POETRY FOR CHILDREN

POETRY FOR CHILDREN
LS5663

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

COMETS, STARS, THE MOON, and MARS

COMETS, STARS, THE MOON, and MARS
SPACE POEMS AND PAINTINGS
BY: Douglas Florian
Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars: Space Poems and Paintings

Florian, Douglas. Comets, stars, the Moon, and Mars: space poems and paintings. Orlando: Harcourt, 2007.
ISBN: 9780152053727

Summary
Douglas Florian is a word smith as well as an artist. COMETS, STARS, THE MOON, and MARS is an excellent representation of writing about a subject that interests you. Mr. Florian captures the essence of every planet by giving the reader an insight that surrounds the mystique of the universe and its insides. He often finds a rhythm with each poem that is guided with subtle rhyming through out the book.

The illustrations created are simple and divine. The color palette is an interesting blend of muted colors with space words written on each landscape.

* This book was also a bluebonnet nominee in 2008-09

The Solar System

Each planet orbits around the sun
(A somewhat circular path).
To calculate the time it takes
Requires lots of math.

Astronomers know the plan well,
Each mountain, ring, and moon.
But none has ever gone to one,
Nor will go to one soon.

Poem / Book Introduction
When reading this book all I could think of was how each poem would be a wonderful introduction to studying the Solar System. Start with the poem I chose then move on to which ever planet catches your fancy when teaching. I know that planets are a huge part of curriculum in the schools and this book is a must have in the classroom. A librarian could just read the poem and then ask, "Which planet is it about?" This lesson would be thought provoking, great practice for taking notes (For instance, planet 7 , gaseous like Neptune but on its side?, I can just see the wheels turning in heads, Uranus of coarse.)

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