1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sidman, Joyce. 2009. SINGS FROM TREETOPS: A YEAR IN COLORS. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN 0547014945
2. PLOT SUMMARY
This beautiful picture book consists of four different poems about spring, summer, fall, and winter. The focus of each poem is on the colors you see during that specific time and how they change as the seasons change. For instance, “In spring, yellow and purple hold hands. They beam at each other with bright velvet faces. First Flowers, first friends. In fall, yellow grows wheels and lumbers down the block, blinking: Warning—classroom ahead.”
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This is a clever and witty book that talks about colors one sees during specific seasons and how they change throughout the year. Joyce Sidman uses colors, objects, and situations that children can relate to. The senses are used to describe colors in specific seasons: “Fall smells purple: old leaves, crushed berries, squishy plums with worms in them. Purple: the smell of all things mixed together.”
With the text, the color being discussed is highlighted, outlined by a rectangle, and written in the color it represents. This will help young children differentiate between colors and the actual spelling of the color. Pamela Zagarenski’s illustrations are absolutely breathtaking. They are all so vibrant and full of detail. The pictures are just as clever as the text. As an oddly shaped and outfitted person with her/his dog walks through the changing seasons, they participate in many different sensory experiences as the seasons change. Both the person and her/his dog wear a crown. In almost every scene, there is a beautiful red bird at the top of the page. One could sit and stare at the pictures for hours.
This will be an excellent book to share because basic colors are discussed in a sensory manner as the seasons change. It is a great way for young children to make the connection between their senses, colors, and how to experience them in new ways. As a teacher, I would break down my lessons into four specific portions, according to season, in order to make the learning process more manageable.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “This is an important book both for its creativity and for its wisdom.”
Starred review in KIRKUS: “A charming inspiration to notice colors and correlate emotions.”
Starred review in HORN BOOK: “Sustaining the playfulness of the text and its sense of awe, mystery, and beauty, the illustrations contribute gracefully to the celebration.”
Starred review in THE BULLETIN: “This book has a freshness and visual impact all its own, and it will inspire a rainbow of uses.”
Starred review in BOOKLIST: “As the title implies, the colors that surprise on every page, do sing.”
5. CONNECTIONS
*Before I cover the fall season in my lesson plan, I would begin class by asking my students to think of an object that is mostly seen in fall, is orange with pulp and seed, flickers with candles, and has orange eyes, orange cheeks, and orange teeth. My students would eventually guess a jack-o- lantern. They would receive verbal praise. My students would point to the jack-o-lantern when we get to the part of the poem that says: “Orange ripens in full, heavy moons, thick with pulp and seed. Orange flickers, all smoke and candles. Orange eyes. Orange cheeks. Orange teeth.” During a class discussion, I would ask my students to think of other things that consist of a specific color that occurs in specific seasons. As an extension, I would ask my students to pick three colors and list sensory descriptions of them and how they change during all four seasons.
*Gather other books written by Joyce Sidman:
Sidman, Joyce. 2010. DARK EMPEROR AND OTHER POEMS OF THE NIGHT. ISBN 0547152280
Sidman, Joyce. 2005. SONG OF THE WATER BOATMAN AND OTHER POND POEMS. ISBN 0618135472
Sidman, Joyce. 2007. THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS. ISBN 0618616802
No comments:
Post a Comment