Flicker Flash [Hardcover]

Joan Bransfield Graham (Author), Nancy Davis (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Light can be dynamic, exciting, dramatic, comforting, fascinating, and welcoming. Turn on the light and open this book to see and feel the energy, emotion, and surprise of light in its many forms! Flicker Flash is a poetic exploration of a mutable yet omnipresent part of the world around us. From the flicker of birthday candles to a flash of lightning, from the bold bright sun to the calm full moon, from the steady beams that pulse from a lighthouse to the glow of a lamp that illuminates the pages of a book lovingly held by a child, all forms of light are given shape in this remarkable collection of poetry. Young readers' eyes will be opened to an amazing new way of perceiving poetry in everyday life.

Additional awards:

Top Ten Children's Books of 1999, Dr. Peggy Sharp Bill Martin, Jr. Picture Book Award Nominee, Kansas Florida Children's Book Award 2001 Nominee Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award 2002 Nominee Judy Freeman's 40 Favorite Poetry Books for Children, Reading is Fundamental (RIF) California Collection 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Graham (Splish Splash) reflects on the meaning and many permutations of light in 23 concrete poems. There's one set in the form of a crescent moon ("New moon/ sliver thin/ nice to see/ the night grin"), another sprinkled across a spread like fireworks. Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison even make cameo appearances. Although few of the verses possess enough descriptive candlepower or aural energy to glow on their own, artist and graphic designer Davis's ingenious typographical treatments, punctuated with witty, icon-style illustrations, make each poem shimmer. Whether sculpting words into a glowing insect ("Firefly") or conjuring an image of dancing flames between two toasting marshmallows ("Campfire"), Davis proves she is capable of visualizing the poetic spirit of language at play. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Grade 2-5-A vivid fusion of ingenious concrete poetry and boldly colored graphics that celebrate the many shapes and forms of light. From the joyous whoop of sunlight's "...dynamite, ring-/a-ding day" to the flash of the open camera shutter that "will spill/onto my film/to make time/stand still," readers will delight in the many images presented to the eye and to the mind. This companion volume to Graham's water-wonderful Splish Splash (Ticknor & Fields, 1994) will be equally at home in units on science, poetry, and art, and will surely inspire children. This one dazzles.
Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (October 25, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039590501X
• ISBN-13: 978-0395905012
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 9.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,395,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poems and other shapes, February 23, 2000

By 

Cathy Norman (Fairport Harbor, OHIO, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Flicker Flash (Hardcover)

This is a delightful collection of shaped poems all dealing with the theme of light. Candles, lightbulbs and lightening are just a few of the shapes used with wonderful words and images to create poems for children, parents and grandparents. A great book to read by candlelight.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The kind of language that speaks to children..., July 5, 2008

By 

Rebekah (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Flicker Flash (Paperback)

I have found that most children love repetition and poetry in their stories. This is a book that most children will love. It has beautiful language that is not above even a young child's level. It flows very well, and my daughter at 21 months enjoys the rhymes in it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Poetry Book, January 4, 2007

By 

book lover "Rachel" (deep in the heart of Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Flicker Flash (Paperback)

Great book- I purchased this for use in homeschooling for an activity- We lit candles and had Daddy read the poems about light/fire/etc. Fun to look at- the poems are in different shapes- and excellent way to end a study on fire and light on a "lite" note (no pun intended).