Discover Poetry
Companion to I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage
1)
Write a prose entry with illustrations about one of the poets.
2) Send a creation to the poets and artists listed in the book.
3) Create an ode to one of the featured poets or artists.
4) Use the Internet to search for and read about the life of Lee Bennett Hopkins.
5) What is the job of a “compiler”? Ask children to think imaginatively.
Ask children to read any single poem about the unique childhood experience of one of the poets represented in I Remember. Ask children to then convert the verse autobiography into a prose entry for their journals. Encourage companion illustrations to be paired with the prose entries.
The poets and artists represented in I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage are now adults looking back upon their childhood memories for inspiration. Which poem or its accompanying illustration most closely reflects the young life experiences of contemporary children? Encourage today’s children to write and illustrate letters about similar experiences they have shared. The anthology’s end matter, “About the Poets and Artists,” include websites or email addresses that may be used to send children’s contemporary creations to the professional poets and artists.
The experiences recalled in I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage represent unique but also common happenings that may resonate with today’s children. Have they ever needed to improvise when they did not have money to purchase a Mother’s Day gift? Have they been stereotyped because of racial, ethnic, or religious identity? Have they had to go on long family road trips to a new home in a new state (leaving their friends behind)? What memorable family adventures have they experienced? Ask children to use any simple poetic form such as haiku, cinquain, or newspaper verse to create an ode to one of the poets or artists featured in I Remember. Newspaper verse is easy to compose. The poet simply uses the newspaper reporter’s five W’s to compose a short poetic tribute. Each line answers one of these five questions: Who? What? When? Where? and Why? One child might use newspaper verse to reflect highlights from the childhood of Native American poet Joseph Bruchac who grew up spellbound while listening to his grandfather’s Adirondack tall tales before the time of “Rez Road.” (Rez is a short form of Native American reservation.)
Who? Grandpa Bigtree
What? Abenaki storyteller
Where? In the country store
When? Before the intrusion of Rez Highway
Why? Keeping native traditions alive.
Use the Internet to search for and read about the life of Lee Bennett Hopkins. He had a difficult childhood, especially when his parents divorced. His college degrees required a singular vision about his future and great dedication. His first occupation was that of an elementary school teacher. Using data from online articles about his life, ask students to write a new description about the compiler for the “author space” on the back flap of the dust jacket for a brand new edition of I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage. A new visual portrait is also desired.
Encourage children to make a new trip through I Remember? What is the job of a “compiler”? Ask children to think imaginatively. How are the activities of an editor or a compiler of a book of poetry similar to the job requirements of an architect? What other professions might be similar to that of an anthologist?
Today, in the age of COVID-19, children may not be able to share the summer with beloved grandparents, meet cousins at family reunions, or share in a family road trip, but they can leave historical fingerprints on this unique time in world history by sharing memories in both words and visual images. I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage is a beautiful book that should become a part of family libraries and visited often. Its contents may serve as models for contemporary children’s words and pictures.
