Bing Bang Boing

Bibliography
Florian, Douglas. 1994. Bing Bang Boing. Harcourt Brace & Company: Orlando. ISBN: 0-15-200802-0. 

About the Book
This big collection of rhymes and verse is most appropriate for older elementary students and is sure to get a laugh.  Some poems are visual (for example Book Crooks, "T ey  stol  some  let ers") and some are enjoyable to listen to (for example Strange Change, "An enterprising wizard / Turned Aunt Fay into a lizard.") Florian's collection has surprises including nonsense verse, which probably is what causes students to enjoy it so much. Most of the poems are end rhyme and are somewhat predictable which can be fun for reading aloud as students try to guess the word the poet used to finish the line. Each two page layout has two, three, or four short poems so the reader easily moves from poem to poem. The illustrations are done by Florian himself and are somewhat rudimentary.  The thick line drawings are simplistic and boring and do not particularly add anything to the poems.  However, the illustrations can be used to encourage students to write and illustrate their own poems. 


One Poem


Twinkle, Twinkle


Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are - 
     A sphere of incandescent gas
     Spinning round a nuclear mass.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are. 


Activities
*Before reading the poetry collection, discuss with students different ideas about what poetry is.  Lead them to discuss how some people think that all poetry rhymes.  Have some examples of non-rhyming poems ready.  Then read the poems from this collection and identify how the poet had to choose words carefully in order to get his ideas across using this end rhyme style. 
*Poetry Break- using "Twinkle Twinkle."  Before or after a science lesson about planets or the solar system, read this variation on a familiar rhyme.  Briefly discuss the two new lines and their scientific basis, relating them to the science lesson.
*Read other Douglas Florian poetry collections.  Compare the style of poems in this collection to those in other collections.
*Lead students to choose a common subject (like a pet) and write a collaborative class poem in the style Florian wrote the silly rhymes in this collection. 
*Encourage students to write and illustrate their own simple rhymes by choosing a familiar subject and writing a poem about it.

Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Que´ rico!

Bibliography
Mora, Pat. 2007. Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Que´ Rico! Lee & Low Books, Inc.: New York. ISBN: 978-0-329-70160-4.


About the Book
This unique collection of Haiku has something for everyone.  On the left of each page is a brief informative description of a food (for example, Potato) giving a probable origin, history, and trivia. On the right page is a Haiku about the edible plants native to the Americas.  The two page illustrations are interesting, intriguing, and appropriate for this genre.  The foods and places highlighted are traditional in the southwest, including Mexico and Texas, among others. The poems capture the flavor of the item in a way children can easily understand. "Chocolate: Fudge, cake, pie, cookies. / Brown magic melts on your tongue." The language used is light and kid-friendly and includes a few simple Spanish words which are defined on the title page verso. Everyone who eats food will enjoy this collection. 

One Poem
Pecan

We crack hard, brown shells,
family munching, story time,
crunch taste of fall.




Activities
*Poetry Break - Using the poem "Pecan." In a transition time, between subjects or while preparing to head out of the classroom, share this short poem.  Discuss the language ('munching') and possible setting (fall).  Also talk about what a family story time might be like - what might the stories be about?

*Bring in familiar and some of the uncommon foods mentioned in the collection.  Research more information about them - where they grow, in what season they are best, etc. - and allow the students to taste samples of each variety. 
*Allow students in the class to vote on their favorite natural foods.  Find out their source and name the food in Spanish. Make a graph depicting the food choices or their origin.
*Grow a simple plant (bean sprout, for example) by allowing each student to place soil and a seed in a cup.  Watch the growth and keep a journal documenting their observations. 
*Read other collections by Pat Mora and compare them to the Haiku included in this collection. 

Please Bury Me in the Library

Bibliography
Lewis, J. Patrick. 2005. Please Bury Me in the Library. Harcourt, Inc: Orlando. ISBN: 978-1-415-59351-6.

About the Book
This collection of poems were all written by J. Patrick Lewis, the 2011 National Council of Teachers of English poetry award winner. The poems in this collection highlight all the essential elements of English: letters ("Eating Alphabet Soup"), words ("The Big-Word Girl"), and books ("Great, Good, Bad"). The types of poetry included in the book range from Haiku to simple rhymes which are naturally appealing to children. Lewis references topics and classic works that the audience can relate to- reading at the beach, eating alphabet soup, going to the library, and titles of classic works that many can remember. Each poem included in this collection is newly published, except for two which were published previously in a book of Lewis' poems. 
The appealing layout of the poems, along with great illustrations that are large, colorful, and creative make the book something to be enjoyed by audiences young and old.  Although the book appears to be a picture book, the poems inside offer something unique to reading.  The book also includes a table of contents which allows readers to easily return to favorites they are sure to revisit. 


One Poem

What if Books Had Different Names?

What if books had different names

Like Alice in....Underland?

Furious George,

Goodnight Noon,

Babar the Beaver, and

A Visit from Saint Tickle Us,

Or Winnie-the-Pooh Pooh-Poohs,

The Walrus and the Carp and Her,

The Emperor Has No Clues,

Or Mary Had a Little Clam,

And how about Green Eggs and Spam? 

Well, surely you can think of one.

Oh, what extraordinary, merry

Huckleberry Funn! 

Activities

* Read other books by J. Patrick Lewis and discuss the similarities and differences in the collections.

* After reading "What if Books Had Different Names," brainstorm some other familiar titles and come up with more fun and creative alternatives.

*After reading "What if Books Had Different Names," re-write one of the works referenced according to the new title.  For example, rework "The Emperor Had No Clues" to be a mystery/detective story using the original story as a framework.

*After reading "Please Bury Me in the Library," discuss book genres (novels, history, poetry, etc) and go to the library to find examples of each.