bees, snails, & peacock tails

by Betsy Franco, Illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Franco, Betsy, and Steve Jenkins. 2008. Bees, snails, & peacock tails: patterns & shapes-- naturally. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN 1-416-90386-0.

Bees, snails, & peacock tails is a poem picture book, which looks at shapes and patterns within nature. From snakes to bees as far as the eyes can see, poet, Besty Franco speaks of several geometrical shapes and patterns, which one can find on animals or within their environments. To name a few, she explores the natural hexagons of beehives; how they fit side by side, the intricate patterns of spider webs, the symmetrical “stunning eyes” of the moths, and the perfect straight line of marching ants. The illustrations are all vibrantly displayed and the poetry is engaging. In closing, Betsy Franco provides snapshots of factual information on the animals, which she has included in her poem.

The rhythm of this poetry book is rhyming. The poet uses short lines to create a staccato rhythm that flows as naturally as water flowing gently. The patterns of the rhyming scheme are varied however; they are not overly complicated nor forced. The matching sounds are at the ends of the lines however, not every line ends with a matching sound. The pattern moved the poem forward effortlessly, sounding natural and maintaining a song quality when read aloud. The poem incorporates a rhyming scheme that fits quite delightfully with the words and meaning of the poem. The poet absolutely did not lose word meaning for rhyme. The poem expresses factual meaning and did not leave room for interpretation. For example, bees create beehives that are hexagonal in shape; snakes do shed their old skin, and the puffer fish does puff up with the sense of danger.

The sound of the poem is in the words the poet has chosen to create the rhyming scheme in addition to the integration of how the poet inserted breaks within the sentences. For instance, the first line of the poem reads, “In the day (break) and the night, (break) on the land (break) and in the flight. The “breaks” create pauses, which place emphasis on the rhyming words. The poet integrates both the use of assonance and consonance and also uses the style of applying the same words and also the same words within words. For instance, “you’ll find inside (break) fit side (break) by side (break) by side (break) by side. I would surely agree that with the combination of the poet’s artistic use of description along with the sound, the poem does take on a dramatic and musical quality.

The language the poet has chosen to utilize within the words of the poem is collectively fundamental yet, significant. As a collective whole the poem provides factual information that is meaningful to children. It is not figurative language which is open for interpretation or fictional. The words and phrases are arranged distinctly and brilliantly. For instance, when the poet is describing the spider webs; the poem reads, “They spin lacy lines, then go round and round.” Another example is when the poet is speaking of the swans and the geese, “Look up in the sky and seasonally you’ll notice it’s filled with graceful Vs.” The illustrations are vibrant in color and work harmoniously with the language of the poem, however; I would say that I believe the poet’s language alone gives depth to the poem and creates the imagery splendidly. The illustrations are a wonderful bonus.

I believe that the poet fantastically captures the emotion of excitement one feels when exploring the intricacies and wonders of nature. She also manages to magically extend this enthusiasm into the field of shapes and patterns. The excitement is not forced but occurs naturally through the poet’s use of poetic style and the poem’s language. Illustrator, Steve Jenkins, works in melody with Betsy Franco. He uses the artistic style of collage to create vibrant illustrations, which appear to pop out at you on each page. I especially liked the page that illustrates the moths. The background color is black, which creates an effect that feels as if the moths are bursting from the page. If one looks closely at the illustrations you can see that the illustrator takes every opportunity to incorporate various elements of nature. For instance the moth’s antennas are actually leaves. There were two pages, which I had a difficult time with. The illustrations were magnificent however; the text of the poem is wrapped around the illustration to place emphasis on the “round” shape and “swirl” pattern. It was difficult to read the poem without turning the entire book around. I initially found it odd; however, in hind sight I can surely envision the children having a good laugh if the reader is animated with the movement to stress the element of shapes and patterns. As stated by Professor Vardell, “Success depends so much on our own positive presentation of poetry.”

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS:
Kentucky Bluegrass Award Master List
Mockingbird Award – nominated
Bill Martin Jr. Picture Book Award - nominated

EDITORIAL REVIEWS:
This poetry picture book about patterns in nature has some spreads on which rhymes sing and artwork thrills—and others that disappoint. The peacock page delights readers with a Jenkins collage at his feathery best and these clever lines: "If you should meet a peacock pair,/the male's the one with all the flair./The female, who is rather plain,/is dazzled by his patterned train." In the spread about symmetry in moths' wing patterns, the insects' furry bodies seem to pop from the paper, but the text's attempt to rhyme "eyes" with "side" and "spring" with "wings" doesn't measure up. A clever spiral poem on the topshell snail is accompanied by a surprisingly flat and listless illustration. Awkward scanning in the rhymes throughout will make the book especially hard to read aloud without practice. Jarring in a book that is scientific in tone despite its poetic format is the statement that sea stars "grow back an arm/if they get into scrapes,/for they take such great pride/in their bright, starry shapes." One or two simple facts about the habits of each animal are included in the end matter. --School of Library Journal

The duo behind Birdsongs (2007) teams up again in this winning introduction to the patterns and shapes found in the natural world. From the dazzling eyes of the male peacock’s feathers to the hexagonal chambers of the bee’s hive, Franco’s spirited poems explore the many forms and functions of nature’s geometry. Verses tuck neatly into each subject’s double-page spread or cleverly echo its shape, mimicking the spiral lines of a snail’s shell or the rounded exterior of a puffer fish, and an appending section explains the scientific facts behind each poem. Jenkins’ masterful collage work, which renders everything from the transparency of dew drops on a spider web to the soft gray fur of a deer mouse, will have readers impulsively reaching out to feel the tactile appearance of the shaped and textured papers. The perfect precursor to a science unit or a simple walk in the park. Further information on each of the animals is appended. --Booklist

CONNECTIONS-Activities:
Have children look around the room and point out as many shapes and patterns.
Have children point out on one page of the book all the rhyming words.