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Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. cummings
Author
Illustrator
Kris Di Giacomo
Publication Date
April 07, 2015
Genre / Grade Band
Non-fiction / 2nd − 3rd
Language
English
Format
Picture Book
Only 4 copies currently available
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Description
Enormous Smallness is a nonfiction picture book about the poet E.E. cummings.
Here E.E.'s life is presented in a way that will make children curious about him and will lead them to play with words and ask plenty of questions as well. Lively and informative, the book also presents some of Cummings's most wonderful poems, integrating them seamlessly into the story to give the reader the music of his voice and a spirited, sensitive introduction to his poetry.
In keeping with the epigraph of the book -- "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are," Matthew Burgess's narrative emphasizes the bravery it takes to follow one's own vision and the encouragement E.E. received to do just that.
Matthew Burgess teaches creative writing and composition at Brooklyn College. He is also a writer-in-residence with Teachers & Writers Collaborative, leading poetry workshops in early elementary classrooms since 2001. He was awarded a MacArthur Scholarship while working on his MFA, and he received a grant from The Fund for Poetry. Matthew's poems and essays have appeared in various journals, and his debut collection, Slippers for Elsewhere, was published by UpSet Press. His doctoral dissertation explores childhood spaces in twentieth century autobiography, and he completed his PhD at the CUNY Graduate Center in June 2014.
Kris Di Giacomo is an American who has lived in France since childhood. She has illustrated over twenty-five books for French publishers, which have been translated into many languages. This is her sixth book to be published by Enchanted Lion Books. The others are My Dad Is Big And Strong, But . . . , Brief Thief, Me First!, The Day I Lost My Superpowers, and
Publication date
April 07, 2015
Genre
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781592701711
Lexile Measure
970
Publisher
Enchanted Lion Books
BISAC categories
JNF042000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Poetry | General
Library of Congress categories
20th century
Poets, American
Cummings, E. E
Poets, American
Cummings, E. E
Kirkus
Starred Review
"An eminently friendly introduction to both the poet and his spirit—deceptively simple, just like its subject. (Picture book/biography. 6-10)"
Publishers Weekly
Burgess's first picture book introduces readers to E.E. Cummings, exploring his development as a poet from the verse he dictated to his mother as a child through to his adulthood. Befitting the subject, Burgess experiments with language, punctuation, and form: "He wanted his reader's eyes to be on tiptoes too, seeing and reading poetry (inaway) that was new." Di Giacomo's capricious collages create a lively interplay between pictures and words, and visual motifs such as birds and elephants intermingle with samples of Cummings's work. Burgess delivers a thorough and lovingly crafted homage to a writer whose poems "were alive with experimentation and surprise!" Ages 4-8. (Apr.)
Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
School Library Journal
Starred Review
Gr 3 Up--This enchanting picture book biography introduces children to the life and work of e.e. cummings, one of America's most innovative poets. With a tree house in the city and a cabin by the woods in the country each summer, cummings grew up surrounded by family and nature, and his imagination soared. He began writing poetry from the age of three, which his mother recorded. Written in verse, the text is accessible and lends itself well to read-alouds. The book itself is a work of art, full of thick pages of whimsical, full-spread illustrations in a palette of grays, blues, browns, and greens. Burgess chronicles the poet's childhood and early adulthood, beginning and ending in the Greenwich Village studio where he would spend nearly 40 years of his life. Several child-friendly poems, including "who are you, little i" and "in Just-," are interwoven into the text (and appended). Pair with Jen Bryant and Melissa Sweet's Caldecott Honor title A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams (Eerdmans, 2008) for a unit on poetry. VERDICT A unique and inspiring introduction.--Barbara Auerbach, New York City Public Schools
Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Matthew Burgess
Matthew Burgess is the author of Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings, illustrated by Kris Di Giacomo, and The Unbudgeable Curmudgeon, illustrated by Fiona Woodcock. He has been a poet-in-residence in New York City elementary schools through the Teachers & Writers Collaborative since 2001, and he is currently completing his PhD at the CUNY Graduate Center. His work has appeared in various magazines and journals, and he recently received an award from the Fund for Poetry. He teaches creative writing and composition at Brooklyn College and lives in Brooklyn, New York. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewBurgess. Shahrzad Maydani is an illustartor and storyteller living and working in Berkeley, CA. She was raised in Africa by an Iranian mother and English father and spent her childhood collecting and telling stories. She now spends her days frantically making up worlds to keep her toddler happy. Follow her on Twitter @shazmaydani and on Instagram @shahrzadmaydani.
Georgia Children's Book Award
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Finalist 2017 - 2017
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