My thanks to Kathryn Apel for hosting Poetry Friday! My heart aches when I hear about all the fire and loss in her country. I’m so grateful she took the time during this busy time to send us a poem.
I’ve been disturbed this week with politics, but Poetry Friday provides some relief. Briefly here I will mention three great reads I recently read and at the end share another poem, a tanka, of our first president.
When reading a middle grade or YA novel, the reader wants to find out early what the main character desires and not be confused on page twenty wondering, “What does this character want? What’s the story about.” There are many new novels in verse on my reading list, but here are three that hooked me right away and kept me reading..
SOARING EARTH, a memoir in verse by Poet Laureate for Young People, Margarita Engle, opens with a lovely poem narrated in first person by the author as a 13 year old girl.
EARTHBOUND (First Two Stanzas) Summer visits to the enchanted air of Trinidad de Cuba are illegal now, transforming my mother's hometown into a mystery of impossibility, no longer reachable in real life My roaming dreams can only ramble through the library, dancing on flat, shiny pages, across all the countries of National Geographic magazine, cooing villages with brilliant sunlight, bright parrots, green jungles, tropical heat.
She is a curious girl who can only dream of Cuba, her mother’s “enchanted” place of birth, a place illegal for them to visit.
The protagonist, a “bookworm,”is too young to travel anywhere and “can only ramble through the library.” Her longing builds in subsequent poems. She wants to learn, grow up, leave home, and find her voice, a desire which will reach readers no matter what race and nationality.
And in the contemporary novel in verse, ALL OF ME, by Chris Baron, main character, Ari, tells us in the first poem what he wants, to fit in.
BEFORE SUMMER (first two stanzas of seven) WHO AM I? The life in my head seems so different from the life outside where I am so big that everyone stares, but no one sees the real me. My name is Ari Rosensweig. This year, I am the newest seventh grader at Mill Valley Middle School. I have sandy-brown hair and green eyes like my father's. I'm average height, but I am a fat kid, and I hate it when people call me names.
What will Ari do? He is a Californian, a Jewish boy struggling with his weight, bullying, a distant father and a looming Bar Mitzvah. I was hooked and liked him right away, a courageous boy who doesn’t give up. He faces his problem as best he can. The author’s attitude towards body image and weight was understanding and compassionate.
OTHER WORDS FOR HOME by Jasmine Warga, like Engle’s book, is about a girl with a foot in two cultures. After fleeing war torn Syria with her mother to stay with her doctor uncle in America, Jude struggles with this new culture. What does she want? It’s complex. At first, in Syria, she wants her family to be safe and we sense the danger she faces right away. But later, after fleeing to America, she is a teen who wants to be accepted in an often hostile social environment:
XIII (stanzas 3-7 out of 10) Back home food was rice lamb fish hummus pita bread olives feta cheese za'atar with olive oil. Here, that food is Middle Eastern food. Baguettes are French food. Spaghetti is Italian food. Pizza is Both American and Italian depending on which restaurant you go to. every food has a label. It is sorted and assigned. Just like I am no longer a girl. I am a Middle Eastern girl. A Syrian girl. a Muslim girl. Americans love labels. They help them know what to expect. Sometimes, though, I think labels stop them from thinking.
Yes, America loves labels. They too easily define everything for us. Warga paints colorful images in her free verse poems. Like Ari in ALL OF ME, she is courageous and I cheered as she overcame many struggles.
All of these were stories had strong hooks and I enjoyed every page. Now for the rest of the new novels in verse sitting on my desk!
Before I close, here is a tanka about our first president:
GEORGE WASHINGTON Indispensable! He patched together ragged, hungry men, and won! This clever man was a star. Crown and throne? Thank you, but no. #1 GEORGE WASHINGTON (1789-1797) Our first President was a warrior, farmer, surveyor, horseman, accomplished dancer, and gentleman, famous even before the American Revolution. His picture hung in every home in America. He was asked to be a king, like George of England, but refused. He wanted to help create a different kind of government. ©Janice Scully 2020
What lovely islands of escape…these three books. I’ve read Soaring Earth and loved it. I need to read the other two. Your description helps me know I will love them. Thanks for the presidential tanka. I’m listening to ‘My Dear Hamilton’ right now and your line of crown and throne? Thank you, but no…is perfect.
I just finished reading ALL OF ME, and I loved it! Ari is a very relatable character. I haven’t read the other two titles yet, but I plan to! I enjoyed your tanka.
Thank-you for sharing these verse novels – and making me want to read them all! I was thrilled to get a signed copy of ‘All of Me’ from Chris at NCTE, and just started reading it. Looking forward to delving deeper.
I also wanted to say that the ‘food’/Middle Eastern food/Italian food reflection was very powerful. And I loved “He patched together ragged, / hungry men,” in your tanka. Wonderful word choice.
Thank you, Kathryn.
Janice, I met Chris Baron at NCTE and he gave me his book. I have not had chance to read it but after reading your take on it, I am looking forward to it. Thanks for the other two books also. I am running a professional development workshop on mental health awareness and have been looking for titles that deal with elementary and secondary students that will allow them to use books as windows and mirrors to find themselves and be able to deal with their problems, issues, discontents.
That’s great. I used to have a blog “Medicine and Health in Children’s lit” which I discontinued several years ago. I read many books and posted on them from a health and mental health perspective. Maybe I can come up with some titles for you. I did save the information from my blog and will try to retrieve it, if you like.
I’ve read Other Words for Home & the others are on my list, know they will be lovely, like the poems you shared from them, & your own, close to our home, right?
The tanka? Yes, it feels very close to home. Thanks for reading, Linda.
I love all this book talk and am always glad to see what others are reading. Thanks for these teasers! And yes, I love the Washington poem… he was a hero for sure.
Thank you for introducing me to these three verse novels. They all look good, but that poem you shared from the last one really got to me. Yes, we Americans do like our labels, and sometimes (too often) they keep us from thinking. I enjoyed your Washington poem, too.
Americans are obsessed with labels! And it’s encouraged now with all the name calling and bullying we see publicly. Thanks, Kay.
I love “Crown and throne? Thank you, but no.” Chris Baron’s All of Me was one of my favorite books that came out last year. He wrote a great blog post about the book and body image for A Novel Mind. Here’s a link! https://www.anovelmind.com/post/chris-baron-on-boys-bullies-and-body-image
Thanks, Laura for the link!
So many intriguing books to read here–I read Margarita Engle’s first memoir in verse “Enchanted Air” and am looking forward to this one. And now I have to more books to add on to my list. Thanks also for your “Thank you, but no” George Washington tanka–such a great line!
Pop! There goes my book list, expanding again! All of these verse novels look wonderful. I was especially moved by the poem from “Other Words for Home” and think it would start a great discussion in my class. Your tanka is a powerful reminder of what integrity looks like. Like many others, I especially like that line, “Thank you, but no.” Great post!
Thanks for these reviews! I’ve read Soaring Earth, but not the others.
Thanks for sharing! I hadn’t heard of “Other Words for Home” and look forward to checking that out.
I love your tanka, Janice! I recently wrote a bit about GW, and you captured what I admired most about him!
Appreciate your reviews and your “who am I” excerpts!
I read all three books for Cybils judging. Soaring Earth is my favorite of the three, but they each offered what I love about verse novels, true poetry as well as strong narrative.
Thank you for your comment. It must be challenging and rewarding to be a judge of such well written and diverse books.