“Summer Night – even the stars are whispering to each other."

Author: Kobayashi Issa
Title: Today and Today
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2007.

Grade Level: 3rd grade and up

Summary: A collection of haiku poems by Issa and artistically interpreted by G. Brian Karas.

Strengths: The illustrations truly help children understand the haiku poems. I think without the illustrations children would struggle to understand and create a mental image of the poem. I also like the fact that most of the haikus are simple and about topics children can understand, which would certainly help students begin studying poetry, particularly haikus. The poems are short and manageable, which makes this book ideal for children in third grade or older.

Concerns: The overall organization of poems into seasons, may make children miss the overall theme of the poems. While the organization may help some children understand the poem easier, one of the complaints of the book is that children get acquainted with a season and it abruptly changes. Also, some of the poems may be too difficult for young children to understand, for example the winter poem where the family is in the cemetery. I think one of the mistakes people make with haikus is thinking younger children can understand them easier because they are shorter, but this collection is a perfect example that haikus are meant for older audiences that are more familiar with poetry. Without a solid understanding of poetry and the purpose of poetry, young readers would truly miss out on these great works by Issa.

Classroom use: This would be a great resource for teaching older children about haikus. Students would be able to study the structure of haikus. The topic also lends itself to older students practicing writing their own haikus about the seasons. For younger students, these haikus would be great lesson starters about the seasons or a great book for circle time, providing the opportunity to begin introducing poetry to young students.

*Capitol Choice Award 2008 Winner

(image from Amazon.com)