Out of Wonder: poems celebrating poets by Alexander, Kwame by Marissa Posada

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Justification: I chose this book because I don't care for poetry personally. I want to stretch my literary taste and this assignment seemed like a good opportunity to do that. I also liked the illustrations on the cover jacket. After I browsed some of the illustrations, I also liked the images that I saw. I was going to pick an electronic book for this specific criteria, but I much prefer a physical copy than an electronic one.

Evaluation:

As a poetry book, it is to be expected that there would be music in the language used.

Many of the poems use the traditional couplets and other rhyming styles. These styles can be seen in the poems celebrating Langston Hughes and Emily Dickinson. It also includes a haiku that is to celebrate the poet Basho. It has three sets of haikus, one being, " Thunder and lightning Rain soaking the school blacktop Recess bells silent." (p. 7 Colderley, 2017). There is also the use of established patterns that can be seen in the poem celebrating Sandra Cisneros. "The Poet Inside Me" on page 30, has the words "you are" start each new stanza, giving it a patterns that helps establish the importance of the person inside.

As with any good book, Out of Wonder has many instances of figurative language.The figurative language helps the reader understand with clarity what feelings the writers are trying to convey in each poem. The first poem, "How to Write a Poem" starts off with how writers should listen to the voices inside and let them "dance together" to find the right words for writing. The poem "Snapshots" compares poetry to many different sensations. Each example helps to clarify the feelings of touch, taste, and memory that people feel when they read poetry. The next poem "How Billy Collins Writes a Poem" also gives great instances of figurative language. "How your mother's voice, calling you to breakfast, sounds like a fire alarm." This shows the reader instantly that the mother is not sweetly calling for their child to come down to breakfast, but a yelling that might wake the whole neighborhood.

This book has illustrations that help to reinforce the text. The mixed media images help to convey the feelings or memories that the poems are conveying. The poem "No Idle Days" is talking about a doctor that makes house calls and is constantly running around all day. The illustration that accompanies it has various houses and roads on it with one man with a briefcase running down the roads. It gives a hectic feeling to it that helps the reader to understand the busy schedule the doctor has. Another poem, "Spin a Song," mentions how the reader should capture the sun in their heart and how music is all around. The illustration, which happens to be on the front cover, visually shows the reader a woman with sun rays in her dress and music is found in various shapes around her.

Response:

The book is a good resource for those who have not been enthusiastic about poetry. When I was younger, poetry did not make sense to me and I did not see the point to it. This book is a great way to experience various kinds of poetry and allows someone to pick an author style that fits you. This book addresses topics that I think are important to the world. I am a fan of the group BTS, and their latest albums were about being accepting of yourself and loving yourself for your faults and graces. This book covers an important topic such as self confidence in "Majestic," "Know you are phenomenal!" This was a fun book to read and captivated my attention when reading the text. The illustrations are enchanting and the main reason I decided to check out the book in the first place.

Conclusion:

Out of Wonder has great use of music in language, figurative language, and enchanting illustrations. This is a worth wile book and is great for those who do not necessarily care for poetry at first. It allows readers to get a taste of various styles of poetry to help them find a style they like. I recommend this book for anybody that needs more poetry.

APA Citations:

Alexander, K., Colderley, C., & Wentworth, M. (2017). Out of wonder: Poems celebrating poets. Somerville, Massachusetts : Candlewick Press.