Betsill's Book Nook

 Module 1 Say Her Name by Zetta Elliot Bibliography Elliott, Z. (2020). Say her name (L. Wise, Illus.). Disney/Jump At The Sun. ISBN 9781368045247. Summary This young adult poetry book is geared towards young, Black women. The cover is adorned with the phrase “Poems to Empower” and that is exactly what Elliot does. The book opens with a table of contents cataloging 42 poems with 7 haikus dispersed throughout. Next, readers will find an introduction by Elliot explaining her start in poetry and her passion for empowering Black women, as they are often forgotten in the protests. She explains here that she includes four poems from other authors which have been her inspiration. The backmatter includes an extensive notes section about many of the poems, acknowledgements, credits for the four borrowed poems, and information pages about the author and illustrator. Analysis Elliot has composed nearly 50 poems of assorted topics, set in various time periods, but with a unifying message...

  Module 1 America at War by Lee Bennett Hopkins Bibliography Bennett Hopkins, L. (2008). America at war (S. Acorn, Illus.). Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN 9781416918325 Summary Classified as a children’s poetry anthology, this book is suitable for readers of any age. The book begins with a table of contents which chronologically lists the eight wars in which America has participated and poems written for each of these wars. Following the table of contents is an introduction written by Bennet Hopkins explaining that this book is “ not about war. It is about the poetry of war” and the unchanging emotions over hundreds of years associated with war (ix). The prologue and epilogue are poems. Before each war section, is a brief page detailing facts about the war followed by the selected poems. The backmatter includes acknowledgments and three different indices for finding poems. This large, hardback book has a poem on each page accompanied by its own brightly colored illustration ...

 Module 1 The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo Bibliography Acevedo, E. (2018). The Poet X . HarperCollins. ISBN 9780062662804. Summary The Poet X is written with young adults, specifically teen girls, in mind. It is a novel-in-verse divided into three parts with Biblical names for each section. Each poem is written from the perspective of the main character, Xiomara, and reads as journal entries with chronologically dated entries spread throughout. She writes about the catcalls she endures from men about her curvaceous body, her difficult relationship with her parents, the complex bond she has with her twin brother, and her budding romance with a boy. She also expresses her doubts about a Catholicism, and how her English teacher and school poetry club helped her to speak her poetry. Language within the poems may not be suitable for younger audiences and there are some poems that are sexually charged in nature. Analysis The cover of the book is attractive to teen readers with a blac...