Module 3: Poetic Form - The Cuckoo's Haiku

Rosen, Michael J. 2009. The Cuckoo’s Haiku. Ill. by: Stan Fellows. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN -10: 0763630497 ISBN-13: 978-0763630492

The Cuckoo’s Haiku is a beautiful book about twenty four different North American birds, complemented by a haiku poem. If you weren’t a bird lover before, be prepared to look at them with a keen appreciation. The beautifully written poems that accompany each bird are truly the essence of haiku poetry. You will love the watercolor pictures while enjoying the poems. A calming read and beautiful book to be enjoyed by young and old.

Michael Rosen has taken his love of nature and created a work of art through his haiku poems. There is nothing more calming than sitting on the back porch and bird watching. The imagery, through Rosen’s and Fellows’ eyes of the beauty that birds represent, is captured in these pages of wonder. The book begins in spring with the Eastern Bluebird and ends in winter with the Purple Finch. There are twenty four birds showcased in this book enhanced by the beautiful watercolor pictures of each one by Stan Fellows. Michael Rosen includes the name and a short description of the birds. His poems truly capture the essence of the birds allowing you the reader to have the imagery that he saw, complemented by the pictures as if you were there watching and enjoying the beauty of nature with him. They both have brought the birds we know to us in an inspirational and vibrant way. Haiku has always been difficult for me, but after reading these beautiful poems I have a renewed appreciation for them. I know that this book should be read, displayed and enjoyed by all ages. A treasure for years to come!

Pileated Woodpecker

woodpecker knocks-knocks. . .

riddled with the same question

trees yawn, answering
(Rosen, pgs. 27-28)

I would do this book for each season, starting with fall, since that is the beginning of school and revisiting each season as the year progresses. This is a great book for combining poetry with nature. This also is a wonderful way of teaching imagery, which is sometimes hard for younger students to comprehend. As a lover of nature, I would include a unit on birds with the lesson on haiku poems. This is a wonderful opportunity to show how easy it is to write haiku using nature. Taking our journals we would visit the outdoor learning center and watch for birds or other forms of nature. The students could also draw the birds or have their poems on the shape of birds. This will allow the students to include nature in their writings. This is an opportunity to continue this lesson all year, while building on their competency in writing haiku poems with success.