Daniel Finds a Poem...and Learns About Poetry
My children and I had the pleasure of meeting Micha Archer, author of Daniel Finds a Poem, at a recent event in King of Prussia, PA. The event celebrated her book being chosen as the Winner of the 2017 Pennsylvania One Book. Every Young Child program.
The story is about Daniel, a little boy, who loves going to the park. One day he sees a sign that there will be a poetry reading. Daniel doesn’t know what poetry is so he proceeds to ask a different animal each day his question about poetry. He asks varies animals such as a chipmunk, turtle, squirrel and frog. Each animal explains what poetry means to them, teaching Daniel that they have their own interpretation of what poetry is. On poetry day, one week later, Daniel creates a beautiful poem from the answers given to him by each animal.
This story teaches the reader that poetry has different meanings and can be as unique and creative as the individual person. Essentially, poetry is open-ended with no restrictions. It is subjective, meaning there is no right or wrong. It is also beautiful, and a part of life and the world.
Archer described how she wrote the story, chose the animals as well as illustrated the pictures. It was interesting to learn for example, that the page in her book with the spider web took four days to illustrate.
One of my favorite parts about this book are the illustrations. They are as complex as they are simple with colorful and themed pictures for each animal and each line of poetry. The pictures come to life by depicting the sights and sounds as to what poetry is.
I believe the book is exceptional when looking past the simple words. It teaches children to be creative and not limit themselves. It teaches them to use their imagination and that writing and poetry are not cut and dry like science or math. Imagination is a beautiful thing for children as their minds and brains are free to grow, learn and explore.
This is a wonderful children’s book and the well-deserved recipient of the 2017 Pennsylvania One Book Every Young Child. For further information, please visit www.paonebook.org and http://www.michaarcher.com/