Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems

I love trees, and have enjoyed a lot of children's poetry, including others by George. ?�But somehow this didn't work for me. ?áMaybe it's because George, and Kiesler, and I don't see trees with the same perspective. ?áMaybe it's because Kiesler's oil paintings are too heavy for most of the images - after all, even the most densely foliated summer tree is still mostly air and sunlight. ?áI do like the shortest poem here, the one that must be an homage to William Carlos Williams:

Poaching

The neighbor's fruit tree
has come to visit, bringing
ripe plums for dessert.

Very good poetry, gave the sense of someone watching nature through their lifetime. Painted very vivid pictures about the trees aroumd her.
I felt the poetry was appropriate for the target audience. Though the poems rhyme was very loose if at all.
I would use this book of poems to show what can be created if you look closely at the world aroumd you. Maybe tie in a creative writing assignment.

Bibliographic Information: Kristine O’Connell George, “Old Elm Speaks Tree Poems”, Illustrated by Kate Kiesler, Published by Houghton Mifflin Company, ©1998, 48 pages
Genre: Poetry
Summary: This book contains poems about trees. It has them from different seasons, different trees and different things they are used for. It describes trees and shares about them. It tells the secrets about a trees life.
Tags: Trees, Seasons, Children
My Response: This is a very fun book you could use to teach a season lesson with trees. It can also be used to show all the different things a tree could be used for. The pictures are not very good but the poems are very fun.

Nice collection of poetry about nature and seasons. Great for circle time and individual reading.

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