Overview

In this collection of free-verse poems, inspired by Walt Whitman's poem I Hear America Singing, Zimmer celebrates workers and the doing of work. This volume is sure to inspire discussion, creative writing, art projects, and more. Full color.

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9780618903511

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Reviews

Walt Whitman's I Hear America Singing receives an invigorating revival in this poetry collection that illuminates the pressures and pleasures of work, including some 34 career choices. Morning conveys the vigorous energy work demands through crisp imagery and dynamic phrases: Engines hum / heels click / and doors thud / behind ambitions. Poems often describe the ordinary and technical components of the job; Librarian features a male librarian's preparation for his boys-only book club. Others elucidate the surprising motivations behind workers' chosen career paths; Dog Walker reveals that a former attorney sought this less stressful career because the predictable company of dogs / ...didn't give him nightmares / or cold sweats / the way standing before / a glowering judge and jury did. Halsey and Addy's illustrations match the emotions of the varied subjects, the mixed-media art exuding a muted grittiness as characters perform their daily tasks. Compiled photographs, papers and household objects create multifaceted collages and textured backdrops, and the result is an intriguing, albeit offbeat, examination of the world of work. -- Kirkus Reviews Inventive, complicated collages and well-crafted poems focus on the activities of working people in this eye-catching book. With an observant eye, Zimmer (Sketches from a Spy Tree) captures different individuals performing work with steady hands. She details the flap/ roll/ flap of the baker kneading dough or the way a clerk performs a ballet/ of hands as she sorts, scans and bags groceries. Sometimes she gives the worker a backstory or views him after hours-a former lawyer prefers the predictable company of dogs andbecomes a dog walker, while the exterminator doesn't mind the guys at the bowling alley calling him Roach. Halsey and Addy's (Amelia to Zora) hip collages combine individual cut-outs of people along with drawings, photos, textured backgrounds and designs. The aspiring filmmaker pops out of a box of movie popcorn while the tow-truck driver fishes in the city, literally reeling in cars. The sophisticated look should generate plenty of interest from the target audience. -- Publishers Weekly From teacher, artist, and programmer to tow-truck driver, cafeteria cook, and surgeon, people at work are the subjects of every short, free-verse poem in this picture-book collection. The lively mixed-media illustrations, with spacious collage, show what workers do on the job. As in the book's title, the focus is on the busy hands: the baker's disappear / and reappear / in the folds of dough ; flowers burst from the palms of the florist. A few pages glimpse the world of grownups, as with the gloomy dog-walker, once part of a law firm, no glad that a dog's mess / can be cleaned up. Several are about young people at work babysitting, at computers, or at the grocery store. The hands-on details blend dreams and realism in the upbeat, contemporary poems that will find a place across the curriculum. -- Booklist

Walt Whitman's I Hear America Singing receives an invigorating revival in this poetry collection that illuminates the pressures and pleasures of work, including some 34 career choices. Morning conveys the vigorous energy work demands through crisp imagery and dynamic phrases: Engines hum / heels click / and doors thud / behind ambitions. Poems often describe the ordinary and technical components of the job; Librarian features a male librarian's preparation for his boys-only book club. Others elucidate the surprising motivations behind workers' chosen career paths; Dog Walker reveals that a former attorney sought this less stressful career because the predictable company of dogs / ...didn't give him nightmares / or cold sweats / the way standing before / a glowering judge and jury did. Halsey and Addy's illustrations match the emotions of the varied subjects, the mixed-media art exuding a muted grittiness as characters perform their daily tasks. Compiled photographs, papers and household objects create multifaceted collages and textured backdrops, and the result is an intriguing, albeit offbeat, examination of the world of work. -- Kirkus Reviews Inventive, complicated collages and well-crafted poems focus on the activities of working people in this eye-catching book. With an observant eye, Zimmer (Sketches from a Spy Tree) captures different individuals performing work with steady hands. She details the flap/ roll/ flap of the baker kneading dough or the way a clerk performs a ballet/ of hands as she sorts, scans and bags groceries. Sometimes she gives the worker a backstory or views him after hours-a former lawyer prefers the predictable company of dogs and becomes a dog walker, while the exterminator doesn't mind the guys at the bowling alley calling him Roach. Halsey and Addy's (Amelia to Zora) hip collages combine individual cut-outs of people along with drawings, photos, textured backgrounds and designs. The aspiring filmmaker pops out of a box of movie popcorn while the tow-truck driver fishes in the city, literally reeling in cars. The sophisticated look should generate plenty of interest from the target audience. -- Publishers Weekly, STARRED review From teacher, artist, and programmer to tow-truck driver, cafeteria cook, and surgeon, people at work are the subjects of every short, free-verse poem in this picture-book collection. The lively mixed-media illustrations, with spacious collage, show what workers do on the job. As in the book's title, the focus is on the busy hands: the baker's disappear / and reappear / in the folds of dough ; flowers burst from the palms of the florist. A few pages glimpse the world of grownups, as with the gloomy dog-walker, once part of a law firm, no glad that a dog's mess / can be cleaned up. Several are about young people at work babysitting, at computers, or at the grocery store. The hands-on details blend dreams and realism in the upbeat, contemporary poems that will find a place across the curriculum. -- Booklist

Author Information

Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, a former middle-school teacher, is the author of three books, including Sketches from a Spy Tree, published by Clarion. She and her family live near Charlotte, North Carolina. For more information visit www.tracievaughnzimmer.com.

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