Forest Has a Song: Poems

by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, Robbin Gourley (Illustrator)

Overview

A spider is a “never-tangling dangling spinner / knitting angles, trapping dinner.” A tree frog proposes, “Marry me. Please marry me… / Pick me now. / Make me your choice. / I’m one great frog / with one strong voice.” VanDerwater lets the denizens of the forest speak for themselves in twenty-six lighthearted, easy-to-read poems. As she observes, “Silence in Forest / never lasts long. / Melody / is everywhere / mixing in / with piney air. / Forest has a song.” The graceful, appealing watercolor illustrations perfectly suit these charming poems that invite young readers into the woodland world at every season.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780618843497
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	03/26/2013
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is a poet whose work has appeared in magazines and children's anthologies as well as picture books. She earned her MA degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University, and teaches writing in schools nationwide and at her blog, The Poem Farm. Amy lives in Holland, New York, with her family, animals, and books. Visit her online at amyludwigvanderwater.com, on Twitter @amylvpoemfarm, and on Instagram @amyludwigvanderwater. 

Robbin Gourley is an artist and art director as well as an author and illustrator of cookbooks and picture books. She divides her time between rural Pennsylvania and Brooklyn, New York.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Moving gracefully through the seasons, newcomer VanDerwater shares a girl's experience of what the forest has to offer."
—Publishers Weekly

"The imagery is fresh and original; it's accessible, too. Watercolor images of each poem's subject add to the appeal."
—Kirkus

Editorial Reviews

"Moving gracefully through the seasons, newcomer VanDerwater shares a girl's experience of what the forest has to offer."
—Publishers Weekly

"The imagery is fresh and original; it's accessible, too. Watercolor images of each poem's subject add to the appeal."
—Kirkus

"Dip into this appealing collection for an introduction to early nature studies or poetry writing, or for generating some well-deserved enthusiasm for a stroll in the great outdoors."
—Booklist

"The verses are approachable for readers and vivid for readaloud listeners, so this is a title with a broad spread of possible use. Even if there's no nearby forest, just have the kids close their eyes, listen to the poetry, and imagine that there is."
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"The book is an inviting tour for those who enjoy observing the natural world through poetry."
—School Library Journal —

From the Publisher

Twenty-six poems with varied structures offer quiet observations of the natural world. Vanderwater's studies are spare and sometimes personal. Loosely cast as a series of forest visits at different times of the year, they focus both on the large, as in the opening "Invitation," and the small--fiddleheads, lichens, a cardinal, a squirrel. The poet's imagination invites readers and listeners inside her subjects' heads. A chickadee considers taking food from a child's hand; an owlet worries about its first flight. She listens to the voices of snowflakes and maples. Some poems describe the forest visitor's actions: In one haiku, she plays with a rotting branch; in another, she marvels at the taste of wintergreen. Two children enjoy the surprise of a mushroom puffball. Listeners will appreciate language play like the tree frog's: "Hoping. / Hopping. / High above. / Crooning. / Plopping. / Finding love." The imagery is fresh and original; it's accessible, too. Watercolor images of each poem's subject add to the appeal. Some are vignettes, others show a child or a family enjoying the out-of-doors. Although the same young girl appears in these pictures, her clothing and apparent age vary, implying a series of encounters over many years. Readers, too, may want to return to these explorations over and over. (Picture book/poetry. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews