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| Image retrieved from www.amazon.com |
Bibliography:
Hopkins, Lee B., Soentpiet, Chris, and Christy Hale. Amazing Places. New York: Lee & Low Books Inc, 2015. ISBN 9781600606533
Review and Critical Analysis:
Amazing Places, a collection of poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, invites readers to travel the United States through poetry. The fourteen poems in this book explore some of the nation’s different landscapes, historical sites, and unique cultural destinations. The places in these poems include Denali National Park in Alaska, Harlem’s West 125th Street in New York City, the Grand Canyon, the Liberty Bell, Niagara Falls, and more. The poems in this collection are works by notable American poets, including Joseph Bruchac, Nikki Grimes, and J. Patrick Lewis.
The inside book cover, both front and back, shows a map of the United States. The map highlights the state and location of each poem in the collection. The map is a great source of reference while reading through the poems. The reader can know the exact location of the place they are reading about. There is also a “More About the Amazing Places” section at the end of the book. This section highlights the location for each poem and provides details about the history of each site. Again, this is an excellent resource for readers. After reading each poem, I turned to this section to read more about the amazing place. Then, I returned to the poem to read it one more time, knowing more information about that place. This section helps readers better understand each place being represented by a poem. For me, it brought the poem even more to life. It allowed me to “visit” that place - to feel and sense much of what the writer felt - more fully. When I first read “Niagara” by Prince Redcloud, and then read more about Niagara Falls, I was blown away at the idea of what the first Europeans must have thought at first sight of the Falls. This additional information made the wonder of Niagara Falls even more magnificent.
The poems in this collection are each unique. Some are written in free verse and some rhyme. Each poem’s style somehow reflects the place about which it is written. The poem “Sandy Hook Lighthouse,” by Joan Bransfield Graham, is written in the shape of a lighthouse. The poem “Langston,” by Lee Bennett Hopkins about Langston Hughes, is a simple poem written with few words, much like the style Hughes himself wrote in. The poems represent the mood and emotions of the places they are written about. In “Tree Speaks” by Nikki Grimes, the voice of the tree in the poem allows readers to sense the sights and sounds of the Grand Canyon. The reader can hear the “echo / of the Colorado River rapids / bouncing off red-purple ridges.”
The poems in “Amazing Places” are naturally appealing to young people. They are simple poems that are easily absorbed and understood. They will create curiosity in children about the people and places they are written about, encouraging them to learn more about them (from the information at the back at the book or beyond) and making them want to visit those places someday. They also have the ability to inspire children to write poetry about the place where they live or places they visit.
The poems in this collection are delightfully illustrated in a collaboration between Chris Soentpiet and Christy Hale. Chris Soentpiet created the rough sketches for the illustrations. Then, Christy Hale added color and detail to them to bring them to life. Each illustration captures the essence of its poem. “Campfire,” byJanet S. Wong, is illustrated to show Denali at sunset, with beautiful pink and purple shades, to highlight the small mother and daughter roasting marshmallows over the campfire. “A Sunday Trip to Chinatown,” by Alma Flor Ada, brings the streets of San Francisco’s Chinatown to life. The colorful signs and buildings show how vibrant and overflowing with Chinese culture this part of town is. Soentpiet and Hale’s illustrations will attract children to this collection of poetry.
Poem Use to Support Critical Analysis:
Langston
by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Who would have known
a young lad
delivering
door-to-door newspapers
in a small town
would one day
see people the world over
carrying his papers -
his reams of poems -
poems about -
rainy sidewalks,
stormy seas,
crystal stair memories,
moon-glimmers,
moonbeams,
but best of all,
his dusts of dreams.
“Langston” by Lee Bennett Hopkins pays tribute to the great poet, Langston Hughes, and to Lawrence, Kansas where he lived from 1903 until 1915. The city of Lawrence has recognized him in several ways, and Hopkins discusses this at the end of the book.
Before introducing this poem, I would introduce the students to Langston Hughes. We would learn about his life, the Harlem Renaissance, and his writing. We would read a few of his poems and discuss and the style he wrote them in. I would introduce the poem “Langston” at the end of students’ learning about Langston Hughes. I would ask them how it relates to all they have learned about Hughes. I would also ask them how this poem is similar to one or more other poems written by Hughes. How did Hopkins wholly honor and reflect Langston Hughes in this poem? As a follow-up activity I would have students write a poem that reflects this same simple style of poetry. The poem could also be about Hughes or about someone or something else.
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