The Way a Door Closes (Hope Anita Smith )

Title:  The Way a Door Closes

Author:  Hope Anita Smith 

Illustrator:  Shane W. Evans

Target Ages:  8-12

Genre:  Poetry Narrative Picture Book Format

Publisher Summary: With a click, a bang, a whisper—or no noise at all.  There are so many ways that a door can close, but it’s not just the closing; it's the knowing.  And thirteen-year-old C.J. knows too much—about disappearing father, his family’s pain, and especially about what it means to hold things together when times are tough. 

Sample Poem:

“The Way a Door Closes”

When Grandmomma comes through a door

it closes quietly.

It is whispered shut

by the breath of God—

who acts as a doorman for

one of His good and faithful servants.

When my brother and I

go out the door,

it closes like a clap of thunder.

We are always in a hurry

to be somewhere.

My little sister closes the door

just so.

As if there were a prize for

getting it right.

My momma likes doors open.

It's her way of inviting the world in.

But last night

Daddy said,

“I’m going out,”

and he stood buttoning his coat

just so.

As if there were a prize for

getting it right. 

Then he looked at each of us

 a moment too long.

And when he went out the door

he held on to the knob.

The door closed with a

click.

I felt all the air leave the room

and we were vacuum-sealed inside.

I shook it off.

I told myself it was nothing

but

somewhere deep inside

I knew better.

I can tell a lot by

the way a door closes.

Evaluation: 

The poet uses startling and profound imagery to convey a wide-range of emotion and experience, all in just 34 poems. Each one centers around 12 year old C.J.’s family experience.  They read like journal entries, giving snapshots of what is going on and what he is feeling at each moment of time.  The early poems depict a strong, close family—at least by all appearances.

Then, the cracks begin to show when his father loses his job and struggles to find a new one.  The protagonist’s conflicting emotions about his father come out when he says, “He gives me words, each one a gem, words I wish someone had given him.”  At this point, no definite reason is give for this passive aggressive hostility. 

The next poem entry, which discusses various fears and pain, reveals C.J. is praying for his dad to get another job.  As time goes on and “each day bring nothing,” the tension thickens to the point the father leaves the family. 

C.J. does what he can to hold it together for his family and his own well being.  He struggles with feeling jaded.  On his birthday, he refuses to make a wish because he knows “how much it hurts when wishes don’t come true.”  On the other hand, he tells his friend, “My dad is coming back.”  When his friend says, “that only happens one in a blue moon,” C.J. responses with “but it happens.”   He feels angry, hurt, lost, and broken.  Despite all of it,  he holds on to hope.  C.J. desperately wants his family back together. 

The poems aptly illustrate the loss and pain that comes from a broken home in a realistic way as well as the facets of dealing with it—within the individual, the family, and the community.  This picture book is ideal for the elementary and middle school classroom because it is concise, yet powerful.  Many children and tweens will be able to relate to the experience and feel solace that they are not alone.

I highly recommend The Way a Door Closes as a profound look at the modern family in crisis.

There is also a sequel, Keeping the Night Watch, which I hope to read soon.

Poetry Friday is being hosted by Reading to the Core today.