 |
| Author Laura Purdie Salas |
Review
|
A
|
ND THEN
THERE WERE EIGHT: POEMS ABOUT SPACE is both a playful and educational
collection of poems about the solar system, science, and forms of poetry. Images on each page add another dimension to
the information and spark additional interest.
Also adding interest is Salas’ use of personification. In Ballerina, the Moon is said to “dance a
graceful ballet” because of its rotation around Earth and glow from the
sun. Family
Flock depicts seven stars as being seven sisters who are wild and free – stemming
from the myth of Zeus. Here Girl!, a poem about the Mars Lander,
shows the exploration machine as a “planetary pet” who “never needs to see the
vet” and “she rolls and roams and wags her tail.”
Forms
of poetry are also shown throughout the book.
At the end of the book, nine forms of poetry are defined and the poem and
page the reader can find an example of that form is also given. For example, Lost in Space is a limerick and can be found on page five. The end of the book also includes a glossary
of terms that the young reader may find in the book and not know. Salas also lists other poetry books about
space the reader may enjoy as well as internet sites for facts about
grade-appropriate subjects.
In the
poem, Family Flock, assonance is
highlighted with the “ee” sound and alliteration is used with words that begin
with s and f. Rhyming at the end, an
element often looked for in children’s poetry is common within Salas’
poetry. The following poem uses this
comfortable form of rhyme as well as educates readers about a fun fact from an
astronaut’s trip to the moon.
Poetry
in Action:
Introducing
the Poem: Ask students what they already know about the
Moon. Guide them into answers about man
having made it to the moon, who the astronauts were, and/or any other details. Pass out pictures from the walk on the moon
for students to look at. Hold up a
picture of the footprint, explain how long it has been since the event happened,
and ask students how long they think that footprint lasted or will last.
Follow
up Activity: After reading the poem, ask students to
imagine themselves as astronauts. Ask
them what they would want to leave on the moon if they could go that would last
forever? It might be an imprint of
something or an artifact. Have students
illustrate their answer and then share with everyone. Afterwards, hang the illustrations for all to
see.
ON THE MOON
No rains fall
No winds gust
A human footprint
Fixed in dust
Hours on hours
Days on days
Our magic landing
Stays and stays
No comments:
Post a Comment