Poetry Friday Round Up: Dear Wandering Wildebeest

Welcome to the Poetry Friday Weekly Round Up.  Join in by adding your link at the bottom of this post. To begin with, enjoy a couple poems from this collection:

Title:  Dear Wandering Wildebeest: And Other Poems from the Water Hole

Author:  Irene Latham

Illustrator:  Anna Wadham

Target Ages:  6 and up

Genre:  Poetry Collection

Publisher Summary:

“Spend a day at a water hole on the African grasslands.  From dawn to nightfall, animals come and go.  Giraffes gulp, wildebeests graze, impalas leap, vultures squabble, and elephants wallow. “

Sample Poems:

“The Watchman’s Song”

Call me sentry,

Call me guard.

I round the mounds

in the yard.

I stand up tall.

I scan the dirt.

I watch the town,

ears alert.

I sing my song:

peep peep peep,

It means, we’re safe!

Forage! Sleep!

But, if Jackal stalks

and closes in,

or if Hawk circles

yet again –

I’ll whistle-shrill.

That means: Duck!

Grrrr-bark-rrrrr-bark.

Don’t push luck!

Call me sentry,

Call me guard.

I round the mounds

in the yard.

“Tree for All”

Giraffes feast on my leafy crown;

my buffet never closes.

Rhinos doze beneath my broad branches;

my umbrella shelters and shades.

Baboons scramble up and down my trunk;

my playground delights all ages.

Owls nest in my hidden knothole;

my cradle cozies brand new wings.

Skinks sleep in my think spotted bark;

my camouflage keeps them safe.

Safari ants trail along my roots;

my roadways help build a city.

No grassland beasts can resist my charms;

I am a wild brush willow tree.

Evaluation:

Latham plays with words and poetic forms.  For instance, her titles are colorful and fun.  “Lifestyles of the Sleek and Sinuous” describes how the Black mamba snake lives while “Calling Carcass Control” explains the feeding habits of various animals. Many of the poems follow a traditional format with set stanzas and rhyme. Others are more creative. “Oxpecker Cleaning Service” is written as an advertisement while informing readers about this animal’s important role.  To highlight the difficulty giraffes have to get a drink, a free verse poem is written in outline form. 

While the poems can be enjoyed for their diversity and delightful imagery, this collection has educational value as well. It can supplement units on Africa, habitats, and animals in the science curriculum.  Sounds devices like rhyme and alliteration are plentiful.  These poems can be used to study diverse voices and personification.

The poems themselves are educational on their own. However, a short paragraph corresponds to each one providing additional background information for young readers to better understand the habitat and animals. 

This format can be an inspiration for poetry writing in the classroom or at home.  First, provide an informative prose paragraph on an interesting topic or assign students to pick their own. Then, allow students to write poems using the information. Encourage them to play with literary devices like personification and point of view as well as sound devices. This activity is also an opportunity to teach the difference between poetry and prose. While prose just “gives the facts,” poetry allows readers to experience the facts through vivid imagery and different points of view.

Anna Wadham’s illustrations are fantastic.  The soft colors and beautiful drawings give little glimpses into life on the African grasslands. 

Overall, Dear Wandering Wildebeest is a celebration of nature and diversity.  It is a must-read!