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HALF-CASTE

Name: HALF-CASTE
Author: John Agard
ISBN: 0-340-89382-6

AND OTHER POEMS

by John Agard ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 15, 2005

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An ebullient yet harmonious cache of assorted poems by a Guyanese performance poet who has made Great Britain his home since 1977. Adolescent readers will appreciate verse that is playful and energetic yet may address the joy of language (“Poetry Jump Up”) as well as serious topics of bullying (“The Hunt Boy”), racial identity (“Half-Caste), racism (“The Giant with a Taste for Mongrel Blood”) and politics (“The Ozone Liar”). Agard’s poetry toys with readers by offering poems without punctuation and with invented spelling; yet, he offers verse on the topic of grammar (“Punctuating the Silence”), the stuff of which can make any punctuation lesson nearly joyful. Teachers will find this book a calming and positive voice in a classroom and will come to think of the collection as a paradise of teaching opportunities. (Poetry. 12+)

Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2005

ISBN: 0-340-89382-6

Page Count: 80

Publisher: Hodder Children’s Books/Trafalgar

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2005

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY

- BOOK REVIEW
WHEN CREATURE MET CREATURE
by John Agard ; illustrated by Satoshi Kitamura

- BOOK REVIEW
<i>WINDRUSH</i> CHILD
by John Agard ; illustrated by Sophie Bass

- BOOK REVIEW
COYOTE'S SOUNDBITE
by John Agard ; illustrated by Piet Grobler

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THE BASKET COUNTS

by Arnold Adoff ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2000

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1880

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2000

ISBN: 0-689-80108-4

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 1999

Categories:

CHILDREN'S POETRY | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS

- BOOK REVIEW
ROOTS AND BLUES
by Arnold Adoff & illustrated by R. Gregory Christie

- BOOK REVIEW
VIRGINIA HAMILTON
edited by Arnold Adoff & Kacy Cook

- BOOK REVIEW
BLACK IS BROWN IS TAN
by Arnold Adoff & illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully

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A BIRD OR TWO

A STORY ABOUT HENRI MATISSE

by Bijou Le Tord ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1999

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Less a story than an analysis of Matisse’s art, particularly after his move to Nice, this companion to A Blue Butterfly (1995), on Monet, also combines visual recasting of selected works with poetic commentary: “To his color palette he added the bluest sapphire blue he could imagine. And with it he painted the Mediterranean Sea.” Using a free style of brushwork that evokes Matisse’s own joy and energy, Le Tord alternates her versions of his art with scenes of the man himself, always nattily dressed, always industriously making art. This perceptive personal tribute will enhance readers’ appreciation for Matisse’s work; they won’t mind going elsewhere for biographical details, and reproductions of his actual paintings, sculpture, and collages. (Picture book. 8-11)