This book was a collection of poems that were adapted into a story, a "description [of] the curious menagerie of guests who arrive at William Blake's inn". The poems were originally composed by William Blake, a children's author from London who lived during the late18th and early19th centuries. His poems are magical, illustrative, and complex, showing that poetry does not have to be romantic or silly. His work inspires curiosity in ordinary objects, and adds moral reasoning to an almost fairytale spin on reality. For example, the poem Blake Leads a Walk on the Milky Way teaches two strong moral lessons, to be happy with what you have, and to enjoy life as it occurs. The walk, equated with age and emotions, leads an unfortunate rat to find out why you should heed such advice.
Some poems are long, some are quite short. Some poems have complex language, some have rather simple rhyming and structure. I believe the the book's sub-title "Poems for the Innocent and Experienced Travelers" refers to this mixed variety. For this reason I believe it would appeal to all ages, but of course, the older you are, the more you can appreciate its subtleties.
The illustrations of this book are exciting, and help pull details out of the poems. For example, Two sunflower guests to the hotel, who are weak and weary from travel, ask for a room. When they are planted "in the carpet [where] the topaz turtles run". What sounds silly at first is actually a quite sensible description, the flowers have been planted in a pot and placed on the carpet featuring a yellow pattern that resembles turtle shells.
I think the reason I like this book is because it uses so much imagination to capture everyday objects. Animals, people, and plants, are made into mythical creatures; but in children's eyes, everything is so. If by reading poetry, children could learn this ability to capture their imaginations in writing, I feel that adults would benefit from their words. We could some how recapture our childhood, like William Blake did so long ago.
This book won both the John Newberry Award and the Caldecott Honor.
This book of poetry sounds like something I would love to read, especially since I have a particular love of 19th century British literature. I might have to go and check this one out! How interesting that it won BOTH the Caldecott and Newberry Medals-that certainly says something about the collection. Is it appropriate for young children, or would you recommend it for older students?
ReplyDeleteThis book seems like a really awesome way to introduce kids to classic poetry in a fun way. Heather's right...the fact that it won the two biggest children's lit is amazing. Your review and that fact make it seem worth checking out!
ReplyDeleteI love the cover, very reminiscent of Colonial Williamsburg just miles away! I love that the poems were written in the 18th century but they have been adapted for children today! I wonder how dense the text is? I know that a lot of times children understand more than adults give them credit for but I know that some texts from the 18th century can be hard to understand for most adults. However, I feel like since it won both the Newbury and the Caldecott it would be useful for children. Like Heather, I'd be interested in your opinion as to what grade level you would recommend this for!
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