WATER SINGS BLUE: OCEAN POEMS by Kate Coombs

Coombs, Kate. 2012. Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems. Illustrated by Meilo So. San Francisco: Chronicle. ISBN9780811872843

Kate Coombs makes a splash in her début poetry collection Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems.  Growing up near the Pacific Ocean, she clearly finds her inspiration in what she knows.  Her poems are the most concise condensation of ocean loveliness that I have read in a long time.  A most deserved winner of the 2013 Lee Bennett Hopkins Award for Children’s Poetry, Coombs' poetry is imaginative and full of the emotion, imagery, and beauty that the award stands for.  I felt like I had experienced the sea in twenty-three short and lovely poems. 

This would be a wonderful addition to any classroom library.  The poems range from three to twenty lines with the average poem being about eight lines.  In each titled poem she captures sights and sounds from sand to sky, and includes all the favorite living things like the whale, shark and octopus.  Most of her poems are rhymed verses with rhythms that echo the sea.  For example, “What the Waves Say” is written in rhyming paired lines that have a beat that mimics the rise and fall of the waves.

Her figurative language is so creative and delightful.  One of my favorites is called “Jellyfish Kitchen” when she likens a jellyfish to a cake cover.

Jellyfish Kitchen

           by Kate Coombs

The prim bell jar

with ruffled rim

my grandma used

to cover cake

has learned to swim.

Where bundts once lay

in sturdy rings,

this dome conceals

a frosted sting.

Her word play in “Not Really Jelly” captures the look and feel of a real jellyfish.

Not Really Jelly

     by Kate Coombs

You’re not really jelly,

you’re not really fish—

you’re free-floating noodles

escaped from a dish,

all slither and jiggle

and tremble and squish.

As if the poems are not beautiful enough, the watercolor illustrations by Meilo So couldn’t be more perfect. The blues of the ocean and sky, the neutrals of the sand, and the varied palette of the choral provide the crowning touch.

I can hardly wait for my next ocean unit to share this with my students.  I can see it inspiring ocean view art work and imaginative comparisons in spite of our land locked landscape.