LS 5603 Poetry - Swimming Upstream

Bibliographic Data:
George, Kristine O'Connell. 2002. Swimming Upstream Middle School Poems. Ill. by Debbie Tilley. New York: Clarion Books, a Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0618152504

Plot Summary:
Swimming Upstream Middle School Poems is a collection of poems influenced by and related to the middle school experience. The poems start at the beginning of the school year and take the reader through learning math, new friendships, and learning to play a musical instrument by the end of the year and conclusion of the book.

Critical Analysis:

The poems in Swimming Upstream Middle School Poems are short, well written, and representative of the middle school experience. Several forms of poetry are used to convey different emotions that most middle school students feel at some point.

I found "Is it Monday Again?" to be well suited for anyone that works five days a week and gets weekends off, not just for students. I also can not think of anyone that has tried to open a locker over and over again to no avail that would not relate to the Haiku "Locker."

Locker

I've got your numbers.
Twelve...eleven... twenty-one.
Why won't you open?

With topics ranging from first loves to band practice, Swimming Upstream Middle School Poems is a good book of introductory poems that could easily be used in a classroom.

Review Excerpts:
Booklist: "The unnamed female narrator sees the first "jigsaw year" as refitting and recombining old friends and new, old ideas and new."

School Library Journal: "Students will relate to this voice navigating "upstream," while they try to find their own place in the middle-school wilderness."

Reading Teacher: "Using a variety of verse styles the poems reveal a range of topics... This collection speaks of small moments (hall passes) and large moments (discovering other students' problems) and all the moments in between."

Connections:
Kristine O'Connell George's website has great resources for teachers, such as a companion guide and discussion guide for download. Poems written by students for an online contest are also displayed.

http://www.kristinegeorge.com/swimming_upstream.html