Sidman Poetry

Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors

By: Joyce Sidman

Illustrated By: Pamela Zagarenski

Sideman, Joyce. 2009. Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.

ISBN: 9780547014944

Red Sings From Treetops is a poem picture book that gives detailed descriptions about the four seasons by using the visual effects of colors. The book starts with the season of spring and ends with the season of winter. Joyce Sidman takes the reader on a whimsical and imaginative journey involving the four seasons and the colors each represent. "Green is new in spring," is an example of how Sidman takes a simple color and expands the mind into thinking about how these colors represent each season. Many colors are used throughout all the poems.

The colors and the seasons are concepts that children are taught at an early age so the topic of the book appeals to all ages and is familiar to all children. The poems enrich a person's knowledge and challenges them to take a closer look at the colors in nature. Sidman's poems are descriptive, but leave room for the imagination. Many of the poems are written in a free verse format, but the topic of the poems is inviting to young readers.

Pamela Zagarenski is the illustrator for the book and won a Caldecott Medal for the illustrations. The paintings in the book are full of color and life. The pictures fit well with the poems and are appropriate for the book.

Red Sings From Treetops opens a world of new meaning and appreciation for nature and the changing seasons. This book is fun for young readers who are learning about colors and seasons for the first time, and the book is also for older children because the depth of the words within the poems is visually stunning.

Fall

Orange ripens in

full, heavy moons,

thick with pulp and seed.

Orange flickers,

all smoke and candles.

Orange eyes.

Orange cheeks.

Orange teeth.

Activity: This poem is a great example of how visual these poems can be. The teacher could have the students close their eyes and visualize what is being read from the poem. Any part of the book would work for this activity. After the teacher reads part of the book she could have the students draw what they visualized and share with the class as a whole group. Once everyone has shared the teacher can then show the class the amazing illustrations from the book.