Poetry Friday: Indigenous Food Haiku

Yum! MmMm! Qué rico! America's Sproutings by Pat Mora and illustrated by Rafael Lopez. This bright and delightful book has so many wonderful things going for it. As a former anthropologist, I love the theme, celebrating the indigenous plants and foods of the Americas. The bright color palate and style also works really well to set off the haiku and the informative text boxes for each two-page spread.

Cranberries

Marsh-floating hard bead

simmers then POPS! in hot pot.

Scarlet fireworks.

I look forward to sharing this book with my students in conjunction with our study of Latin America at the end of the year. I think it will inspire some interesting discussions as they try to imagine what life was like before the rest of the world was introduced to all these foods we find so common today.

This week's Poetry Friday Roundup is being curated by Keri at Keri Recommends. See the whole list of hosts at Poetry Friday by Kitlitosphere.

Books Told in Haiku

This post provides descriptions of some of my favorite picture books told in haiku and is the third post in this series dealing with haiku poetry. The first post, Do You Haiku?, is an overview of the pros and cons of teaching kids haiku, and the second post covered Picture Books about Haiku.

Stories Told in Haiku

Dogku by Andrew Clements. This simply precious picture book is told entirely in haiku, with one haiku on each two-page spread. Many of these haiku are powerful enough to stand on their own, as each contains its own small story. The story opens with

There on the back steps,

the eyes of a hungry dog.

Will she shut the door?

and continues through the story of Mutt and his new owners, including some ups and downs along the way. This story is always a favorite with students, and I appreciate how Andrew Clements often uses words and phrases, rather than sentences, to pack his haiku full of meaning, feelings, and description.

Won Ton: a cat tale told in haiku by Lee Wardlaw and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin. Of course if one shares a dogku book, one must also share a catku book. (The author's note does point out that the poems are most comparable to senryu than haiku since the focus in on "the foibles of human nature - or in this case, cat nature.") Won Ton tells a similar story to Dogku with its pet adoption theme and combines multiple poems per page told from the cat's point of view, often with humorous results.

Letmeoutletme

outletmeoutletmeout.

Wait - let me back in!

These two books would be a great text set for comparing and contrasting as well as discussing perspective and point of view. (In searching for this book, I was delighted to discover that a sequel, Won Ton and Chopstick: a cat and dog tale told in haiku, is coming out next March.)

Haiku (and Senryu) Collections

Wing Nuts: Screwy Haiku by Paul B. Janeczko and J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Tricia Tusa. This absurd collection of haiku (or, more accurately, senryu) relies on a series of verbal and visual puns to provide amusement and interest. Some are more obvious, while others may take another moment to decipher:

Noah Webster had

no choice except to put

the cart before the horse

The fun and foolish poems and illustrations will keep kids engaged, and the book broadens the standard topics of haiku to a wider range of ideas and amusement.

Hi, Koo! A Year of Seasons by Jon J. Muth. This charming collection of haiku (loosely defined) follows panda bear Koo as the seasons progress from fall until the following summer, and the 26 poems also each feature a letter of the alphabet in order. Jon Muth explains a little bit about haiku in his introductory Author's Note and frees himself from the constraint of perfect syllable counts.

Reading aloud

a favorite book

an audience of sparrows

Some great examples to inspire students.

Guyku: a year of haiku for boys by Bob Raczka and illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. Guyku is a seasonally-organized collection of haiku inspired by the author's experiences growing up and watching his own boys grow. Each haiku is accompanied by an illustration that helps expand the story (and often adds to the humor). Each haiku stands alone, but they are all connected by the underlying progression of seasons.

How many million

flakes will it take to make a 

snow day tomorrow?

Although there is no matching "Girlku" book, both boys and girls enjoyed and appreciated the humor and connections to nature found in these haiku. Some great examples of how a small poem can tell a big story.

Do you have a favorite haiku picture book that I missed? Please share in the comments below!

This week's Poetry Friday Roundup is being curated by Heidi at My Juicy Little Universe. See the whole list of hosts at Poetry Friday by Kitlitosphere.

Picture Books about Haiku

This post provides descriptions of some of my favorite picture books about haiku and is the second post in this series dealing with haiku poetry. Read the first post, Do You Haiku?, an overview of the pros and cons of teaching kids haiku. Next week I will share my favorite picture books told in haiku.

Picture Books about Haiku

Cool Melons Turn to Frogs - the life and poems of Issa by Matthew Gollub (text and haiku translations) and illustrated by Kazuko G. Stone. This biography of the famous Japanese poet Issa (1763-1827)  links his personal story to some of the many haiku that he wrote and published. Students gain a deeper understanding of the hidden meaning and power in some haiku, especially those that connect to Issa's troubled childhood and family issues.

Motherless sparrow, 

come play

with me

(Written when Issa was six. His mother died when he was three.)

The biography is interspersed with full pages of illustration devoted to a single haiku, in both English and Japanese. The book concludes with a detailed Author's Note about the story, the illustrations, additional discussion of a few of the haiku from the book, and a description of haiku in general. These are great resources for getting students to know more about the history of haiku and to study powerful examples of Japanese haiku.

Wabi Sabi by Mark Reibstein and art by Ed Young. This lavishly done picture book introduces students to the Japanese concept of wabi sabi through the quest of one cat to find the answer. The story is not told entirely in haiku, but each two-page spread includes one haiku in English as part of the story and another in Japanese. (The Japanese haiku are original haiku by Basho (1644-1694) and Shiki (1867-1902) and connect to the story and illustrations where they are found. English translations are included in the back of the book.)

how comfortable

touching the cool wall - 

a daytime nap

(English translation of the haiku from the page with a napping cat.)

The collage-work adds an incredibly three-dimensional feel to the story, though the vertical format will tire out your arms during a read aloud. This is a book geared for older students, as the quest for wabi sabi is not something easy to articulate, and it is a great book for generating discussion. I also appreciate the inclusion of authentic haiku to give students a feel for them.

This week's Poetry Friday Roundup is being curated by Mary Lee and Franki at A Year of Reading. See the whole list of hosts at Poetry Friday by Kitlitosphere.

Do You Haiku?

I have a love-hate relationship with haiku. Actually, it more of a tolerate-hate relationship. I find the form cramped and limiting, and students always begin by writing banal sentences along the lines of

I can write haiku

I can write some more haiku

I just wrote haiku

Painful. (That was not a real student example, as I would never criticize a students' honest efforts. The hyperbole is to make a point.) But then, for some, the magic happens. Every year I have students who find their poetry voice within the confines of haiku. Fascinating and humorous images and small moments appear. First and third lines get flipped around, and creativity spikes. At the end of the year when students are offered free range in their choice of form for writing their memoirs, there are often multiple memoirs written entirely in haiku.

And yet.

I spend much of the time when sharing and teaching about poetry focused on free verse. An early emphasis is on how poems do not have to rhyme and do not have to follow specific rules or forms. I have found that my third graders are better able to express themselves and explore ideas when they are focused on concepts like description, sharing a big idea, focusing on something small, or thinking about their word choice, rather than focusing on counting syllables, creating rhyming couplets, or forming acrostics.

And yet.

But it is through trying and experimenting with different styles and forms that students are often able to launch into their own poems. Whether it is trying to write a "So much depends ..." poem like William Carlos Williams or a "Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It" poem like Gail Carson Levine (and William Carlos Williams), having access to poems and poetry forms serves as a scaffold for students just starting out with poetry. And so does haiku. It might not be my favorite poetry choice, but it is one that has served my students well and captured their interests. In later posts I will share some of my favorite haiku resources for teachers, but I would like to end this post with my own haiku reflection:

Haiku can be so

limiting. All I see are

counting syllables.

The ideas get

locked out when all you do is

count. Set poems free!  

Do you haiku? I would love to hear from other teachers and poets about your experiences with teaching haiku to your students (or not). Share your thoughts below!

This week's Poetry Friday Roundup is being curated by Margaret at Reflections on the Teche. See the whole list of hosts at Poetry Friday by Kitlitosphere.