1. Bibliography
Joyce Sidman. 2007. This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Ill. by Pamela Zagaranski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618616802
2. Plot Summary
As Anthony K., one of the sixth grade characters in Joyce Sidman's book, explains in his introduction, this collection of poems "is part of a poetry unit we have completed in Mrs. Merz's class." The students of Mrs. Merz's sixth grade class express their remorse and desire for forgiveness for all sorts of misunderstandings and misdeeds ranging from lighthearted (one boy relates how he is not sorry for all the little annoying things he has done to get a classmate's attention but is sorry that she still won't go out with him) to emotionally complex and moving (Please, please come back./...I'm sorry, Daddy./Next time I'll be perfect.) Students use a variety of different poetic forms to express themselves. The next section contains reply poems from the recipients of the apology poems. Not all respond, and of the ones that do, not all extend forgiveness. One collaborated poem of forgiveness is written by two classmates that had apologized to one another for being too rough at dodgeball. While this is a entertaining and easy read for young students, it also captures the emotion of remorse and regret and the healing power of forgiveness.
3. Critical Analysis
The reality of adolescent emotion expressed through the characters makes the reader feel as if this class of sixth graders not only exist, but that they have really gotten to know them on a personal level. The problems they have (and indiscretions) are easy to relate to. The poems are written in different fonts and styles so as to reflect the individuality of the students and create the effect of original poems. None of the poems rhyme and the rhythm is defined in some more than others, but it is the message of the poem that is the priority. There are some great similes in the language of the poems ("you smiled,/but your face looked like a frozen pond" and "Don't leave me spinning alone,/like a slow, sad tornado.") There is an introduction from one of the students explaining the class project and setting up the plot for the reader. There are also occasional author's or editor's notes giving background information on a poem. The one weakness of the book, in my opinion, is that the organization of the apology poems in the front and the response poems in the back is awkward. If both the poems and corresponding responses could share the same layout, the reader would not have to flip back and forth trying to connect them.
Pamela Zagarenski's illustrations use various collage style mediums to create the effect of notes in a journal or a scrapbook. Some of the illustrations include cut-outs of drawings with notebook paper backgrounds, scraps with dictionary entries on them, and various doodles. All of the illustrations help to convey a junior high classroom feel as if the students had drawn the accompanying pictures themselves.
4. Review Excerpts
Publisher's Weekly-"Zagarenski's inventive mixed-media illustrations brim with items found in a classroom: a dictionary entry on "apology," for instance, becomes part of a student's clothing, and white hole reinforcements resemble a character's stolen doughnuts....But the book's odd organization seems a missed opportunity to tie the well-wrought, corresponding poems together and reinforce the complex relationships between the characters."
Children's Literature-" While it is disappointing to realize that the authors of the poems are fictional, each poem still feels as if it were written by a child, expressing dismay at hurting a teacher's feelings or admiration to an older sibling who seems so much cooler than the author."
School Library Journal-"Sidman's ear is keen, capturing many voices. Her skill as a poet accessible to young people is unmatched."
Kirkus Reviews-"Packed with the intensity of everyday pain and sorrow, kids and adults exchange the words that convey grief, delight, love and acceptance of themselves and others. "
5. Connections
*Students could write their own poems of apology and forgiveness.
*This book could be read to introduce a novel with forgiveness as a central theme.
Other poetry books by Joyce Sidman:
Song of the Water Boatmen and Other Pond Poems ISBN 0618135472
Joyce Sidman. 2007. This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness. Ill. by Pamela Zagaranski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0618616802
2. Plot Summary
As Anthony K., one of the sixth grade characters in Joyce Sidman's book, explains in his introduction, this collection of poems "is part of a poetry unit we have completed in Mrs. Merz's class." The students of Mrs. Merz's sixth grade class express their remorse and desire for forgiveness for all sorts of misunderstandings and misdeeds ranging from lighthearted (one boy relates how he is not sorry for all the little annoying things he has done to get a classmate's attention but is sorry that she still won't go out with him) to emotionally complex and moving (Please, please come back./...I'm sorry, Daddy./Next time I'll be perfect.) Students use a variety of different poetic forms to express themselves. The next section contains reply poems from the recipients of the apology poems. Not all respond, and of the ones that do, not all extend forgiveness. One collaborated poem of forgiveness is written by two classmates that had apologized to one another for being too rough at dodgeball. While this is a entertaining and easy read for young students, it also captures the emotion of remorse and regret and the healing power of forgiveness.
3. Critical Analysis
The reality of adolescent emotion expressed through the characters makes the reader feel as if this class of sixth graders not only exist, but that they have really gotten to know them on a personal level. The problems they have (and indiscretions) are easy to relate to. The poems are written in different fonts and styles so as to reflect the individuality of the students and create the effect of original poems. None of the poems rhyme and the rhythm is defined in some more than others, but it is the message of the poem that is the priority. There are some great similes in the language of the poems ("you smiled,/but your face looked like a frozen pond" and "Don't leave me spinning alone,/like a slow, sad tornado.") There is an introduction from one of the students explaining the class project and setting up the plot for the reader. There are also occasional author's or editor's notes giving background information on a poem. The one weakness of the book, in my opinion, is that the organization of the apology poems in the front and the response poems in the back is awkward. If both the poems and corresponding responses could share the same layout, the reader would not have to flip back and forth trying to connect them.
Pamela Zagarenski's illustrations use various collage style mediums to create the effect of notes in a journal or a scrapbook. Some of the illustrations include cut-outs of drawings with notebook paper backgrounds, scraps with dictionary entries on them, and various doodles. All of the illustrations help to convey a junior high classroom feel as if the students had drawn the accompanying pictures themselves.
4. Review Excerpts
Publisher's Weekly-"Zagarenski's inventive mixed-media illustrations brim with items found in a classroom: a dictionary entry on "apology," for instance, becomes part of a student's clothing, and white hole reinforcements resemble a character's stolen doughnuts....But the book's odd organization seems a missed opportunity to tie the well-wrought, corresponding poems together and reinforce the complex relationships between the characters."
Children's Literature-" While it is disappointing to realize that the authors of the poems are fictional, each poem still feels as if it were written by a child, expressing dismay at hurting a teacher's feelings or admiration to an older sibling who seems so much cooler than the author."
School Library Journal-"Sidman's ear is keen, capturing many voices. Her skill as a poet accessible to young people is unmatched."
Kirkus Reviews-"Packed with the intensity of everyday pain and sorrow, kids and adults exchange the words that convey grief, delight, love and acceptance of themselves and others. "
5. Connections
*Students could write their own poems of apology and forgiveness.
*This book could be read to introduce a novel with forgiveness as a central theme.
Other poetry books by Joyce Sidman:
Song of the Water Boatmen and Other Pond Poems ISBN 0618135472
Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow ISBN 061856313X
The World According to Dog ISBN 0618283811
Another book of poetry that explores the subject of forgiveness for older students:
Vecchione, Patrice. Revenge and Forgiveness. ISBN 0805073760
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