Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People [Paperback]

Jane Yolen (Author), Jason Stemple (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Thirteen memorable poems take the reader on a whimsical journey through Mother Nature's glorious landscape with the help of dazzling photographs.

--This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud. There's a lot of good stuff going on in this imaginatively conceived and elegantly executed collection. On one page of each double-page spread is a poem (in one case, two haiku) evoking a color in nature--gray, orange, blue, brown, yellow. Opposite is a photograph, by freelance photographer Jason Stemple (Yolen's son), set like a cabochon jewel on a pale background of related images and words: sloe, sable, and jet for black; plum, orchid, and amethyst for purple. Each word is printed in its own hue. Somewhere on each spread is a sliver of a quotation about the color, from Mother Goose ("Its fleece was white as snow") to Eugene Field ("Any color so long as it's red"). The book is a visual feast, and a verbal one, too, for the poems are striking: in "Green," "poets know / all the secret words, / some of which they make up, / all of which are / green." In "Pink: A Haiku," "A surge of sunlight / Shocks through stem and thistle hairs / A punk pink hairdo." In her author's note, which precedes the text, Yolen urges readers to use the photographs as inspiration for their own poems, and she closes with "Crayons: A Rainbow Poem." GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Pr (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590781724
• ISBN-13: 978-1590781722
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 9.2 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #92 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry

More About the Author

Born and raised in New York City, Jane Yolen now lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts. She attended Smith College and received her master's degree in education from the University of Massachusetts. The distinguished author of more than 170 books, Jane Yolen is a person of many talents. When she is not writing, Yolen composes songs, is a professional storyteller on the stage, and is the busy wife of a university professor, the mother of three grown children, and a grandmother. Active in several organizations, Yolen has been on the Board of Directors of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, was president of the Science Fiction Writers of America from 1986 to 1988, is on the editorial board of several magazines, and was a founding member of the Western New England Storytellers Guild, the Western Massachusetts Illustrators Guild, and the Bay State Writers Guild. For twenty years, she ran a monthly writer's workshop for new children's book authors. In 1980, when Yolen was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law degree by Our Lady of the Elms College in Chicopee, Massachusetts, the citation recognized that "throughout her writing career she has remained true to her primary source of inspiration--folk culture." Folklore is the "perfect second skin," writes Yolen. "From under its hide, we can see all the shimmering, shadowy uncertainties of the world." Folklore, she believes, is the universal human language, a language that children instinctively feel in their hearts. All of Yolen's stories and poems are somehow rooted in her sense of family and self. The Emperor and the Kite, which was a Caldecott Honor Book in 1983 for its intricate papercut illustrations by Ed Young, was based on Yolen's relationship with her late father, who was an international kite-flying champion. Owl Moon, winner of the 1988 Caldecott Medal for John Schoenherr's exquisite watercolors, was inspired by her husband's interest in birding. Yolen's graceful rhythms and outrageous rhymes have been gathered in numerous collections. She has earned many awards over the years: the Regina Medal, the Kerlan Award, the World Fantasy Award, the Society of Children's Book Writers Award, the Mythopoetic Society's Aslan Award, the Christopher Medal, the Boy's Club Jr. Book Award, the Garden State Children's Book Award, the Daedalus Award, a number of Parents' Choice Magazine Awards, and many more. Her books and stories have been translated into Japanese, French, Spanish, Chinese, German, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Afrikaans, !Xhosa, Portuguese, and Braille. With a versatility that has led her to be called "America's Hans Christian Andersen," Yolen, the child of two writers, is a gifted and natural storyteller. Perhaps the best explanation for her outstanding accomplishments comes from Jane Yolen herself: "I don't care whether the story is real or fantastical. I tell the story that needs to be told."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Poetic and Photographic Feast, September 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Color Me a Rhyme (Hardcover)

Yolen and Stemple have created a visual feast in their, "Color Me A Rhyme." As usual, Jane Yolen's poetry is excellent, but what sold me on the book were the amazing photographic layouts of natural images in green, grey, orange, purple....Each two page spread in the book has a Jane Yolen poem about the featured color, other names for the color (for white: chalk, snow, alabaster and bone), a literary quote about the color, and at least two lovely juxtaposed photos. You have to see the book to really appreciate its gorgeous layouts. This book would be excellent in the early grades, where teaching concepts is emphasized, or when teaching creative writing. Kids could all write their own color poems. I also think young artists would enjoy the varieties of color represented in the volume. How many kids know the varieties of blue? Some of its names are lovely and mysterious--cerulean, sapphire, azure and turquoise. Let them experience these colors in this fine book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous photos!, April 17, 2010

By 

PJ Fred (NY) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People (Paperback)

I have my elementary age students write color poems every year. I will use this book to inspire them. The photographs are beautiful and include synonyms for each color. The poems range from fairly long, to short haikus. There are also quotes to go along with each color - many from Mother Goose. I enjoy Jane Yolen's writings and this did not disappoint.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poems about Colors for teachers, March 10, 2007

By 

Kathleen Thompson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People (Paperback)

I really like this book of poems. The pictures are lovely. Some poems have just a few lines and some poems are longer. The second language students and native English speaking students enjoy these poems.