Customer Reviews

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A human.

..........A bug.

Quite different,we two

..........Quite different,we two,

but now here we are

..........with a book to review.

"Joyful Noise"

..........as it's called,

is a beautiful book.

..........Whether human or insect, it's sure worth a look.

Two voices, aloud, join in poems like these:

..........a story of booklice, and one about bees.

So get with a friend and find out the joys that come out of making

..........A JOYFUL NOISE!

Here are fourteen poems about, of all things, bugs. Some may wonder at the subject matter; some may be disgusted. By the time you're done reading them, however, I'm sure you'll no longer feel that way.

Speaking of fireflies, book lice, and honeybees, Fleischman shows the unique perspective of each. At times his poems are hilarious, with the worker ant complaining in time to the languid satisfaction of the queen; some are poignant enough to touch your heart and make you think twice about that caterpillar you shuddered at the other day.

What makes these poems truly wonderful, however, is the fact that they are "for two voices". For full effect, they *must* be read aloud by two people, sometimes in chorus, sometimes speaking alone, and other times echoing each other. In such a manner, the already-delightful poetry becomes alive.

These poems about the lives of different insects are meant to be read by two voices, thereby mimicking the sounds or characteristics of those bugs. The book works rather well, especially the whirligig beetle poem. Appearing in bookstores nation wide in 1992, I remember being given this book at the age of 10 from my mother. At that particular age I was not interested in participating in a picture book, clearly designed for younger students. Had I received it at a younger age I think I would have liked it more. I would recommend presenting this book to a group of students, having them perform it together. That would be the best use of this singular text.

A real celebration of the insects. Fourteen neat poems - you can read just one side and enjoy the poems too if you don't have a partner onhand but listening to them read by two people is neat! Really great drawings throughout - obviously done by a nature lover. The poems are funny and at times like haiku too.

Mesmorizing & magical. These poems are fun to read with kids ... for both kid and adult ... because the interplay of sounds is magical. And for the adults, there is deeper meaning to savor and be mesmorized by for long after the last page is turned. I read these with my kids over a decade ago, Just re-found the book and read them again with them a decade later and they smiled ear to ear at the memory of reading it together so long ago, and loved doing it again, but this time at a deeper level.

I rate this the book Joyful Noise by Paul Fleischman 4 stars.

I rated this book 4 stars because it was fun to read. However, I did think the book was a little slow to read. The book is written for two people to read together if they want to. This was neat the way he did this. I especially liked the way he used insects as the characters. This made it very interesting.The insects made it exciting because they had different personalities.

I had several poems that I really like in the book. One of the poems was book lice. I like this poem because they would blame each other for everything . Another poem that I liked was the Ant Poem. This was fun to read because the worker complained and the Queen was bragging. My favorite poem was Water Strider. This was a cool poem because they could walk on water. In the poem another insect trys to walk on water, but you will have to read the book to find our what happens.

Some books I recommend are The Chronicles of Narnia. Another book I would recommend is RASCAL. Some more books I would recommend are the Spiderwick Series. I would also recommend the Lord of the Rings by JK Tolken, and that concludes my book response.

I like this book because it's a fun way to learn about insects. You can also read it with a friend. My favorite part about the book was the poem called Water Boatman. It's m favorite because it was very funny. I also liked the one called Honeybees because you got to use two different personalities. The queen bee had a wonderful life and the worker bee has a hard life and hates being a bee. I would recommend this book to my teachers as a learning book about poetry and insects.

I'm a sixth grade teacher, and I have Poetry Cafe in my classroom every other weekend during the school year. Joyful Noise is a favorite of the kids in my class every year. It is always the poetry book the kids go for first when they are picking their poems for the week. They love the challenge of reading the poems fluently while still staying "on beat". The poems are beautifully written with rich vocabulary. I highly recommend this book.

"Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices" can be enjoyed by anyone who has an interest in poetry, but I believe it will be a wonderful classroom resource. Literature involves not only novels, but also poetry." Joyful Noise" can be read by the entire class, allowing everyone to participate. The verses can be challenging (and the vocabulary is suited for older students), but it is fun and entertaining to attempt to read them correctly. "Joyful Noise" can also be used across the curriculum. The poems are about insects (I especially love the poem 'Fireflies'), and they would be ideal for integration into science lessons, with children researching an insect from the book. Students could do art after reading one of these poems, creating pictures to describe what they've read. Writing skills could be built by allowing students to create their own poems for two voices. Vocabulary could be strengthened by, as a class, looking up the more difficult words and clarifiying everyone's understanding. All in all, this is a very special book, whether it's kept for personal enjoyment or is shared with children!

This book consists of fourteen poems about different insects. Each poem is written in two parts and must be read aloud to be truly appreciated. The two parts fit together, and when performed aloud, have a rhythmical sound. Having children act out the poems as they read them would be a great way to incorporate dance and creative movement. I would recommend this book for all teachers and parents who want to get children excited about poetry.