Stop Pretending by Sonya Sones

Sones, Sonya. 1999. Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Crazy. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0439250706

Stop Pretending, a beautifully written and honest verse novel, is the story of Cookie, whose sister "goes crazy" on Christmas Eve. Cookie writes about not only her sister's mental illness, but also other typical adolescent concerns: a new boyfriend, the betrayal of friends, and dealing with parents. Cookie's struggle to reconcile the happy memories of life with her sister before her mental illness with the harsh reality of visiting her sister in a mental institution is not only thought-provoking, but also makes for beautiful poetry. She wonders:

Does the
man who wanders
the neighborhood, wearing
three heavy overcoats in the
swelter

of the
summer, have a
little sister who lies
awake at night wondering where
he is?

Adolescents will identify with the confusion that Cookie feels--not just about her family situation, but also about school and friendships. Adolescent readers will also rejoice as Cookie begins to find her footing in this new world, this world where her sister is not quite the sister she remembers fondly, where her family doesn't quite work the way it did in the past, where she herself is not quite as carefree as she used to be.

AWARDS & REVIEWS:

2000 Best Books for Young Adults (ALA)
2000 Quick Picks for Young Adults (Recomm. Books for Reluctant Young Readers)

"Individually, the poems appear simple and unremarkable, snapshot portraits of two sisters, a family, unfaithful friends, and a sweet first love. Collected, they take on life and movement, the individual frames of a movie that in the unspooling become animated, telling a compelling tale and presenting a painful passage through young adolescence." --Kirkus Reviews

CONNECTIONS:

Compare one of the poems in this novel with a poem from another verse novel (maybe Out of the Dust) to look at the differences in the authors' style, meter, and word choice.

Students could create artwork for one of the poems or for several of the poems (one of the poems specifically talks about the art Cookie creates of her family: her mother's eyes are zippers, her father's eyes are broken windows).

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars by Douglas Florian

Florian, Douglas. 2007. Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars. Ill. by Douglas Florian. Orlando: Harcourt. ISBN 9780152053727

This thematic collection of poems focuses on outer space, just as the title suggests. There are poems about galaxies, stars, the sun, Venus, and Earth, among others. While I have enjoyed other Douglas Florian poetry books, this one fell flat for me. The rhymes seemed simplistic and forced at times (for example: "On a clear night you might try / To gaze upon the starry sky. / A telescope or binoculars are / Great aids to observe a star."), and it seemed to me that the content information often overtook the poetry (probably much to a science teacher's delight!). However, there were several bright spots as well: the concrete poem on galaxies that spirals around and around, the playful spacing in some of the poems that provides illustration of concepts (like long spacing between each word of empty to convey the meaning of the word), and above all, the paintings. The paintings are a beautifully crafted combination of beauty and information, of design and function. With the cut-out holes in certain paintings allowing other colors to peep through from previous paintings, children will enjoy the bright colors and fascinating details.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS:

"The poet-painter's latest book brings warm wit to the outermost reaches of cold, dark space. . . . Florian's illustrations depict the marvels of space with luminous texture and detail." --The New York Times Book Review

"Nothing gladdens the heart of believers of good poetry for children more than a new collection by Florian. . . . This one literally sings the music of the spheres. . . . In both language and artwork, Florian strikes the perfect balance between grandeur and whimsy." --School Library Journal

CONNECTIONS:

This book is almost a must-read any time you teach about space or the solar system. Need I say more?

This book would also be an excellent example book for writing non-fiction poetry (perhaps a minilesson?)

Compare/contrast the author's other poetry collections/books: Beast Feast, Handsprings, Dinothesaurus and Insectlopedia, particularly looking at the way the author finds poetry in non-fiction topics.

Additional poetry books dealing with space:

Sing of the Earth and Sky: Poems about Our Planet and the Wonders Beyond by Aileen Fisher, illustrated by Karmen Thompson

Space Songs by Myra Cohn Livingston, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher

Star Walk, edited by Seymour Simon