I Am the Book

 Bibliography:

Hopkins, Lee Bennett., and Yayo. I Am the Book: Poems. New York: Holiday House, 2011. Print.

 Language and Emotion:

Lee Bennett Hopkins collection of thirteen poems from  various authors commemorate the love of  reading books. The poems summarize the excitement of engaging and escaping into a good book through the vision of poets. The poems arrangement  is perfect for  reading orally.All of of the poems make you think and reflect about why you love books and the beauty of the words painting an image on the page. The poem “ I Am the Book” by Tom Robert Shields compares a book to a best friend. All of the poems that were selected for this compilation pays homage to books and those of us who love them. The poem “What was That” by Rebecca Kai Dotlich is another example of that beautifully conveys the images of words.

Critical Analysis

According to an online interview with Hopkins he stated ” Poetry is magical, mystical. I maintain that more can be said or felt in 8 or 10 or 12 lines than sometimes” http://www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?authorID=12232&displayType=interviewan entire novel can convey”

“I Am the Book” has wonderful illustrations by Yayo to enrich the anthology of poems selected by Hopkins . I think this is a good book to read aloud to get your children or students to appreciate books from a different perspective. This book will be appreciate by younger readers because the language is easy to understand and because of the rhyming words that the younger students will love.

Reviews

It closes with five landlocked tributes to bookishness and shoehorns in between one off-topic contribution by Hopkins and another by Jane Yolen. Eight of the 13 poems are new, and all (of the relevant ones) share a sense of excitement- Kirkus Review

Connections:

One can engage or brainstorm with students about what they love about their favorite books. They can tell what elements of the story they make personal connections and how it relates to them and to the world.

Students can use a wordless picture book and come up with their own story using the illustrations.

Students can compare several of the poems in the books and contrast how the authors convey their love of books.