We continue our study of William Carlos Williams. This biography of him by Jen Bryant was a 2009 Caldecott Honor Book. Bryant manages to tell his story in a way that is interesting and accessible and at the same time somehow echoes the beauty of his poetry.
On his prescription pads, he scribbled a few lines
whenever and wherever he could.
In those precious times,
the rhythm of the river he has rested beside
as a child seemed to guide him. Like the water
that sometimes ran slow, smooth and steady,
and other times came rushing in a hurried flood,
Willie’s lines flowed across the page.
The text is accompanied by visually stunning mixed-media collage illustrations by Melissa Sweet. Sweet is fast becoming one of my favorite illustrators (Balloons Over Broadway, The Boy Who Drew Birds, Jane Yolen’s Baby Bear books). The end of this book includes a note where she talks about the process of making these illustrations. She ended up using old book endpapers as the foundation for her collages. The illustrations often have Williams’ poetry woven into the collage which is a visual representation of the idea of a river of words flowing through Williams’ life.
Melissa Sweet’s website: Homeschoolers take note, there are several activity pages/study guides to go along with some of her books.
Poetry Friday is hosted this week at The Opposite of Indifference.