Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices

by Paul Fleischman, Various (Translation), Eric Beddows (Illustrator)

Winner of the 1989 Newbery Award, Joyful Noise is a children's book of poetry about insects that was designed for two readers to enjoy together. On each page are two columns of verse for children to alternate reading aloud about the lives of six-legged creatures ranging from fireflies writing in the sky to a love affair between two lice, crickets eating pie crumbs and the single day in the life of a mayfly. Charming large scale soft-pencil illustrations enhance the comical, easy-to-read text.

Genres: Poetry, Childrens, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Animals, Nature, Juvenile

Audiobook

First published March 1, 1988

About the author

Paul Fleischman grew up in Santa Monica, California. The son of well-known children's novelist Sid Fleischman, Paul was in the unique position of having his famous father's books read out loud to him by the author as they were being written. This experience continued throughout his childhood.
Paul followed in his father's footsteps as an author of books for young readers, and in 1982 he released the book "Graven Images", which was awarded a Newbery Honor citation.
In 1988, Paul Fleischman came out with "Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices", an unusually unique collection of poetry from the perspective of insects. This book was awarded the 1989 John Newbery Medal. Factoring in Sid Fleischman's win of the John Newbery Medal in 1987 for his book "The Whipping Boy", Paul and Sid Fleischman became to this day the only father and son authors to both win the John Newbery Medal.

Reviews

[Elyse Walters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update:
This is a $1.99 Kindle special today -- I have no idea where the book is now -- I 'think' my older daughter still has it. Honestly -- "dozens and dozens" of times --we read this book --acted out the poems together........... It was a BIG TIME FAVORITE BOOK in our house when my kids still lived at home. I haven't thought of this book since the 'last' time (years ago too) --when a Goodreads friend brought it up.
Although a great Kindle deal -- The hardcopy is LOVELY!! (small) --but lovely!! Great to read with your kids!!!


Another Goodreads friend just posted having read this book....
She got me excited.

I read this book dozens and dozens of times --around 20 years ago (a favorite in our house with my daughters and I)

[Michael Scotto · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something
                                            wondrous
about a book that
                                            demands to be
enjoyed with a friend.    enjoyed with a friend.

[Malbadeen · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a literacy Coach, I am constantly being told about and asked for resources that will address specific components of reading.

It saddens and frustrates me when awesome books like this one are overlooked while dry/mundane/BORING "fluency" programs are being passed around and sucked up like pixie sticks at a pre-schoolers birthday party.

These poems are soooooo cool and interesting and fun. You can not help but to sound great as a readers when performing them with a parner. One of my favorite moments this year was when 2 girls with limited English skills latched onto this book and begged to read it to their classmates before each class session.

[Celia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A precious book of poetry to be enjoyed by children AND adults.

I'm seeing the insect world in a different way.

5 stars

[Elisabeth Ensor · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son asked to read with me, he said "remember when I was first learning to read and you would read a page and then I would read a page?" and I happened to pick up this book from the library! I love to select award winning books if I don't have any books requested to pick up. We read line beside line and loved this book! what a brilliant idea, the poetry is so beautiful and several I have gone back to read again, you will never see bugs the same again! Great homeschool read for any age, my son is 9 in 4th grade!

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written💗. I can just imagine two people reading/performing this in tandem. My favorite poem was 'Book Lice' on page: 15. Highly recommend if your seeking performative poems celebrating the lesser appreciated animals: Insects. Loved it! A must read. 🦋

(5) 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[Manybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have most definitely and wonderfully been more than pleasantly surprised and totally enchanted with and by Paul Fleischmann's 1988 and 1989 Newbery Award winning Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices (so much so in fact that I now want to read Fleischman's earlier 1985 I Am Phoenix: Poems for Two Voices as well).

And indeed, and most definitely, both my inner child and my adult self, they are equally finding Paul Fleischman's dual voiced insect based poems for Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices delightfully lyrical, song-like, informative without being in any way pedantic and of course and like the book title says joyfully vibrant and noisy, very much just like two soloists waxing sweetly and poetically about various bugs and giving both children and also in my opinion adults a wonderful and never in any manner horrible and freaky introduction to fourteen so-called but in my opinion also wrongfully named creepy crawlies (and with my only mild regret being that I do not have someone to read Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices aloud with me, with the intended by Paul Fleischman dual voicedness, as yes, and as Fleischman eloquently points out in his introduction, these poems need to be performed orally and that like a play is meant to be watched, Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices is meant to be recited as a duet, with two very distinct individual voices).

Five stars for the poems Paul Fleischman presents in Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, with Eric Beddows' realistic black and white artwork providing the prefect visual accompaniment, enough to provide a nicely appreciated decorative trim for the fourteen featured poems but not in any way overwhelming Fleischman's lyricism, thus keeping the printed words, the spectacular and wonderfully "buggy" verses in the foreground of Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices and the pictures in the background to provide just sufficiently an aesthetic mirror. And although part of me kind of does feel a bit annoyed that Paul Fleischman has not included a bibliography with books for further reading (about insects in general and the fourteen species of bugs in particular), well, I have enjoyed Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices so much that I have if truth be told not even really all that much missed the non presence of a bibliography, and yes, that is definitely saying a lot coming from me (as usually, as generally, a lacking or a not present bibliography really annoys me, but not really with Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices, that with Paul Fleischman's oh so wonderful poems I can mostly simply forget about this).

[Tom · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book bugged the hell out of me.

[Agnė · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5

Paul Fleischman’s poems about the (extra)ordinary lives of various insects throughout the seasons (beginning with spring) are funny, smart, playful, evocative, AND informational. Bonus points: these poems are meant to be read by two voices simultaneously, so grab a friend and enjoy! If the poems are read as intended, you can literally hear the joyful cacophony of the buzzing, chirping grass field.

Eric Beddows’s humorous and detailed black-and-white pencil illustrations are equally lovely and engaging:

[Cari Nolt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book of poetry is stunning and funny. Make sure you read the poems with another person, and you might start feeling like a bug.

[Mary Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paul Fliechman's book Joyful Noise is a collection of poems meant to be read by two voices. The collection of poems focuses on the theme of insects such as digger wasps, honey bees, and fireflies. Each poem is describes the life of the particular insect through creative rhythm. I enjoyed this book. Although I read it in my head, using my imagination to predict how the author envisioned the two voices to read the poems, I found each poem lively. If performed appropriately, I can almost guarantee readers and listeners amusement. This book does not contain poems in the traditional sense, it bring poetry to life, and captivated the readers and listeners. In addition to its creative nature, this book is full of fun and knowledgeable insight. I learned so much about common insects I never knew before, and had fun learning it. I would read this book to my students in a heartbeat. It is an excellent book to make science, nature or any other related topic upbeat and fun. Each poem contains at least one detailed black and white picture of the insect described. Each poem made my imagination run wild, I feel it would be unfair to NOT read this book to my classroom.

[Esther Barajikian · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices," is a Newbery Medal winning collection of poems written by Paul Fleischman. This whimsical compilation of verses that are designed to be read to two readers simultaneously, tells about the characteristics and activities of several interesting insects. The illustrations by Eric Beddows are beautiful pencil drawings that present the various characters soaring, spinning, and creeping amongst the pages.

I rated the book with 4 stars because it was a delightful change of pace from the average collection of poetry. The author's creative use of figurative language takes the reader into the world of creeping and crawling creatures through his alliteration, metaphors, similies, and onomatopoeia. In his poetic description of fireflies, he appeals to the reader's sense of sight with words such as flicking, flashing, glimmering, and gleaming. In his poem entitled "Whirligig Beetles" he appeals to the kinesthetic nature with words such as whirling, weaving, wheeling, and swirling. One of my favorite poems tells the of the cicada's life with these words, "whining, whirring, booming, boisterous, joyful noise!" I can just hear them now!!

[Suzette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read these poems since I was in college, and I love them! I am in awe at the cleverness of Fleischman, to write for two voices. You can practically hear both voices in your head as you read them. I also listened to them on CD and that was a great thing, as well. This is some good poetry!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up in my quest to read more Newbery winners. Also, I needed a poetry book for my reading challenge.

I am not much of a poetry person, generally, but I really enjoyed this book. The poems are thoughtful and clever and I'm sure they sound awesome read aloud.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

1989 Newbery Medal Winner.
Delightful illustrations and just such a cute book. Reading it aloud with a dear friend makes it extra special.

[Jackie B. - Death by Tsundoku · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyful Noise is a collection of 14 poems from the perspective of and about insects. I will admit, I'm not all that into insects and bugs (ironic, as I live in a 1880's farmhouse on a working farm…), I can completely appreciate what Fleischman has done here. Each poem features a specific type of insect. The poem not only explores the lifestyle of the insect in question, but being a poem for two voices, it also explores the sorts of sounds the insects themselves make. I was not familiar with each of the insects identified in this short collection, but I finished the book feeling like I was closer to each type explored.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't read a lot of poetry. When I do, I usually read poetry for children. I thought these were cleverly done and I liked the illustrations.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read Aloud 10 yrs +
Independent Reader 14 yrs +

Worldview - Universally Acceptable

Review


This delightful poetry book is followed by Paul Fleishman’s later book I am Phoenix. The poems are written to be read by two people at times in unison, at others times taking turns.

Each poem is a brief and manageable length so that children should have no problem polishing the poem and being able to read it fluidly within one week. The vocabulary included is simple and easy to read, but the skill and reading level required to read in unison and follow both ones own part as well as their fellow reader creates a unique reading challenge for students. The need for proper rhythm, meter and both effective elocution and enunciation in order to preform these poems make the books a ready-made educator’s dream poetry and elocution curriculum. Together the two books have almost the perfect number of entries to use one each week of the school year, with a few weeks to spare.

In this book each poem is about an insect. When well read they are incredibly beautiful and fun. The tempo of the poem reflects the behavior of each insect, some seem chaotic and bumbling, while others seem systematic and methodical. The highly detailed black and white art work, which depicts the insect from each poem pairs perfectly enhancing the text and adding another level of enjoyment.


Teacher Application

14 years may seem extreme as an age to choose to use this book as an independent reader, however with only one reader one must use their imagination to create the interesting theatricality of this resource. There is nothing inappropriate, but this book is not meant to be read independently. If one wished to introduce their child to this style of poetry and was unable to read it with them, or find them a partner it would be far better to have them listen to the audio version, than attempt to read it alone unless the reader has had an extensive background in poetry and possibly music too.
It is also important to note it is not ideal for an adult alone to read it aloud to a child, so it would be best if the child is of an age that they can read one portion of the poem.

There is an audio book in which both of these books are performed. It takes very little time to listen to, but will make it easier to read these together with your students if you have heard correctly preformed prior to attempting it on your own. It works well to sign the audio book out of the library to listen to in advance. It would not be advised however to use the audio book with your students unless there is no other choice as the great benefit of this style of poetry is the skill level required and challenge presented in reading in unison/rhythm aloud together.

Ideally each reader could independently familiarize themselves with the new poem early in the week and read it aloud together several times later in the week until it can be said fluently. If you had two students each could take one part of the poem.


Contents:

Grasshoppers
Water Striders
Mayflies
Fireflies
Book Lice
Moth's Serenade
Water Boatmen
Digger Wasp
Cicadas
Honeybees
Whirligig Beetles
Requiem
House Crickets
Chrysalis Diary


Parental Warning
N/A

[Martha Bizzell · Rating 5 out of 5]

How clever this book is! Have you ever read a book in tandem with another reader? I begged my family to read Fleischman's Joyful Noise with me! Yes, to begin with it was a struggle, but once we got going -- how cool! This book is a collection of poems about insects. They come alive through the masterfully paired and unpaired reading of the poem designed for two voices. The fireflies: flitting, flickering, flashing... glimmering, gleaming, glowing... insect calligraphers... come to life as the poem is read-aloud by two voices. This is an excellent mentor text teaching across the science and poetry curricula.

Written in 1988 (yes, this one is an oldie, but Goldie), Joyful Noise is marvelously illustrated by Eric Beddows. Beddows has a naturalist's eye and must be an entomologist (one who studies insects) to produce such detailed and accurate drawings. The artwork alone is worth the picture walk you can have with your students.

I would use Joyful Noise as a read-aloud with definitely two voices. I would like to see if any other poems were designed to be read by two voices and read those too. This text can be used across several curriculums: Reading, Writing and Science. One of the 5th grade standards for science (5.L.2 Understand the interdependence of plants and animals with their ecosystems) is appropriate as the class discusses the relationships and significances of the life of each insect (and their food webs!). The students could re-compose the information gleaned from the text and couple it with research done during an "Internet Workshop" to create another class-created or partner-created poem or story.

[Evan Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Poetry is the opening and closing of a door, leaving those who look through to guess about what is seen during the moment.” -Carl Sandburg

I strongly believe that poetry is to be read aloud and not in silence and solitude. Paul Freishman’s Joyful Noise is created for this type of reading. The book is laid out so that two people can read through the poem together, there is no poem in this book that is made for one person to read silently by themselves. On each page the stanzas have been broken up so that each reader knows when they should read and when their partner should read, and if they do not know what the poem is about they can look to the beautifully drawn image by Eric Beddows. As I read through the book I reflected back to The Dead Poets Society and how the young men after writing their own poetry and presenting it to the entire class, had fallen in love with poetry. This book will not only create an interest in poetry in children, but will change how they look at words and how they understand rhymes and rhythms. I would recommend this book to anyone trying to introduce children to poetry, because this book shows poetry as a special language that is made to be spoken aloud and with emotion, not as a mere words that are to be read like the ingredients to a pie. Paul Frieshman and Eric Beddows work well together in showing that writing poetry requires the same amount of creativity (if not more) that it takes to draw. This book will definitely have you and your reading partner saying “O Captain! My Captain!”

[Tani Griffin · Rating 1 out of 5]

POETRY CATEGORY
This is a group of poems about insects, meant to be read aloud by two readers. I thought that sounded quite fun, and even began to imagine using this book in the classroom. Until I actually tried it out. My husband and I read some, a sixteen-year-old friend read a few with me. And we were all terribly bored; I had to insist we read them all. The writing is simply not even interesting. My husband called it "apathetic melodrama." I've rarely been more happy for a book to be done.
To be fair, the illustrations are quite good. But I'm perplexed that this won the Newbery Medal in 1989, but I'm glad I didn't know because I'm sure knowing it was award winning would have made me view the book differently. I think it might be a case of adults liking the idea and novelty behind two voices, but honestly, the poems themselves are not well done. For example, when the two voices read at the same time, only two techniques are used: both reading the same words, which negates the value of two voices; or echoing a small section verbatim, one line behind the other voice, which is such a lost opportunity for language exploration. Perhaps someone obsessed with bugs would like this, but otherwise, I don't recommend it for anyone.

[BookChampions · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Book lice! / We are book lice!"

It is always a "joyful noise" when I hear my three year old son recite lines from the chapter books we read together the night before. It's fascinating to hear what sticks in that powerful engine of a brain of his.

Paul Fleischman's book of poetry is notorious and for good reason. The "poem for two voices" has been a genre I've used over and over again in my classroom, and I'm pretty sure Fleischman is the creator of this poetic form. I'm pleased to have finally read the original work.

The poems capture the world of the littlest creatures and range from the silly and clever to the surprisingly profound. "Book Lice" is linguistic silliness that had my son cackling, and "The House Cricket" had me laughing along with him, as well. "Honeybees," though, is the showpiece; it does an amazing job of contrasting the points of view of a Queen bee with a worker, and the results are powerful. I can even show this poem to my high school students (and probably will). "Chrysalis Diary," the final piece, is damn moving.

This is a book I've love to own one day, but it will be one to reread once Jude can read so we can experience the poems as they were meant to be read: parent and child reading together. What a gem of a book.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me cry over a wasp, which I didn't think was possible

[Kelly Peay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul Fleischman. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices (1988). The note page instructs the reader that these poems should be read out loud by two people simultaneously. One reader should take the right-hand side, and the other the left-hand side. I skipped over this page, after appreciating the lovely drawing of a praying mantis reading a book, just before the cover page. It wasn’t until I tried reading the first poem, “Grasshoppers”, and not being sure if I should be reading right to left, or top to bottom, did I go back and discover the directions. Unfortunately, getting someone to read these cute poems along with me was a bit challenging, but once I did, and we found the rhythm of “The Moth’s Boatman”, it was fun! Sometimes our synchronous voices read the same words. Other times our lines were asynchronous, and only one of us was reciting a line from the poem. Because our reading abilities are equal, it worked! I could get my friend to read only 1 poem with me and the rest I read solo – losing the musicality of these delightful poems about bugs. This was the challenge and the drawback because reading for me, is an independent and quiet activity. They would be fun to read with a class, however, students would need time to practice reading them.
Target audience 9 – adult. Winner of the 1989 Newberry Award. Illustrated by Eric Beddows

[Abby Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is soooo precious! I've never seen interactive poems like this. I read it to some children that I babysit and it was such a fun time. The illustrations are beautiful and the content of the poems are simple yet striking. Love this one, tucking it away for future use!

[Lewis Szymanski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't read this aloud with another person, I just read it. I actually got it to give as a gift. It's a library discard, so I wasn't the first reader.

I'm a big fan of terrestrial invertebrates. Insects as poetry subjects were very nice. The detailed and charming illustrations were very nice.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was both goofy and profound, I loved it

[Debbie Reiber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman is a book of poems. This book won the John Newberry medal in 1989. The age group this book is intended for is intermediate. The book is full of poems about insects and is meant to be read by two readers. I listened to the audio version and followed along with the book.
I like the two voices together in harmony; I, especially, enjoyed when the lines were in rounds. The rhythm in the reading was expressed well with two voices, but also showed on the page. When the lines were the same, it put a little more stressed being that the two voices said it together. I think the audio helped because it is meant for two people, and it would have been a little more difficult to read this without two people. I really enjoyed the Whirligig Beetles because it had a faster pace and it was echoing in a round. The words themselves were carefully chosen to personify the bugs. I think young readers would enjoy this and I think it would make a great classroom activity to work together and read this book out loud. The students would have to work together to stay in rhythm.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surely one of the most unique of the Newbery Medalists, Joyful Noise is a delightful albeit bizarre selection.

The book is written in poems, although not in the normal sense. These poems about insects are designed to be read aloud by two people; if performed by people who really get into it, Fleischman's work comes to life. Some of the selections are delightful to simply read; my favorite was definitely "Book Lice," though I also liked "Honeybees" and "Fireflies." The poems feature beautiful imagery (fireflies as calligraphers, the book lice describing their favorite books) accompanied by cute illustrations (the cover actually has one of my favorite illustrations, a moth playing a tambourine).

Honestly, it reminded me of the Eric Carle books I read when I was little, which is always a good thing. I was truly sad when it ended because I wanted more! That's one of my only complaints about the book--it's too short. Otherwise, I recommend reading it; but if you can hear a performance of it, that's even better because that's how Fleischman intended for it to be experienced.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever sat outside at dusk, far away from the city lights, and soaked in the sounds of nature? The insect serenade is calming, a kind of joyful noise in its own right.

Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices is a collection of 14 poems about insects - from grasshoppers and fireflies to house crickets and book lice. They are meant to be read simultaneously by "Two Voices" in verse that always compliments and frequently overlaps.

I have a daughter who loves to read poetry and we had a great time reading these together. Every time we came to a new insect, she would wrinkle her nose and say "ewww!" and then thoroughly enjoy learning about them. Her favorite, of course, was the Whirligig Beetle, which she almost couldn't read because she couldn't stop giggling about the name.

So if you can't get outside to enjoy God's insect orchestra, try Joyful Noise, and it will transport the two of you there.