Once Upon Ice: And Other Frozen Poems

by Jane Yolen

In this imaginative collection of poetry, Jane Yolen and sixteen other poets tell the tales they find in Jason Stemple's wonderfully expressive photographs of ice in its natural settings.

Genres: Poetry, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Jane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

[Rachel Olive · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary: One Upon Ice written by Jane Yolen is a collection of multiple poems about the beautiful photography of Jason Stemple's wonderfully expressive photographs of ice in its natural settings. There are many well known artists, 16, that all write poems about what they feel or capture from what Stemple captured.

Analysis: I was pleasantly surprised by this collection of poetry. The different poets created written poems for the photographed content. I enjoyed this aspect of the book as it differed from a normal book in that the illustrations would be drawn based on the words, but this case the words were written with the feeling of the illustration. The poems had variation.

How I would use this book: I would use this book in a 3rd or 4th grade class read aloud. This book containment of metaphors, alliterations, and figurative language is a great tool to get students adapted too. It would also be just a great book to read.

[Martha Spear · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually picked up a few of Mom's poetry books and really enjoyed this. Also read Peace on Earth by Bijou LeTord. (Not listed). It was good to read right now. These are both children's books I think but I think many children's books are really for adults.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once Upon Ice is a poetry book that is made up of some well known poets such as Mary Ann Hoberman, J.Patrick Lewis, and Jane Yolen. These poems would be acceptable for 3rd or 4th graders due to the descriptive and figurative language. For example, one poem titled Once Upon Ice by Christine Crow provides the reader with detailed similes such as, like a moth's abandoned wing and like Egyptian tombs of old full stories of the dead. Each poem has a unique picture of various ice forms. Because of these pictures, this could be used as a lesson on ice formation within a science unit. Also, Once Upon Ice could be used to represent the transition between autumn to winter. Students could participate in an activity explaining what happens to the earth when it is making season transitions. The activity can also explain how ice forms or why some areas in the world have more ice than others. Lastly, I could use these poems for a lesson on metaphors and similes.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting collection of poetry; different poets created poems based on the photographs in the book. So instead of the illustrations being paired to the narrative, the narrative was woven around the pictures. The poems vary greatly - some rhyme, some do not; some are more metaphoric, some are quite simple and straightforward.

Overall, we thought this was a fun book to read aloud and we enjoyed reading it together. It was a good book to read on a hot evening. Our girls didn't recognize the reference to the artwork The Scream by Edvard Munch in the poem "Ice Can Scream", so we had to look that one up so they could see the photograph's resemblance to the iconic image.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terrific poetry resource with interesting photography accompanying a variety of poetry.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This seemed like another book to keep an author like Jane Yolen earning money in the publishing world. The poems didn't grab me. You can do better, Jane.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once Upon Ice
Yolen, Jane
a poetic look on winter snow and ice