Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Falling Up


Author/Illustrator: Shel Silverstein
Publisher: Harper Collins

Falling Up is yet another wonderful compilation of poetry by Shel Silverstein. I chose this book because I remember reading and loving Where the Sidewalk Ends and A Light in the Attic as a child. Falling Up was just as great as the other two poetry books I remember from my childhood. When thinking of children's poetry, Silverstein's name is the first that comes to mind. All of the books express his vivid imagination and are great for use in Elementary classrooms.

Falling Up is a great book to use when teaching children what poetry is all about. It proves that poetry should be creative and can be about any topic that pops in your head. This book contains poems that are completely imaginative, such as, Headless Town, which is about selling in a town where no one has a head, and Help, about a talking unicorn stuck in a tree, as well as poems that all children can relate to, such as The Sack Race, about a child experiencing their first potato sack race, Diving Board, about someone who is up on the board but afraid to dive, and Safe, about crossing the street.

The different types and lengths of poems used in the book teach children that poetry can be free from form and children can write it however they like. Most of the poems are humorous but some are also inspirational such as The Voice, which speaks of the little voice inside everyone.

The illustrations in Falling Up are black and white and seem as though they are drawn in pencil. They are simple pictures that assist in describing what is happening in the poems. These too provide encouragement and inspiration to children.

By creating and illustrating poems with words and pictures that children are fully capable of putting together, Shel Silverstein teaches children to welcome and embrace poetry rather than worry about it.

1 comment:

  1. While reading your post I was reminded what is so great about children's poetry. In children's poetry, it is okay to talk about anything and everything. That is why children enjoy it so much, and I think Shel Silverstein has an incredible ability to talk about the most unusual and imaginative things, that is why children love his poetry so much. it is a creative outlet for children, not much like any other. Reading Shel Silverstein's poetry is a wonderful way to get students to open up to the idea of writing and letting go of writing inhibitions.

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