Title: Think Again
Author: JonArno Lawson
Illustrator: Julie Morstad
Publisher: Kids Can Press Ltd
Genre: Childrens’ poetry
Age level: 12+
Themes: Exploring deeper thinking, hidden meanings, rhyme schemes
Synopsis: This collection of quietly beautiful and surprisingly humorous short poems reveals first love’s uncertainties, frustrations and joys. Whether describing two people meeting or the misunderstandings and revelations that follow, these poems and the evocative illustrations that accompany them will give readers every reason to think…and think again.
Synopsis: This collection of quietly beautiful and surprisingly humorous short poems reveals first love’s uncertainties, frustrations and joys. Whether describing two people meeting or the misunderstandings and revelations that follow, these poems and the evocative illustrations that accompany them will give readers every reason to think…and think again.
About the author: JonArno Lawson lives in Toronto, Canada, with his wife and three children. He is the author of several books of poetry for children and adults and is a two-time winner of the Lion and the Unicorn Award for Excellence in North American Poetry.
About the illustrator: Julie Morstad has illustrated a number of award-winning picture books. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.
Pre-reading activities: Each poem contains 4 lines, called a stanza. Introduce poetry to students by saying that not every poem needs to rhyme, as many of the poems in this book don’t. Poems can be written quite easily, usually depending on what the writer is thinking or feeling at the time. Have each student write their own 4 line poems with about 7-10 words per line on what they are feeling at that moment.
Post-reading activities: Since each poem is written to make the students think and reflect, they will choose two of their favorite poems and work with a partner to try to figure out what it means. Each poem’s title will be placed on the board and the students will take turns writing the meanings on the board.
Reflection: These poems are written in a very simple form- 4 lines each, 7-10 words per line. Some rhyme; some don't. I thought that although they were written very simply and the accompanying pictures are simple as well, the poems themselves allow the reader to think deeply as there is no right answer; it's all how the reader interprets it. Each poem was a quick read and it seemed they were all composed based on the writer's thoughts and feelings, and that's how many of my poems were, so I found I could relate to some of the poems in the book.
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This poetry book looks very interesting to use for older, more advanced students. I think it will help push them to really dive into the poem to find it's meaning. These types of poems make it so that students have to deconstruct the meaning of each word. It would be very beneficial to put the students in small groups to discuss what they each think the same poem means. Since each poem makes you "think again" it will create great discussions between students.
ReplyDeleteI really liked these poems as I was reading through the book; they definitely made me think because there is no one meaning. Also, the poems were not that long to begin with so it might be easier for students to think of meanings instead of breaking down a larger poem and try to think of a complete meaning.
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