Amazing Faces

Bibliography
Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2010. Amazing Faces. Lee & Low Books, Inc.: New York. ISBN 11944186.

About the Book  
This collection of short poems by a variety of authors each describe the many faces of multicultural America that would commonly be seen in the community around us.  Poems feature an African American boy who is dreaming, a lonely Caucasian boy, an Asian boy living in Chinatown, an elderly Native American telling stories, and more. The poets include Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Janet S. Wong, Langston Hughes, Pat Mora, and Jane Yolen. This celebration of diversity features illustrations by Chris Soentpiet that are large, beautiful watercolor portraits. Most of the poems are original to this collection, except for the final, "My People," by Langston Hughes, which is paired with a close-up view of a huge crowd of parents and kids of many backgrounds that also appears on the cover. The book has been included on this year's (2011-2012) Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee list and was read by thousands of Texas students in grades 3 through 5. 


One Poem
Abuela


Her face, a lacework of courage;
Her brow, brown as settled earth;
Her chin, worn thin, a point of pride;
Her cheeks, soft antiques of the sun;
Her smile, a profile in mischief.
Latina, abuela, she is everyone
Of us come from otherwhere, 
Happy to call another stratosphere
Home. 


J. Patrick Lewis

Activities
*Share the poem above with the class.  Try a "pair and share" questioning time.  Ask a few questions about feelings students experienced or vocabulary used. 
*After reading a poem from the collection, guide students through a series of questions designed to help students to synthesize poems such as: why is this a poem? how are the people in this poem like the people you know? did the things in this poem ever happen to you? and so on.
*Find a story or other poems about people in the community. Relate the poems in this book to the other reading. Allow students to share which poem speaks to them most and tell why.