Sidman, Joyce. 2014. Winter
Bees and Others Poems of the Cold. Illustrated
by Rick Allen. Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt. ISBN 9780547906508.
I must recommend yet another book from our 2013 NCTE Poetry
Award recipient, Joyce Sidman with illustrations by Rick Allen. Who better to collaborate on a book of winter
poems than two residents of Minnesota? The
art work combines old and new mediums to create a stunning look that begins with
the last fall leaves and ends with the first bud of spring with beautiful
winter celebrated in between. Sidman
combines her exceptional poetry with a bonus sidebar of scientific information
for each subject of reflection. The
table of contents reveals twelve titles: Dream of the Tundra Swan, Snake’s
Lullaby, Snowflake Wakes, Big Brown Moose, Winter Bees, Under Ice, Brother Raven
Sister Wolf, Vole in Winter, What Do the Trees Know, Chickadee’s Song, The
Whole World Is Melting, and Triolet for Skunk Cabbage. The jacket information tells of the extensive
research Sidman did in preparation for the book including first-hand treks over
icy lakes to observe beaver lodges. Her research not only affords us the spectacular
sensory imagery of her poetry, but exceptional facts in her sidebars. Additionally, a glossary of 22 amazing words
such as ectothermic and subnivean (which my spell checker doesn’t even know),
rounds out the experience.
Sidman uses a variety of poetic
forms as one would expect from this poetic virtuoso: a pantoum (Under Ice), rhyming couplets (Snake’s
Lullaby), and triolet (Triolet for
Skunk Cabbage) to name a few. She is
a master of every poetic element:
Rhythm
Brother, sister, flick you tongue
and taste the flakes
of autumn sun
Figurative Language
Born with eyelash
legs
and tinsel wings
Sense Imagery
The snow is
slumping and dripping
And staining the
bark black!
Sound
You are a Squawker,
Croaker,
Alarm–on-the-wind.
Emotional Impact
Deep in the winter
hive,
We burn like a
golden sun.
This book is exceptionally appealing at first glance
because of its beautiful cover art and interesting title (who thinks of bees in
the winter?!). It gets even better the
more you read. Each poem is so intricately
crafted that each reading offers something new to notice. The scientific information included in the
sidebars is also very unique and interesting, making it a fun read for both the
analytical and intuitive brain. Because this book has so much to offer in eye
appeal, sensory stimulation, and scientific fact, it is a versatile book for
all ages for both personal and curricular purposes.
I was glad to use this book with my kindergartners during
our unit on winter. We make a book about
chickadees each year, and this year I introduced the activity by reading “Chickadee’s
Song.” It was particularly interesting
to read in the sidebar that chickadees “weigh less than a handful of paperclips.”(p.
25) The kids held a handful of paperclips to get an idea of how small and light
a real chickadee is. The cadence of the
poem suggests the constant movement that is necessary for the chickadee to hunt
for their daily food to sustain the long winter. In this poem, Sidman includes the sound (fee bee) of the bird in four quatrains
of aabb rhyming pattern. She creates an
atmosphere of pre-spring with her lines, The
sun wheels high, the cardinal trills./We sip the drips of icicles./The buds are
thick, the snow is slack./Spring has broken winter’s back.
Please enjoy this gem.
Chickadee’s Song
by Joyce Sidman
From dawn to dusk
in darkling air
We glean and gulp
and pluck and snare,
then find a roost
that’s snug and tight
to brave the long
and frozen night.
We fluff and preen
each downy feather.
Sing fee-bee—and laugh at the weather!
For if we’re quick
and bold and clever,
winter’s chill won’t last forever.
The sun wheels
high, the cardinal trills.
We sip the drips of
icicles.
The buds are thick,
the snow is slack.
Spring has broken
winter’s back.
Quick and bold and
brave and clever,
we preen and fluff each downy feather.
Sing fee-bee—laugh at the weather—
for winter doesn’t last forever!
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