I guess I'm not artistic enough, or maybe urban enough. The idea of embedding haikus in the narrative as Tiana shares her output with us is wonderful. And the art is fantastic in the literal sense. But it just doesn't work for me.

"April showers scrub
the air. No wonder I can
run now. I can breathe!"

Brief author's note defines haikus and suggests that the book be used as a mentor text. ( )

This poetry book is a playful and thoroughly successful pairing of words and pictures. Most double-page spreads offer two poems, one in free verse, one in haiku, set on bright collages of cut paper and found objects. Graceful, rhythmic, and accessible, the poems depict sensory impressions and precisely observed moments. For example, in the haiku poem: "Hot days send me to/the water fountain where my/face goes for a swim.” The illustrations are original and distinctive and sometimes a bit busy, but give the book an urban, upbeat, and contemporary look. ( )

Summary:This book is a book about different haiku poems but made into a story. The little girl Tiara makes haiku poems about things she sees throughout the day.

Personal Reaction: This is a good book because it easily explains how haikus work and how all poems aren't just about rhyming and that there is different kinds. It helps realize that you can make a poem about almost anything.

Classroom Extension Ideas:
1) Have the students create their own Haiku's
2) Have the students create words that rhyme together and match them. ( )

This is a really cool book! It took me at least 2 reads to like it, though-- so it give it another chance if you don't care for it at first.

I wasn't raised in the city, so until I was 29 and finally experienced my first city spring, I wouldn't have known how much beauty can be found in pockets of street corners, window boxes, and even cracks in the sidewalk. Grimes and her illustrator capture the whole experience of seasons in the city, though.

The illustrations are all collages that have been photographed-- so they aren't that realistic, they aren't really even that beautiful. But, like the experience of seeing the beauty of nature in the crevices of cities, the viewer has to pay close attention to the illustrations in order to actually see how beautiful they are.

The writing is really what does it, though. In Grimes fashion, her poetry has a jazz feel-- it's quick and it's brief, but it's alive. Each page has a short section of unrhymed but alliterative verse followed by a haiku.

If you're an art teacher, a high school teacher teaching poetry, or an elementary teacher (city or country), this is a definite book to have around. ( )

This book is full of fun words to describe the seasons and things that each season shares. It would be a great way to get ideas flowing about what students enjoy about each season and to use the same type of illustration, collage, to share their thoughts. ( )