Fleischman,
Paul. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices.
Ill. by Eric Beddows. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1998. ISBN: 0-329-09677
SUMMARY
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
highlights the world of insects by using poems written to be read aloud by two people.
It is by speaking the poems' words that the insects become active: a
moth flirts with light in a frenzied courting dance, mayflies frantically live
life in one day, a chrysalis marks the passage of time until it can become a butterfly.
While each poem creatively describes the habits of insects, the format of the poems insists that the book be
read aloud by two people. Paul Fleischman offers poems that are funny,
thoughtful, and insightful for readers who love to hear poetry read aloud, and
who love to read aloud with others.
ANALYSIS
Writing
poetry requires an artist who can paint with words, and poet Paul Fleischman has
taken his art to a new dimension in his book Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. Using alliteration, rhythm, and
rhyme, choosing words that create images of the insect world, and then merging
them to blend - sometimes in unison, and other times as a solo - Fleischman's
skill takes poetry to new heights.
Each poem is
written in two columns that require a reader of their own. At times the words in
each column are identical to each other, and other times the words may be
different, but still spoken in unison. Parts of the poems may have the readers
bouncing words back and forth, almost as they were insects flying in
zig-zagging paths. Fleischman captures
the flight of a moth as it courts a porch light in "The Moth's
Serenade" using this format:
"... Bright
paradise!
I
am I
am
your
seeking
circling seeking
sighing circling
lovesick sighing
knight..."
When two
people read this poem aloud, the frenzied flight of the lovesick moth becomes
vivid. Fleischman maintains this feeling of movement in the insect world
throughout the book.
The themes
from the poems range from a moth in love to a harried worker bee to the
maternal love of a digger wasp. Adding to the poetry are Eric Beddow's black
and white pencil drawings of the insects. He embellishes them slightly by
adding expressions. For example, the poor moth who is love sick over the porch
light is shown holding his hands over his heart. Fleischman's poems and
Beddow's drawings blend perfectly together in their clean, yet somehow complex,
lines. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices
is a work of poetic art that must be heard to be fully appreciated.
AWARDS
John Newbery
Medal, 1989: Winner, United States
Best Books
for Young Adults, 1988: American Library Association YALSA, United States
SUGGESTED
ACTIVITY
Provide your students with copies of
"The Moth's Serenade," Water Boatmen," and "The Digger
Wasp." Choose one of the poems and read it aloud by yourself. Discuss with the
students how the poem sounded. Was it confusing? Could it be read correctly
with just one person? After discussing this, play the following recording of
"The Moth's Serenade," "Water Boatmen," and "The Digger
Wasp" for your class. Discuss how
the two voices brought the poems to completion. Then, have students volunteer to choose a poem to read with a partner. How is reading a poem written for two
different than reading a poem written for one?
Audio Link:
http://www.recordedbooks.com/audio/Joyful-Noise-3.mp3
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. cover illustration. Internet on-line. Retrieved on April 14, 2013 from http://www.flr.follett.com/search?SID=cb05aae0609482338b0720ef2912133c
Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. cover illustration. Internet on-line. Retrieved on April 14, 2013 from http://www.flr.follett.com/search?SID=cb05aae0609482338b0720ef2912133c
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