Monumental Verses [Hardcover]

J. Patrick Lewis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8 -This wonderful interdisciplinary selection pairs poetry of varying forms with the artistry of well-known architectural marvels throughout the world. The 13 monuments include Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the Statue of Liberty, and the Great Wall of China. Lewis has attempted to match the appropriate poetic form to each structure. He uses blank verse, rhyming couplets, acrostic, shaped or concrete poetry, and others. His verses celebrate the beauty of each monument or the incredible skill and artistry that developed it. Many of the photos are dramatic and taken at unusual angles such as the one of the Golden Gate Bridge. Facts including the monument's date, location, chief engineer or builder, and physical dimensions are included. An introductory poem sets the tone for the book. In the epilogue, Lewis repeats his goal and invites his audience to celebrate other monuments with poetry as he did. A world map shows each site's location and a facing page includes thumbnail photos and additional information. A solid and enduring addition to any collection.-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 5-7. After an introductory poem ("A bow to all who hoist the spirit high / And carve imagination into stone . . . ") Lewis offers 14 poems celebrating monumental structures. From the remnants of civilizations at Stonehenge, Easter Island, and Machu Picchu to the more modern achievements of the Taj Mahal, the Eiffel Tower, and the Statue of Liberty, the subjects are varied and the accompanying photos are striking. Lewis chooses something worth saying about each subject and says it with style. His poem on the color of the Golden Gate Bridge is particularly fine. The verse forms differ from concrete and acrostic forms to more traditional rhymed stanzas. Richly colored, the photographs are notable for their clarity, lighting, and dramatic compositions. The book's closing pages offer a world map showing the site, thumbnail pictures of the monuments with a little more information in tiny type, and credits for the photos. In an epilogue that teachers will appreciate, Lewis reflects on this project and challenges children to write their own "word pictures." Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: National Geographic Children's Books (June 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0792271351
• ISBN-13: 978-0792271352
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 0.3 x 11.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #575,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After nearly three decades as a professor of economics, J. Patrick Lewis turned to poetry. He is the author of more than 75 children's books including A Hippopotamusn't (1990), BoshBlobberBosh (1998), Please Bury Me in the Library (2004), First Dog (2009), Spot the Plot (2009), and The House (2009).

He has recently been named the third U.S. Children's Poet Laureate (2011-2013) by the Poetry Foundation.

His books have been published by Creative Editions, Knopf, Atheneum, Dial, Harcourt, Little, Brown, National Geographic, Chronicle Books, Scholastic, Candlewick, Schwartz & Wade, Holiday House, Sleeping Bear Press, Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press, Dawn Publications, and others. Gulls Hold Up the Sky, his first book of adult poems, was published by Laughing Fire Press (2010).

Pat's children's poems have also appeared in CRICKET (26 times), SPIDER, LADYBUG, CICADA, ODYSSEY, RANGER RICK, HIGHLIGHTS FOR CHILDREN, Ms. Magazine, YOUR BIG BACKYARD, CREATIVE CLASSROOM, STORYTIME, STORYWORKS, CHICKADEE, AHOY, LANGUAGE ARTS, JOURNAL OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, BOOKBIRD, READING TODAY and over 100 anthologies. He wrote the 1992 National Children's Book Week poem, printed on one million bookmarks and distributed nationally.

Lewis has received numerous awards from the American Library Association, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and others. He was the recipient of the 2010-11 National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Excellence in Children's Poetry Award, presented every two years.

WHERE I'LL BE NEXT--Schools, Bookstores, Conferences

October 14-16, 2011 Poetry Foundation--TED Lecture Chicago, Illiniois
October 23-25, 2011 NY State Reading Assn. Rye Brook, New York
October 28-31, 2011 Keystone State Reading Assn. Lancaster, Pennsylvania
November 5, 2011 Buckeye Book Fair Wooster, Ohio
November 8, 2011 Ashland University Ashland, Ohio
November 15-16, 2011 St. Joseph's College Rensselaer, Indiana
November 17-20, 2011 NCTE Convention Chicago, Illinois
December 1, 2010 Hillview Elementary Newark, Ohio
December 8, 2011 West Chester University (Dan Darigan) West Chester, PA
January 18, 2012 Richard Avenue Elementary Grove City, Ohio
January 24, 2012 Fouse Elementary Westerville, Ohio
March 1-3, 2012 Charlotte Huck Ch. Lit. Conference Redlands, California
April 3-5, 2012 Holland Hall Primary Tulsa, Oklahoma
April 12, 2012 Washington-Centerville Public Library Centerville, Ohio
April 13, 2012 Stingley Elementary Centerville, Ohio
April 17-25, 2012 Anglo-American School Moscow, Russia
April 29-May 2, 2012 IRA Convention Chicago, Illinois
May 10, 2012 Wynford Elementary Bucyrus, Ohio
March 22, 2013 OCTELA Conference Columbus, Ohio