach because it houses powerful enzymes. Kids can understand why something important might need to be hidden and maybe protected.

Your heart is CHANGEABLE

In response to 
moving
sitting
thinking
playing
feeling
sleeping,
your heart speeds up
or slows down,
squeezes more 
or less,
working like a hidden engine
or calm beating
while you rest.

All the poems tell us a lot without weighing the reader down with scientific jargon that they are too young to understand.

So why is it important for kids and adults to learn about their bodies, whether it’s about their heart, their digestion, or about other organs like the brain? I think it teaches us to empathize with our bodies, to respect the parts unseen, and to take care of them. Kids might understand why healthy food is important, get off the couch and move, and understand why taking certain drugs might hurt them.

Speaking of Mentor Texts, Irene Latham thought I might like to check out SCIENCE COMICS: The digestive System.

It is written by Jason Viola with art by Andy Ristaino. It’s very informative and well done, dealing with the complicated issues of digestion often at the molecular level. Written by a gastroenterologist, it is for a YA audience, not for the younger audience I’m writing for, fourth grade.

To all those at NCTE, have a fabulous time! Everyone else have a great weekend, too and best wishes for a joyful Thanksgiving.

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12 thoughts on “Poetry Friday Roundup is Here: YOUR ONE AND ONLY HEART”

  1. Rajani has done so well since branching out into writing for children – this has been a favorite of many for the last couple of years!

  2. A lovely post! I love the whole idea of ‘Your One and Only Heart.’ And, it’s nice to see LaRocca with a new book. I so enjoyed ‘Red, White and Whole.’ The care that she (and her editors) put into a story is felt in every word. I hope you get back to your WIP at some point. But, first a Christmas stocking for the grandson! Thanks for hosting this weekend. I’m glad the snow is in Syracuse and not my neck of the woods!

    1. Thank you Linda. I’ll have to check Red, White and Whole. So many books. Highlights gave me a boost, but my goal, my challenge is just to improve it. Happy Holidays!

  4. Oooh, the samples you shared definitely get to the heart of relatable vocabulary. 😉 Thanks for sharing this, Janice!

    The snow, the knitting, and the cozy TV watching all make me want to curl up and enjoy the season. It’s quite chilly here, but no snow yet!

  5. Thanks for sharing so much goodness today, Janice. I enjoyed reading the excepts from Rajani’s book. Kudos to you for knitting up a fabulous stocking for Tommy – something for a lifetime of treasures.

  7. Fascinating, Janice! Best wishes for your book. Seems timely to me, as we are relearning old wisdom about how important our gut health is to the rest of us! So glad you got to be among the wonderful recent Highlights poetry contingent – what a great group you all had. Enjoy your Thanksgiving and all the holidays; what a precious gift for your little grand!

  8. What a great mentor text! This will be a wonderful addition to my classroom library, and I’m adding it to my list. (I was lucky enough to be in a small session with Rajani years ago at a NerdCamp. She was wonderful!) Good luck with the revisions on your own book. I’m eager to see what you do–what a great project! Thanks for hosting this week and have a wonderful holiday! PS What a cute stocking!!!

  9. So interested in your poetry p.b. project in the works on digestion for young readers, Janice. BRAVA!
    Best path forward, with it. And Yay! about so many great connections at a writer’s community I hold close to my heart. The book title recommendations catch my attention.
    In case this helps your reserarch & project, I’ve illuminated my way thru some of my serious tested/in-treatment body issues with the picture book, FOLDOUT ANATOMY from Bushel & Peck publishers by Jana Albrechtova, Radka Piro & Lida Larina & feel you may enjoy it too.
    As a retired news writer & editor, I know that many a serious journalist turns to great n-fiction picture books [tho perhaps not sharing that] when beginning to understand a new & complext science topic.

    1. Thank you! Actually I turn to n-fiction picture books to learn important history. Often they contain wonderful photos that help tell the story. Often course, who would admit that? :).

    2. Thank you! Actually I turn to n-fiction picture books to learn important history. Often they contain wonderful photos that help tell the story. Often course, who would admit that? :).

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