Poetry By Kids

Book Review: Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets.



















Nye, Noami Shihab. 2000. Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young Poets. Ill by Ashley Bryan. New York. Greenwillow Books. ISBN 0688161936


1. Review of Book:
In Salting the Ocean, Noami Shihab Nye created an anthology featuring 100 poems written by young writers from grades 1-12. She collected the poems over a 25-year period of working as a writer-in-the-schools and leading poetry workshops in schools across the United States. The anthology is divided into four sections, in which the poems are grouped according to subject matter. The sections consist of 32 poems about "The Self and the Inner World," 20 poems about "Where We Live," 23 poems about "Anybody's Family," and 25 poems about "The Wide Imagination." The beginning of each section is also accompanied by beautifully painted illustrations by Ashley Bryan, who is a Coretta Scott King Honor recipient. In the lengthy introduction, Nye writes about how she began writing poetry and gives advice to teachers, librarians, parents, and aspiring poets. Because of the amount of poems in the book, there are works of a wide range of ability levels. As a result, children of all ages will easily be able to find poems that they can understand and relate to. The biggest draw of this book will be that each poem was written by children. The poems and the anthology will be an inspiration to other children and young writers everywhere.                          


2. Classroom/Library Connection:
Before sharing some of the poems in the book one could share Naomi Shihab Nye's introduction to give readers an idea of how the anthology came about, as well as hear some of her advice for writing poetry. Because there are four different sections, grouped by subject matter, I would choose a few poems from each section to share aloud, such as Rounding Up the Stars, by Jerry L Middlebrook, in the "Anybody's Family" section.

Rounding Up the Stars

I would put them
in a jar
and make a light
out of it
and I would go get it
right now if you'd
let me
and I would
give it to my mom
for a Christmas present
and she would
let me use it too
and together
we would
read with it.  

After sharing a poem or two from each section, children can try writing their own poem either about themselves, where they live, their family, or a poem using their wild imagination. Then after sharing and collecting everyone's poems one can create a class anthology to be shared and celebrated throughout the school.  
      

3. Review Excerpts/Awards Won:
Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for PreK-Grade 6, 13th Edition, 2002; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
Best Children's Books of the Year, 2001; Bank Street College of Education; United States
Capital Choices, 2000; The Capitol Choices Committee; United States
Children's Catalog, Eighteenth Edition, 2001 H.W. Wilson; United States
Children's Catalog, Nineteenth Edition, 2006; H.W. Wilson; United States
Kaleidoscope, A Multicultural Booklist for Grades K-8, Fourth Edition, 2003; National Council of Teachers of English; United States
Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog, Ninth Edition, 2005; H.W. Wilson; United States
Middle And Junior High School Library Catalog, Supplement to the Eighth Edition, 2001; H.W. Wilson; United States


Gillian Engberg (Booklist, March 15, 2000 (Vol. 96, No. 14))
There may be nothing more `basic' in education than gaining a sense of one's own voice," Nye writes in the introduction to her new anthology. Culling poems from more than 25 years of teaching poetry in the schools, Nye presents the exceptional work of students in grades 1 through 12. Organized into four arbitrary sections (for example, "The Self and the Inner World"), and illustrated with Ashley Bryan's signature bright-hued, bold-lined paintings and multicultural imagery, the poems are varied in both sophistication and subject: some are for younger readers to use in class; others are for older readers to enjoy alone. Writing about treasured possessions, cats, family arguments, grandmothers, Monday Night at Kwik-Wash, Michaelangelo, and the natural world, the students demonstrate the expected uneven grasp of meter, shape, and rhythm. But their successes are breathtaking: "The trees are so perfect / they know how to grow," writes one student. The title poem, about a boy's belief that his mother's salt shaker gives the sea its salt, is an unforgettable work of beauty for a writer of any age. Genuine, urgent, creative, and yearning, the accomplished voices in this excellent anthology's best entries will sweep up poetry fans and encourage young writers in their own search for a voice.