Welcome To The Night Analysis

Angela,
In response to your question for chapter five of Essentials, I found two poems that I loved, so I hope you don't mind if I evaluate both in response to your question. Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night, as well as The New Kid on the Block, both present an impressive collection of poems that use different ideas and concepts as a way to appeal to readers. Of these, two of my favorite poems I stumbled upon while reading were Welcome to the Night on page 6 of Dark Emperor, and My Sister Is a Sissy located on page 138 of The New Kid on the Block. Looking at the criteria for evaluating poems for use with children, I have included my observations below.

Are the ideas expressed in authentic, fresh, and imaginative ways?
Welcome to the

Night: Yes, my favorite aspect of this poem, in addition to others included in Dark Emperor is the way the author uses descriptive vocabulary that gives an extremely visual feel while reading. “Touch rough bark, leathered leaves, dappled dark, feast of sound and spark” all these words conjure up visuals while reading that contributes to the imaginative concept of the poem.
My Sister Is a Sissy: Yes and No, while the language used is simple, and the poem makes one laugh, the ideas expressed are not extremely unique in nature.

There is the typical stereotype that girls are afraid of bugs and creepy crawly things, so while this poem puts that into a comical light, it is not presenting something new and exciting to the readers.
Is the expression of the ideas and feeling uniques in order to encourage readers to perceive things in new ways?
Welcome to the Night: Yes, one of my favorite things about this poem is that it seems like it is from the viewpoint of an animal or perhaps nature. Not only that but on the page following the poem, there is an informational text that contributes to the depth of the poem. It does so by adding context such as exactly what type of creatures are crawling about at dusk as the poem iterates.
My Sister Is a Sissy: Yes and No, reading through this collection of poems, to me the ideas are not extremely unique. However, from a child's perspective, the expressions and reactions to different situations in each poem are uniquely different and appealing to children.
Is the poem appropriate to the experiences of children without preaching to

them?
Welcome to the Night: No, I do not think that this particular poem is appropriate to the experiences of children mainly because the focus if on nature after dark when the age group this is aimed towards is getting ready for bed, or already asleep.

However, the way the poem is presented provides more of a welcoming inquisitive feel rather than preaching. For example, Welcome to the Night does not say “The owls hoot, the raccoons crawl, the bugs buzz” which would give more of an overbearing preaching tone. Rather, it says “To all of you who crawl and creep” making the poem more encompassing of all animals and allows children to imagine all the animals included in this rather than just being

told.
My Sister Is a Sissy: Yes, I think that not only is this particular poem geared towards the experiences of children. But the entire collection included in The New Kid on the Block is appropriate to children experiences without preaching to them. Each poem is silly, imaginative and lacks a serious note that poetry attempting to preach towards children would incorporate.
Does the poem present the world through a child’s perspective?
Welcome to the Night: No, this poem does not present the world from a child's perspective. More interestingly, it shows the world from the perspective of the animals of the night which I think is an appealing concept.
My Sister Is a Sissy: In my opinion, this poem is 100% from the perspective of a child. If I had to guess, it sounds like it would be the view of a younger brother talking about an older sister who is afraid of everything. The last line in particular “she’s scared of almost everything-how come I’m scared of her?” Makes me think of how my little brothers would describe me if given the chance. “She is scared of all creepy crawly things, but I’m scared of her. Especially if she finds me in her room” is something I can imagine every single one of my little brothers saying on occasion.
What is the quality of choices within a poetry collection?
Welcome to the Night: I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of choices included in Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night. Based upon how short it seemed in comparison to some other poetry collections I did not have extremely high expectations. However after reading through them, I would say that the quality is in the poem selection not in the length of the collection. All the poems included are descriptive, intriguing, and quality written which would make it an excellent read-aloud book or silent reading book for children.
My Sister Is a Sissy: The quality of this collection of poems is vastly differed from those included in Dark Emperor. In contrast, these poems are short, silly, make for an easy read but are just as quickly forgotten. The main difference I felt between the two was that Welcome to the Night stayed with me because it made me look at nature from a different perspective and utilized descriptive language that further involved me in the poem. My Sister Is a Sissy and other similar poems, fail to add that depth. So while it has length, I think that The New Kid on The Block is a good read, but not my first choice for a quality read aloud book.