Bibliography
Sidman, Joyce. 2010. DARK EMPEROR & OTHER POEMS OF THE NIGHT. Ill. by Rick Allen. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN: 9780547152288
Plot Summary
This is a topical collection of poems written about nocturnal life in the forest. There are a total of 12 poems with the majority of them featuring poems about animals including "Dark Emperor" about the great horned owl. Also included is a poem about trees, one about mushrooms, and the book concludes with "Moon's Lament" describing how the moon disappears as morning approaches.
This is a topical collection of poems written about nocturnal life in the forest. There are a total of 12 poems with the majority of them featuring poems about animals including "Dark Emperor" about the great horned owl. Also included is a poem about trees, one about mushrooms, and the book concludes with "Moon's Lament" describing how the moon disappears as morning approaches.
Critical Analysis
DARK EMPEROR & OTHER POEMS OF THE NIGHT features 12 poems with a variety of poetic forms such as lyrical, prose, concrete, etc. For example, the poem "Dark Emperor" is a shape or concrete poem, because it is in the shape of an owl. The final poem titled "Moon's Lament" is a medieval style poem called ubi sunt. All of the poems flow beautifully and help the reader imagine the subject in its natural habitat. The illustrations only help the imagery. Allen's illustrations are very detailed and all have dark linings that remind me of ink stamps. The factual descriptions provided on the opposite page of the poem are all very informative and teach the reader interesting facts about the subject. For example, the snail, rather than chewing, scrapes plant materials with its tongue that is covered with tiny teeth. This book may not work for younger children, because the vocabulary is challenging. A glossary is included at the end of the book to help with some of the scientific terms throughout the poems and descriptions. This book should especially appeal to nature lovers.
DARK EMPEROR & OTHER POEMS OF THE NIGHT features 12 poems with a variety of poetic forms such as lyrical, prose, concrete, etc. For example, the poem "Dark Emperor" is a shape or concrete poem, because it is in the shape of an owl. The final poem titled "Moon's Lament" is a medieval style poem called ubi sunt. All of the poems flow beautifully and help the reader imagine the subject in its natural habitat. The illustrations only help the imagery. Allen's illustrations are very detailed and all have dark linings that remind me of ink stamps. The factual descriptions provided on the opposite page of the poem are all very informative and teach the reader interesting facts about the subject. For example, the snail, rather than chewing, scrapes plant materials with its tongue that is covered with tiny teeth. This book may not work for younger children, because the vocabulary is challenging. A glossary is included at the end of the book to help with some of the scientific terms throughout the poems and descriptions. This book should especially appeal to nature lovers.
Review Excerpt(s)
2011 American Library Association Notable Books for Children Award Winner
2011 Newbery Medal Nominee
2011 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Nominee
2012 Beehive Children's Poetry Book Award Nominee
2012 Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee
Starred review in BOOKLIST: "Like Sidman's Caldecott Honor Book, Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems (2005), this picture book combines lyrical poetry and compelling art with science concepts. Here, poems about the woods at night reveal exciting biology facts that are explained in long notes on each double-page spread. In a poem about crickets, lines describe “the raucous scrape / of wing against wing,” while a prose passage explains that the cricket's wing has a serrated “file,” which the cricket rubs against a hard “scraper” on its other wing to attract a mate, creating a sound called “stridulation” that can swell to deafening levels. The facts are further reinforced in the accompanying picture, which shows the small file on a cricket's wing. In an opening note, Allen explains his elaborate, linoleum-block printmaking technique, and each atmospheric image shows the creatures and the dense, dark forest with astonishing clarity. Looking closely at a picture of a snail, for example, readers will see the physical detail, described in an adjacent poem, in the small animals' moist, slug like bodies, “riding on a cushion of slime.” The thrilling title poem captures the drama of predator and prey: a mouse in the undergrowth flees an owl's “hooked face and / hungry eye.” A final glossary concludes this excellent, cross-curricular title. Grades 3-6." --Hazel Rochman
Starred review in THE BULLETIN: "This is a fine collection for classroom use at any time, but it'll bring extra impact to those who can find a way to share it at dusk with the lights dimmed, watching through the windows as the nocturnal ballet begins outside."
Starred review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "Allen's detailed yet moody prints encapsulate the mysteries and magic of the midnight hours. In Sidman's delicious poems, darkness is the norm, and there's nothing to fear but the rising sun."
Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Sidman continues her explorations of natural history in this set of poems about nocturnal life in the forest. As in her other collections, each selection is set in an expansive spread that includes a factual discussion of the featured subject. The illustrations are bold, richly detailed linoleum prints colored in gouache. The 12 poems are led by a scene setting “Welcome to the Night” and go on to feature 9 different creatures and some mushrooms with a concluding lament by the moon as night fades into morning. Sidman adroitly applies varied poetic forms and rhyme schemes. The title's dark emperor, the great horned owl, lends its shape to the one concrete poem, and the closing lament is in the medieval style known as an ubi sunt. The poetry is reflective and at times philosophical. “Build a frame/and stick to it,/I always say./Life's a circle….Eat your triumphs,/eat your mistakes:/that way your belly/will always be full…,” advises the night spider. Other poems are playful and some just a bit confusing. The porcupine poem explains that the infant of this species is known as a porcupette; the repeated use of “baby porcupette” seems oddly redundant. The bookmaking is beautiful with the concept of night lending itself generously to poetry. It invites lingering enjoyment for nature and poetry fans, and, as with Sidman's earlier collections, it might be used with varied curriculums." Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
2011 American Library Association Notable Books for Children Award Winner
2011 Newbery Medal Nominee
2011 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Nominee
2012 Beehive Children's Poetry Book Award Nominee
2012 Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee
Starred review in BOOKLIST: "Like Sidman's Caldecott Honor Book, Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems (2005), this picture book combines lyrical poetry and compelling art with science concepts. Here, poems about the woods at night reveal exciting biology facts that are explained in long notes on each double-page spread. In a poem about crickets, lines describe “the raucous scrape / of wing against wing,” while a prose passage explains that the cricket's wing has a serrated “file,” which the cricket rubs against a hard “scraper” on its other wing to attract a mate, creating a sound called “stridulation” that can swell to deafening levels. The facts are further reinforced in the accompanying picture, which shows the small file on a cricket's wing. In an opening note, Allen explains his elaborate, linoleum-block printmaking technique, and each atmospheric image shows the creatures and the dense, dark forest with astonishing clarity. Looking closely at a picture of a snail, for example, readers will see the physical detail, described in an adjacent poem, in the small animals' moist, slug like bodies, “riding on a cushion of slime.” The thrilling title poem captures the drama of predator and prey: a mouse in the undergrowth flees an owl's “hooked face and / hungry eye.” A final glossary concludes this excellent, cross-curricular title. Grades 3-6." --Hazel Rochman
Starred review in THE BULLETIN: "This is a fine collection for classroom use at any time, but it'll bring extra impact to those who can find a way to share it at dusk with the lights dimmed, watching through the windows as the nocturnal ballet begins outside."
Starred review in PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: "Allen's detailed yet moody prints encapsulate the mysteries and magic of the midnight hours. In Sidman's delicious poems, darkness is the norm, and there's nothing to fear but the rising sun."
Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Sidman continues her explorations of natural history in this set of poems about nocturnal life in the forest. As in her other collections, each selection is set in an expansive spread that includes a factual discussion of the featured subject. The illustrations are bold, richly detailed linoleum prints colored in gouache. The 12 poems are led by a scene setting “Welcome to the Night” and go on to feature 9 different creatures and some mushrooms with a concluding lament by the moon as night fades into morning. Sidman adroitly applies varied poetic forms and rhyme schemes. The title's dark emperor, the great horned owl, lends its shape to the one concrete poem, and the closing lament is in the medieval style known as an ubi sunt. The poetry is reflective and at times philosophical. “Build a frame/and stick to it,/I always say./Life's a circle….Eat your triumphs,/eat your mistakes:/that way your belly/will always be full…,” advises the night spider. Other poems are playful and some just a bit confusing. The porcupine poem explains that the infant of this species is known as a porcupette; the repeated use of “baby porcupette” seems oddly redundant. The bookmaking is beautiful with the concept of night lending itself generously to poetry. It invites lingering enjoyment for nature and poetry fans, and, as with Sidman's earlier collections, it might be used with varied curriculums." Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston
Connections
- Book could prompt discussion about nocturnal animals.
- The book could be shared in a life science class.
- Would be a great book to read at a campfire.
- Sidman, Joyce. 2009. RED SINGS FROM THE TREETOPS: A YEAR IN COLORS. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN: 9780547014944
- Sidman, Joyce. 2005. SONG OF THE WATER BOATMAN AND OTHER POND POEMS. Ill. by Beckie Prange. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 9780618135479
- Sidman, Joyce. 2011. SWIRL BY SWIRL: SPIRALS IN NATURE. Ill. by Beth Krommes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. ISBN: 9780547315836
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