Sky Scrape/City Scape: Poems of City Life

by Jane Yolen, Ken Condon (Illustrator)

All the jump-roping, rollerskating, skyscraping excitement of city life is packed into this pulsating collection of poems selected by Jane Yolen. Poems by Langston Hughes, Jane Yolen, Rachel Field, and others capture the rush and rumble, toss and tumble of taxis and trains, pigeons and parks, sidewalks, and street cleaners. Ken Condon's bold illustrations evoke the gritty passion of the urban scene. Young readers will delight in this irresistible anthology that crackles with energy and zest.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1996

About the author

Jane Yolen was a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who wrote 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 lived in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.

Reviews

[Kayla Rutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great selection of poems by Jane Yolen. I thought that the illustrator did a fantastic job of tying together the city life theme. The wonderful illustrations in this book of poetry are chalk and oil pastel. It’s remarkable how detailed the illustrations are. This would be a great book to use for a poetry unit in an elementary classroom.

[Asherer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why this book? My classroom is lacking poetry books and could use more books that reflect their urban landscape and come from multiple authors. This book provides a variety of lengths of poems and some that have repetitive language, which is great for new language learners. Similarly, the illustrations provide a good backdrop and contextual clues for readers. Although there are some poems specifically about New York City, most could apply to Chicago as well.

Genre: Poetry Collection

Theme/Keywords: City life, New York City, poetry,

Special Features: Mixture of 1 and 2 page spreads, colorful and realistic craypa images of city life; Table of contents at the beginning

Characteristics for Quality: Familiar context (urban landscape); portrays a wide variety of people and accurately portrays different settings within a city; language within the poems captures feel of the city;

Gender of primary character: n/a

Race/Ethnicity of primary character: n/a

Cultural considerations: Some poems reference New York City – 42nd street lights flashing, Washington Square Park, Manhattan Lullaby

Language considerations: Some poems may contain vocabulary that is unknown to my students, but there are others that are accessible and supported by the images; could be good for read aloud or instructional reading

Open Ended Question: How would you describe a city?

[Aska]

Sky Scrape/City Scape is an anthology poem selected by Jane Yolen. Not only the poems were selected by an author I recognize, the illustration and the title grabbed my attention immediately. Jane Yolen picked poems that showcased exciting, exhilarating poems that describe city life. The rhythms of most poems are fast paced to parallel the busy city life. The poems were carefully selected that incorporated noise, crowd and setting of the city. Many poems used similes to create imagery for its readers. For example, The Subway Train by Leland B. Jacobs, described the subway as a ” busy beetle black”. The language is geared towards elementary students and I think my 3rd grade students would be able to relate to these poems. It embraces the life they are familiar with and many of the poems I have been using were well known but not easily relatable. I would love to bring this book into my classroom.

[Emilie Morris]

Why this book?: Add depth to library

Genre: Poetry, Urban Literature

Theme/Keywords: City Life, Urban, Poetry

Special Features: Great city illustrations

Characteristics of quality: Poems and pictures about city life help children who live in urban areas see life that is similar to theirs.

Gender of primary character: N/A

Race/ethnicity of primary character: N/A

Cultural considerations: Aimed at city life, not country life.

Open Ended Question: (Would have to ask questions at end of each poem) What did that poem make you think about? What pictures did you see in your head?

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

wide reading for CI 546

grade level: elementary to middle school.

genre: poetry
format: picture book

themes: city as naturescape.

school use: A good collection to have in your classroom to show how different poetic styles and types of poems can tell similar stories. Nice mix of classic and contemporary authors.

review: A really great collection of city-centric poems. Great for an urban classroom where Robert Frostian nature imagery wouldn't connect to students' experience at all. Really vibrant art and nice byplay between the paintings and the poems. Lots of different styles and themes but works really well together as a collection.

[Rachel Wild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yolen, J. (1996). Sky Scrape/City Scape . Homesdale, Pennsylvania: Wordsong.

This collection of poem centres around the theme of the sights, sounds, hustle and bustle of the city. One of the wonderful things about this anthology is it shows readers that poetry really can be found anywhere and written about anything, even the city dump! It is a great introduction to well known poets such as Langston Hughes, Jane Yolen and Rachel Field. This book could be used in a an elementary class in a thematic unit based on cities. It would also work well as a mentor text to introduce the idea of creating an anthology around a specific topic, perhaps as a poetry month project.

[Katie Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of poetry about the city.
I would use this in a poetry lesson.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Would pair nicely with Last Stop on Market Street