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FOREST HAS A SONG


Vanderwater, Amy FOREST HAS A SONG. Ill. by Robbin Gourley. ISBN 9780618843497.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Amy Vanderwater brings us a hearty collection of 26 poems. They weave together the story of one girl’s experience in the forest over the course of a year. The poems begin with spring and then merge into summer, with poems like APRIL WAKING and PUFF. Fall and winter poems wrap up this collection, including MAPLES IN OCTOBER and COLORFUL ACTOR. Each poem brings the reader into the forest, so we enjoy the romp through each season with the girl. VanDerwater’s use of language leads the reader to experience the sounds and rhythms of the forest. By employing italics, she brings the forest’s perspective in some poems, which serves as a wonderful point-of-view experience for the young reader.

The collection is superbly  illustrated by Robbin Gourley. At its best, illustrations tell a visual story which parallels and enhances the textual message. Gourley does this brilliantly. Her illustrations are watercolor images, which lend to softening the edges of nature, allowing the main image to play center stage. For instance, the poem FIRST FLIGHT on page 17 is about an owl. Gourley’s painting of the owl is laser focused around the owls and soften through the birds wings. This captures the inherent sense of motion while drawing the reader into the owl’s eyes.
The poetic forms are varied. There are couplets, free verse and list poems. Some move quickly, as in this excerpt of  SONG on page 29:
Winds whip.
Geese call.
Squirrels chase.
Leaves fall.
Trees creak.
Birds flap.
Deer run.
Twigs snap.
Others invite readers to enjoy the softer moments, as in MOSS on page 19:

MOSS
Barefoot on this emerald carpet
toe-by-toe I squish across.
I softly sink in velvet green.
Oh how I wish for socks of moss.
SPOTLIGHT POEM AND LESSON
This lesson is designed for elementary or middle school. As a middle school librarian, my checkout lessons are short. I have five to ten minutes and then kids checkout. I have to pack a punch and fast!

For this lesson, read the WOODPECKER poem on page 25 one time. Be certain to model the staccato sound of the hole section. This playful use of language and space will draw the kids in.
After modeling the reading one time, show this brief clip of an actual woodpecker. The kids will enjoy watching the woodpecker bury a nut in a tree and then defend its turf from an errant squirrel!
Once the video is complete, ask the kids to recite the poem along with you. They will especially love to shout hole over and over again. Be sure to read this part in the staccato beat modeled through the physical layout of the poem.



Comments

  1. Amy LVApril 4, 2014 at 7:53 PM

    Thank you for this highlight of our book. It is an honor to be here! Best to you and your students in the library! a.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Irene KistlerApril 4, 2014 at 10:27 PM

      Amy,

      Wow, this is such an honor. Thank you for reading my review.

      I plan to do the woodpecker lesson for my next checkout cycle. I think the boys, in particular, will love it. I actually read it several times before I truly read the "hole" section correctly. Once I did, I could not stop chuckling. I kept rereading it. It is a brilliant layout!

      Thanks for writing such a superb collection of poems.

      Irene

      Delete

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