The Blue Fish Chronicles

  Did You Hear What I Heard?  was written by Kay Winters and illustrated by Patrice Barton. It is a collection of poems that are all written by Winters. There are 35 poems in this collection that are themed around schools. The topics of the poems include the new kid, math, recess, and fire drills just to name a few. The topics are relatable to children that have been to or are currently going to school. The illustrations suggest a public school setting however the topics could be relatable to private schools as well. The illustrations show diversity in the students, teachers, and other adult figures. There is no table of contents nor is there an index. Each poem is titled at the top of the page or one of the pages that have the poem. The titles are in colored print and different text from the contents of the poem. The poems are catchy and most include some rhyming. There are some poems that contain words that are repeated. In the poem  In the Music Room  the sounds c...

          Free at Last: A Juneteenth Poem was written by Sojourner Kincaid Rolle and illustrated by Alex Bostic. It contains one poem and an author’s note. On June 19, 1865, the news finally made it to Galveston, Texas that those who were enslaved were finally free. The poem describes how the enslaved celebrated their newfound freedom. Some fled, some stayed, some celebrated, and some prayed and praised God. The poem uses different text and colors for parts of the poem that are quoted from another source or paraphrased from the Emancipation Proclamation. The poem is written in free verse and includes rhyming. Kincade uses adjectives describing the feelings of African Americans to create an emotional impact.      The poem connects to African Americans and others' racism towards them. The author's note by Kincade describes how she became connected to the celebration of Juneteenth. She also describes how her poem has been connected to events su...

     The book  City I love  is a book of poems written by a single poet, Lee Bennett Hopkins. The poems have an overarching theme of life in a “big” city such as New York City. The poems illustrate the cliché ideas of a big city such as tall buildings, little to no space for children to play outside, the constant loud noise and hustle and bustle, as well as many others. Each poem highlights different cities and their specific cliché. Each poem is accompanied by watercolor illustrations created by Marcellus Hall. The book does not include a table of contents or index, but each poem is titled.      The poems include a mix of rhyming, repeating, and imagery. The author uses repetition to bring the reader back to the topic. In  Subway are People  Hopkins keeps repeating the word “people”. He goes from talking about the people to the subway and illustrates that without the people there would be no need for the subway. In the poem  From t...