A Review
Written by award-winning children's book author and poet, Jacqueline Jules, and illustrated by award-winning illustrator, Iris Deppe, each free-verse poem in Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence paints a picture of young people persevering while doing what children do best--playing.
One poem shows a girl and boy wanting to play tennis, but alas, they must wait beneath the lights of night for their turn on the courts. In another poem, a girl is called a name that makes fun of her size. Yet, she swims majestically proud despite it. In another poem, a girl joins her Nana and Pops on a slow pace hike along a trail lined with "sycamore trees wrapped in mottled bark."
No matter the mode of play, no matter the season, no matter the child's gender, every poem in Tag Your Dreams shows a young person learning persistence and patience while perspiring.
One poem shows a girl and boy wanting to play tennis, but alas, they must wait beneath the lights of night for their turn on the courts. In another poem, a girl is called a name that makes fun of her size. Yet, she swims majestically proud despite it. In another poem, a girl joins her Nana and Pops on a slow pace hike along a trail lined with "sycamore trees wrapped in mottled bark."
No matter the mode of play, no matter the season, no matter the child's gender, every poem in Tag Your Dreams shows a young person learning persistence and patience while perspiring.
"Round and round. Faster and faster.
Sometimes I’m on. Sometimes I’m out.
Who cares as long as
the game keeps moving,
and I still have the chance
to jump back in."
One boy, while confidently riding his bike, swerves to keep hitting a squirrel: "Boom! Blood on my lip. Bent wheel. Broken finger. But no cast. No sling." Soon, he's pedaling again. A girl up to bat recalls how her past indecisiveness about whether or not to swing ended up poorly for her. This time, she decides to keep her eye on the ball and "send fear sailing over the fence."
Parents, physical education instructors, and teachers alike will enjoy having this collection of poems on hand, for each poem highlights the internal voice of a child learning persistence while engaging in play. Young readers will also enjoy Iris Deppe's simple illustrative style. Each image shows all kinds of children playing together--whether one participant is sitting in a wheelchair or leaning on crutches, or another is blond-haired or brown-skinned, or whether the player is female or male. That in itself is tagging a dream.
Parents, physical education instructors, and teachers alike will enjoy having this collection of poems on hand, for each poem highlights the internal voice of a child learning persistence while engaging in play. Young readers will also enjoy Iris Deppe's simple illustrative style. Each image shows all kinds of children playing together--whether one participant is sitting in a wheelchair or leaning on crutches, or another is blond-haired or brown-skinned, or whether the player is female or male. That in itself is tagging a dream.
