A girl creates a vivid image about how being in a barn is. Through a variety of different poems, she is able to describe different animals that she sees as well as things around the barn. This book can encourage students be become creative writers and create a mental picture of what is being describes without the need of pictures. Each poem is uniquely written in which it could be used as a mentor text to teach students about metaphor, similes, etc. ( )

A girl writes poems in her garage about the things she sees. A book of poems that inspire questions and thoughts about the world closely around us. Can inspire children to write about the things they see around them.

The illustrations and poems in this book were wonderful. I loved the simplistic nature of each poem and the way the author was able to make each poem flow into the next. The illustrations were beautiful and I loved the attention to detail. Almost every picture had the paper that flew out of the window in the first illustration. My favorite poems were "A Lucky Thing" and "One." In "A Lucky One," it shows that the grass always seems green on the other side. The chickens were envious of the crow for being able to fly high into the sky and the crow was envious of the chickens for having a farmer to feed them golden grains. I would highly recommend this book to any child. ( )

A lucky thing, poems by Alice Schertle is a book about a girl in a farm house loft that is using her creative process and imagery to explain the animals on a farm and also buildings and other pieces of a farm such as a barn, and a pond. She uses poems to describe these aspects of a farm and the outside nature of our world such as a barn, a rooster, chickens, a scarecrow, a rabbit, a mole, a turtle, a pond, and a frog. The girl starts the poems from the early morning to late midnight Minor's illustrations neatly combine nature with the art of writing.

I really enjoyed this book of poems. The way that the poems were combined with the wonderful illustrations is a great way to introduce children to poems. I like how the words in the poems had a sense of rhythm. Also the way that the author had poems that started from early morning throughout the day, into the midnight hour brought a sense of flow and rhythm of the life of a farm and its components.

One extension idea that you can do after reading this book is to have the students do their own poem about an aspect of the farm. Once the students have completed their poems then post them on a bulletin board outside the classroom. Another extension idea is to get in a literature circle and have the students talk about a specific poem that they liked or disliked in the book. Once they have talked about it, have them go into groups of 4 or 5 and have them create a poem together and when completed post them on a bulletin board.

Simple poetry from Alice Schertle and wonderful illustrations from Wendall Minor make this book a real treasure. It's an excellent way for parent and child to alternate readings and for the child to learn about the world on a farm by using verse.

My favorite poem was the one about the robin who envies the chickens being fed, while the same chickens envy the robin for his freedom. Cobwebs and mice and scarecrows and roosters make for an easy read, but one that will demand several read-throughs for the poems to become one with you.

"He wakes the world so the world will know
How the sun comes running when a loud proud crow
Says a rooster's ready and the sun may rise
And gaze at itself in a rooster's eyes."


Book Season = Autumn ( )