Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks. -Plutarch taken from brainyquote.com.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Science Verse by Jon Scieszka - Science Poetry

Bibliography
Scieszka, Jon. 2004. SCIENCE VERSE. Ill. by Lane Smith. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0670910570.
Review and Critical Analysis
            SCIENCE VERSE is a collection of 21 poems, four of which are nursery rhymes, written by Jon Scieszka and relating to scientific topics such as dinosaurs, matter and the water cycle. There is no Table of Contents, however in the back of the book there is a section entitled Observations and Conclusions. In this section Scieszka lists the other famous poems and children’s songs he used as models for his poetry. For example, SCIENTIFIC METHOD AT THE BAT was based on Ernest Thayer's CASEY AT THE BAT. There is only one poem in the book not based on another author’s work, AMOEBA. 
          The book begins with an introduction narrated by a young boy who is sitting in science class extremely bored. The boy is listening to his science teacher Mr. Newton drone on about how, if the students concentrate, they will “hear the poetry of science in everything.” The boy listens and begins to hear the poetry, as he says, “I started hearing everything as a science poem.” Mr. Newton has cursed him with “science verse.” Now, no matter the topic, the boy thinks about it in verse. At the conclusion of the book the boy wakes up from dreaming about these various scientific topics and he no longer thinks in verse.

          All of the poems in this book, with the exception of AMOEBA, have rhythms, forms and rhymes similar to other famous poems and songs. Three of the best examples are DINO-SORE, THE SENSELESS LAB OF PROFESSOR REVERE and FOOD CHAIN. DINO-SORE is reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe’s THE RAVEN. Both are narrative poems that incorporate a musical quality and internal rhyme. THE SENSELESS LAB OF PROFESSOR REVERE, also written in narrative style, is modeled on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s PAUL REVERE’S RIDE. These two poems are both narrated by a single individual who is telling a story. In the case of THE SENSELESS LAB OF PROFESSOR REVERE it is a science professor in a laboratory. However, the form is different. Longfellow’s poem is written in stanzas, while Scieszka’s is in couplets with couplet being used as the rhyme scheme as well. FOOD CHAIN takes its inspiration from the American folk song I’VE BEEN WORKING ON THE RAILROAD. Both the song and Scieszka’s poem are written in two initial four line stanzas followed by a six line stanza that is the refrain. Both the poem and the song employ an alternating rhyme scheme. Science is a difficult topic to portray in poetry, and Scieszka is able to fit scientific words and topics easily into these familiar rhyme schemes and poem structures.

          The poems are long enough to adequately define the terms , but not too long to cause the reader or listener to lose interest. There is no fixed organization to the order the poems are in, which is a positive feature of this book. The reader never knows what the next topic will be, adding an air of anticipation. By using well-known poems and songs as his base, Scieszka is able to present scientific ideas and concepts to readers in a fresh and original way. It also enables the teacher to present several of the poems used as models to the class and ask them to discuss the similarities and differences. Young readers will learn a lot from this collection. One notable example of this is TWINK-- which is inspired by TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR. Instead of being about stars, this poem is instead about black holes and what they do to the matter and light that emanate from stars.          

          Each of Lane Smith’s illustrations are as varied and eclectic as the poems, but many are somewhat gruesome in nature. As a result, the illustrations and some of the squeamish subject matter they portray, may be more appealing to boys than girls. However, this approach has merit too since poetry is not typically a favorite subject for boys. SKELETAL STUDY is an excellent example of the more macabre of Smith’s illustrations. Here, one sees a skeletal image of what once was an individual who stuck a fork into a toaster and was subsequently electrocuted. This allows Smith to portray, and label, the bones in a human skeleton.  The young boy from the beginning of the book is present, here with a horrified look on his face as he is confronted with the electrocuted figure. Two of the best examples of Smith’s diverse use of imagery can be found in MINI HA HA (OR, THE ATOMIC JOKE IS ON YOU) and ASTRONAUT STOPPING BY A PLANET ON A SNOWY EVENING. MINI HA HA (OR, THE ATOMIC JOKE IS ON YOU) covers two pages in which the top half is solid black, and the shapes of trees, rivers, waterfalls, the sun and a canoe are all made out of white dots. It is reminiscent of the pointillism style of painting. Only the young boy is in color. In contrast to this, the one page illustration for ASTRONAUT STOPPING BY A PLANET ON A SNOWY EVENING is a full color rendition of our solar system. As with the other illustrations the youg boy makes an appearance, here wearing a slightly confused expression. This mimics the poem itself which is saying that since the child was asleep in class, he does not know which planet his teacher is discussing.

Poem Used to Support Critical Analysis and Follow up Activity
From ‘TWAS THE NIGHT
By: Jon Scieszka
‘Twas the night before Any Thing, and all through deep space,
Nothing existed-time, matter, or place.
No stockings, no chimneys. It was hotter than hot.
Everything was compressed in one very dense dot.


When out of the nothing there appeared with a clatter
A fat guy with reindeer and something the matter.
His nose was all runny. He gave a sick hack.
“Oh, Dasher! Oh, Dancer! I can’t hold it back!”


He huffled and snuffled and sneezed one AH-CHOO!
Then like ten jillion volcanoes, the universe blew.
That dense dot exploded, spewing out stars,
Earth, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus and Mars,

The universe expanded. The guy said with a wheeze,
“Who will ever believe the world started by sneeze?
So let’s call it something much grander, all right?
Merry BIG BANG to all! And to all—Gesundheit!”
          Scieszka’s ‘TWAS THE NIGHT is, of course, based on Clement Clarke Moore’s ‘TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, but Scieszka has turned it on its head. Instead of anticipating a holiday, this poem anticipates the creation of the universe. This is a poetic form that children will recognize at once, and they will chuckle at the presentation of the Big Bang theory, astronomy, geology and biology. Scieszka uses this poem as a forum to discuss such scientific concepts as the planets, matter, elements and animal life. He also likens the Big Bang itself to the explosion of “ten jillion volcanoes.” All of these references to various fields of science allow teachers ample opportunities to feature this poem in conjunction with classroom work. Humor, along with instructive techniques, are both present in this poem.
            After reading this poem, a dramatization would be an enjoyable follow up activity. There are several roles available in this poem such as the narrator, Santa, the reindeer and even some of the things “created” from the sneeze like animals and planets. Students would have fun recreating the moment of the creation of the universe. Also, if this poem were read as part of a science class, a more long-term follow up activity would include having students research the Big Bang theory.

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