Book Reviews by Carol Neeland for LS 5603: Literature for Children and Young Adults

Summary:

Beneath a Blue Umbrella is a collection of poetry for very young children. Many of the poems are about animals and other topics of interest to preschool and primary grade children. The print is large and the pictures are simple and colorful. Critical Analysis: Beneath a Blue Umbrella is a textbook version of what Tunnell and Jacobs describe as the kind of poetry that appeals to children most. The poems have strong sound patterns, rhythmic language, and rhyme. Most importantly, many of the poems are humorous and are written about subjects that children can identify with. Each poem tells a story, just like a traditional Mother Goose nursery rhyme. 

Repetition is an important part of many of the poems, which is another reason that preschoolers would enjoy this collection. One example of strong repetitive patterns is on page 46: 

Tippity Toppity, Upside-down Roy
Was a remarkable upside-down boy,
He lived in an odd little upside-down house
With an upside-down cat and an upside-down mouse… 

The repetition of upside-down not only conveys a message, it is fun to say! The picture that Garth Williams drew to accompany this poem captures its essence perfectly. Roy’s upside-down life looks silly and crazy, just the way the words describe it. 

Prelutsky uses alliteration and assonance in several of the poems without overdoing it. Too often when teachers are teaching the elements of poetry they use examples like “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers…” Yes, this is alliteration, but would we really want kids to emulate this example in their own writing? In the poem on page 40 there is mild alliteration that gets the point across without sounding contrived: 

“Said Sailor Snail, “Oh Captain Flea,
This water is to wet for me,”
Said Captain Flea, “I feel the same,
I’m so sorry that we came.” 

One of the things that I found most interesting about the book is the many references to geographical places in the United States. These might not be as noticeable to a reader who actually lives in the United States, but as I read this book to a group of kids I found that there were some places that needed to be pointed out on the map in order for kids to fully appreciate the meaning of the poem. For example, on page 54 Bonnie lost three silver beads by the bay in Baltimore, Maryland and found them at the seashore that summer in South Carolina. That’s a long way! My students didn’t understand how amazing the story behind that poem was until I pointed out the distance on a map. 

Here is another example that needs some geographical knowledge to be fully appreciated: 

Anna Banana went out in the rain,
And walked on her hands from Montana toMaine,
She left at eleven, she got there at ten,
And then she walked back to Montana again. 

Montana to Maine? That is a LONG way! 

There are also many cultural references in the book that were lost on my students who are not American. For example, on page 44: 

They laughed and sang and shouted,
What a jolly noise they made
As they frolicked in New Orleans
At the Mardi Gras parade. 

This opens up a whole world of possibilities for discussion. First, there is the need to point out New Orleans and then a discussion of what the Mardi Gras parade would be like, what Mardi Gras is about, where it is celebrated, and why and when. 

I don’t believe that the lack of this background knowledge detracts from the understanding or the pleasure of the poems themselves. They still have that beautiful, strong sound and they are funny regardless of a lack of background knowledge. As a former Social Studies and Language Arts teacher, I would welcome this kind of book because it provides for natural interdisciplinary connections. 

The illustrations in the book are superb. I was thinking as I read it that Garth Williams must have been pretty old when he did them because I was reading the Little House books when I was a girl. He died six years after this book came out; he was 84. It is astounding that he was able to capture the hearts and minds of kids for so many years. My son was looking through the book and when he got to page 63 he screamed, “Mom, look at what these monkeys can DO!”  

This collection is fun to read and is best appreciated by reading aloud. It is perfect for preschoolers and a very “wholesome” read. 

Review Excerpt: 

The following is an excerpt from a review in School Library Journal: 

The rhymes have humor and dash, and make wonderfully playful read-aloud material. (“Idaho Rose, dressed in polka-dot clothes,/ carries potatoes wherever she goes . . . ”) Williams’ full-page watercolor and ink paintings for each rhyme accurately, if not inspirationally, reflect the text. However, Prelutsky’s skill in combining rhythm and rhyme makes up for any lack of depth in the illustrations. These bounding verses are eminently readable, not only because of the style and content but also because of the large, clear type and generous use of white space. –Janice M. Del Negro,
Chicago Public Library 

For the most part, I agree with Ms. Del Negro’s review. However, she states that, “Williams’ full-page watercolor and ink paintings for each rhyme accurately, if not inspirationally, reflect the text.” And also that “Prelutsky’s skill in combining rhythm and rhyme makes up for any lack of depth in the illustrations.” While I agree that the text is skillful, I also believe that the illustrations add to the meaning of the text. Their greatness is in their simplicity. They help tell the story of each poem without overshadowing the text. Kids connect with these illustrations, even if Ms. Del Negro did not. 

Connections: 

If I were teaching this book to students I would use Google Earth to integrate technology and geography into the study. I’d have each student search for the locations in five of their favorite poems and put pins in the Google Earth map to show the other students. In the case of a poem where somebody travels, I would have the students draw the line between the pins then zoom in close enough to see the houses, and have the students follow the line as if they were traveling it on foot (or on hands, as in the case of Anna Banana!) 

The ex-English teacher in me would like to use this book to have students in Grades 2 - 5 find examples of elements of poetry. I would be concerned that the kids might not love the poems as much if I did that in a traditional way, however. Perhaps I could make it into a game in which I give groups of students cards with the word alliteration, assonance, metaphor, or onomatopoeia, etc. written on them. Then the students could search through the book to find one example of each from the book and write it on the back of the card. The cards could be placed on a bulletin board that has the elements of poetry written on it. This way, students could refer to the bulletin board and see examples from literature whenever they would like to use an element in their own writing. 

To counteract the “Ugh, it’s poetry” effect that such an activity might provoke, students could choose poems to act out. One person could narrate by reading the poem (or memorizing and reciting, if they choose) while other students could act out the story of each poem. 

Bibliographic Data:

Del Negro, Janice. “Beneath a Blue Umbrella.” School Library Journal (1990),
http://reviews.schoollibraryjournal.com/bd.aspx?isbn=0688064299&pub=sl (accessed March 1, 2008). 

Prelutsky, Jack, and Garth Williams. Beneath a Blue Umbrella.
New York: Greenwillow Books, 1990. ISBN Number: 0-688-06429-9

Comments RSS