Module 5: Performance Poetry Book

 

 Boom! Bellow! Bleat!: Animal Poems for Two or More Voices

Bibliography

Heard, Georgia. (2019). Boom! Bellow! Bleat! : Animal poems for two or more voices. Illustrated by Aaron DeWitt. Wordsong. ISBN: 9781662660160

 

Summary

Boom! Bellow! Bleat! is a collection of poetry by Georgia Heard that is best read aloud by two or more voices.  Each poem depicts a different group of animals and their environment that students can read about and learn the sounds that they make.  Some of the poems also include other animal characteristics or actions that the reader will enjoy.  The illustrations by Aaron DeWitt are simple yet vibrant and correspond well to the accompanying poem.  Each poem and its illustrations is spread over a two-page spread which ensures the text and pictures are not too crowded.  The book starts with a table of contents that in addition to the poem title and page number also explains the way the poems should generally be performed. One person reads each of the colored texts, for example, black or red and all voices read the blue text.  Sometimes the author includes additional performance notes on specific poems throughout the book as well.  The backmatter at the end of the book contains “Nature’s Notes” which gives additional science and nature related content for each poem that can be used as a connection to curriculum or just as additional information for the reader.

 

Analysis

The content of this collection is best suited for elementary school students.  Elementary students love to read books about animals, so this poetry collection will definitely pique their interest.  The illustrations are in the same style as the beloved Eric Carle and will keep readers excited to see what the next poem has to share about animals and the sounds they make.  Even though each poem is meant to be read by two or more voices and is about the sounds animals make the poems are very diverse in structure throughout the book.  Some of the poems are written with an echo of a word or phrase read by each person, whereas others have different text being read by both readers.  Some poems have single words read by each voice and others have entire phrases or multiple phrases read by each.  There is even a haiku included in the collection.

The collection does not include poems that rhyme, but some do lend themselves to a rhythm while read although others do not.  The focus of the poet is on the meaning conveyed by the poem and the use of figurative language to share this information with readers.  The poet also focused on making the poem capable of being read by multiple readers.  The content included within the poems allows the reader to gain insight and knowledge into the world and environment of many animals in nature.  Even though the poems and content seems aimed towards elementary-aged students the vocabulary may be a struggle for some lower elementary readers and will challenge upper elementary students.  For example, words like cerulean, concoct, parasols, warble, and arithmetic may need some pre-teaching before reading the poem to elementary students.

 

Poem

Animal Songs

Alligators

                Hiss

Chimpanzees

                Hoot

Goats

                Bleat

Ferrets

                Dook

Hogs

                Grunt

Kangaroos

                Chortle

Mosquitos

                Whine

Rhinoceroses

                Mmwonk

Roosters

                Cock-a-doodle-doo

Damselfish

                Chirp

Moose

                Bellow

Walruses

                Groan

Scallops

                Cough

Peacocks

                Scream

Dolphins

                Whistle

Humans

                Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk

 

Activity

This book would be a great poetry book to discuss the use of onomatopoeias with elementary students.  Many of the poems include words that reflect the sound animals make.  I would read the entire Animal Songs poem aloud to students first and then assign them the echoing onomatopoeia animal sound.  Then afterward I would ask them if they had ever heard each individual animal make the written sound by raise of hands.  Then I would share an audio clip of each animal with the students and have them vote by raise of hands whether they think the sound really does sound like the onomatopoeia from the poem.  I think many of these sounds may be a surprise for students, for example, the peacock.