The ten poets represented in this little anthology are Aileen Fisher (1978), Karla Kuskin (1979), Myra Cohn Livingston (1980), Eve Merriam (1981), John Ciardi (1982), Lilian Moore (1985), Arnold Adoff (1988), Valerie Worth (1991), and Barbara Esbensen (1994). The book includes quotes and biographical information for each poet, a bibliography of sources, and an alphabetical index of authors and titles. The poems selected for the book were actually chosen by a cross-section of 3,500 children who voted for their five favorite poems by each author, after reading and listening to a sampling of their work.
These award-winning authors have a sensitivity to the kind of poetry that children enjoy: poems they can understand, that make them laugh, and that tell a story. These qualities are exhibited throughout the poems in A Jar of Tiny Stars. Children of all ages can appreciate them on a variety of levels. The pleasant rhyming rhythms and funny stories will appeal to younger children, and the layers of metaphor, irony, and pathos in some of the poems will be grasped by older readers.
Several different styles of poetry are represented. Arnold Adoff strives to write poems that �sing as well as say� (p. 53). He uses free verse, rich, sensory images and unconventional formats that evoke an emotional response. He describes �Mama� as �swirls of dark fudge� and Daddy as �vanilla,� �cherry chunks� and �sweet peach.�
John Ciardi says his poetry is �just a bubbling up of a natural foolishness, and the idea that maybe you can make language dance a bit.� (p. 39). He uses startling humor and nonsensical word play throughout, making his poems a delight to read over and over. His description of gorillas that �look a lot like Dad� and �scream a lot like Mother� will make children laugh out loud.
David McCord�s effective use of repetition, assonance and consonance give a musical quality to his poems, �Every Time I Climb a Tree� and �The Pickety Fence.� Myra Cohn Livingston writes about the assassination of John Kennedy, using sharply descriptive language and dialect: �Some low-down white folks shot him down.�
Like the poetry itself, the illustrations might have been lifted from the pages of our grandparents books, enhancing the timelessness of the themes. No high-tech, computer-enhanced, triple-process, multi-media color images here. The simple pen and ink drawings complement the familiar images and homely conceits that make the poems so endearing. The individual portraits of the authors also have an ageless quality, depicting a rich breadth of human qualities.
A universality of experience makes these poems a gift from each poet that every child can understand. Children sell lemonade on hot summer days and drink up the residuals when the sun rises high in the sky, just as they have for many lifetimes (�Lemonade Stand�). The reference to junk mail in �Skip Rope Rhyme for Our Time� adds a contemporary twist to a timeless tradition. Poems about climbing trees, making snowmen, catching fireflies, hearing the ocean in a seashell, or being snuffed and kneaded by puppies and kittens will evoke smiles and bright memories from every generation of readers.
Related Website:
Poetry Express: http://www.poetryexpress.org