Hoofbeats, Claws & Rippled Fins: Creature Poems

Hopkins, Lee Bennett

ISBN 10: 0688179436 ISBN 13: 9780688179434

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2002

Synopsis

Inspired by Stephen Alcorn's magnificent animal portraits, popular poet and noted anthologist Lee Bennett Hopkins commissioned thirteen poets to craft verses to match the eloquence of this art. The resulting celebration of art and nature captures the subtle intensity and striking textures of a renowned artist's relief-block prints in a unique homage to the power, mystery, and beauty of the natural world.

Lee Bennett Hopkins and Stephen Alcorn's first poetry anthology, My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States,, was honored as one of the best books of 2000 by School Library Journal, the American Booksellers Association, and the New York Public Library. A Junior Library Guild Selection, the book inspired an entire Reading Rainbow program devoted exclusively to it.

About this title

About the Author:

Noted poet Lee Bennett Hopkins has edited or authored numerous books for children, including the I Can Read Books Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees; A Pet for Me: Poems; and the ALA Notable Children's Book Surprises. The recipient of a Christopher Award and the University of Southern Mississippi's Medallion for "lasting contributions to children's literature," Mr. Hopkins lives in Florida.

Stephen Alcorn attended Italy's prestigious Istituto Statale d'Arte. He has illustrated such award-winning children's books as Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book. In 1993 he founded The Alcorn Studio & Gallery with his wife, botanical artist Sabina Fascione Alcorn.

From Booklist:

(*Starred Review*) Gr. 3-7. Readers won't find sentimental odes to new puppies or baskets of cozy kittens here. These 14 poems, inspired by artist Stephen Alcorn's masterful woodcuts, celebrate animals in all their bizarre shapes and fierce wildness. From the bouncy, rhymed couplets of Lillian Fisher's "Camel" ("His body is lumpy, / knees calloused and bumpy") to the single line of contemplative free verse in Tony Johnston's "Iguana," the poems, most by well-known poets, range widely in style and tone. Many assume an animal's first-person voice with powerful immediacy; others are more layered and atmospheric. But each selection centers around physical images of the animals' distinctive movement, body, and personality, often echoed in inventive line shapes, such as the small, rounded lumps of print in "Here's Frog." Alcorn's frequently monochromatic, patterned images may seem static and less expressive than the words to some readers. But as in Jan Greenberg's Heart to Heart (Booklist's 2002 Top of the List--Youth Nonfiction), the artwork doesn't literally interpret the poetry; it stands alone, inviting readers to find their own stories within the handsome images. A rich and satisfying collection that will be used widely across the curriculum. Gillian Engberg
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About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0688179436
• ISBN 13: 9780688179434
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Alcorn Stephen