Poetry Book Form Your Name: Leyla Varela

Book Title: Brown Bear Wood- If You Go Down to the Woods Today
Author: Rachel Piercey
Publisher: Magic Cat Publishing Date: 2021

EVALUATE THE BOOK USING THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS

TYPE OF POETRY – Explain the type(s) of interesting poem(s) in the book (narrative, lyric, humorous,
free verse etc.) Explain with examples from the book.
Explain and give examples:
1. Home Sweet Home: Narrative poem
a. The poem is told by a third-person narrator and it sets the scene/describes what is
happening.
b. The line, “All of us are busy now, settling into home: bringing, building, burrowing,
and making it our own”.
2. Summer Brings The Sun- Field Day: Narrative/Lyric poem
a. The poem takes the reader to the field day setting but is still told by a third-person
narrator.
b. The line, “From the sidelines, families watch to clap and cheer their crew, refreshing
us with picnic treats and cups of morning dew”.
SUBJECT OF THE POEM(S) Explain the interesting topics and new perspectives the poems share with
the children. Provide 3 examples.
1. The poem, Art Class, is a great topic the book adds in because it is something that the
children can do along with the story. The poem explains art and what it could mean to each
artist. “Each piece is different from the next: the colors, styles, and scenes. and how it
makes you feel inside and what you think it means”. I think it’s great this poem explains
how art can be different to everyone!
2. The poem, Bear’s Campfire, talks about the fun of campfires such as “huddle round the
swaying flames for tales and roasted treats”. The poem also talks about owls and bats, “For
Owl and Bat, it’s daytime now, and they are wide awake”. I loved that they had the
opportunity to put in facts about these nocturnal animals and added it for educational
purposes!
3. The poem, Winter Brings the Cold- Winter Sports, is a great topic for children to read
because it talks about all the fun that can be done in the snow! “We’ve all met up, with
chattering teeth, to sled and skate and ski”.
LANGUAGE –Explain how the poems encourage children to play with words and expand their
imaginations. Provide 3 examples
1. The poem, Bunny’s Birthday, is a great poem to expand children’s imaginations with the first
line of the poem that states “A warren isn’t usually the place you’ll find a bear”. The story
takes place in a warren, which is where bunnies like to burrow, and this poem gives children
the opportunity to imagine a bear underground among bunnies and other small animals. “I
am busy with the mice…”.
2. The poem, Bear’s Winter Feast, is a great poem to encourage imagination and to play with
words such as “The winter sun is setting fast: It never reached full height. But we will linger
on here in this jolly, joyful night”. The poem encourages imagination by the imagery in the
lines “in the depths of wintertime, a feast is just the thing to raise our chilly spirits, with a
chance to eat and sing”.
 3. The poem, Goodnight World- Bear’s Den, is a great opportunity for children reading the
poem to expand their imaginations. The poem talks about winter time and how it’s time for
hibernation for Bear. “The year is getting sleepy now, the night is getting on. It’s way beyond
my bedtime: do excuse this giant yawn!”. The poem also gives children the opportunity to
play with words from the lines “Everyone has said goodnight, sleep tight, and see you soon.
And now I’m in my cozy den beneath the gentle moon”.
PERSONAL CONNECTIONS –Explain how the poems create an emotional response for the child that
encourages repeated readings. Explain with examples from the poems.
Explain with examples:
1. The poem, School Days, is a poem I believe will create an emotional response for children
because they can relate to it. “It’s time for school inside the woods, to come and learn
together; and make a whole new group of friends with fur or shells or feathers”. The first
day of school can be nerve-wrecking sometimes but the poem does a great job on turning it
positive and fun!
2. The poem, Swimming Lessons, is a poem about the midst of summertime and the fun of
going to the pool on a hot day, which is something children can relate to. “It’s full of
possibilities, the water: we can glide, or paddle, float, or make it swell, or even dive inside”.
The poem also includes a part where parents stay out of the water to watch over the
children. “And on the banks, the grownups rest, content to watch the fun, calling out
encouragement and soaking up the sun”.
3. The poem, Rainy Day, shows the two types of people during rainy days that anyone can
relate to. The children that like to be outside in the rain can relate to the lines that state “A
group of damo explorers have set out to brave the skies, to jump and stamp in puddles and
make sticky brown mud pies”. Then, for the children that don’t like the rain can relate to the
lines that state “Some, like me, have stayed inside: We do not wish our toes or tails or fur to
ooze with mud, we’d rather chat or doze”.

ILLUSTRATION – Consider illustrations, page layout, word placement, art and/or photography.
Choose a 2-page spread and evaluate illustration with the following:
Explain the illustrations and how they relate to poem content.
- The illustrations for each of the poems are incredibly detailed, as the illustrations also serve
as a “what to find”. The reader is given a list of things to find in the illustration, so it is
almost like a Where’s Waldo imagery. The illustrations show what the poem describes
perfectly and more over!
Page design-explain:
word placement and font: The word placement is always on the left side of the page. The font and
its size always stays the same, although the author decided to change the font on certain words in
each poem and make it cursive.
use of white/dark space: I would not say there is use of white/dark space in the illustrations besides
the last poem that takes place in a night/dark setting.
CHILD DEVELOPMENT THEORIES -
● Select a poem from the book.
● Choose a theory (Piaget-cognitive, Erikson-psychosocial or emotional development)
● Identify the stage, age.
● Select a specific trait from the developmental stage/age.
● Give specific examples from the poem to fit the developmental stage and age
Poem: Field Day Theory: Piaget
Stage______Preoperational___________ Age_____2-7_________
Select one trait for the developmental stage/age
- Fantasy and imaginative play help develop cognitive skills.
Explain poetry examples:
1. In the poem, Field Day, the reader can look at the illustrations of all the animals
participating in activities and pretend to be one of them and do the same activity. The poem
states at the end, “Who will win the running race? Whose the furthest throw? Who can
jump the highest, longest?” The children can pick the animal they want to be and compete
in these challenges.
2. “And what a perfect day for sport: for races up and down, and back and forth, and fast and
slow, in the air and on the ground”.