Forest Has a Song by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater and Robbin Gourley

Image retrieved from www.amazon.com

Bibliography:

VanDerwater, Amy L., and Robbin Gourley. Forest Has a Song. New York: Clarion Books, 2013. ISBN 9780618843497

Review and Critical Analysis:

Forest Has a Song is a collection of poems written from the perspective of a young girl who has spent some time in the forest. Her voice describes ever so eloquently all of the creatures and plants she see and hears on her visits into the forest. In many of the poems, the young girl speaks to the forest, or to a creature in the forest, and its reply is shown in italics. In this collection of poetry, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater captures the beautiful voice of the forest and lets it to sing its song to the reader.

The book begins with the poem “Invitation” in which the young girl tells what she heard today in the forest. The forest replies, “I’m here. / Come visit. / Please?” The forest’s invitation to the girl is also an invitation to the reader to come and visit the forest through the poems in the book. From there, the reader encounters a dead branch, a chickadee, a fossil, a tree frog, a spider, lichens, an owl, and much more.

The poems are filled with poetic elements - rhythm, rhyme, alliteration, assonance, onomatopoeia, personification, and imagery. Each poem is filled with imagery, inviting readers to experience the forest through them. “Forest News” says, “Foxes pass. / Deer run through. / Turkeys scratch / for hidden food. / Young raccoons / drink sips of creek. / Mouse and hawk / play hide-and-seek.” On and on and on the poem goes, describing how a newspaper would read if its subject was the forest.The owl in “First Flight” says, “FLAP FLAP FLAP FLAP FLAP FLAP - WHOOOSH!” using onomatopoeia to describe the young owl’s flight. The poem “Squirrel” is filled with alliteration, saying “Surely / you have squirreled a store / of nuts / beneath this forest floor. / I will not tell / one single soul.” VanDerwater’s use of poetic elements is endless, and has great effect in capturing her audience’s attention and endearment for the forest.

Gourley’s watercolor illustrations are a beautiful complement to VanDerwater’s poems. The illustrations sometimes cover an entire page, and other times are simply above, below, or beside its poem. Her paintings tune the reader into the song of the forest, highlighting one aspect from each poem it is illustrating. Gourley truly captures the mood and feel of each poem with her simple paintings.

Poem Used to Support Critical Analysis:

Song

Under giant pines

I hear

a forest chorus

crisp and clear.

Winds whip.

Geese call.

Squirrels chase.

Leaves fall.

Trees creak.

Birds flap.

Deer run.

Twigs snap.

Silence in Forest

never lasts long.

Melody

is everywhere

mixing in

with piney air.

Forest has a song.

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater’s poem, “Song,” really emcompasses all of the poems from this collection. It shows the beauty of the forest and highlights all of the sights and sounds that make its song. I would use this poem to introduce a science unit on nature. We would read it in preparation for a nature walk. I would introduce the poem by asking students what they see and hear when they walk through nature - through the woods or through a forest. I would ask how it makes them feel. Then, I would read “Song” to them. We would discuss the poem further. What were some of the sights and sounds the writer encountered? What was the mood of the poem?

Then, students would gather pencil and paper, and we would go on a nature walk. During the walk they would take notes about what they see and hear and how it makes them feel. Following the nature walk, students would use their notes to write their own nature poem, illustrate it, and present it to the class.