Sullivan Poetry Reviews

I had the wonderful opportunity to work with 10th grader Lawnna M. this week. She created a video for the SteamPoweredPoetry Contest and selected the poem "Fashionable Fiona." I will add her video below. I hope you enjoy! 

Allan Wolf’s The Watch that Ends the Night is a YA historical fiction novel in verse that brings to life the chronology of the Titanic ’s maiden voyage and tragic sinking. This haunting novel takes place in April 1912 and is separated into nine parts, detailing the ship’s journey from its proud and optimistic departure to its devastating and disastrous aftermath. Wolf utilizes twenty-five distinct ‘voices’, ranging from the millionaire John Jacob Astor to overlooked figures like refugees, postmen, and bakers. Wolf even writes from the perspective of a ship rat and personifies the iceberg into an omnipotent antagonist. The book includes extensive back matter, including a section named "RMS Titanic Miscellany" filled with fascinating, fun facts such as the weight of the iceberg to the number of dogs on the ship. Wolf also includes a bibliography that offers a fascinating look at the primary and secondary sources used to research the novel. The tone of The Watch that Ends the N...

Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars by Douglas Florian is a poetry book about the solar system and space. Consisting of 20 poems, all accompanied by mixed media paintings by Florian, this fun and bouncy book will get young students engaged and loving outer space. The poetry book contains back matter about each of the poem’s topics at the end of the book. The poems in  Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars are: Skywatch, The Universe, A Galaxy, The Solar System, The Sun, Mercury, Venus, The Earth, The Moon, Mars, The Minor Planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, The Comet, The Constellations, The Black Hole, The Great Beyond. Comets, Stars, the Moon and Mars is lyrical and whimsical while being informational and engaging for young readers. The tone of the book is upbeat and fun and many of the poems contain direct addresses to further engage the young readers. Florian is an incredible poet. He uses a variety of forms and rhythms including lyric poetry and light verse as well as ...

Mary's Monster: Love, Madness, and How Mary Shelley Created Frankenstein, written and illustrated by Lita Judge, is a haunting YA biography of Mary Shelley with moody watercolor illustrations on each page. Written in free verse, the atmospheric novel details the heartbreaking life of one of the most famous female authors, Mary Shelley. Judge includes extensive backmatter detailing specifics of Shelley's life, including information about what Mary herself enjoyed reading throughout her life, and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources. This ambitious novel does everything it promises to do and more. Judge’s attention to detail is noteworthy as she spent years researching Shelley’s life and chose to write the verse biographical novel in nine parts, just as it took Mary nine months to write Frankenstein, and to carry her children. The book consists of over 300 pages of continuous narrative verse with the verse mimicking the conversational and confessional nature of a diar...

  This week, I created a video to pair with the poem, "Farmer's Market" by Heidi Bee Roemer. I had so much fun creating this video and bringing the poem to life by reading it aloud and including visuals. I hope you enjoy!