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Read All About It
A STEM Related Book
Sponsored by Lockheed Martin
The Tree That Time Built
Poetry Foundation, Children’s Poet Laureate 2008-2010
Selected by Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston
Rolling Readers Space Coast, Inc. Commentary: In honor of Poetry Month and Earth Day, which is April 22nd,
we have chosen The Tree That Time Built as April’s “Read All About It” STEM related book to highlight for readers. This
book is an anthology of 100+ poems with an environmental focus, celebrating science and nature. Darwin’s theory of
evolution is a recurring influence throughout, with poems like “Cross-Purposes”, which is about the connection
between bees and flower pollination. Perfect for 5th through 7th grade readers, and with teacher support, 3rd through
4th grade, it includes snippets of Darwin’s research and provides an interesting and fun approach for learning about
nature, its animals, plants, insects and the scientific discoveries that explain their interconnections.
Activities: Here is a great website for ideas on activities that can be done to highlight nature, plants, animals, and
insects: https://www.forestfoundation.org/family-activities-in-nature
For Earth Day – This website has free classroom activities to download:
http://yourgreenclassroom.blogspot.com/2013/04/20-easy-and-free-classroom-activities.html
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal:
Grade 5-Up—Finding connections to and inspiration from Charles Darwin's work, the editors of this anthology
encourage readers to consider the shared ancestry among all living things. Divided into nine sections, this impressive
collection begins with the theme "Oh, Fields of Wonder" and ends with poems that remind readers to "Hurt No Living
Thing." Classic works by Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti, and the like, and selections from
contemporary poets are included, as well as translated works. Hoberman and Winston cleverly pair titles such as D. H.
Lawrence's "Hummingbird" with Rachel Field's "Something Told the Wild Geese." A thoughtful introduction describes
the origin and organization of the book. Many pages contain footnotes that provide additional information about the
poet, poetic terms and form, and suggestions for further consideration and discussion. A CD of poets reading their own
work and poems written by others is included. This handsome collection is especially appropriate for classroom use and
instruction along with Constance Levy's A Crack in the Clouds (S & S, 1998). From the playful to the profound, the
poems invite reflection and inspire further investigation.—Shawn Brommer, South Central Library System, Madison, WI
From Booklist:
“Both poets and scientists wonder at and about the world.” Selected by Winston, an anthropologist and teacher, and
Hoberman, the current U.S. Children’s Poet Laureate, this attractive, accessible anthology collects poems that celebrate
both the facts and the mysteries of the natural world. Included are selections from the language-arts canon, such as
William Blake’s famous line about “the world in a grain of sand,” as well as contemporary offerings by children’s poets,
such as Douglas Florian and Alice Schertle. The thematic categories are sometimes vague, starting with a section of
poems about “the wonderful beginnings of things,” which explore life’s origins, as well as “the connections between
pebbles and mountains, people and animals, atoms and stars.” Even if the organization occasionally feels arbitrary, the
well-chosen selections will provoke thought and inspiration. Explanatory notes accompanying many poems, a glossary
of both scientific and poetic terms, short biographies of the poets, and an accompanying CD featuring a selection of the
poems read aloud make this attractive and unusual hybrid of poetry and science a great choice for classroom sharing.
Grades 3-7 --Gillian Engberg
Brevard County Library link to locate this book:
http://discover.mylibraryworld.com/#section=resource&resourceid=58655455&currentIndex=0&view=fullDetailsDetailsTab
A couple of additional books of poetry to read for various grade levels are:
Tickle Day: Poems from Father Goose
by Charles Ghigna
Summary:
This is a cute collection of original poems and rhymes celebrating nature.
Brevard County Public Library link for this book:
http://discover.mylibraryworld.com/#section=resource&resourceid=13181772&currentIndex=1&
view=fullDetailsDetailsTab
Seeds, bees, butterflies and more! Poems for two voices
by Carole Gerber
Summary:
Poems about the plant and insect world, designed to be read by two voices.
Brevard County Public Library link for this book:
http://discover.mylibraryworld.com/#section=resource&resourceid=402075035&currentIndex=1
1&view=fullDetailsDetailsTab