DARK EMPEROR & OTHER POEMS OF THE NIGHT by Joyce Sidman,

1.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sidman, Joyce. 2010. DARK EMPEROR & OTHER POEMS OF THE NIGHT. Illus. by Rick Allen. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. ISBN 9780547152288

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

All of the poems in this book are related to the things of the night.  They highlight the wonder, mystery, and dangers of the nighttime darkness.  The first poem “Welcome to the Night” sets the tone for this book of poems.  “The night’s a sea of dappled dark, the night’s a feast of sounds and spark, the night’s a wild, enchanted park.  Welcome to the night!”  From raccoons to owls and trees to mushrooms the author teaches its reader all about the night.

3.  CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Sidman’s poetry uses colorful language and vocabulary through her poems.  Children of all ages would enjoy listening to these poems; however, students from third grade and up would understand the vocabulary used in throughout these poems more in depth.  The reader will truly benefit from the nonfiction information on the right side of each poem.  With every poem including this nonfiction piece it brings these poems to a higher educational level.  The table of contents provides the reader ease when locating a particular poem.  With this book having more difficult vocabulary, such as echolocation and omnivorous, the glossary is beneficial to the reader.

Allen’s illustrations in this book are prints made from the process of relief printing.  The drawings are cut out of a block of wood then they are dipped into ink and pressed onto the pages transferring the images onto then paper.  The illustrations bring out the dark mysteries of the night with yet a sense of nature. 

4.  REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

*SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Sidman adroitly apples varied poetic forms and rhyme schemes.  The title’s dark emperor, the great horned owl, lends its shape to the one concrete poem, and the closing lament is in the medieval style known as an ubi sunt.”

*Starred Review in KIRKUS REVIEWS: “Fresh descriptions and inventive artistry are a charming inspiration to notice colors and correlate emotions.  Details in the artwork will invite repeated readings and challenge kids to muse about other color icons.”

*Starred Review in BOOKLIST: “This book combines lyrical poetry and compelling art with science concepts.”

*2011 Newberry Honor

*2011 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book

5.  CONNECTIONS

*Have the students brainstorm “night words,” words that they think describe the night, using each of their five senses.  As the poems are being read aloud have the students listen to see if the author uses any of the words on their list while also adding addition words they hear.

*Other books by Joyce Sidman

SONG OF THE WATER BOATMAN

BUTTERFLY EYES AND OTHER SECRETS OF THE MEADOW

RED SINGS FROM TREETOPS A YEAR IN COLORS

*Read “Night-Spider’s Advice” with the students.  Discuss the poem and favorite words or phrases, then ask the student’s to select clues that this poem is written in the voice of a spider.