Friday, May 29, 2015

Water Is Water {Poetry Friday}










This week I received a package and it just screamed summer surprise, happy first week!  Water Is Water by Miranda Paul and Illustrated by Jason Chin was a book I preordered and let it slip my memory.  Poetry is used to share the various forms water can be by using rhyme, repetition, and onomatopoeia, and interesting line breaks.  I just found the phrases so fun to read aloud.  Here's an example to help you have fun too - 

Page 1              Glide.

                            Slide.

                         Put on the brakes!


                         Ice is ice unless...

Page 2              it forms flakes.

The text is carefully crafted to use just one or two words to describe the action needed to change the form of the current water state.  I found it interesting how the page layout works to help the reader think harder and predict the next state of water to be discussed.  The book begins with water as a liquid and follows the journeys as it becomes steam, fog, a cloud, rain, puddles, ice, flakes, snow, with spring it becomes mud, roots, apples, cider, a drink again.  As I have been discovering with informational poetry there is more information in the back of the book.  The reader first learns more about each form of water mentioned in the poem, explaining the science behind the water form a bit more.  More facts are in three sections; Water is ...everything!, Water is...everywhere!, and Water is...important!

As a reader, I'm always looking out for ways I can share with my students new things I learn by being a reader.  Today I learned "When plant roots absorb this water (seepage), it's called uptake."

I need to make some time to explore with gouache and watercolor on paper.  This is the medium combination used by Jason Chin for the illustrattions and they are just beautiful.  I found the warm, soft illustrations to enhance the poetry and make me wish I could join the children illustrated in the story to play with the different water forms.  

It's so fun to join and return to Poetry Friday.  Thank you to Margaret for hosting Poetry Friday at Reflections on the Teche.  

2 comments:

  1. Looks like a lovely book. Will have to look for it!

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  2. There is a teacher at school whose class unit is water. I will tell her about this-sounds terrific, Mandy.

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