ABOUT ME: THE POETRY GROUPIE

Garra Ballinger AKA Poetry Groupie
Hello everyone and welcome to Poetry Rocks! I have spent the past 10 years teaching grades 2-4 and have loved every single second of it. Somwhere along the journey I got the courage to take an even bigger leap into my final destination: becoming a librarian. I love all books, all children, and all learning! This blog will serve as a learning tool through my journey in Poetry For Children!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Poetry Review 5: NCTE Award Winning Poetry of John Ciardi

Doodle Soup

Ciardi, John. Doodle Soup. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985.  ISBN: 978-0395616178
Critical Analysis:
Doodle Soup is a comical collection of poems which range in style from rhyming to riddle like verse, but the entire collection will tickle your funny bone.  Ciardi has put together a collection of poems that serve one primary purpose, to entertain readers and make them laugh! He has truly capitalized on experiences that young children can relate to from pets, to baths, to baby brothers.  There are lessons on manners, tales of adventure, but above all Ciardi’s poem make reading FUN!  Each poem has a concrete theme, which is generally fitted with a clever title to catch reader’s attention.  Ciardi includes rhyme in every work, even the one titled, Why Pigs Cannot Write Poems, which cleverly states “because nothing rhymes with oink.”  Students can relate to the simple organization and themes present in this collection and will become overwhelmed with vocabulary or mood that they find hard to understand.  The illustrations of Merle Nacht although simple in design, provide just enough insight and imagery that the reader needs, without stifling their imagination and the imagery they may have already perceived.  Ciardi has masterfully compiled a collection of poems that promote humor and will definitely promote poetry in a positive manner with kids of all ages!
POEM SPOTLIGHT
The Dollar Dog
I had a dollar dog named Spot.
He wasn’t much, but he was a lot
Of kinds of do, plus a few parts flea,
Seven parts yapper, and seventy-three
Or seventy-four parts this-and-that.
The only thing he wasn’t was cat.
He was collie-terrier-spaniel-hound
And everything else they have at the pound.
Yes, some might call him a mongrel, but
To me he was a thoroughbred, pedigreed mutt.
A middle-sized nothing, or slightly smaller,
But a lot of kinds to get for a dollar.
John Ciardi
Analysis:
Hilarious is one word you could use to sum up this poem and everything it provides readers!  John Ciardi has truly captured the essence of a dog of many breeds in this rhyming rendition full of synonyms which describe a dog.  Whether it be yapper, collie, terrier, or hound, a mongrel, or a mutt from the pound, this dog is everything but……CAT.  Kids of all ages will get a kick out of this witty poem which they themselves can relate to.  The black and white illustration is basic in design, but allows readers to imagine what a dog that is made up of so many things would actually look.  Ciardi describes this cheap dollar dog as “not costing much, but made up of a lot” and when considering that this dog is part flea you cannot help but smile as you read!  To most kids what makes a great pet is not in how much it costs, but how much love that the bond brings.  Ciardi has revealed this everyday experience for reader of all ages in this charming poem about Spot, the dollar dog.
Classroom Connections:
This funny poem provides students with a theme they can relate to, having a pet dog.  The simplistic style of this poem as well as the relatable theme, make The Dollar Dog, a great poem for amateur student poets to experience in the beginning.  This poem is a great example of end rhyme and students could have fun identifying the rhyming words and coming up with more words of these same patterns. 
There are many poems with this same theme, and this would be a great way for the teacher to share a collection of poems about a dog such as, Love That Dog, by Sharon Creech. 
Students could extend the poetry break into a writing activity and write and draw about a pet they have or have had in the past.  Students could write about the kind of pet, how they acquired the pet, and things they do or did with the pet to make it special like the dollar dog.  Students could bring in photographs of the pet to share with the class as they read their writing about their pet.

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