BIBLIOGRAPHY
Giovanni, Nikki. 2008. HIP HOP SPEAKS TO CHILDREN: A CELEBRATION OF POETRY WITH A BEAT. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks. ISBN: 978-1-4022-1048-8
REVIEW AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS
A team of five artists contributed to the illustrations in this book. Their illustrations are bold, colorful, and beautiful. They add meaning to the stories told in the text and capture the cultural heritage of African Americans talked about in the poems. Details about the illustrators, contributors, editor, and advisors are included at the back of the book.
The students could write their own poems and perform them to a beat or they could take a poem from the book and record their own interpretation of it. They could also take a hip hop song that they have knowledge of and read it as a poem with a beat. The teacher or librarian could partner up with the music teacher to encourage the kids to find appropriate instruments for the beat and rhythm of their poems.
HIP HOP SPEAKS TO CHILDREN is a poetry anthology that includes 51 poems written by a diverse group of people including Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Walter Dean Meyers, Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill, and Sugarhill Gang, to name a few. The poems include powerful words that are meant to be read with a beat. Kids will find these poems engaging and will want to read them over and over again because of the rhythm found in each piece.
The book comes with a CD that includes 35 of the poems that are mostly read or performed by their authors. The performances on the CD really bring the poems to life. By mixing hip hop music with poetry, kids are able to see very clearly how the two are connected. Some background or historical commentary is also included on some of the tracks on the CD. This, along with the introduction at the beginning of the book by Nikki Giovanni, add significance and meaning to the poems and their artists.
Readers feel a wide range of emotions while reading and listening to the poems in this book. Many poems are rich in culture and history, while some are more lighthearted and fun like "Funky Snowman."
"Funky Snowman"
Funky Snowman loves to dance.
You'd think he wouldn't
have much chance
without two legs
or even pants.
Does that stop
Funky Snowman?
No!!
Turn up the music
with the disco beat,
when you're in the groove,
you don't need feet.
Crowds come out
and fill the street.
Kick it,
Funky Snowman!!
A team of five artists contributed to the illustrations in this book. Their illustrations are bold, colorful, and beautiful. They add meaning to the stories told in the text and capture the cultural heritage of African Americans talked about in the poems. Details about the illustrators, contributors, editor, and advisors are included at the back of the book.
The students could write their own poems and perform them to a beat or they could take a poem from the book and record their own interpretation of it. They could also take a hip hop song that they have knowledge of and read it as a poem with a beat. The teacher or librarian could partner up with the music teacher to encourage the kids to find appropriate instruments for the beat and rhythm of their poems.
After listening to the poem on the CD, the teacher could put up the words of the poems for the kids to read along with. This will help build fluency and also help the kids appreciate the words, form, and rhythm of the poems.
No comments:
Post a Comment