Book Review: Confetti: Poems for Children

Bibliographic Citation:

Mora, Pat. 1996. Confetti: Poems for Children. New York; NY: Lee and Low Books. ISBN: 9780329112806

Review:

Confetti is a book about a young girls experience in the Southwest.  All of Mora’s poems have a strong Hispanic background and tell about experiences that are very natural. The poems are written just for kids and are on topics that would be interesting to that age group, especially students who live in the Southwest. All of the poems are upbeat and light hearted.

Mora does a great job creating poetry with a strong rhythm. The poem I hear, I hear is a perfect example of rhythm and leaves the reader with the sound of a drum ringing in their ear. Some of her poems contain words that create mental pictures that appeals to all senses. The poem River Voice, allows the reader to escape to the dessert and hear, see and feel what the dessert is like without leaving their seat.

The paint like illustrations beautifully highlight the poems and are of a southwestern descent. Each picture accurately describes the mental picture that is described in each poem.

Spotlight Poem:

Cloud Dragons

What do you see
in the clouds so high?
What do you see in the sky?

Oh, I see dragons 
that curl their tails
as they go slithering by.

What do you see 
in the clouds so high? 
What do you see? Tell me, do.

Oh, I see caballitos
that race the wind
high in the shimmering blue. 

Activity: 

A great activity that would tie in with this poem would be to read it outside. After reading this poem, have students lay on their backs and look at the clouds. Have them point out different clouds and share what they think each cloud looks like. The students can write down their thoughts and words that describe the cloud. After the students have brainstormed and looked at the clouds for about 15 minutes, they can start writing a poem about their favorite cloud that they saw today using descriptive words.