Don't Step on the Sky: A Handful of Haiku - Hardcover

Chaikin, Miriam

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805064745 ISBN 13: 9780805064742

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2002

Synopsis

Poetic gems for the very young.

"After the rain
a puddle.
Careful.
Don't step on the sky."

This whimsical collection of poems in the haiku tradition celebrates the joy and wonder of nature. The twenty-eight playful poems take the young reader from early morning, through the day, and into the night's "gallery of diamonds." Sometimes serious, sometimes funny, but always surprising, these poems are sure to capture the imagination.

About this title

About the Author

Miriam Chaikin is a prizewinning author of some thirty books of fiction and non-fiction for children of all ages. Her poems have appeared in national magazines and anthologies for children. Ms. Chaikin lives in New York City.

Hiroe Nakata studied illustration at Parson's School of Design. While creating the art for this book, she was reminded of her childhood in Japan: "I was very close to the ground and watched every tiny detail in nature such as wildflowers, bugs, and the big sky." She now lives in New York City, and her ideal life is still to have what she calls "haiku eyes and senses."

From School Library Journal

reSchool-Grade 2-Accessible and light poetry, with a friendly backdrop of watercolors. In Chaikin's brief foreword, she states that the aim of this poetic form is "-to capture a moving experience in a few words." Her haiku highlight the delights of nature in the city and the country and the gifts of observation: "A cardinal in the yard. My heart stops. A red secret." Some of the images are lovely: "Night lights. Raindrops on my window. A gallery of diamonds." Most of the writing is charming, with only a few misses. For instance, "Rain. At last! How happy the grass is. Me too" lacks the specific imagery of the more successful poems. However, Nakata's graceful work carries these poems. Her fluid lines and pastel colors are nicely matched by a child's-eye perspective and sense of humor. "A blade of grass pushes through cement. Hello, world" is illustrated by a cross section showing the layers beneath the sidewalk as a frustrated mole tries to do the same as the grass. One caveat: Chaikin does not use haiku's traditional rhyme scheme, so these selections may not be useful for school assignments. If you have room and or money for only one haiku collection for this audience, stick with Matthew Gollub's Cool Melons-Turn to Frogs (Lee & Low, 1998). If your collection and budget are larger, this breezy volume will make a nice addition.
Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0805064745
• ISBN 13: 9780805064742
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Nakata Hiroe