Walt Whitman: Words for America

Title: Walt Whitman: Words for America
Author: Kerley, Barbara Illustrator : Selznick, Brian
Publisher: Scholastic Press, 2004
Genre: Picture Book, Nonfiction Literature
Age Range: 4th grade and Up

Summary: This is the biography of the great American poet, Walt Whitman. Kerley and Selznick the reader on a larger than life adventure throughout Whitman's life. The two combine beautiful photographs and Whitman's poetry to make an amazing book. One of my favorite things about this book is how the words are separated from the pictures. I really like how everything is sectioned off. This creates two worlds for the reader. The colors of this book really tell a story, too. For example, When he began writing, the pages are mainly white (signifying a new beginning etc.) When Lincoln dies, the pages are black (indicating sadness, upset etc.) This book provides the reader with SO much useful information. I didn't know half of the things this book mentions. I am glad that Dr. Frye recommended that I try this book out.

Response: I liked this book a lot better than the Thoreau one. I got so much useful information from this. This book is so good, that it could be used in a social studies classroom too! The pictures are so amazing in this book. I really enjoyed experiencing Walt Whitman in a larger than life way. He did so many amazing things. Growing up, I only knew him as an American poet who wrote really long poetry. This book brought him to life for me. I connected so much to him. I also think this book connects to a lot of Americans at this time, because of the war in Iraq. Whitman would have been appalled.

Teaching Ideas: This is a wonderful book to introduce American poets to. It would also fit nicely into a cross-curriculum talk on Whitman and the Civil War. I would love to go out and find this book so I can have it in my classroom someday. I think high schoolers would automatically become more interested in this legend and want to learn more.
I found a website, the Walt Whitman Archive, which would be great to use with this book.

-jeana