April is National Poetry Month - Hip Hop Speaks to Children edited by Nikki Giovanni

Genre – Poetry

Grade Level:  K – 8

Interest Level: K-10

Themes – 

This book has GOT to be in your collection. It is a must have for the poetry, history and the artwork. Published in 2008, it is already timeless.

Nikki Giovanni edited this collection of poems, lyrics, raps that range in topic from everyday activities like walking to the store to get candy, or getting sent to the principals office to more ideological topics of  love, equality and having a dream.

Just as diverse, are the author’s Giovanni has included.  In this collection you will find classic poetry titans like Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks and Pedro Pietri;urban legends Gil Scott Heron and Tupac; cultural icons like Maya Angelou, and Queen Latifah; and contemporary wordsmiths, Common,  Kanye West and Jacqueline Woodson.  This collection represents generations of African American and urban stories and experiences.

Nikki Giovanni’s scholarship, and creative genius, along with her knowledge, appreciation and understanding of  hip hop culture, make her the perfect conduit for this celebration of stories, rhythm, language and hip hop.  Her goal is not only to celebrate hip hop, but to evidence the essential elements of hip hop  throughout history.

In addition to the delight of simply reading and/or listening to the selections in the book(a cd is included), there are many instructional possibilities. These begin with Giovanni’s introduction which takes the reader on a historical journey of language and rhythm. She discusses oral tradition, music, vernacular,  and other forms of expression, laid against a timeline of African American History. The introduction is worthy of  a lesson(s)  that would be relevant in history, ELA and possibly music. It provides an opportunity for meeting common core requirements as an informational text. In addition, at the end of the book, there is biographical information about the editor/advisors, illustrators and all contributors. This could lend itself to more in depth biographical studies of the many diverse authors and illustrators represented in the collection.

The illustrations, with credit to several wonderful illustrators are beautiful and  worthy of picture walks, critical viewing and discussion on their own. The 51 poems provide many choices for lessons in ELA, music, social studies, as core or supplemental material.

This collection not only provides an excellent responsive, instructional opportunity to provide  your students, but also for the educator who needs to increase his/her cultural knowledge of hip hop culture, youth culture, urban culture and African American culture. Move to the beat of cultural responsiveness, in Hip Hop Speak to Children.

Don't walk, get yo' groove and go get this book!

Locomotion by Jacqueline Woodson

Genre: Story in Poems

Grade Level: 4-8

Interest Level: 4-8

Themes: family, loss/grief, foster care, resilience, poetry

Sensitivity Issues: topic of parents death in a fire

Lonnie C. Motion is 11 years old and with the help of his teacher is finally finding a way to deal with the loss, grief and change that struck his life at the age of 7. 

Locomotion is one of my favorite Jacqueline Woodson books. Not only because the pages paint a vivid picture of Lonnie C. Motion, a wonderful 11 year old African American boy, but because it is a great book for instruction and engagement.

This is a story in poems. Poems that are assigned by a teacher, Ms. Marcus, who tells Lonnie to “write it down before it leaves your brain.” Right there on the first page, in the first poem, we learn who Lonnie is. “I tell her about the smoke and she says Good Lonnie, write that. Not a whole lot of people be saying Good Lonnie to me…”  I know this 11 year old Lonnie, not many people tell him what he does right, but many people are waiting for him to do something wrong. Ms. Marcus, however, gets him to write a whole book of what is in his head. The fire, his parents, the foster homes, his little sister and many ideas, thoughts and occurrences in between occupy the words on his pages.

This book is great for read alouds, reading in small groups and/or , reading independently. The poem format will be non-threatening for struggling readers, but it provides many opportunities for critical thinking/discussion, interpretation  of literary elements, and explicit discussion/learning about African American language.  If you are teaching poetry, then students can learn right along with Lonnie’s free verse, haiku, sonnets, epistles, epitaph. There are many ways to be creative, while addressing common core standards, but more importantly, many ways to see into the heart and mind of young black boy, that is at risk of being thrown away, feared, ignored or lost. 

Thank goodness the fabulous Ms. Woodson shows us a way to VABB our black boys, and our underserved, in this wonderful book.

Don’t walk...go get it.

Viva Frida by Yuyi Morales

Genre: Biographical

Grade Level: Pre-K – 2

Interest Level: Pre-K – 4

Themes: Frida Kahlo, creativity, art, imagination, Mexican culture

Yuyi Morales has created another wonderfully, authentic text for your classroom library. This Pura Belpre’ winner, Viva Frida, is a peek into Morales’ perception of Frida Kahlo’s creative process. The text is minimal, but provocative, and Morales leads the reader on a journey through  the artistic imagination of Frida Kahlo.

The artwork creates the vitality of the book, that imitates the vitality of Kahlos’ life and art. Every page is vibrant and beautiful. The combination of Tim O’Meara’s stop-motion puppet photography,  and Morales’ illustrations bring Kahlo’s passion and creativity to life.  Each page contains cultural elements of Kahlo’s life in Mexico, from the traditional Tehuana clothing and indigenous jewelry Kahlo was known for, to the vibrant Casa Azul where she lived. The illustrations also depict Kahlo’s love of nature,  her pets, and of her fellow artist/husband, Diego Rivera.

The text has many instructional possibilities. Teaching verbs works with the spare text, that is both in English and Spanish, “Soy/I am…busca/I search…Veo/I see”.  In addition, a study of the creative process as Morales interprets it, might be covered with the students as a critical discussion and an art lesson.  A lesson also awaits in  the extended metaphor of imagination and  creativity, as freedom. The images and text suggest that Kahlo was freed from her frail and broken body through her art. This is represented in both the pictures and the strong verbs throughout the text.  Art was her freedom, as it is for many students.  For older students, Morales includes a brief author’s note to explain her connection to Frida Kahlo's life and work. This works well for the Common Core’s informational text requirements.

Viva Frida is a beautiful book. Go out and get it!