Seeds, Bees, Butterflies, and More!: Poems for Two Voices - Hardcover

Gerber, Carole

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805092110 ISBN 13: 9780805092110

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), 2013

Synopsis

A honeybee and a bumblebee have a chat.
A rose offers a worm a bit of its compost.
A mouse assures a root of its importance.

These fun rhyming poems for two voices are blooming, bursting, and buzzing with personality. Eugene Yelchin's stunning illustrations beautifully accent Carole Gerber's unusual conversations. Together, they offer a close-up view of the plant and insect worlds, with an amazing amount of information about them.

All around us, under our feet, thousands of interactions and transformations are taking place. This book gives the reader a chance to listen in.

About this title

About the Authors

Carole Gerber has written many children’s books, including Tuck-in Time, as well as several books for adults. She received her BS in English education from Ohio State, and after two years teaching middle and high school English returned to earn an MA in journalism. She has also worked as a marketing director, magazine editor, and freelance writer of textbooks, articles, and speeches. She lives in Powell, Ohio.

Eugene Yelchin is the author and illustrator of The Haunting of Falcon House, Arcady's Goal, and the Newbery Honor Book Breaking Stalin's Nose. He has also illustrated several books for children, including Crybaby, Who Ate All the Cookie Dough?, and Won Ton. He lives in California with his wife and children.

Reviews

Gr 2-5-In the spirit of Paul Fleischman's Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices (HarperCollins, 1987), Gerber presents 18 poems with lines to be read aloud. The form allows readers to create energetic dialogues between the different animals, plants, and bugs featured in the verses. In an easy, kid-friendly fashion, the author explores relationships in nature and in the hidden intricacies of the world's ecological systems with poems about pollination, the purpose of roots, how bees collect nectar, and more. Most of the entries are whimsical, such as, "But our seeds will travel in the birds/and be dropped off in their doo" ("Bye, Bye, Berries"). End matter consists of a brief overview in prose of the concepts touched upon. Yelchin's bright, graphite and gouache illustrations are almost impressionistic; they catch the eye and complement the text well. This collection will educate youngsters while showing them a fun way to read poetry.-Rita Meade, Brooklyn Public Library, NYα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Gerber’s 18 poems for two voices address the flora and fauna found in many backyard gardens. “Pansy and Poppy” commiserate about their heavy, soon-to-be-exploding seedpods; a bumblebee and a honeybee compliment each other on their differences; two caterpillars celebrate their favorite food, milkweed; and two green leaves complain about the icky, sticky trails deposited on them by snails. Yelchin’s colorful graphite-and-gouache artwork depicts sunny, upbeat scenes that sometimes belie the naturalistic content of the poems: a placid bunny patiently awaits a “New Shoot” and then devours it in one bite, and an attractive red cluster of “Bye, Bye, Berries” realize their seeds are destined for dispersal in bird doo. Although some of the meter feels forced (“Let’s get out of these coats. / I’m not ready. Please wait! / It’s easy. I’ll show you. / Watch me germinate”), the science is solid and the dual voicing makes these poems ideal for classroom performances. Pair with Joyce Sidman’s Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow (2006) or Helen Frost’s Step Gently Out (2012). Grades 2-4. --Kay Weisman

Edition details

• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805092110
• ISBN 13: 9780805092110
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Yelchin Eugene
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32