Valuable, as is the entire series. The pictures are unfortunately, imo, *too* pretty: suitable for nursery decor, they trivialize the poetry.

Also unfortunate is that the poems described as riddles are illustrated by the answers....
No mention is made of her (supposed?) reluctance to publish the poems. The dash at the end of each line is omitted, making for a smoother read, no explanation given for why it sometimes included.

In this volume the introduction serves; each poem stands alone except for the illustrations.

Not my favorite Dickinson collection, nor my favorite of this series, by far. ( )

00011120

Great for child and adult... ( )

Great illustrations, and many great poems to share with students.

I am usually quite skeptical when it comes to reading poetry out of books, especially when all of the poetry is from the same poet. I am very happy to say that I loved this book though. I found it very interesting how the illustrations interacted with the poems that were written in a completely different time period. I also enjoyed how the language that she used throughout each of her poems was very direct and to the point. The illustrations were very impressive to start out with. From the get go, the very first poem was one of inspiration and hope and the illustrations only enhanced the feeling that the poet established. On page 8, the poem was presented at the top while the almost whimsical painting of a tree took up a massive amount of space. I really liked that the words did not make the illustrations take a back seat but only enhanced the feeling that was being evoked. The second reason that I liked this poetry book was because of the direct language used. In her poem, I started early, took my dog on page 11, she used the phrase, “The mermaids in the basement came out to look at me.” The extremely direct imagery that this presents is astounding. I could almost see the mermaids swimming from the depths of the ocean to meet this character.
The main message of this book was to show the audience that there is so much around us in nature that we can sometimes find ourselves finding hidden delights in unexpected places. I love the depth that this book reaches with poetry telling different stories each and every page. I found myself being able to relate more than not. ( )

Summary:
A collection of various poems by Emily Dickinson with lots of illustrations.

Personal Reflection:
I don't usually enjoy poetry, but I enjoyed reading through these poems.

Classroom Extensions:
Let students write their own poems and illustrate a picture to go along with them.

This book is filled with amazing poems for young children, that are short and sweet. Some are rather lengthy. It is filled with poems about nature and other sorts of things.

I would use this book for a 5th grade class during a poetry unit or study of famous poets. I would read 1-2 poems from the story aloud daily. Throughout the unit I would also have groups of students practice one poem and perform a readers theater at the end. This would help build fluency and comprehend the elements of poetry. By me first reading the poems, the students would understand how the words are supposed to flow, and how to pronounce some of the bigger words. I would use some poems from the story to help students recognize different rhyming schemes by reading them aloud, and having them formulate their own understanding of the rhyming scheme. Lastly, I would use this story to build vocabulary. Embedded in the poem are some difficult words, but at the bottom there are definitions provided. We would add these words to our word wall. ( )

This is a wonderful poetry book. It concentrates on lyrical poetry and some poetry with characters in it. I like this book because it has some simple poems that young children can understand if you talk to them about it. Painting media maybe

I remember reading Emily Dickinson in high school, but never knew she wrote children's poetry as well. The illustrations in this book really help the reader understand what is happening. The great thing about this book is, even though some of the language is outdated, there are short definitions after each poem to help the reader understand. While some of these poems have more difficult concepts, Emily Dickinson’s style is fluid, making her poems easy to read. While I do believe that these poems would be better received by third to fifth graders, I think that Dickinson is a poet for people of all ages. ( )

I very much enjoy this series which features the poetry of well-known poetic writers. This book, in particular focuses on Emily Dickinson. By far my favorite poet, and therefore, I was drawn to this book when I found it on the shelf of the library.

The beginning of the book focuses on her life, her reclusiveness and her life-long calling to work with words.

Painfully shy, with a vivid imagination, she wrote of emotions which many wonder how such a shy, inward-focused woman could write in such a knowledgeable manner.

As she grew older, Emily became more and more reclusive. Quite fond of her brother Austin, and his wife Susan, the path was worn from her parents house to theirs. Choosing to see only those she best loved, her circle was small.

Townspeople were very curious and would leave small gifts in the hope of seeing her. Fond of children, she dispensed ginger bread cookies and other treats via a basket tethered to a cord slowly brought down from the upper window. Children loved Emily and did not mind her guarded ways. In particular, she had a wonderful nephew whom she loved dearly. She also had a close relationship with her sister Lavinia, whom she called Vinnie.

Like many artists, she did not become well known for her work until after she died. During Emily's time, poems written by women were to be flowery. Increasingly, Emily wrote of heavy subjects, and with sparsity of words.

She carefully checked the dictionary to find one word that fit what she felt. Only six of her poems were published while she was alive. She died when she was fifty-four. Her sister Vinnie was quite astounded to find a box of little hand sewn books. in all, 879 precious poems.

The collection of poems featured in this book focus on those written of nature. Few in this collection are somber. Most have an airy feel of spring breezes. I did not know she wrote so many poems of nature, and it was refreshing to read the quick, witty, delightful passages such as this:

Bee, I'm expecting you!
Was saying yesterday
To somebody you know
That you were due.

The frogs got home last week,
Are settled and at work,
Birds mostly back,
The clover warm and thick.

You'll get my letter by
The seventeenth; reply,
Or better, be with me.

Yours,
Fly.
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Further in the book, there is one poem of Emily's thoughts of her death:

I have not told my garden yet,
Lest that should conquer me,
I have not quite the strength now
To break it to the bee.

I will not name it in the street
For shops would stare, that I,
So shy, so very ignorant
Should have the face to die.

The hillsides must not know it,
Where I have rambled so,
Nor tell the loving forests
The day that I shall go,

Nor lisp it at the table,
Nor heedless by the way
Hint that within the riddle
One will walk to day!

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Highly recommended 4.5 stars!

Organized in an easy to read way. Pictures are simplistic and poems are formatted nicely. Not a very 'kid friendly' appeal though.

#poetry
#emilydickinson ( )

A book of poetry for, well, young people. It's somewhat long, and the poems are more advanced than most I've seen for younger audiences, with some pretty large words and concepts. All in all though, it is a good book of poetry, just one I'd recommend to slightly older readers than what Shel Silverstein might require. ( )

"An everywhere of silver, with ropes of sand, from keeping it from effacing, the track called land." This is just a snippet of a poem from this beautiful collaboration of poems from the late and great, Emily Dickinson. This is an amazing piece of poetry to have in the classroom, all focusing around the epic, haunting, and beautiful poetry from Emily Dickinson. With pictures and definitions at the bottom of the page for words that are not as common, this book brings poetry to children without taking away its immensity and beauty.
Genre: Poetry

The genre of this book is poetry and is the work of the famous poet, Emily Dickinson. This book starts off with an introduction for the student’s of who Dickinson was during her life. From the way she lived her life and the fact that she wrote about the ordinary things in life and even death. It explains that she grew up very shy in an important family who was known by all in her town. Also, only six of her poems were published while she was living. The intro explains that she almost always wrote in rhyme or iambic meter. Another common trend is that most poems are in stanzas of four lines. This book contains 36 of Dickinson’s Poems that are illustrated with watercolor. Some of examples of the poems in this book are A word is dead, which is about looking at words as just the beginning. Also, In this short life, which is a question about the control we have in our life.

Summary- A delightful nature theme ties this collection of poems together. The pictures go perfectly with each poem. Two poems that stood out to me were "The Pedigree of Honey" and "The Moon was but a Chin of Gold."
Personal Reaction: This is a great advanced poetry book for kids, perhaps around nine years old. There is a great introduction in the beginning of the book telling the reader a little background information on Emily Dickinson and her life. Also, I really liked that in each poem, any difficult words are written at the bottom of the page, along with their definitions. This is a great book for any young readers that are up for challenging themselves a bit.
Classroom Extension-Have kids pick out their favorite poem from this book and do their own illustration. What does this poem mean to you and how do you relate?

Poetry for Young People: Emily Dickenson has 36 poems in it. It provides a biography in the beginning and I liked that it also provided definitions to some words that may be difficult for some. The illustrations were beautiful and added to the poetry. It sometimes made it easier to understand the poems. I would be a little cautious of what some of the poems might mean but i would recommend this book to 3rd grade and up. ( )

Unlike other books in this series, there are few introductions to each poem. For many, the pictures are sufficient introduction. For others, I wished for a few explanatory words, which are extremely helpful for newcomers to poetry (the intended audience of the series). The artwork is watercolor; adequate but not creative or in any way spectacular. Overall, this isn't one of my favorites in the series, but it is still a nice volume and a good first selection of Dickinson's poetry.

Summary: This is a compilation of poems by Emily Dickinson for "young people." It is obvious that they are old because they are difficult to relate to. The illustrations that went along with the book were very beautiful.

Personal Reflection: I really did not like this book and I'm not exactly that I would want to use it in a classroom. It may actually make the students think that poetry is boring and a thing of the past instead of something fun and cool.

Classroom Extension:
1. This might make a great introduction into a poetry section.
2. This book could be used when learning about historical authors such as Dickinson.

***Poetry***

Emily Dickinson is a delight to read. Her poems feel light and airy and with grace and beauty she paints little pictures with her words. ( )

This beautiful collection of Emily Dickinson's poetry includes a small glossary at the bottom of the page with definitions of possibly unfamiliar words that occur in the poem. The illustrations are appropriate and lovely.

Summary: This is a collection of Emily Dickinsons best poetry. In the story she has a section of poems that describe something and you have to guress what she is talking about.

Personal Response: This was a fun book to read. Even though poetry is not my thing I really did enjoy the stories in this book.

Classroom Extension Ideas: You could read them a story and have them try to guess what she is describing. Also you could have the students pick their favorites and draw a picture about it. ( )

Summary- At the beginning of this book there is a short introduction about Emily Dickinson, her life, habits and style of poetry. This book contains 36 poems some of which are riddles. On some pages there are definitions of words that young people may not be familiar with. Each poem is vivid with descriptions and imagination. Sunsets are not merely sunsets but a woman sweeping the sky with colored brooms.

Personal-This a prime example of Emily Dickinson’s abilities with words. It is a short collection that is sure to wet appetites to learn more about her and her work. There are wonderful poems about the seasons and all that you find within your surroundings. I can’t help but smile when reading a letter from a fly to a bee.

Classroom Extensions-
Literature: Excellent examples of iambic poetry to draw examples from when introducing the material.

Poetry/Thinking Skills: Use a couple of the riddles found in this collection with a young class and see if they can guess what it is describing.

Art/Poetry: Once again with the younger classes you can read one of the shorter more descriptive poems and then have the students draw a picture of what they imagined. ( )

Summary:
This is a collection of some of Emily Dickinson's poetry that can be enjoyed by children. Many of the poems in the collection are nature related. There are also some cute riddles in this book too. I like that the book has a short biography at the beginning too!

Personal Reaction:
This book is wonderful! I feel that this collection of Emily Dickinson poetry really has a peaceful sense about it. I really enjoyed it and I think that it's a great book to use to spark children's interest in poetry. I also enjoyed this simple illustration in this book.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1. Like I said in my personal reaction, I think this book has a peaceful feel to it. Because of this, I think it would be good to use to help children calm down when transitioning from recess to classwork.

2. This book has some cute short riddles. I think it would be fun to have children write their own short riddles after reading this book aloud. ( )

A good introduction to Emily Dickinson. ( )