Welcome to Poetry Friday. Our host today is Sally Murphy. Thank you, Sally, for hosting and my thoughts are with her and her country in the struggle against the horrendous fires. Sally has shared a soothing poem about the beach and also the good news that she is busy compiling a list of her favorite novels in verse. I’ll look forward to seeing her recommendations.
My post today is about something I’ve been exploring, that is, the work of the first American children’s poets.
James Sterling Tippett (1985-1958) is an American children’s poet who anyone writing for children can learn from. He saw the world from a child’s perspective and it’s clearly evident in his gentle rhyme and in his subjects, still relevant today. As a boy, he lived on his grandfather’s farm in Missouri, but as a young man he moved to Nashville then New York to teach. He wrote of the country and the city with authority.
Crickety Cricket: The Best-Loved Poems of James S. Tippet, is an anthology of his work illustrated by Mary Chalmers.
This is one of those many books I wish I had read to my boys when they were little. First, a sample of his poems about the country and nature:
FAMILIAR FRIENDS (The first of three Stanzas) The horses, the pigs, And the chickens, The turkeys, the ducks And the sheep! I can see all my friends From my window As soon as I waken from sleep.
Because of copyright restrictions, I’ll stop here, but I will say that the poem continues with images of a cat walking a fence, geese swimming, a pony trotting, Cows switching flies, and a mother dog with a surprise of new pups. There is a lot of action in this simple poem.
HOUSE FOR BLUEBIRDS (two of four stanzas) Bluebirds, Come to this house Which we have hung For you and your young. We made a little porch Where you can sit. Please, bluebirds, Come and look at it.
The reader feels the longing in the child’s voice. It’s a sweet poem. Unfortunately, for a child, when you have a bird house, immediate occupancy is unlikely.
In contrast to his poems about farm life, he writes poems about city life. He wrote about the subway and he also wrote about the mystery of an apartment buildings:
THE ROOF (two of four stanzas) At the top of the stairway We open a door And there is the roof Spread out like a floor. There are little roof-houses Behind which we hide And many tall pipes And a wall at the side.
To a child living in an apartment building or not, the roof must indeed seem like a world apart, a mysterious place.
It helps me in my efforts to write for kids, to look at poets that came before, like Tippett. Their images and vocabulary are still evocative even for kids today, which I find rather comforting.
Here’s a nature poem I wrote that I’ll share. It’s inspired by a walk my husband and I take along a stream that sometimes is full of frogs. It sat at the bottom of this leafy wall of shale. Sorry, no frogs today! You have to imagine them hiding.
MORNIN’, FROGS! I thump my feet as I walk by the stream. Hear the frogs fly, fleeing from me. I mean no harm. I'd fancy to be them. But they hide under rocks, and won't let me see them. © Janice Scully 2020
Thanks for the intro to Tippett. I’m going to have to request his work from the library. Your frog poem is so fun! I can imagine it in the pages of Ladybug or Highlights. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing a glimpse at Tippett’s work – not a poet I know, but I like that he takes the everyday and looks at it with child-like wonder. Your frog poem is fun. I like the image of hearing the frogs fly – that would make kids giggle and then think.
Wonderful frog poem. I add my thanks for an introduction to Tippett. I would like to read more of him. Do you know about the History of American Children’s Poets series at No Water River? It’s a great place to learn about poets and find poems to use as mentor text. Your post reminds me of my poking around Renee’s No Water River site. Sadly, Lee Bennett Hopkins passed away before they could complete the series. But, the early episodes 1-4 are great!
That’s where I learned about Tippett, from LBH on No Water River. He recommended Crickety Cricket and it was interesting and fun to read. What a great site!
Another thank you for the introduction to James S. Tippett. I’m sure children could relate well to your frog poem as their thumping feet tend to send frogs fleeing, too!
Thank you, Molly.
“And won’t let me see them” – wonderful, Janice. I’ve seen some of Tippet’s poems in some older anthologies I have, but didn’t know about Crickety Cricket! What fun that you’re studying older poets & your own poem models them! I see that you know about Renee’s videos, which are terrific.
Janice, thank you for introducing me to Tippett. Yesterday, my granddaughter and family went for a nature walk and we stopped to listen to nature sing its winter song. Tippet’s first poem with its list reminds me of our encounters with winter animals that were hidden from our view yesterday. Your poem is delightful.
Good to hear from you, Carol. It must have been a lovely nature walk with your granddaughter.
Thank you for introducing me to Tippet and sharing some of his work. I find many of my poems when I walk through nature. I love that Tippet’s poems include scenes from both country and city. There is poetry everywhere if we look for it.
Yes there is! Thanks, Kay!
A lovely post and intro to a poet I had not known. It is always good to explore other poets, learning as we go. I appreciate your frog poem. In a few months those frogs will be out and about again, inspiring even more poems.
Thanks for sharing Tippett’s poems they are delightful- and the art so inviting! I especially liked “The Roof” and these lines from it, “And there is the roof
Spread out like a floor.”
Your “MORNIN’, FROGS!” is charming, I can feel the frogs waiting under the rocks… Thanks Janice!
I shall have to explore Mr. Tippett’s work. How delightful. I’m sure my Kindergarten poet/naturalists would love his work. I’m hanging onto your sweet frog poem for spring when our vernal pool comes to life again!
I hope they enjoy it! Thank you.
Thank you, Janice–I don’t know his work. I always love nature poems, but his roof poem especially delighted me! Like you said, the child’s pov. :>)
Yes, I’m trying harder to reach back and find that point of view. Thanks, Laura.
What a wonderful post, Janice – thank you for all these gems and your discoveries, poetical and natural. Most of the time we have a wee little pond behind the back yard (sometimes nearly dry; sometimes over-full!) and we have rounds and rounds of frogs, from small tree frogs to great big bullfrogs from time to time. :0)
thanks! Your lucky to have frogs in your back yard.