The Friendly Four by Eloise Greenfield - Performance Poetry

Bibliography

Greenfield, Eloise. 2006. THE FRIENDLY FOUR. Ill. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 978-0060007591.

Review and Critical Analysis

            THE FRIENDLY FOUR by Eloise Greenfield is what is known as performance poetry. Each of the thirty four poems in the book are meant to be read aloud by one or more people. In the case of this particular book there are roles for four people, two boys and two girls. These narrators, Drummond (or Drum), Dorene, Louis and Rae, are sharing their story of a summer vacation spent together. Every individual poem is a mini narrative poem unto itself with its own story, however, all of the poems linked together create a larger story of one summer where these children meet and get to know one another. Greenfield includes a Table of Contents which shows the narrator, or narrators, incorporated into each poem. Drum, Dorene, Louis and Rae each have lines in a separate color, red, blue, green and purple respectively. Black is used to identify when more than one person speaks the same lines together. This is a convenient device making it simple for children to read these poems aloud. They can easily keep track of not only their own lines, but also when everyone has to read the same lines together. Since each narrator has its own distinct voice, it allows for creativity and expression when children read these poems aloud.

         Young readers will see both familiar themes, and themes that they may not personally have experienced intermingled in this book. The recognizable topics of family, friends and all their varied meanings appear throughout this book. In AFTER THE BABY, a poem for one voice, Drum is frustrated because the babysitter is taking care of his baby brother and will not take him to the park. Any child with younger siblings will instantly relate to the frustration of being ignored in favor of a younger brother or sister. In MEETING DORENE, a poem for two voices, Drum goes to visit the house of a little girl, Dorene, who just moved to the neighborhood. He invites her out to play, and they become fast friends. Every child will relate to the idea of seeing a new neighbor, or a new kid at school, and wanting to meet them and become their friend. Less well known themes include adoption, and having to leave home when a parent becomes ill. In SOMEONE, a poem for one voice, Louis describes his feelings of happiness at finally having a mama who pays attention to him and loves him. In RAE, also a poem for one voice, the narrator expresses the loneliness and worry she feels at having to leave home for a time because her mother is sick. Young readers may not have experienced these situations personally, but the emotions in the poetry will still be something they can comprehend and relate to.

          The book progresses in a chronological order, with each new narrator meeting the others and becoming part of this group of friends. They play games and have all sorts of adventures. One of the best adventures, which comprises the latter half of the book, is their idea to build a town of their own. In the poems LET’S MAKE A TOWN and HERE COMES THE TRUCK we see this idea develop. They  create their own town out of paint, cardboard, tape and markers and call it Goodsummer. The reader then experiences a series of poems, meant to be read by four voices, of the adventures the children have in Goodsummer. There are several “buildings” in Goodsummer, and a poem represents every one. Each of these poems is a little mini narrative which tells a story about the scenarios the children act out in each location. Poems such as AT THE BANK and AT THE LIBRARY are perfect examples of this.       

          The majority of the poems do not have a defined rhyme scheme. Two exceptions to this are NEIGHBORS and GOING TO GET RAE. NEIGHBORS is written in the form of a single stanza, where the words at the end of every set of two lines rhyme with each other. GOING TO GET RAE employs a different rhyme scheme. Here the poem is written out in three four line stanzas, and the words at the end of every second and fourth line in each stanza rhyme. Each of the poems in this collection has a natural rhythm to it, they all read very well due to the unaffected, conversational language that Greenfield employs.

          The watercolor illustrations by Jan Spivey Gilchrist are very brightly colored, creating a lasting impression of these children’s surroundings. The peaceful, bucolic setting makes the reader want to join these friends. Gilchrist uses black lines to help define objects, and also to depict movement. For example in PLAYGROUND Greenfield’s poem portrays the many  activities that children partake in at a playground, swinging, sliding down slides, running around and even stopping to rest. Gilchrist’s one page illustration for this poem is made up of four vignettes highlighting each of these activities. The motion and enjoyment the children are experiencing is contagious. 

Poem Used to Support Critical Analysis and How That Poem Would Be Introduced

WE DID IT!

By: Eloise Greenfield

Rae:                 We painted for days and days,

Louis:               Monday through Friday,

                        and Monday through Friday again

Louis and Rae: (not counting the day Drum knocked over

                        a can of paint, and we had to clean it up).

Dorene:            But now, it’s finished,

                        so let’s lift our tired arms and say,

All:                  “Hooray! We did it! We built our own town!"

Drum:               We’ve got:

All:                    One bank, one library, one church,

                         two toy stores, one bookstore, one school,

                         and so forth, and so forth.

Rae:                  To get here, just drive

                         south, east, west and north.

Drum:               You can’t miss it. Look for

                         the sign that says:

All:                    Welcome to the Town of Goodsummer

                         Population 4.

          Greenfield’s poem WE DID IT!, meant to be read by all four voices, is one of the best examples of narration to be found in this book. It describes the creation of Goodsummer, and within that description the theme of friendship is paramount. Everyone worked together on a project that was important to all. As with many of the poems, there is no rhyme scheme. This is also one of the most conversational poems in the book as well. Each narrator contributes fairly equally, and the back and forth interplay between narrators is smooth. This poem would also remind young readers about experiences they had with their friends creating their own worlds to play in.

          An effective way to introduce this poem would be by asking the students if they like to play games with their friends in which everyone creates a fictional world. A small amount of time would be given for responses. After the students answer, I would introduce the poem by saying, “Today I am going to invite four people up, two boys and two girls, to read a poem entitled WE DID IT! by Eloise Greenfield, about friends who did just that. They built their own town out of cardboard and paint, and spent a wonderful summer creating fun games to play.” I would then hand out copies of the poem to each of the four students. Finally, I would ascribe each of the four students a role, assigning one to read the title and one to read the author's name, and let them read the poem aloud to the other students in the audience. I would hold up the book so the students could see Gilchrist’s illustrations and partake of the experience.