African acrostics A word in edgeways : poems

Avis Harley

Book - 2009

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Subjects
Published
Somerville, Mass. : Candlewick Press 2009.
Language
English
Main Author
Avis Harley (-)
Other Authors
Deborah Noyes (illustrator)
Edition
1st ed
Physical Description
38 p. : col. ill. ; 23 x 27 cm
ISBN
9780763636210
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

This dramatic picture book will draw readers with its mix of short poems and clear color photos of wild animals in the game parks of Namibia. Each spread focuses on a different animal: a rhino ( Boulders for shoulders, / Elegant horn ); giraffes ( Nibbling on high, they / Decorate the sky ); and more. Word puzzles are part of the poetry. In most cases, the first letters of each line can be read vertically to make a meaningful phrase: wild stripes appears in a poem about zebras, while the first letters in a poem about giraffes spells out cloud friends. A few puzzles go even further: for the hornbill, the first and the last letters of each line make a double acrostic. For the leopard, the diagonal letters spell prowler. Detailed final notes explain the word games and, best of all, provide fascinating zoological facts about each animal. A good cross-curriculum title that kids will enjoy beyond the classroom, too.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2009 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 4-8-Each of these 18 poems features a different animal and a stunning companion photo. Acrostics spell out a word relating to the animal. Unusual patterns, including a quintuple acrostic and a double acrostic concrete poem, show off the poet's innovative skills. Harley includes a lesson on basic acrostic form and variations, and encourages readers to write their own. (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review

(Primary, Intermediate) While acrostics are often used in the primary grades for teaching poetry, poet Harley shows that the form itself is far from juvenile in this collection of eighteen poems illustrated with vibrant color photographs of African animals. She begins with an acrostic that uses the animal's name but quickly moves on to poems that make the decoding of the acrostic part of the fun. A poem about the bright orange streak on a stork's bill has the vertical word outstanding -- an apt choice, as indeed the orange pops out from the picture. Each poem is titled as well, so that the reader is presented with three elements working in concert to define the picture. A photo of zebras against a sandy landscape with an intense blue sky accompanies the poem titled "Untamed": "What / Interest have zebras in / Leather tethers or / Dusty saddles? / Since only / The wind / Reins / In their / Power, and sun so / Easily / Straddles." The vertical message spells out the words wild stripes and, along with the title and poem, gives the reader a new way to look at zebras. Noyes's photographs, taken mostly in Namibia, are creatively composed and capture each animal's unique qualities. Together, poetry and photography make for a superb collection, and the closing facts about the animals at the back are an added bonus. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

Acrostic poems inventively highlight the animals of Africa. While some of the acrostics simply spell the name of the animals, others expand the topic of the poemthe rhino's poem spells out "beauty in the beast," while the giraffe's declares them "cloud friends." Harley keeps things interesting by varying the seriousness of the poems and the rhythm and rhyme schemes. Backmatter includes more about acrostics as a poetic form and short paragraphs of information about each of the featured animals. Noyes's photographs perfectly encapsulate the poems, the two creating a harmonious whole that is more than the sum of its parts. The kudu, his poem asking how one greets this animal, is shown in close-up, his head tilted as if waiting for an introduction. The fatherly advice of the ostrich is delivered with a straight face, long-lashed eyes looking readers right in the eye. This belongs in every collectionfor the poetry, for the photographs, for the information. (Picture book/poetry. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.