Sunday, April 12, was Drop Everything And Read Day. Beverly Cleary wrote about it in her book Ramona Quimby, Age 8.
Now, each year on Beverly Cleary’s birthday, April 12, (and throughout the month of April) kids and adults are encouraged to Drop Everything and Read! (Mrs. Cleary celebrated her 99th birthday this year!)
The book I read for D.E.A.R. Day turned out to be a fantastic one. Thank you, Renée LaTulippe, for bringing it to my attention!
Title: girl coming in for a landing: a novel in poems
Author: April Halprin Wayland
Illustrator: Elaine Clayton
Publisher: New York: Dell Yearling (an imprint of Random House), 2002
Genre: Late MG/Early YA fiction, novel in poems
Audience Age: 12 and up
Themes/topics: Teenage years, writing, personal growth
Opening Sentences:
WRITING POETRY
In the middle of the night
I turn on my light
then slowly peel
off layers of me
with the press of each key.
Synopsis: In evocative, moving poems that read like the diary of a young teen, the reader experiences one year in the teen’s life. We see her up-and-down relationship with her older sister, her first crush, her first boyfriend, her struggles to fit in and her angst when she doesn’t, and always, her writing and how it helps her make sense of her world and her life.
Unlike most novels in verse, which may have chapters of several pages written in free verse, this is a collection of poems, some very brief, others longer, one even based on a Shakespearean sonnet. Separately, they would be insightful, moving poems. Together, they tell a story as surely as would prose, or pages of free verse.
As the jacket copy says, “with an authentic voice full of wit and insight, girl coming in for a landing is just like high school: impossible to walk away from unchanged.”
For Further Enrichment: The best place to start for further enrichment is the author’s website. Since one of her great aims in life is to encourage others to write, especially kids/teens, there are writing tips, poetry exercises, and a list of publishers looking for poems by young writers. Check it out!
Teens who love to write might be interested in the blog Teens Can Write, Too.
Emma Walton Hamilton is Executive Director of an exciting program for young writers in the Southampton area of Long Island, Young Artists and Writers Project (YAWP). Perhaps there’s a similar group in your area. Check with your local writers’ guild.
Availability: Unfortunately, this wonderful book is out of print. Look for it at your library!
I have been hearing about this book and hope to get to it soon. I’m reading another novel in verse right now, Crossover by Kwame Alexander and can hardly put it down. Thanks for your review.
Oh, I’m so glad it’s on your soon-to-be-read list, Rosi! (I, too, loved The Crossover. Amazing book.)
This sounds great Beth. I’m always on the look out for verse novels. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Catherine! I hope you’ll find it and read it!
I’m thrilled by your lovely review, Beth–thank you!
♡
Thank YOU, April, for writing such a moving, insightful, and beautiful book!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the book as much as I did, Beth! April is fabulous (the author, not the month, though the month isn’t bad either)!
I certainly did, Renee! Thank you so much for alerting me to this book, and to April!
I like the idea of this novel being in poems rather than chapters in verse. It is definitely going on my TBR list!
I’m quite confident in saying you will love it, Joanna!
Pingback: What I’ve Read in April | By Word of Beth