Module 2 Poetry- A Stick Is an Excellent Thing
A Stick Is an Excellent Thing
by Marilyn Singer
Summary
A Stick is an Excellent Thing by Marilyn Singer is a collection of 18 poems that celebrating children playing outside. Beautiful illustrations throughout the poems feature imaginative displays of children playing with bubbles, looking at the stars, splashing in puddles, and excitedly exploring the world around them. One can infer from reading the title that the poems within the book explore play through natural resources and things commonly found in nature such as sticks.
Personal Reflection
One of my personal favorite poems in the book was A Stick is an Excellent Thing, because it reminded me of the childhood joy of imaginative play. With the world at our fingertips on a daily basis, I see less and less of this form of play. This book is a an excellent reminder of the simply joys and timeless activities that can be created right outside your door. Poetry shows us how to look at the world in new ways (Galda, 2015). Poems throughout the book invite readers to imagine new games to invent, magical mud potions to create, and turning sticks into magical wands.
A Stick is an Excellent Thing
if you find the perfect one.
It is a scepter for a king,
A stick is an excellent thing.
It's a magic wand. It's yours to fling
to strum a fence, to draw the sun.
A stick is an excellent thing
if you find the perfect one.
Literary Elements
Listening to the poems within this book teaches readers about the world around them, as poetry often does. Lyrical poetry is found throughout the book that depicts statements of moods or feelings. The poems are melodic and have a songlike quality about them making them appealing to young readers through rhyme, rhythm, and repetition. Imagery is used throughout the poems to appeal to readers senses.
Illustrations
One of the first things I noticed about the illustrations throughout the book were the dream-like quality of them. The images convey joy as they show children laughing through play and happily soaking up their time in nature. The soft pallet of watercolors used throughout the images relate to the text in a meaningful way and are artistically excellent. Illustrations were created by LeUyen Pham.
Activities
Poems throughout the book reflect on children's space for play and creativity. For this activity, students will respond to the poem A Stick is an Excellent Thing through a short writing prompt. The prompt will be as follows: "It's not a stick, It's ......." Students will write three sentences using their imagination about what their stick is. A picture may be drawn to illustrate their creation.
Other Work by Marilyn Singer
References
Galda, L., Liang, L. A., & Cullinan, B. E. (2015). Literature and the Child (9th ed., p. 367). Cengage Learning
Singer, M. (2012). A Stick is an Excellent Thing. Clarion Books.
Hi Elizabeth, your blog lists numerous books for a variety of genres that can be added to the classroom. For my early childhood classroom, I am going to add Those Shoes, What Do You Do with An Idea, The Proudest Blue and A Stick Is an Excellent Thing. The activities that you suggested for A Stick is an Excellent Thing are great. I will extend them by having students go on a nature walk to find a stick of there own. In the early childhood setting I will have students share their ideas using their imaginations for what their stick represents. As they dictate I will jot down their thoughts. They can then create a story with pictures to demonstrate their ideas.
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