Morning Noon and Nighttime, Too

Morning Noon and Nighttime, Too

By Lee Bennett Hopkins

Illustrated by Nancy Hannans

Harper & Row

Copyright 1980

pp.50

Morning Noon and Nighttime, Too

Poem Anthology

     The poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins in this delightful book follow a typical day in the life of a child. The book begins with several poems about morning activities. The humorous Making Beds by Steven Kroll and See, I Can Do It by Dorothy Aldis are two rhymed poems with which students are sure to be able to make connections in their lives. The book then moves through many familiar daily experiences such going to school, eating lunch, playing, eating dinner, and getting ready for bedtime. Most of the poems are rhymed verse, although there are a few free verse poems mixed in through out the book. Several poetic devices such as alliteration, metaphors, and onomatopoeias are used in numerous interesting and creative ways by the assorted authors. Nancy Hannans’s simple pencil drawings help readers to understand these devices and the meaning of many of the poems.

      I believe an anthology book is a great way to introduce students to the many different ways of creating a poem. Each student is sure to find a favorite among the various styles featured in the book. One of my favorites was Speak Clearly by Martin Gardner. In this poem, a father is trying to explain to his son the importance of not speaking with his mouth full of food, which is a daily occurrence at my house. The poem ends with the father answering the son’s question with his own mouth full. I enjoyed the rhythm of the poem and think it would be very interesting to see if the students could decipher what is being said.