Poetry Friday: Red Sings From the Treetops

White, white, white.

After weeks of snow here, that's all I can see.

 But Joyce Sidman owns a different set of eyes.

In the winter dawn,
Pink blooms
powder-soft
over pastel hills.

Pink prickles:
warm fingers
against cold cheeks.

and a few pages later:

Where is Green in winter?
Green darkens, shrinks,
stiffens into needles.
Green waits
in the hearts of trees,
feeling
the earth
turn.

--From Red Sings From the Treetops, written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski.

Red Sings From the Treetops is the winner of the 2009 Cybils poetry award, given to a poetry book that is both literary and filled with "kid appeal." I was honored to be part of the final round of discussion.

From the Cybils announcement:

Observation, discovery, connection . . . Red Sings From the Treetops embodies everything poetry is meant to be. The vivid words of poet Joyce Sidman -- which are fresh even when writing about the oldest of concepts, color -- and the gloriously hue-soaked pictures of illustrator Pamela Zagarenski combine to create a poetry book that is both thoughtful and exuberant.

Readers can hunt for small details in the sweep of larger images and thrill to a-ha! moments of discovery. They can read the book as one full, circular story or as a series of individual, eye-opening poems. Either way, the beauty of this book will leave them feeling connected to something larger than themselves.

Well-done, Joyce and Pamela.

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Irene Latham.

Sneak Preview of Book Club

This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness
by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

I'm leading the DC Kidlit Book Club discussion this month, and our selection is the Cybils award winning title This is Just to Say. (I was on the Poetry judging panel.) You can participate virtually in the comments anytime, or if you live near DC, we'd love to have you join us this Sunday. Email Susan at wizardwireless [at] gmail [dot] com for more information.

Sneak preview of our discussion questions:

1) How did you read this book? I was surprised when my husband read it in a completely different way than I did, but I think that's one of the charms of this title---that it can be read/used in multiple ways.

2) The original "This is Just to Say" by William Carlos Williams is NOT a contrite poem. Did this book make you think about the nature of apology itself, and how hard it is to do, and how it isn't always met with acceptance? How does adding the forgiveness element expand the book's theme? Did this book make you reflect upon current or past stories of forgiveness or apology in your own life?

3) How do Zagarenski's illustrations add to the feel of the book? Did you think the use of text within the illustrations was an effective technique? How did individual illustrations pair with individual poems to bring new insight into each fictional poet's apology or offer of forgiveness?

4) Did you begin reading and then flip to the front to see who really wrote the book? How hard is it to pull off authentic sixth-grade poetic voices? Do you think Sidman succeeded?

5) Not all the poems in the book are free verse, as the original poem obviously is. Does the addition of form poetry strengthen the book?

6) What did you think of the multi-cultural elements of the book? Were they successful?

7) Did reading this book make you want to try your own "This is Just to Say" poem?

UPDATE: Elaine Magliaro, poetry queen and blogger at Wild Rose Reader, has just posted a wonderful resource list for us, including links to her interview with Joyce, and to Joyce Sidman's own Readers' Guide. Thank you so much, Elaine!