Isn't My Name Magical?: Sister and Brother Poems [Hardcover]

James Berry (Author), Shelly Hehenberger (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1999 | Age Level: 5 and up

A collection of poems depict the family relationships, friendships, and favorite activities of an African American sister and brother.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Two siblings reveal their thoughts and feelings about family, friends, and themselves in this series of poems. Dreena is a dreamer who is enchanted by the magic of her name and fascinated by the relationships that form the crux of her life. Delroy is an adventurer who plays ball, skateboards, and imagines himself to be a deep-sea explorer. Together, the children give a clear picture of the faces and activities that shape their world, their zest for life, and their love for the people who surround them. Berry's poems are energetic and vary in style. Dreena's nine selections are generally free-verse narratives, while Delroy's three use more predictable rhyme schemes, a variation that underscores the differences in their personalities. Hehenberger's vibrant, full-page pastel and colored-pencil illustrations are richly colored expressions of Jamaican-American culture. Bleeding into the borders, the realistic portraits of the youngsters blend with the simple yet carefully chosen background details to give a clear picture of each scene. Geared for a younger audience than Arnold Adoff's I Am the Darker Brother (S & S, 1997) or Lori Carlson's Cool Salsa (Holt, 1994), this will be a good choice for encouraging youngsters to write poetry about the people and activities that form the basis of their own lives.
Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan, LaSalle Academy, Providence, RI
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Leaving behind much of the lyricism found in his previous collections, Berry (First Palm Trees, 1997, etc.) pens poems in the voices of a sister, Dreena (who has the magical name), and brother, Delroy, on their experiences in the family with a dour sister, mother (``A teacher, Mom has lots of pens/and home and school jobs''), and father, who ``drives a train,/sometimes in a heavy jacket.'' This father is not really poem-material: ``And, sometimes, Dad brings us gifts./Sometimes, he plays our piano.'' The brother, Delroy, who tenders three autobiographical poems, can't sit still and can't stop talking about it. There is a good declarative poem, about a strong friendship he shares with another boy. Otherwise, he is dancing like a madman (``doing body-break and body-pop'') or skateboarding under the influence of a fevered imagination (``I want one owl on each my shoulder/hooting out as I leap each river''). In her first book, Hehenberger takes a literal route, anchoring every poem in domestic scenes of family and friends; the deep colors and finely sculpted forms become set pieces for Berry's earthbound images. (Picture book. 5-9) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1st edition (April 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689800134
• ISBN-13: 978-0689800139
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,533,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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