Module 4: Poetry Review: Curriculum Connection

Katz, Bobbi. 2007. Trailblazers: Poems of Exploration. Illus Carin Berger. New York: Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0688165338.




Bobbi Katz's collection of poems captures adventurers, explorers, dreamers and conquerors ranging from Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. to Vikings. Katz's anthology comes complete with a table of contents, author's note, brief paragraph about each explorer, a bibliography, an index of titles and an index of first lines.

Trailblazers is the ideal addition to every Social Studies classroom in order to help get children nine and older excited about explorers and true historical adventures.

In the following poem by John Coleman, he parallels the dreams of Amelia Earhart with those of his lesser-known sister, who dreamt of starting a flying school for girls of color.

My Kid Sister, Bessie
John Coleman

Turn on your radio.
You'll hear about Amelia sure enough,
how she set off to fly around the world
in a Lockheed Electra,
the latest thing with wings.
The whole country knows Amelia:
that blond girl, slim, smiling, sure of herself.
"Amelia Earhart Disappears..."
"Lady Lindy Lost..."
The newspapers are full of Amelia.
But as for me,
I am full of memories,
memories of a colored girl
every bit as brave as Amelia.
A sweet, sassy colored girl.
A smart girl,
pretty...
and talk about stubborn!
Nobody and no thing
could turn our Bessie round.
She wasn't out to set world records.
Her dream: to start a school,
a flying school for girls of color,
so they could learn to fly
the way Amelia Earhart learned,
right here in America.

This magnificent poem acknowledges the greatness of one person, while also recognizing equally great qualities in another, relatively unkown person. It's the perfect way to demonstrate that you do not have to be 'famous' to be successful. This would be an excellent way to educate and inspire children (and adults).

Also worth mentioning is the simple black & white art by Carin Berger. The art work is subtle and does not distract from the poetry; it almost acts as punctuation.