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“This is a good poem to use with students for a read aloud or in reader's theatre style.”
Treva W wrote this review Saturday, October 31 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Author-Paul Fleischman
Nicole B wrote this review Wednesday, April 15 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
illustrator- Eric Beddows
copyright-1988
publisher- Harper Collins
age-grades 3-5
This is a very clever poetry book. I love the way you harmonize with a partner when reading each poem. Sometimes your reading at the same time with the same words, sometimes different words. there are times where only one is speaking and you go back and fourth reading. Its almost like singing a round at times. The poems all are talking about different bugs.
-cooperative reading
-read as a class but divide up the room
-have them create their own poem with this as a model
”
“(Originally written for a college course):
Adam Hayes wrote this review Thursday, December 11 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
As a young man on the small but thriving Duluth, Minnesota poetry scene, there was a time that I made it my task to ask my favorite local poets what the difference was between prose and poetry. One answer typical of many of the responses I got came from Barton Sutter, who was recently awarded status as poet laureate of Duluth. He said that it is no longer poetry when the writer stops playing with their words. Put another way, poetry should be musical, be that through meter or devices such as asonance and alliteration. Joyful Noise is just that, musical. Whether it be through a description of the blended song of cicadas or the calligraphy skills of fireflies in the night, Joyful Noise is bent on elevating the words and the insects it celebrates into a veritable art form.
I have seen other books of poetry with nontraditional formats. I am speaking here specifically of poems that include additional lines at different positions around the page, which gives the feeling of there being a gloss to the body of the poem itself. However, most often, the authors that I have read who do this do not include specific instructions on how the peripheral material should be read. This naturally leads to some confusion and frustration. The fact that the author, Paul Fleischman, includes direct instructions for how the poems in his collection should be read, in combination with the decidedly concrete nature of his poems, makes Joyful Noise a readily accessible book of poems. Young children can delight in the brief narratives of the lives of several insects while adults can appreciate the symphony of noises - joyful noises - that makes up this body of music. In short, Joyful Noise is simple in terms of subject, but exceedingly complex - though accessible - in terms of its delivery.
It is interesting that almost all of the poems in the collection are delivered from the point of view of the insect that each poem describes, rather than through the voice of a third-party. This affords a certain familiarity with the insects decribed in Joyful Noise that would not be present were each poem from a more empirical point of view. As such, the whole book comes off as playful.
The dual-narration style can be a bit challenging sometime for a solo reader. I found myself having to review each pair of lines several time to get a feel for how it would sound. However, once I got down the sound of a poem, such as the first poem, “Grasshoppers,” I found it was well worth the effort. There is a deliberate strategy behind how the lines alternate, especially in the above mentioned poem as the lines bounce back and forth across the page, mimicking the very insect the poem is describing. That said, I feel I might appreciate a CD of this book being read aloud. I assume we will do this in class, but I would like very much to hear how these poems actually sound read aloud as intended, rather than silently to myself.
Overall, from the imaginative “Chrysalis Diary” to the playful “House Crickets,” Joyful Noise successfully makes music out of the world of bugs as imagined by the author. The numerous things going on with the collection, from sound to imagination to bits of scientific fact, mean that Joyful Noise can comfortably find audience for a wide range of ages. Children may appreciate the book for its whimsical description of the anthropomorphized world of insect and adults may find something to like in the diction, meter and musicality of it. In either case, it is clear why Joyful Noise is as celebrated as it is.”
“I like the idea of these poems in which two students can read it together, plus, they learn a little science. This would be a great "kick off" for students to apply this idea to other content area knowledge. I will be looking for more of this type of book.”
Robin T wrote this review Saturday, June 21 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I have used this a few times with my students. I have found other poetry to be more successful, but I do like the idea of multiple readers.”
Batona wrote this review Tuesday, April 29 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I think I misread the title when I ordered this last year - I thought it said Poems for TEEN voices! This book is all about BUGS. Short, lyric, beautifully illustrated, this book of poems is meant to be read aloud: sometimes with two voices speaking as one - giving power to the same lines, sometimes alternating with a flavorful beat - and other times with two voices speaking dischordantly. Each poem gives a sense of the insect it depicts, from water striders and bootlice to fireflies ("Light is the ink we use, Night is our parchment" p 11). While the book itself appears geared to a much younger audience, I think teens could have fun reading this aloud.”
Cathleen A wrote this review Friday, March 14 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A wonderful way to persuade kids in the fun and rewards of reading poetry and particularly outloud. ”
unfinished woman wrote this review Tuesday, July 17 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Thumbs way up for this little book! I would suggest that you buy two copies -- for it is poems for two voices to read aloud, and it is easier if you both have a book. Sometimes you read your lines together, sometimes one after another. The very sound of your voices on some of the poems just make you laugh. Oh! I wish there were more poetry books for two voices!”
Joykeeper wrote this review Monday, April 9 2007. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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