Sharing the Seasons

Hopkins, Lee. Bennett. (Ed.) 2010. SHARING THE SEASONS. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781416902102 [Suggested Grade Levels 3-6]

REVIEW
Illustrated with David Diaz’s vivid color palette, this expansive and generous anthology of 48 poems (12 for each of 4 seasons) gives one time to soak up each poem with a vast selection and blending of poems and voices. This notion of poems throughout the calendar year has such appeal to adults who want to infuse poetry into daily life, yet the poems rise above the merely obvious curricular connection (fall = pumpkins, for example) with fresh language and images (e.g., fall contains “one brew of wind”).

The book is beautiful to browse through and the poems invite reading aloud. A variety of established and new poets are represented including J. Patrick Lewis, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, April Halprin Wayland, Karla Kuskin, Marilyn Singer, as well as Carl Sandburg and even “Anonymous.”

CONNECTIONS
Read selected poems corresponding to the current season to open the school day, start an open house, or warm up an audience before a library program.
Choose a favorite seasonal poem and create a display featuring the poem alongside objects related to that poem (e.g., autumn leaves, spring flowers, summer beach ball, etc.)

RELATED BOOKS
Other poetry books for children about the seasons:
Esbensen, Barbara. SwWING AROUND THE SUN: POEMS. ISBN 9780876141434
Katz, Bobbi. ONCE AROUND THE SUN. ISBN 9780152163976
Roemer, Heidi. COME TO MY PARTY AND OTHER SHAPE POEMS. ISBN 9780805066203
Sidman, Joyce. RED SINGS FROM THE TREETOPS: A YEAR IN COLORS. ISBN 9780547014944
Thomas, Patricia. NATURE'S PAINTBOX: A SEASONAL GALLERY OF ART AND VERSE. ISBN 9780822568070

By Sylvia M. Vardell