1. Bibliography -
George, Kristine O’Connell. 2001. TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: CAMPING POEMS. Ill. by Kate Kiesler. New York, NY: Clarion Books. ISBN: 0-618-04597-X
2. Plot Summary –
This is a wonderful book full of camping poems! Camping is such a wonderful adventure for a child or really for anyone of any age. This great poem book captures the fun escapade in the wilderness – from sleeping in a tent, or in a sleeping bag under the stars, to cooking over a campfire and roasting marshmallows, to the wildlife and earth’s natural beauty that surrrounds you. “Everything that happens on a camping trip can be an adventure: for example – pitching a tent, getting dressed inside your sleeping bag on a chilly morning, rowing across the lake with Mom, exploring a dark cave with Dad, discovering an abandoned cabin … meeting a moose … or simply sitting still under a tree, watching and listening”(George,K., 2001).
3. Critical Analysis –
a. Rhythm:
Kristine O’Connell George likes and “enjoys using a variety of different forms of poetry in her book –from structured to free verse” (KG, 2009). She “plays with different forms until she finds the ‘right fit’ for the poem” (KG, 2009). Depending on the subject matter in the poem, George’s arrangement of lines and verses helps the rhythm fit the words and meanings of her poems!
b. Rhyme:
Kristine O’Connell George’s poems are very easy to read, and do not feel forced in any way. Through the arrangement of the words, she can convey what she is hoping to – which is for her audience to feel as if they were actually camping themselves! She uses cinquains and haikus – just two examples of her poetry form to keep thing fresh and appealing!
c. Sound:
George is carefull when she writes her poems to make sure they sound right and convey the feelings and meaning in a simple way. She uses various forms of poetry in her book to help each one sound differently! Her poem entitled “Mosquito Song” actually sounds like a mosquito! The words resonnate like the buzz that the insect makes flying around for its next meal!
d. Language:
Kristine O’Connell George writes her poem “Sleeping Outside” in a cinquain form – for example:
Line 1: 2 syllables
Line 2: 4 syllables
Line 3: 6 syllables
Line 4: 8 syllables
Line 5: 2 syllables
“Cinquains can be a single poem of five lines or contain several stanzas. Students enjoy this form because cinquains provide a definite structure but do not lock them into rhyming. Cinquains also force a writer to be succinct: Every word counts!” (KG, 2009).
For Kristine O’Connell George’s poem “Flashlight”, not only is this poem creatively written in the beam of light, but it is written in haiku form. Kristine George herself mentioned on her website that “This is one of four haiku on the topic of flashlights in Toasting Marshmallows. When I was writing these haiku, I was surprised by how many associations and memories an ordinary flashlight evoked!” (KG, 2009).
e. Imagery:
Kristine O’Connell George’s poems create some surprising and unexpected images – one is transported back to being a child and feeling the excitement of the adventure of camping! Other images are not so surprising, as George writes some poems to actually reflect the subject matter. For example in her poem entitled “Tent” her words actually look like a tent on the page! And in the poem “Storm” the words are falling and hitting us like the rain she mentions in the poem! Her poem “Eavesdropping” is shaped like a crescent moon that is trying to listen to their conversation!
f. Emotions:
Each poem captures a different emotion! These emotions are stirred about naturally as one reads each poem. Some feelings are excitement of the camping adventure, others are timidness to being exposed to nature, and others are a sense of awe for the beauty of our planet! In her poem “Two Voices in a Tent at Night”, you can actually feel the nervous caution and excitement of the children as they try to sleep in their tent, but think they hear something outside making scratching noises.
g. Poetry Books:
“Award-winning poet Kristine O’Connell George turns a flashlight beam on the moments that make up a family camping trip and records them in humorous, evocative, vividly imagined verse redolent of the scent of pine needles and the sound of bees” (George,K., 2001).
The illustrations for TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS, “executed in acrylic paint” are a wonderful accompaniment to the poems themselves. “Kate Kiesler’s vibrant paintings add visual magic to the collaboration, which will leave you with lively memories of a camping trip – even if you’ve never been on one” (George, K., 2001).
h. Awards & Recognitions:
The book TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: CAMPING POEMS received the following awards and recognitions:
• NCTE Notable Children's Book in Language Arts
• Book Links: A Lasting Connections
• School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
• Myra Cohn Livingston Poetry Award CLCSC
• Starred reviews: Booklist, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal
• Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children
• Children’s Literature Choice 2002
• Nominated for the Texas Bluebonnet Master List, the Kentucky Blue Grass Award and Indiana's Young Hoosier's award.
• Los Angeles 100 Best Books: A balanced library acquisition program
4. Review Excerpt(s) –
Below are some of the review excerpts for Kristine O’Connell George’s book, TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: CAMPING POEMS:
** “A young girl savors the sights, sounds, and smells of a family outing. Whether playful or profound, the exquisitely crafted poems reverberate with eloquent yet effortless language, while the radiant acrylic artwork hints at the awe-inspiring mysteries of nature."-- School Library Journal Best Books 2001
** "...a child-focused sense of wonder...the poems are varied and inventive, replete with marvelous images and universal truths...A terrific idyll for summertime sharing, even for confirmed couch potatoes.” -- Luann Toth School Library Journal
** ”Infused with the wonder and thrill of living outdoors, these are direct, satisfying poems that will engage kids at school, across the curriculum, or at home." -- Booklist
** "...This volume by George and Kiesler is as delicious as a roasted marshmallow treat. George's poems shine, the images clear and startling. A "panther cloud crosses the sky"; after a storm, a "confetti of birds"...dance another rain shower." A concrete poem in the shape of a waning moon is exquisite: "Tipping/ a slender/ silver ear,/ Moon tries/ to pretend/ she isn't listening/ to our/ secrets." Readers will definitely want S-mores." -- Publisher's Weekly
** "One can almost see the starlit night, taste the marshmallows, and hear the buzzing insects as words and illustrations combine in this unique collaboration." -- Christopher Moning, Children's Literature
** "Poems convey a wonderful sense of place as a family enjoys the vastness and immediacy of nature while camping." -- Stephanie Loer, Boston Globe
** "Altogether, an engaging trip." -- Kirkus
5. Connections –
Teachers can introduce the poems of Kristine O’Connell George and use them in collaboration with other themes in their classroom. Also the poem book, FOLD ME A POEM has also been translated into Korean, which can springboard learning to multicultural diversity and world geography, culture and events!
** Other books by Kristine O’Connell George are:
• FOLD ME A POEM
• UP!
• ONE MITTEN
• HUMMINGBIRD NEST: A Journal of Poems
• SWIMMING UPSTREAM: Middle School Poems
• LITTLE DOG AND DUNCAN
• LITTLE DOG POEMS
• BOOK!
• OLD ELM SPEAKS: Tree Poems
• THE GREAT FROG RACE
References
George, Kristine O’Connell. 2001. TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS: CAMPING POEMS. Ill. by Kate Kiesler. New York, NY: Clarion Books. ISBN: 0-618-04597-X
KG- Kristine O’Connell George, (2009). Toasting marshmallows: Camping poems, retrieved on October 13, 2009, from
http://www.kristinegeorge.com/index.html
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