LS 5663 Module 5: Joyce Sidman Poetry

The World According to Dog

Sidman, Joyce, and Doug Mindell. 2003. THE WORLD ACCORDING TO DOG: POEMS AND TEEN VOICES. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-17497-4.

Review:

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO DOG is a collection of poems about man's best friend. From free verse to haiku to a poem for two voices, Joyce Sidman shows readers the world from the eyes of dogs.

Interspersed with Sidman's poems are essays from teens telling stories of the dogs in their lives. Each essay corresponds with a poem, is titled, and features the teen author's name and age. Sidman's poetry and the essays come together to pay homage to the powerful impact dogs have on our lives and the unbreakable bond between people and their beloved dogs.

Accompanying the poems and essays are striking photographs by Doug Mindell. Often in soft focus with blurred edges, these photos are the perfect match for Sidman's book. 

In an unexpected bonus, Joyce Sidman ended her book with a fun dictionary of sorts for dog-related idioms. 




Highlighted Poem:


(To be used in conjunction with the essay "Rusty the Squirrel Exterminator" by Karen Ann Stahlheber, age 15; page 20-21.)


Dog and Squirrel: Steps in a Flirtation


The bushy flick of your tail
catches my attention.
             I am aware of your presence,
             but I am ignoring you.


You are now my bull's-eye.
This will be a fine game.
            It may be a game,
            but I set the rules.

Whenever you lower your guard,
I step forward.
            I never lower my guard.
            All escape routes are intact.

My body is an arrow
pointing at your heart.
            O large clumsy one,
            have you any idea how fast I can run?


I draw closer.
The space between us is nothing.
            Odd how the sunlight
            kindles your dark fur.


I can taste the silk of your tail.
You can't possibly get away now.
            I know the precise point at which
            I must flee. Still, those eyes...


Gaze locked, I pounce!
And you are...
            Gone, of course.
            My heart pounds! See you tomorrow?



Possible Uses:

Teachers could have students write their own poems from two different perspectives, such as a cat and a mouse, a lion and a gazelle, or a shark and a seal. This would be a great way to introduce predator/ prey relationships in science classes or perspective in an English class.

Genre 3: Poetry

This Is Just To Say

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. This Is Just To Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 9780618616800.

Plot Summary
When Mrs. Merz asks her 6th grade class to write apology poems, they enjoyed the assignment so much they decided to put them together in a book. One of her students suggests a second part to their book. He suggests they actually send their apology poems to the people they were apologizing to. Their poems are based on William Carlos Williams poem by the same name. The poems range from a girl who snuck into the kitchen to eat brownies with out permission to a little girl asking her daddy to please move back home. The responses are found at the back of the book in a separate section. When a recipient chose not to respond, classmates stepped in and wrote a response.

Critical Analysis
With This Is Just To Say, Joyce Sidman gives us an enjoyable and touching book of poetry. Her poems of apology, along with responses, is at times humorous and at times moving and profound. We see forgiveness extended to some kids, while others were not forgiven. Sidman's book was a Texas Bluebonnet nominee in 2008. Parents may find themselves concerned over some of the language Sidman chose to use. In one poem a father says to his son, "Christ, forget about the window", while in another, a sister proclaims, "I'm still really pissed off at you." I found myself highly disappointed to learn at the end of the book that this was a fictional class.
Pamela Zagarenski's artwork captures the emotions of each poem using sketches created with a variety of media, collage, and computer graphics. Zagarenski's drawings bring to mind authentic sketches you might find in the journal of any typical teenager.


Review Excerpts
School Library Journal starred review: "This is an important book both for its creativity and for its wisdom."

Kirkus Review: "Packed with the intensity of everyday pain and sorrow, kids and adults exchange the words that convey grief, delight, love and acceptance of themselves and others."

Library Media Connection: "Lessons about accepting responsibility, seeking forgiveness, and righting wrongs are all part of the fabric of this book. Each school library could benefit from adding this wonderful book of poems to its collection."

Connections
Students could compare different poems within Sidman's book, This is Just To Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness, with each other to determine how each author made sure his new poem sounded so much like the original poem and how each author made sure his new poem has unique qualities from the original.
Students could write their own poems of apology and ask for responses.

Related Books
Other books written by Joyce Sidman:
The World According to Dog: Poems and Teen Voices
Song of the Water Boatman
Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow
Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry
Just Us Two: Poems/Animal Dads
Like the Air: Poems

Book cover art from www.librarything.com