Marshmallow Clouds
MARSHMALLOW CLOUDS: TWO POETS AT PLAY AMONG FIGURES OF SPEECH
by Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek, illustrated by Richard Jones
Candlewick Press | 2022
This collection of 28 poems is organized around the elements of fire, water, air and earth, but the poems are so much more than those simple elements. Kooser and Wanek bring playful joy to their language, exploring the world around us through figures of speech such as metaphor, simile, and personification. A pool of tadpoles becomes commas made by someone just learning to write. Marshmallows on a blue plate are partly cloudy. A harpist is gently trying to control a giant moth. An old barn combs its roof straight down the middle in the morning. Richard Jones’ illustrations gently provide concrete imagery for the wild creativity these poems represent. Readers will be inspired to dig into their imagination and express a fresh perspective on the world around them.
Discussion questions
There are two people in the poem A Disappointment, the author and their friend. The author sees a tree juggling and the friend “sees things as they are”---who would you rather be, and why? Would you rather see things as you imagine them or as they are?
In the poem Thunderstorm, the author imagines the thunderstorm is a person stumbling around at night. What other characteristics would a thunderstorm have if it was a person?
Why Pets Don’t Write imagines what some pets would write if they could. What would your pet write if they could write?
In the poem June Afternoon, why does the author want people to have brooms in the air?
What kind of sandwich is the author imagining in the poem Book?
In the poem Cow Pie, the author points out something that would never happen in a city: stepping in a cow pie. Can you think of something funny that would not normally happen at your school?
Vocabulary
Video content
Publisher content
Activities
Visualization—imagine the role of the illustrator, who read these poems with no pictures alongside. What would you draw if you were the illustrator? Try this with A Disappointment, Fireplace, Boat, Book, Marshmallows, or Barn–or any poem of your choice!
Personification—in many of the poems in this book, the authors use personification, giving human/living characteristics to things that are not human. Read the poems Thunderstorm, Fireplace, or Barn for good examples. Use this Read Write Think plan to write your own poems using personification:
Ted Kooser
Author
www.tedkooser.net
Ted Kooser is an American poet. He won the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry in 2005. He served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004 to 2006. Kooser was one of the first poets laureate selected from the Great Plains, and is known for his conversational style of poetry.
Connie Wanek
Author
conniewanek.com
Connie Wanek has been writing since her hand could hold a pencil. She is the author of five books of poetry, including Rival Gardens: New and Selected Poems, newly released from the University of Nebraska Press. It's the second book in the Ted Kooser Contemporary Poetry Series. She is also the author of a book of prose called Summer Cars, published in 2014 by Will o' the Wisp Books.
Richard Jones
Illustrator
www.paintedmouse.com
Born in Warwickshire, Richard Jones has been living and working in Devon for over 20 years.
After graduating from the University of Plymouth with a first class degree in Graphic Design and Illustration, he stayed on a little longer to complete a PhD. Richard’s style is something different, working with beautifully layered textures, he creates stand-out illustrations, with a gentle, muted palette and memorable character design. His illustrated books include; Feelings and Town Mouse, Country Mouse, both written by Libby Walden and published by Little Tiger Press. Bird Builds a Nest and The Squirrels’ Busy Year by Martin Jenkins and published by Walker Books and Winter Dance by Marion Dane Bauer, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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