Book Review: Little Stevie Wonder by Quincy Troupe

Bibliographic Citation:

Troupe, Quincy. 2005. Little Stevie Wonder. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 0618340602. 

Review:

Isn't he lovely, this blind black boy born to love everyone? 

Stevie Wonder's hit song, "Isn't She Lovely" will be ringing in your ears after you read this biographical poetry book about Stevie Wonder. Troupe does a great job creating a kid friendly biography that has rhythm. It's almost next to impossible to not sing the words in this book. The book starts with the beginning of Stevie's life and how he grew up to be a famous singer. It doesn't touch on his personal life as much as his professional life, which I think some kids might be disappointed at this. There is a chronology at the end of the book that is helpful for the reader to see when important events have happened in his life and in what order. Troupe also included a select discography to show the reader the year of Stevie Wonder's albums. 

Troupe's free verse poetry has great rhythm and each page starts with the same famous line, "Oh, isn't he lovely". The length of each poem varies from 1 to 4 stanzas in length.Troupe's words flow across the page and the placement of words on the page really grab the readers attention. Troupe bolded and enlarged several words throughout, that highlight his main ideas. This is very helpful for young readers and is a great way to get the author's point across.  Lisa Cohen illustrations are bright and vibrant and accurately describe Stevie's feelings. 

This would be a great book to share during Black History Month and in Music class! This book is a hit!

Spotlight Poem:

Isn't he lovely,
Stevland Judkins Morris Hardaway,
"Little Stevie Wonderland,"
Now Stevie Wonder?

Oh, isn't he lovely,
this luminous wonder of a man?
A sequoia tree of a man,
a rainbow of song,
born to love everyone!

Activity: 

As mentioned above, I think this would be a great book to share during Black History Month and in a music class. Classroom teachers could also use this when discussing the biography genre. "Little Stevie Wonder" is a different format from normal biographies, and would be a great way to open students up to poetry as well. 

A fun activity to go along with this book, would be to have students do research on a famous African American. Students can then create a biographical poem about that person. Once students have created their poem, they can turn it into a animoto or podcast to share with the class. 

Book Review: Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up by Lisa Westberg Peters

Bibliographic Citation:

Peters, Lisa Westberg. 2003. Earthshake: Poems from the Ground Up. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books. ISBN: 0060292660

Book Review:

What a great book to use when introducing new Science topics! Earthshake by Lisa Westberg Peters contains 22 poems about the Earth. Peters uses a table of contents at the beginning to assist readers in finding specific poems. At the end of the book, there is a note section that provides information about the Earth's surface and basic geology. I really liked how there were notes at the back of the book, because this allows students to learn more about that scientific topic to further research.

The non-rhyming poems in the book range from 4-5 sentences to 4-5 stanzas. They are all very quick reads and the illustrations accurately describe what the poem is about. My favorite poem is called "Continental Promises" and it's consists of two love letters from "South America" and "Africa" and how they will never break up (ie: continental drift). Peters does a great job making Science fun, but also adds in information so that you can learn a thing or two. I would highly recommend this book to teachers of elementary students, this is a great book to use when introducing new Science concepts and to use as a poetry break.

Spotlight Poem:

Polar Confusion

What if
the North Pole
because the South Pole,
and the South Pole
because the North Pole?

Would Antartica
lose it's Ant?
Would the Arctic
gain it?

Would Santa need
a new address?
Would the penguins
trade places with
the reindeer?

Would southpaws
become northpaws?
Would the maps
be upside down?

if South were North
and North were South?

Activity:

I chose this poem because I thought it would be a great poem to share before third grader learns about the Arctic. In Third Grade, they learn about the environments and animals that live in the North and South poles. This silly poem would be a great way to get student interested in Polar Regions and get them thinking about the "what ifs". After reading this poem, you could even ask students if they could think of any other problems that would happen if these two poles switched.

Flat Stanley is back!!!

In February, I did a Flat Stanley read aloud with 2nd grade, and we learned that Stanley loved to travel. So the kiddos made their own Flat Stanley's and sent him off to visit friends and relatives. Our Flat Stanleys have traveled around the US and the World. Below are some pictures of the Flat Stanleys that I have already received! I love seeing the pictures of places he has been and his new outfits!

Dr. Seuss Craze!

I seem to be running a bit behind, but it's better later than never! At the beginning of March, I did a Dr. Seuss Author Study with Kinder. I met with each class for 30 minutes a day and we read Dr. Seuss books and completed a writing activity. The students had to write and draw their favorite part from the books: Cat in the Hat, The Foot Book and Green Eggs and Ham. Two of the days, they got to listen to Justin Bieber and Tim Tebow read (which they seemed to prefer over me :). On the last day, I took picture of them with a Dr. Seuss Camera App. Check out some of the pictures below!

Frisco Public Library -Spring Break Events!

Be sure to check out what is scheduled for next week at the Frisco Public Library!

Here’s what we have for Elementary ages during Spring Break at the Frisco Public Library (click on each program for details)

MARCH 10	11	12	13	14	15	16
« »
	Return of Origami Yoda 3rd-5th Graders only 2:00 pm	Movie (from a galaxy far, far away) 3rd-5th Graders only 2:00 pm	Virtual Author Chat with Dan Yaccarino 1st-5th Graders 3:00 pm Family Origami Night 5:00 pm	K-2 Explorers: Planet Watch Kinder-2nd Graders only 3:00 pm	K-2 Explorers: Planet Watch Kinder-2nd Graders only 3:00 pm

Everything is free, no pre-registration needed. Parents can pick up free entry tickets the day of each program at the 2^nd floor Ask Us desk. Kids can come to as many programs as they wish (for their age)—each day will be something different. Here is our Kids Spring schedule with everything in one place.