Sidman, Joyce. (2005). Illustrated by Beckie Prange. Song of the water boatman and
other pond poems. New York: Houghton Mifflin. 32 pages.
ISBN 13: 978-0618-13547-9
Award: Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12, 2006
Genre: poetry
Content area: science
Grade level: 3rd-6th
Credibility of author:
Summary: The setting of these poems is a pond. Each poem uses descriptive language to provide the reader with information about plants, animals, and insects that make their homes in and around the pond.
Standards: Life Science IV (Environment and Ecology)
Illustrations: woodblock hand-colored with watercolor on two-page spreads featuring various shades of green, blue, and brown
Text: set in Nicholas Jenson and Scala Sans
Tone: The author’s tone is happy and carefree.
Voice: The author conveys an appreciation of nature.
Language: The author uses lots of vivid imagery and descriptive language with a staccato rhythm.
Access features: glossary, inserted factual information in the left and right margins
Use: I would use this book for read aloud, shared reading, and choral reading. It could be integrated a plant, animal, or poetry unit.
Response: This book is beautifully illustrated with soothing colors. I would love reading these poems aloud to my students and listening to my students read them aloud to each other. This book would be a fun way to introduce biology. There was even a poem about the water bear, which is an example of zooplankton.
Related texts: The following texts share the same setting of a pond.
Turtle Splash: Countdown at the Pond by C. Falwell
Growing Frogs by Vivian French
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2 comments:
This book would be great to use in a multiliteracies unit that I developed in Brenner`s class, because I could talk about habitat. The illustrations sound intriguing.
Poems are written to be read aloud. We often do not associate poetry and science--Joanne Ryder also writes poetry about nature for a younger audience.
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