I Am the Book

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2011. I Am the Book. Ill by: Yayo. NewYork: Holiday House. ISBN 9780823421190.

PLOT SUMMARY

Hopkins’ thirteen poem anthology, celebrates the love of reading that can be awakened with a great book.  Each poem focuses on adventures and enjoyment that are found in books. The collection itself seemingly goes through a day in time, as the first poem begins with the child waking up in the morning, and the last poem ends with the author going to bed, closing the book.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

While poetry is known for its figurative meaning, this book features both personification and metaphors, that add a humorous twist, as the reader sees the poems literally play out. In the poem, This Book, Avis Harley writes, “This book is a winner-/I forgot I was hungry/I almost missed dinner.” The illustrations show a little girl holding a popsicle, which is actually a book. This symbolizes the book being feeding her in a different way. Quiet Morning shows the children inside a book, suggesting the child and the book are friends, peeking out from the pages to look at the rain. Poetry Time cleverly includes an illustration of clock on a teapot, with the cup showing a tea bag tag sticking out, representing the book. The collection utilizes both rhyming and free verse. Each poem uses stanzas and the lines vary in length. Overall, this gives it an easier readability for younger readers. Hopkins also included short biographies of the poets at the end of the book. The biographies detail where the authors are from and any awards they have won.

Herrera’s illustrations are simplistic, but colorful. The cover features a man that is a large, red book. Each pages incorporates the red book in a creative way, tying the collection of poems together. For example, one page features the book as a treasure chest. Another page presents the red book as a giant swimming pool, as the poem When I Read describes, “I Like to dive in the sea of words.”

This is a great book for encouraging the love of reading.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

A starred review in School Library Journal: “The attractive and fanciful acrylic paintings feature exaggerated shapes and perspectives that go nicely with the flights of imagination depicted in the poems. Literature-loving adults will want to share this book with the young people in their lives.” –Lauralyn Persson 

A starred review in Horn Book Guide: “Each posterlike spread is a richly illustrated visual metaphor for that poem (a book that is a raft, one that's a treasure chest, etc.).”

CONNECTIONS

*Use the poems of this book as a guide to help students create their own poem featuring metaphors.

*Other books with figurative language:

Cleary, Brian. Skin Like Milk, Hair of Silk: What are Similes and Metaphors?. ISBN 0761339450

Piven, Hanoch. My Best Friend is as Sharp as a Pencil. ISBN 0375853383