Poetry for Kids: Carl Sandburg - Hardcover

Sandburg, Carl

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1633221512 ISBN 13: 9781633221512

Publisher: MoonDance Press, 2017

Synopsis

A 2018 Notable Poetry Book for Children (National Council of Teachers of English)

Discover the poetry of Carl Sandburg in Poetry for Kids: Carl Sandburg. Carefully chosen for kids, these 35 poems are presented, illustrated, and explained by an expert.

There is no better time to introduce children to poetry and literature than during their formative years. That is why professor and scholar Kate Benzel has used her wealth of experience to carefully curate 35 of Carl Sandburg's luminary poems into one collection that is specially designed for children.

In Poetry for Kids: Carl Sandburg you'll find many classics, some of which you may remember from your childhood, including "Young Bullfrogs," "Shenandoah", "Jazz Fantasia", "Fog", and 31 more of Sandburg's favorite and most accessible works. Accompanying the words are beautifully illustrated scenes by award-winning illustrator Robert Crawford. This gentle introduction includes commentary, definitions of key words, and an introduction to the poet's life, plus a final synopsis of the author's interpretation of the pieces.

About this title

About the Author:

Carl Sandburg was an American poet, biographer, and editor who won three Pulitzer Prizes (two for his poetry). Three of his most famous volumes of poetry include Chicago Poems, Cornhuskers, and Smoke and Steel. His poems are accessible and incredibly visual.

Kate Benzel, PhD, is a Carl Sandburg scholar and professor emerita at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, where she is currently transcribing and annotating Sandburg's early unpublished notebooks.

Robert Crawford is an illustrator and fine artist living in the northwest hills of Connecticut. He works in his own unique style, which he says influenced is by magic realism and the regionalism of post-World War II artists like Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton. His work has been on the cover of major magazines, including Fortune, Business Week, The Atlantic and U.S. News and World Report, Newsweek and Rolling Stone. He has also illustrated four children's books, including T Is for Taj Mahal: An India Alphabet and The Legend of the Old Man of the Mountain.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 3 Up—This addition to the series, which began with Emily Dickinson, showcases the poetry of Carl Sandburg, the singing bard of America. Arranged in two categories, poems about people and places, the 36 free verse selections follow a brief biographical introduction by Benzel, who is noted for her work on the Sandburg Project: Prayers for the People. Acrylic illustrations are paired with the poems and are most effective when portraying the natural world. Least successful are Crawford's simplistic renderings, such as the letters that spell out the word soup in a bowl of broth, which accompany the poem of the same name. While much of the artwork is stunning, it depicts the surface layer of the poems without revealing any of the subtle imagery beneath. Many of Sandburg's classic poems, such as "Fog" and "Jazz Fantasia," can be found here. More complex pieces such as "Psalm of Those Who Go Forth Before Daylight" and "Sunset from Omaha Hotel Window" have been chosen instead of delightful nonsense poems such as "We Must Be Polite" or "Arithmetic," which seems odd in a volume meant for kids. Poetry for Young People: Carl Sandburg, edited by Frances Schoonmaker Bolin, is a more comprehensive overview that features some of Sandburg's nonsense poetry. Benzel's book is best suited for reading aloud. A table of contents and an index of first lines are also included. VERDICT A weaker offering than Susan Snively's Emily Dickinson (the first title in the series), though it is an acceptable, additional purchase for those wanting to update their poetry collections.—Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI

About this edition

• Publisher: MoonDance Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1633221512
• ISBN 13: 9781633221512
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 48
• Editor: Benzel Kathryn
• Illustrator: Crawford Robert