Book Review
The Braid Reviewed by Vanessa Flores
1. Bibliography
Frost, Helen.The Braid.New York: Frances Foster Books. 2006. ISBN 0374309620
2. Plot
Summary
This story is about a family of seven, from
Scotland, who is evicted from their home causing the family to be torn apart. The
night before the family is to move the two older sisters, Jeannie and Sarah sleep
side by side until when Jeannie awakes and all she finds is Sarah’s braid in
her pocket. Jeannie did not know that it was a keepsake because Sarah was
staying behind with her grandmother. Through the perilous journey across the
ocean the family loses two of the younger children and the father to illness,
leaving Jeanie, the now oldest, to help her mother in their new home. Starting
off with nothing the now family of three has to work hard to find shelter, food
and water in order for them to survive. All this time Sarah is with her
grandmother living amongst family and falling in love with a young man, all
while she keeps thinking about her family. The journey continues for both girls
one to learn how to survive in this new world while coming into her new
responsibilities and the other sister falling in love to a man, Murdo, who is
forced to leave on a boat from one day to another after he professes his love
to her. Sarah realizing she is pregnant with his child and gives birth to her,
begins to make plans to meet with Murdo in this new place, while all at the
same time Murdo meets her family in Cape Breton and makes plans of his own to
return to her. By the end of their journey the girls have grown into young
women leading responsible and happy lives ;Jeannie making a home for her family
and going to school and Sarah living happily ever after with Murdo and her
baby.
3. Critical
Analysis
The story is intertwined like a braid
with wonderful poems that can stand alone if need be. The story is set up to
weave in and out of each of the girls stories while still connecting them some
way through a verse or word in the poem that proceeds a chapter. Each poem
through the story is 8 verses long and personifies many of the topics in the
poem to be real with human like characteristics. The imagery used in each of
the poems gives a greater meeting to details mentioned in the story. Though some
details in the story seem small the poems give them a greater meaning to the
significance or role they play in the story. As the reader reads each poem the
reader can feel the range of emotions emitted through the vivid images the
words of the poems portray.
4. Review
Excerpt(s) to fall in love with the detail drawn.
·
YALSA
"Best Books for Young Adults, 2007"
·
2007
Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book
·
2007
honor book: "Lion and the Unicorn" Award for Excellence in North
American Poetry
·
School
Library Journal "Best Books of the Year, 2006"
From School Library Journal- “This gem of a book ultimately tackles
age-old issues of teen pregnancy, death, poverty, and first love in a timeless
manner. Accomplished and impressive."
From Book List-"The braid is both powerful fact and stirring
metaphor . . . the book will inspire students and teachers to go back and study
how the taut poetic lines manage to contain the powerful feelings."
From Publishers Weekly- Frost's ingeniously structured novel in verse .
. . may be set in 1850, but its themes will resonate with today's teens.
Memorable."
5. Connections:
Discover more Verse Novels
written by Helen Frost , such as
·
Salt:
A Story of Friendship in a Time of War ISBN
9780374363871
·
Hidden ISBN 9780374382216
·
Keesha's
House ISBN 9780312641276
The following activities are
available to use as resources:
·
Teacher can use poems in this book to teach
the various terms in poetry.
·
Extended teacher/ student websites available
through Helen Frost:
·
Science can be connected through the study of
the various animals mentioned in the story such as:
o
Puffer Penguins
o
Seals
Book
Review
Edgar Allan Poe's Pie:
Math Puzzlers in Classic Poems Reviewed by Vanessa
Flores
1.
Bibliography
Lewis, J. Patrick. Edgar Allan Poe’s Pie. Ill. Michael
Slack. New York: Harcourt Children’s Books. 2012. ISBN 9780547513386
2.
Plot
Summary
This book has a variety of poems all
ranging from different topics but all having to do with math. In one poem the
reader may find themselves using fractions while in another poem the reader is
adding, subtracting or multiplying. Each poem is a unique range of puzzles
and/or riddles while still having a funny twist to them.
3.
Critical
Analysis
This individual poet compilation book is
uniquely created with reinvented poems by other authors. A review of each
author can be found at the end of the book, while a table of contents can lead
the reader to the poem of their choice. By using rhyming words to create a rhythm
or beat in each of the poems, the reader is attracted to want to read more. The
reader can use the vivid language to help interpret the meaning of the poem but
if help is needed the colorful illustrations help bring the poem to life. The
theme of math is seen throughout in the use of the vocabulary in the poems. The
poems are set up in riddle form to help aid in higher order thinking related to
math.
4.
Review
Excerpt(s) to fall in love with the detail drawn.
From School Library Journal- "Teachers and parents might challenge
youngsters to try solving the math problems, then introduce them to the classic
poems by reading them together."
From Book List-" This book could come in handy for a variety of
different classroom purposes."
From Publishers Weekly- "Slack's bug-eyed caricatures are an
exuberant complement to Lewis's delightfully offbeat union of poetry and
math."
5.
Connections:
Discover more curriculum
linked poetry books written by J. Patrick Lewis such as:
·
World of Wonders: Geographic
Travels in Verse and Rhyme ISBN 9780803725799
·
Arithme-Tickle:
An Even Number of Odd Riddle-Rhymes ISBN
9780152058487
·
Face
Bug
ISBN 9781590789254
Discover other silly poetry
books written by J. Patrick Lewis such as:
·
Kindergarten
Cat
ISBN 9780375844751
·
Countdown
to Summer: A Poem for Every Day of the School Year
ISBN 9780316020893
·
Poem-mobiles:
Crazy Car Poems ISBN 9780375866906
The following activities are
available to use as resources:
·
Teacher can use poems in this book to teach
the various math activites her is one website example:
·
Teach math terms using the poems in the story
such as the ones on the following link:
Book
Review
"The Tree That Time Built" Reviewed
by Vanessa Flores
1.
Bibliography
Winston, Linda & Hoberman, Mary Ann .
"The Tree That Time Built".
Ill. Barbara Fortin. Illinois: Sourcebooks
Incorporated. 2009. ISBN 9781402225178
2.
Plot
Summary
This anthology is praise to nature and
the many things surrounding it, from human thumbprints, to crickets, oceans or
just a burst of air these poems make you feel as though you were there. It begins with poems about nature around us
and the innocence and freedom we have in it, then goes on to talk about the sea,
and the many beauties which lie within it. The next section speaks of
prehistoric times and the imprints and fossils we find today which gives us a
glimpse into the times they lived on our earth. The plants and trees and the
importance of noticing the beauties which lie within them comes next and the
reptiles, amphibians and insects are spoken of and are describe from where they
came from to how they have transformed. The next sections speak of the flying
animals and the mammals which grace our presence with their life and beauty. As
we come to the end, the poems tell us of how we must take care of the nature
that surrounds us because we impact it more than we think.
3.
Critical
Analysis
This General Anthology book of poems is
a collection of poems themed with nature, science and imagination. The poems
can stand alone but make a greater impact when placed together in this book. The
table of contents guides the reader towards each section in the book which has
an introduction that describes the theme of the section accordingly. The poems
that follow each section are from a variety of poem styles. Many of the poems
have alliteration, the use of the same sound at the beginning of each word in
the same verse. This helps give the poems a rhythmic beat to help with the flow
of the poem. The anthology also has many narrative poems that tell a story of a
time the author was in a specific location and what they saw and heard. This is
where the imagery in this anthology comes in, because the poems are about
different scenes in nature and if the reader closes their eyes they can see the
images vividly especially when listening to the CD which comes with the book. The
gentle illustrations on the corners of the pages help depict the fragileness
and beauty of nature around us.
4.
Review
Excerpt(s) to fall in love with the detail drawn.
From School Library Journal- “From the playful
to the profound, the poems invite reflection and inspire further investigation”
From Book List-" “Both poets and
scientists wonder at and about the world.” Selected by Winston, an
anthropologist and teacher, and Hoberman, the current U.S. Children’s Poet
Laureate, this attractive, accessible anthology collects poems that celebrate
both the facts and the mysteries of the natural world.“
From Buffalo News
-"The Tree That Time Built" is a lovely selection of poems
celebrating "the family tree of all life on earth," selected by U. S.
Children's Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston and includes an
audio CD of poets reading their work."
5.
Connections:
Discover poetry books
written by Mary Ann Hoberman:
·
The Llama Who Had No Pajama ISBN
9780152055714
·
Forget-Me-Nots:
Poems to Learn by Heart ISBN 9780316129473
Discover other popular
anthology books for children such as:
·
Silverstein, Shel. Falling Up. ISBN 9780060248024
·
Silverstein, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings. ISBN 9780316020893
·
Prelutsky,Jack. New Kid on the Block. ISBN
9780375866906
The following activities are
available to use as resources:
·
Use the poems in the book to start off
science lessons.
o
For example, when starting lessons on
dinosaurs, use Prehistoric praise section of the anthology book.
·
Use the glossary provided in the book to
teach students new terms
o
See pages 172-179
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