I Lay My Stitches Down

Title: I Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of American Slavery

Author: Cynthia Grady

Illustrator: Michelle Wood

Copyright Date: 2012

Genre: Poetry

Theme: Poetry, non-fiction, Social Studies, African-American, slavery, biography, history

Grades: 5 and up

Awards: Parent's Choice Silver Honor (source)

Summary

This book is a beautifully written and illustrated collection of poems about the experiences of those living as slaves in America. The poems cover topics such as working in the home and fields, punishment, secretly educating themselves, and their escape through the Underground Railroad among others. These poems are backed up with great quilt inspired illustrations and sections of historical context to help explain the poems.

What was life like for the African-Americans living in slavery? Read this book to find out.

Pre-reading Activity

Because this book covers so many different aspects of life as a slave, it lends itself well to a KWL chart. Before reading the book have the students share everything they know about slavery and record it in the first column of a three columned chart. This will be the "what I already Know" column. Record everything, even if it is a misconception. All of this is their background knowledge of the subject. Next, in the second column, write down all the questions they might have about slavery. This is the "What I want to know" column. Any question about slavery will work here. This is the information they will be looking for during the story. 

During Reading Activity

While reading the story, if an answer to a question comes up, write a note next to the question in the third column of the chart. This is the "What I learned" column. This is also a good place to write some information that may contradict some of the misconceptions students may have had before too.

Post-reading Activity

After reading through the book, and finishing the chart of all the new information and greater understanding they have about slavery, this would be a great time for students to do some writing. Since the KWL chart contains the notes from the book, students can use the information to write a paragraph about life in slavery. For older students, you could bring in more texts and have them synthesize them into a true research paper.   

Author and Illustrator

Cynthia Grady works as a middle school librarian when she isn't writing or making quilts. This book is her very first book to be published. She currently lives in Washington DC. (Source: book jacket and here)

Michelle Wood is an award winning artist, earning the American Book Award for the first book she illustrated, Going Back Home. Since then she has earned other awards, including the Coretta Scott King Award and her work has received lots of praise from critics. She currently lives in Indiana. (Source: book jacket and here)

Reflections

I'm a big fan of this book. Not only are the poems meaning AND accessible, but the illustrations just makes everything come alive. This is a great way to introduce this difficult part of American history to young students, especially with the contextual paragraphs on each page. A very good book.

If you are interested in purchasing this book, click here.

The President's Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents

Title: The President's Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About the Presidents

Author: Susan Katz

Illustrator: Robert Neubecker

Copyright Date: 2012

Genre: Poetry

Theme: Poetry, Social Studies, American History, Presidents, Government, Biography

Grades: 1 and up

Summary

This book is a collection of poems about our nation's presidents. Stretching from George Washington to Barrack Obama, the poet highlights a quirk, anecdote, or other fact about each and every president. With historical context provided for each poem, this book is sure to teach everyone something about our commanders in chief they've never known. 

Which president invented the swivel chair? Which president had the longest inaugural address AND the shortest presidency? Which president was afraid to use a light switch? Read this book to find out.

Pre-reading Activity

It could be fun to test the classes knowledge of presidential trivia by putting together a matching game of little known facts about the presidents (taken from the poems) and seeing how many presidents the students can match the names to. For younger students this can be just a small list, but older students could be given the list of all forty-three. 

During Reading Activity

While reading, the teacher can point out the different structures and approaches the poet takes for each poem. For example The Thomas Jefferson poem has a repeating structure of each stanza looking at a different invention of his and the opposites it embodies, while Woodrow Wilson poem is structured in simple couplets. Also it would be important to point how the poems highlight the humorous and human aspects of the presidents (like James Buchanan's habit of tilting his head to look at things and Theodore Roosevelt's rowdiness), instead of the usual perfect way they are pictured in history books.  

Post-reading Activity

After reading this book, teachers can lead a discussion on how poems can be an interesting way to present information. They can encourage students to research someone from their current studies and write a poem about their life and describing their importance to history. These poems could be about an explorer or leader from the current unit in social studies, a scientist who contributed to the field the ongoing science lesson is about, a writer from a recent author study or even a famous and influential mathematician. 

Author and Illustrator

Susan Katz is the not only an accomplished poet, writing collections such as this one and Looking for Jaguar and other Rainforest Poems, but also a novelist, having written Snowdrops for Cousin Ruth. She currently is living in Pennsylvania. (Source: Book jacket and here)

Robert Neubecker is the illustrator of a number of children's books including Shiver Me Timbers by Doug Florian and Sophie Peterman Tells the Truth by Sarah Weeks. He is also the author of his own books such as Wow! City! and Courage of the Blue Boy. He currently lives in Utah. (Source: Book Jacket and here)

Reflections

I really like this book. It is well-written and super fun to read. I think this book could work if you were to read it all the way through or if you were to break it up and read a few a day, maybe as you go along in American History. I think everyone could enjoy this book and walk away knowing something new to share with others. I can't recommend it more. 

If you are interested in purchasing this book, click here.