Red Sings From Treetops - A Perfect Blend of Poetry and Colors

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sidman, Joyce. 2009. Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski.  New York: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. ISBN 978-0-547-01494-4

SUMMARY

Joyce Sidman's Red Sings From Treetops is a beautiful collection of poems about the colors that can be found all around us in each season.  Beginning with spring, Sidman vividly portrays each season through the variety of colors that can be found in nature.  She focuses on simple things, such as leaves, birds, and shadows, and really brings them to life.  Her poems concentrate on the beauty that each season brings.  This leaves the reader emotionally impacted, with a feeling of happiness and a greater appreciation for things that can easily be taken for granted.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

I found this compilation to be an excellent example of quality poetry.  Sidman's use of personification makes each color appear to be alive and capable of human action.  Instead of simply saying that yellow and purple flowers bloom in spring, she says, "In spring, Yellow and Purple hold hands.  They beam at each other with bright velvet faces."  Another example of her clever use of personification is this description of fall.  "In fall, Green is tired, dusty, crisp around the edges.  Green sighs with relief: I've ruled for so long.  Time for Brown to take over."  This brilliant use of language helps paint vivid images in the mind of the reader.

The rhythm of Sidman's poems is as natural as the seasons she's writing about.  The verses flow seamlessly into each other.  She incorporates rhyming into some segments, but only where its use can have the most impact and not seem forced.  "Green trills from trees, clings to Pup's knees, covers all with leaves, leaves, leaves!"  This description of summer paints a delightful picture of lush green grass filled with dense trees and a playful puppy.  

As seasons come full circle, so does Sidman's poetry book.  She cleverly begins and ends her book with the same simile.  In spring, "Red sings from treetops: cheer-cheer-cheer, each note dropping like a cherry into my ear."  As the book concludes, winter is coming to an end, and Red is back.  It "begins to sing: and each note drops like a cherry in my ear."  The implication is that, of course, the colors that disappear will surely be back with the dawn of a new season.    

Pamela Zagarenski's illustrations will engage your eyes as much as Sidman's words engage your heart.  Her paintings have a textured look to them, as if you could touch them and actually feel it.  They are also full of incredible details.  The same character and puppy appear in every scene, always wearing a paper crown.  My daughter was quick to point out that sometimes they walked directly on the ground, while other times they had wheels on their feet.  Some paintings have what looks like newspaper embedded in them.  Others have the name of the season spelled out over and over, on the character's scarf or shirt collar.  In any case, Zagarenski's illustrations will grab you and encourage you to take a second or third look.  

I found this book to be truly magical.  When I first shared with my six year old daughter that we would be reading a poetry book together, she wrinkled her nose and told me she didn't like poetry.  The more we read, however, the more engaged she became.  She wanted me to pause after every page so she could really examine all the details in the illustrations.  When I finished the last page, she asked me if she could keep the book in her room so she could read it again before bed.  In short, this book single-handedly changed my daughter's perception of poetry.  And if that isn't magic, I don't know what is.  

REVIEW EXCERPTS

2010 Caldecott Honor Book

2010 Claudia Lewis Poetry Award

2009 Cybil Award for Poetry

Booklist Editor's Choice

From KIRKUS REVIEWS - "A charming inspiration to notice colors and correlate emotions."

From BOOKLIST, starred review - "As the title implies, the colors that surprise on every page, do sing."

From HORN BOOK, starred review - "Sustaining the playfulness of the text and its sense of awe, mystery, and beauty, the illustrations contribute gracefully to the celebration."

CONNECTIONS

Read other poetry books by Joyce Sidman with your class.  Discuss what the students like and dislike about the poems and which poetry book is their favorite.

• Sidman, Joyce. Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold. ISBN 978-0547906508
• Sidman, Joyce. Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. ISBN 978-0547152288 

Have students write about their favorite season.  Have them share why that season is their favorite and what kinds of activities they like to do during that season.

Ask your students to share with you their favorite colors.  Make a class bar graph showing the different colors and how many students chose each one.

Have your students choose a color and then brainstorm a list of things that are that color.  Next, they can use their ideas to write a List Poem, using descriptive words and imagery.

Take your students on a nature walk.  Have them write a poem about the objects and colors that they see.