Monday, November 17, 2014

Nature in Poetry




by David Elliott
illustrated by Becca Stadtlander
Candlewick Press, 2014

As I noted last Wednesday, J. Patrick Lewis' anthology title says it all: "Everything is a Poem." On Thursday, we looked at science in poetry. Today, the focus is on nature in poetry -- specifically, birds. Upcoming posts include history, biography and imagination in poetry.

My students and I have loved David Elliott's short, pithy poems in his collections On the Farm, In the Wild, and In the Sea. In this book, the essence of seventeen species of birds, from the ordinary sparrow to the exotic Japanese Crane pictured on the cover are captured in Elliott's words and Becca Stadtlander's gorgeous and evocative illustrations.

Sadly, last June, Holly Meade, David Elliott's illustrator for the other books in this series (On the Farm, In the Wild, In the Sea) died at age 56. David Elliott dedicates this book to her.


5 comments:

  1. I love IN THE SEA, ON THE FARM, and IN THE WILD, and this one sounds like it will be another big hit. Sorry to hear about Holly Meade- her artwork was gorgeous.

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  2. Love his others--can't wait to see this one!

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  3. So sad his illustrator died. Can't wait to read his latest.

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  4. This looks like one to check out!

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  5. I love nature in poetry. My latest book is WORDS ON BIRDS which is factual poems about backyard birds. I was inspired by other nature poetry many years ago!

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