CITY I LOVE by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. CITY I LOVE. Ill. Marcellus Hall. New York: Abrams for Young Readers, 2009. ISBN 9780810983274.

This exciting book of poetry by Lee Bennett Hopkins and Illustrated by Marcellus Hall, chronicles the adventures of a traveling dog as he backpacks through several cities throughout the world.  Each poem focuses on a specific facet of life in each city.  The book is woven together with the illustrations sharing the dog’s adventures and special reflections along the way.  Whether the piece is set in New York, Cairo, or Tokyo the author and illustrator build a book that shows the commonalities we all share throughout the world, while highlighting some of the key elements that allow each of us to be unique.

This theme allows for children to connect with the poetry while tapping into there natural sense of adventure and curiosity.  The pieces are written as individual poems but the order unfolds a plot.  The first piece, “Sing a Song of Cities” gives an overview of what makes cities special throughout the world.  The other pieces highlight some common element such as taxis or noise. 

Through the authors use of figurative language, children will be pulled into the pieces and feel they are there in the city.  The language and images are simple enough that they are accessible to all readers, even if they do not live in a city.   

Poems such as “Sparrow” display some of the unique elements to each city.  This piece looks at the jazz tradition of New Orleans through the eyes of a bird on a balcony. 

SPARROW

Lucky to be born

on this balcony, sparrow

awaits city flight.

This haiku may be brief but blends together with the illustrations of the page to highlight an important part of this city's uniqueness.  The familiar bird used in the piece will help students to connect and think about seeing things through the eyes of this little sparrow on a balcony.  That presents a great opportunity to teach perspective to the students.  This piece could be introduced by asking students to consider what their room may look like to the family pet and what the pet may be thinking as it observes the day to day happening of the home.  This would help students to connect to the piece and begin the critical thinking process.  A nice follow-up may be to write a haiku from the perspective of your pet.  

This book offers a number of great poetry pieces of various form and length to give students a delightful overview of life in the city.  No matter the cultural background, children with find accessible images and situation to allow them to then expand on there thinking.