Book Review #2

Bryan, Ashley. 1992. Sing to the sun. U.S.A: Harper Collins Publishers.

In the first book published containing his original poetry, Ashley Bryan successfully establishes an authentic voice through each piece in Sing to the Sun. This book received the first Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award (1992) which honors the year’s most outstanding new book of poetry. Bryan reveals a strong persona through his poems in Sing to the Sun, but does it in such a way that does not overwhelm the reader.

This imaginative book of poetry appeals to both children and adults. The poems are real; they allow the memories and experiences of the reader to surface and replay as the words are digested. Even if readers have no connection with the subject of the poem, the language and word choice allow for connections to be formed and senses to be stimulated. The book contains a wide range of poetry from free verse to rhyming that celebrates the African and African-American cultures. Some of the poems are about serious times like parting with someone you love, some are fun describing a party for birds and others cover everything in between like weather, nature and family. It’s about life, what happens in it and the feelings that come along with those experiences.

One of my favorite poems from this collection:

FULL MOON (no page number)

Night on the verandah:
Across the bay
Village lights
Sprinkled on hills
Stripe the dark water

The silver round
Of the full moon
Slips into the cloud
As a coin
Slips into a purse

Ashley Bryan accompanies his poems with his own beautiful illustrations done in bright and colorful rectangles resembling abstract stained glass windows. The poems are supported by Bryan’s paintings and allow readers’ to visualize the poetry through the author’s eyes.

One of many extensions that can be used for Ashley Bryan’s book would be to read a poem or two without showing the pictures and allow the children to illustrate what they saw as they heard the words. Afterwards, the poems can be read and the new and original illustrations shown with the words. The children can look at what others saw and appreciate the perspectives of others. Ashley Bryan’s Sing to the Sun would also be a great book to read during February, as a part of the Black History Month celebration. This Corretta Scott King Honor and Award winning author/illustrator enchants readers in his debut book of original poems, Sing to the Sun.