Shape Me A Rhyme

Yolen, Jane. 2007. Shape Me A Rhyme: Nature's Forms in Poetry. Photographs by Jason Stemple.

Shape Me A Rhyme is the third collaborative effort of mother and son in creating concept picture-poetry books. (The others being Color Me A Rhyme and Count Me A Rhyme.) The concept is simple but brilliant. Take shapes found in nature, photograph them, and write a poem. It begins with the circle--a tribute to the sun--and ends with a crescent--a tribute to the moon. In between, the reader can find all sorts of shapes and subjects. For example, Heart is a poem about autumn leaves:

Heart

Hearts are not always red,
Not always full of love,
Not always beating steadily.
Some hearts fall from above.
Dry, solo, autumn-hued,
The still heart of a tree
Settles on the leafy ground
For all eternity.

The poems and photographs are beautiful, and together they make quite a book. The extension activities could be endless with this one as well. Teachers and/or students could take nature photos and create their own book of poems. Items could be brought into the classroom to "inspire" young ones. Or even going on a nature walk together and finding a way to write about what you see and hear.