Sandy beaches, juicy watermelons, and porch swings are just a few of the warm-weather delights featured in this inventive alphabet of acrostic poems about summer. Like the previous seasonal collaborations from Steven Schnur and Leslie Evans, Autumn and Spring, this book contains twenty-six poems, alphabetically arranged. Each reveals a playful acrostic when read vertically, and each is accompanied by a glowing woodcut illustration.
Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Steven Schnur adds Summer, illus. by Leslie Evans, to his list of acrostic poetry collections that already includes Autumn and Spring. Bright beach umbrellas and tiger lilies fill the linoleum-cut illustrations; they capture summer days where "Fourth of July banners wave from/ Lampposts, front porches,/ And the village/ Grandstand as the parade/ Streams by." The mainstays from Memorial Day to Labor Day--the beach, mosquitoes, a lighthouse--are all here.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 3-This concept book features a short poem in which the first letter of each line spells out the word it represents. "Daisy" becomes "Dragonflies dart/And hover,/Inspecting white flowers with/Sunlike/Yellow centers." The sheer inventiveness of each poem is impressive, but most of them flow effectively, avoiding the forced rhythm that the acrostic form can impose. Neatly framed linoleum-block illustrations feature rich colors and bold lines that capture the brightness of the days. The progression from A to Z coincides with a move toward fall. Most, but not all of the illustrations feature a girl and her dog, adding to the impression that readers are moving through a particular summer, rather than simply getting a list of relevant items. The clever wordplay combined with the vibrant aura of summer captured in the art and poetry make this an appealing title.-Steven Engelfried, Deschutes County Library, Bend, OR
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Kara Reuter
Format:Hardcover
Steven Schnur's Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic is one of a series addressing the four seasons, with acrostic poems for each letter of the alphabet. Each letter has its own page, with a brief impressionistic poem addressing a subject that starts with that letter. So, "D" is about a daisy; "M" about mosquitoes; "V" about vegetables. However, the subject of the poem is never mentioned directly, instead the word spelled out in acrostic form by the first letters of the first lines of the poems:
Green clusters, soon to be
Red
And
Purple,
Entwine the
Stairs.
Despite the rigid format, the poems never feel forced and are almost haiku-like in their simple rhythms and tones. As the poems move from A to Z, they also form a kind of narrative, progressing from the early spring-like days of summer with the first day at the beach and to the late autumn-like summer days with stacks of chopped firewood. Leslie Evans' woodblock prints feature rich colors, bold lines, and chunky shapes capturing the scenes described from a variety of perspectives, such as a narrow focus on a dragonfly sitting on a daisy to a sweeping orchard landscape. This sophisticated book will impress children who know their letters with the power and elegance of language.
Green clusters, soon to be
Red
And
Purple,
Entwine the
Stairs.
Despite the rigid format, the poems never feel forced and are almost haiku-like in their simple rhythms and tones. As the poems move from A to Z, they also form a kind of narrative, progressing from the early spring-like days of summer with the first day at the beach and to the late autumn-like summer days with stacks of chopped firewood. Leslie Evans' woodblock prints feature rich colors, bold lines, and chunky shapes capturing the scenes described from a variety of perspectives, such as a narrow focus on a dragonfly sitting on a daisy to a sweeping orchard landscape. This sophisticated book will impress children who know their letters with the power and elegance of language.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I used this with middle schoolers and they really love the structure, the challenge of topical poems and using the acrostic device to write good poems. The books in this series are handsome enough that even high school kids would be intrigued with the challenge. Writing is hard enough--why not make it attractive, too?
By M. J. Mann
Format:Hardcover
Several years ago a friend of mine recommended that I buy one of Steven Schnur's books for my Reading Lab. When the book (Summer) arrived, I was impressed with the beautiful illustrations and the simple, creative acrostic poems. I now own two or three of the seasons covered by these lovely Alphabet Acrostic books. Since acrostic poetry is something that can be taught to even young writers-the poetry included in Schnur's books is a wonderful model for all ages. In each book, the author celebrates things that are special to the season that is focused on. I hope soon to include all four of the seasons in my library.
