Robin Mullet
  • Home
  • About Robin
  • Books
  • Poems and more
  • Good News
  • Contact

"Cold" Poems to Warm Your Heart

12/19/2014

3 Comments

 
Picture
         It's my tradition (and pleasure) to peruse my local indie bookstore for books as one of the presents for each of my grandchildren at Christmas time. Their insistence upon growing up makes the choices more difficult with each passing year, but luckily I still have some younger ones for whom I can purchase a beautifully illustrated picture book. The manager, Lois, always has a fabulous find for me and this year was no exception. 

     One of her recommendations was Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman & Rick Allen, published by HMH Books for Young Readers (November 4, 2014). This duo teamed up to produce the 2011 Newbery Honor Award winner, Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night, combining scientific facts about night creatures with stunning illustrations and hauntingly lyrical verse.  I was happy to see their new 2014 release continued this theme with the same quality of line and art. 

    Being a beekeeper's helpmate, the first poem I turned to was "Winter Bees". 
                     
                       We are an ancient tribe,
                        a hardy scrum.*

     Sidman's words catch the hum and feel of the hive deep in its tree trunk home, keeping the heat on by the act of "shivering" - which keeps it a balmy 92 degrees, by the way. Her vocabulary is picturesque but not difficult for the age group - don't you love the word, "scrum"?

     However, my favorite poem was "Brother Raven, Sister Wolf". Having been a wolf watcher for many years, this poem took my heart. She portrayed the relationship of bird and canine as I have often imagined it to be. Although not exactly friends, they have been observed to be of great use to one another in finding and providing something to eat - though they often squabble in the process. 
                     
                         Silver winged thief,
                                     Yellow eyed snarler,

     Other subjects in the book are voles, chickadees, and even a triolet on the lowly skunk cabbage, a plant I eagerly look for in late winter. I highly recommend this lovely, lovely picture book not only for the young ones in your life, but for you and anyone who loves nature, poetry and the treasures of the winter season. Ms. Sidman also hints of the promise of spring, for as she says in "Chickadee's Song", 

                                  winter doesn't last forever.

      Hopefully, the team of Sidman and Allen (his linoleum block prints are truly amazing) will continue to give us more enjoyable collaborations. Bravo!
      
*Book cover and quotations from poems with permission of Ms. Sidman.        

3 Comments
    Picture

    Archives

    March 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    December 2020
    February 2019
    January 2019
    March 2017
    October 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014

    Categories

    All
    Aging
    American Fiction Prize
    Art
    Black Sparrow Press
    Bruce Pratt
    Christmas
    Cicadas
    Diane Kendig
    Earth
    Ekphrastic
    Found Poetry
    Haiku
    Holidays
    Inspiration
    Johnson-Humerickhouse
    Joyce Sidman
    Local Food
    Madame Butterfly
    Malabar Farms
    Medicare
    Michael White
    Nancy Boutilier
    Natural Burial
    Nature
    New Rivers Press
    NightBallet Press
    Ohio Poetry Association
    Performance Poetry
    Poetry
    Qigong
    Rick Allen
    Short Stories
    Spoken Word
    The Curve Of Her Arm
    Veterans Day
    Winter Bees
    Women Of Appalachia
    Women's Art
    Women Speak
    Writers Almanac
    Writers Groups
    Writing
    Writing Prompts

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly
Photo used under Creative Commons from Iqbal Osman1
  • Home
  • About Robin
  • Books
  • Poems and more
  • Good News
  • Contact