Opening Days: Sports Poems [Hardcover]

Lee Bennett Hopkins (Editor), Scott Medlock (Illustrator)

Book Description

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

The vitality of the language and the verve of Scott Medlock’s illustrations truly echo the energy and joy of participating in athletics in this unique collection of sports poems by a first-string team of beloved poets, including Jane Yolen, Walt Whitman, and Gary Soto. “A handsome addition to the expanding trove of sports anthologies.”--The Horn Book

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-7?Eighteen poems about various team and individual sports, including two poems by Hopkins. The selections have been carefully chosen for subject, appeal, and style. Some are lighthearted; others are more thoughtful; all encapsulate exhilarating moments connected with personal performance. They reflect a variety of styles, from rhymed couplets to free, narrative verse. Imagery is particularly noteworthy. Fluid oil paintings capture the energy and movement expressed in the words. A collection to be appreciated by athletes and non-athletes alike.?Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3^-6. The images are verbal and visual in this illustrated anthology of 18 poems about individual kids swimming, cycling, weight lifting, skiing, running, playing ball. Full-page color oil paintings illustrate each poem with movement and energy. There's a piece by Whitman, but most of the poems are contemporary. Jane Yolen's "Karate Kid," with its jerky rhythm, is fun to read aloud, and the action picture opposite picks up the boy's power and uncertainty. Roy Wesson's small poem about a 40-mile bike ride ("My feet / And seat / Are beat" ) is wonderfully extended with a double-page painting of bike, gear, and cyclist collapsed on the grass. There are dreamy poems, too, about shooting that winning goal, but there are no portentous parallels of sport as metaphor. The joyful focus here is on the physicalness of playing the game. Readers who like this may want to dip into the big YA anthology American Sports Poems (1988), compiled by May Swenson and R. R. Knudson. Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (March 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152002707
• ISBN-13: 978-0152002701
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #968,701 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poems For Children and Young Adults, May 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Opening Days: Sports Poems (Hardcover)

This book is a combination of sports and poems which most readers can relate to. Openeing days would be a good book for children ages 6-15. This book can help children relate and understand the poems and have fun at the same time!