Poetry is defined as literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm. Poetry can arouse insight into our deep feelings, making us laugh, cry, be sad or angry. The beginning of poetry started in folklore with verses written for children such as with Mother Goose.






The Giving Tree
Author and Illustrator: Shel Silverstein

The Giving Tree is about the relationship between a boy and a tree. The boy enjoys playing with tree, climbing her trunk, sleeping under her shade, eating her apples, swinging from her branches, playing hide and go seek and picking her leaves to make a crown and playing "king of the forest." The boy and the tree loved each other very much. As time went on and the boy started growing up, he went to visit the tree less and less, leaving the tree alone. One day the boy visited the tree. He told the tree that he needed to make money so the tree gave him her apples for him to sell in the city. This made the tree happy to be able to give something to the boy. After time went by, the boy who is now a man, came back and said he needed a house. The tree gave him her branches to build a house. This made the tree very happy. The boy came back and said he would like a boat to sail away and be happy. The tree gave the boy his trunk to build a boat. This made the tree happy. The boy came back a tired old man and needed a place to sit and rest and the tree offered him her stump to sit on. The illustrations in this book are very simple, sparse, and minimalistic as is the message of the book. Both the tree and the man seem to be very minimalistic in what they need and what makes them happy. I think the illustrations, along with the message work well together. This sweet, simple message would be drowned out if the illustrations were busy, loud, and colorful.

My reaction to this  story is that this is a great book to teach our kids about relationships. There is a two way street of giving and taking from each other. This shows that happier people are the ones that share, give of themselves and are generous. The unhappy people are usually very selfish and always seem to take without ever giving back. This story ends with the tree being very happy that she was able to give to the boy while he grew up. The boy, while turning into a man didn't seem happy at all and I would gather he died a very lonely old man. Although very sad, this book is perfect to teach many virtues from.

Where the Sidewalk Ends:
Author and Illustrator: Shel Silverstein
This book is an anthology or collection of poems written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein.
The book begins with the short poem called, Invitation, inviting readers to come in and explore and ends with a short poem called that The Search as if to say, you've come to the end of the rainbow with your pot of gold. The poems in the book are an equal mix of funny, silly, sad, weird, and naughty. This book appeals to kids as much as does adults. This book use to be my youngest sons favorite book. I have fond memories of reading this to him in bed. In fact, he mentioned this book and how much he loved the poems even though some of them didn't make sense to him. Shel Silverstein uses pen and ink in his trademark minimalist style that carefully illustrates each poem. This anthology truly is a good mix of poems that touches on every emotion and reaches all ages.