Friday, March 6, 2015

Celebrating Seasons and the Poems of Francisco X. Alarcón

Francisco X. Alarcón is a talented poet who writes books of poetry for kids in both English and Spanish. I love sharing his poems with my students, as they feature a lot of important ideas and themes. My students who are learning Spanish also love making new connections between their Spanish knowledge and poetry.


The Magical Cycle of the Seasons Series

This collection of four illustrated books of poems is based upon the four seasons. All four books are written by Francisco X. Alarcón and illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez.


Laughing Tomatoes: And Other Spring Poems / Jitomates Risuenos: Y Otros Poemas de Primavera (1997). The first book in the series focuses on spring, and many of the poems are about food.


From the Bellybutton of the Moon: And Other Summer Poems / Del Ombligo de la Luna: Y Otros Poemas de Verano (1998). The second book in this series contains poems about summer. Many of these poems feature nature themes and/or were inspired specifically by Mexico.


Angels Ride Bikes: And Other Fall Poems / Los Angeles Andan en Bicicleta: Y Otros Poemas de Otoño (1999). The third book in the series contains fall poems. In addition, many of the poems in this collection focus on the city of Los Angelos and aspects of urban living.


Iguanas in the Snow: And Other Winter Poems / Iguanas en la Nieve: Y Otros Poemas de Invierno (2001). The fourth and final book in this series celebrates winter poems. Many of these poems were inspired by the author's connections to the city of San Francisco and the environments and climate of northern California.

Two Favorite Poems

I love many, many of the poems in this book, but these are the two that I have chosen to share today.

This is a great poem about an incredible subject - the giant sequoia trees. I love the illustration with all the different children (and the iguana and the teacher) joining hands around this magnificent tree. This is a great poem to inspire children to think about the wonders of their own environment as topics for poems.


This poem brings out the joy and power of a bilingual education, and the other page of this two-page spread features children from a wide-range of backgrounds and cultures all dancing together to the music of the clave. What a powerful idea to share!

Plus, a Bonus Book by Francisco X. Alarcón


Poems to Dream Together / Poemas para soñar juntos (2005) by Francisco X. Alarcón and illustrated by Paula Barragán. This collection of poetry is united by the theme of dreams and includes many literal and more figurative connections to dreams, including dreams of equality and dreams for the future. Another great bilingual poetry book to add to your collection!

This week's Poetry Friday Round Up is being hosted by Robyn Campbell.

10 comments:

  1. I love this series -- Laughing Tomatoes is my favorite :).

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    1. Thanks! I find that one definitely has the best title and grabs kids' attention.

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  2. (I couldn't look at the Laughing Tomatoes cover without thinking of Jama!)

    How wonderful to get peeks of each book in the series here in one place - thanks for sharing. The poems and the art are so exuberant; I'm sure students are drawn to them.

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    1. Absolutely, Robyn! I love strengthening kids' connections to other languages too.

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  3. These are the books that stay all year in the Poetry baskets in my kindergarten classroom--they are perfect for 5-6's, perfect for ELL's, perfect for our curriculum. Thanks for highlighting Alarcon's too-little-known work!

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    1. Great to hear, Heidi! I think the wonder of these books and poems is how well they work for so many kids and ages. With third grade we even study some of them during our poetry unit.

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  4. Here's a poet I need to investigate! Thanks!

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    1. There's a lot to love in these collections!

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  5. I love these books too. I've shared many of the poems from these books with my students. Have you seen the video interview with him at Colorín Colorado? It's excellent. http://www.colorincolorado.org/read/meet/alarcon/

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    1. Looking forward to checking this out; thanks, Crystal!

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