Water Sings Blue: Poetry Review
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Coombs, Kate. Water
Sings Blue: Ocean Poems. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. ISBN-13:
978-0-8118-7284-3
So, Meilo. Water
Sings Blue: Ocean Poems. By Kate Coombs. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle
Books. ISBN-13: 978-0-8118-7284-3
SUMMARY/ANALYSIS
I must begin this review by sharing my absolute love of
this poetic picture books. This is by far one of my favorite books, loving both
the quirky ocean-themed poems within this book, as well as the captivating,
motion-filled illustrations. This book, Water
Sings Blue: Ocean Poems written by Kate Coombs and illustrated by Meilo So,
is a beautiful collection of themes about the ocean, consisting of twenty-three
poems covering various aspects of the ocean, including fish, octopus ink, the
shoreline, jellyfish, and even a shipwreck. These poems are guaranteed to entertain
the reader, as well as move them through the beautiful illustrations included
by each poem. This book would be a wonderful addition in a science classroom teaching
children about the ocean, as well as in any home!
The silly, yet descriptive poems found within this book
follow a variation of poetry styles. Most of the poems possess a rhyme scheme, coupling
the end of every two sentences with appropriately rhyming words. This makes the
poem easy to follow and read, as they flow effortlessly, in a way providing the
reader with a greater sense of the flowing waves of the ocean. A few other
poems, however, such as the poem “Octopus Ink”, use wording free of rhyme to
describe an action at hand. This poem goes as follows:
The
famous author hesitates
to
pick his pen up.
He is
shy. But wait!
He autographs
the water
with a
single word—
good-bye.
Though this poem may not rhyme, the way in which it is
written provides the reader with perfect imagery of the scene at hand, creating
the image of a shy octopus fleeing, spreading its ink as it leaves. The poems
within this book are silly and fun, yet descriptive and successful in bringing
ocean creatures and happenings to life! It is hard to choose favorite because I
love this entire collection, but some sample favorites are “Not Really Jelly”,
“Blue Whale”, and “Octopus Ink”, all chosen due to the expressive language and
imagery created within these fun poems, as well as for the wonderful images
that accompany them.
These beautiful ocean poems are accompanied by illustrations
created through colorful watercolor strokes, mimicking the fluidity of water
and the ocean in their creation. These illustrations are quite detailed, using
a mix of textured strokes, colors, and tones to create emotions and moods for
each poem. The illustration that is paired with the “Octopus Ink” poem, for
example, shows a quickly spreading cloud of black ink. The image also shows the
tentacles of a peach-colored octopus in motion, seeming to be swimming away as
it releases this ink. This adds to the feeling of the poem, allowing the reader
to visualize this shy octopus swimming away quickly and covering its tracks by
releasing its quickly spreading ink.
This poetic picture book is full of silly and entertaining
poems and captivating imagery, creating an overall enjoyable experience for the
reader. This would be wonderful to read in school, as well as at home, being easily
enjoyed by children and parents alike!
POEM PLUS “TAKE 5” ACTIVITIES
This poem is the perfect example of one of the fun, free
flowing poems within this poetic picture book. This poem, similar to some of the
other poems within this book, uses an effortlessly flowing rhyme scheme to
perpetuate the poem’s story, using rhyming words at the end of every two
sentences. This poem is beautifully written, and the reader can easily picture this
sea turtle navigating through the ocean, always knowing where she is going without
the need of any other creatures help! This poem is best read aloud, following
the pause structure of the poem created through punctuation. Accompanying this
poem is a vivid, watercolor illustration of the sea turtle, surrounded by coral
and some colorful fish friends, swimming above her while she continues on her
journey.
Sea
Turtle
By Kate Coombs
There’s a wide green map
on sea turtle’s back.
Currents? She knows
their flows, never slows,
needn’t stop for directions
wherever she goes,
flapping her elegant
paddle-shaped toes.
Take 5
Activities
1. Ask
the students what they know about sea turtles and if they have seen one before
(in real life, a book, a movie, etc.). Read the poem aloud to the group, having
them picture the sea turtle in their mind with their eyes closed.
2. Reread
the poem aloud to the group, showing them the picture that goes with the poem
this time. Have the students read every other line out loud this time.
3. Discuss
the image next to the poem and if they pictured something similar. Have a few from
the group share what their mental images looked like. What is the turtle doing
in this poem?
4. Pair
this poem with the children’s picture book called Turtle in the Sea by Jim Arnosky (Putnam, 2002). Compare this book
to the poem with the group.
5. Link
this poem to another poem about sea turtles, such as the poem “The Green Sea
Turtle” by P Soe (https://www.poetrysoup.com/
poems/short/sea_turtle, 2012). How is this poem similar? How is
it different?
Comments
Post a Comment