Module 1: Hopkins Collection - City I Love

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. City I Love. Ill by Marcellus Hall. New York, NY: Abrams for Young Readers in Association with the Field Museum, 2009. Print. ISBN-10: 0810983273 ISBN-13: 978-0-8109-8327-4

City I Love is a delightful collection of poems that explores cities from around the globe. The inside cover features a map of the world with the cities that you will visit through each poem, which are marked for you on the map. Put your traveling shoes on, grab your map and explore cities you might know and ones you don’t through poetry. Have fun!

Eighteen poems about urban cities will take you on an adventure that begins in New York City and progresses around the world. The dog with his backpack will be your tour guide on this trip. Be sure to look for the blue bird in every picture with the dog. Children will feel the sensory images that the pictures inspire, which are colorful and fun. You will experience tall buildings, hear the sounds of the taxis, be jostled on the subway, feel the heat of the sun on the beach, walk waist deep in snow, learn about diverse populations and experience the life that cities emanate. Lee Bennett Hopkins has taken his memories of cities and partnered with illustrator Marcellus Hall and his wonderful pictures. They have created a book to enjoy for ages 4-8, but I also feel that adults will enjoy just as much. Each poem is easy and fun to read.

City Summer

It is so hot.

So hot.

So very hot
even
the fiery
orange-red
sun
wears
a
sweatband
on
this sultry
heat-filled
summer
day.
(Hopkins, 14)

This book of poems is a wonderful way to bring poetry and geography today. I would read each poem aloud and have the students listen. Then the students will brainstorm on chart paper, as a group, what they know about cities. Let the students, 2nd graders for example, take turns reading the poems aloud to the class, then see if they have any other memories to add to the chart. The students will then chose a city they know or one they would like to visit and write a poem about it. Using the world map, globes, and atlases the students will be able to add the name of the city, state, country and continent. We will add this poem to their poetry journals. Later, they could also make a poster to display their poem and city with geographical information.