Thunder Underground

by Jane Yolen, Josée Masse (Illustrator)

Overview

In this collection of poems that's a science, poetry, and adventure story all rolled into one, noted children's poet Jane Yolen takes readers on an expedition underground.

This thought-provoking collection will evoke a sense of wonder and awe in readers, as they discover the mysterious world underneath us. Kids will explore everything from animal burrows, to human creations — like subways — to ancient cities and fossils.  Even deeper down, there are caves, magma, and Earth's tectonic plates. The illustrations show how girl and boy, accompanied by several animals, go on a fantastic underground journey. In these poems, young readers will see that beneath us are the past, the present, and the future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781662660054
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	01/03/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	519,246
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.13(d)
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Jane Yolen has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century. Her many awards include both the Kerlan Award and the Regina Medal for the body of her work. She lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts, and St. Andrews, Scotland. janeyolen.com

Josée Masse is the illustrator of the critically-acclaimed reverso poems by Marilyn Singer (Mirror Mirror, Follow Follow, and Echo Echo) and the Frog and Friends (I Can Read) series by Eve Bunting. She lives in Montreal, Canada. joseemasse.com

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/16/2017
Home to organisms, minerals, and buried treasure, the subterranean world is the subject of Yolen’s 21 poems, written in a variety of rhyming and nonrhyming forms. Masse’s crisp, gently textured mixed-media illustrations show a black girl and white boy imaginatively exploring what lurks beneath their feet, starting in the basement: “cables, pipes,/ the basic foundation,/ a storage,/ a story,/ the oldest page.” In subsequent poems, Yolen pays tributes to the natural (“Oh, to be an ant,/ neat, quiet, indifferent/ to anything but constant work”) and the man-made (“I like the sound the subway makes/ deep in its underground den”), as well as musing on lost cities, pirate treasure, and “magma pools/ Becoming rock/ When magma cools.” Blending creativity with scientific fact, Yolen’s poems appeal to readers’ imaginations and intellects alike. Ages 5–10. Author’s agent: Elizabeth Harding, Curtis Brown. Illustrator’s agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

★"Twenty-one poems...encourage children to explore what is under their feet using imagination and wonder. (E)ach poem honors the ability of young readers to navigate syntax, imagery, and wordplay. Yolen's treatment of the underground is expansive...(and) Masse's mixed-media illustrations portray the imaginary points of view with aplomb. A thoughtful exploration of nature expressed in poetry that should open the eyes of children to unseen worlds."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★"Yolen pays tribute to the natural...and the man-made...as well as musing on lost cities, (and) pirate treasure...Blending creativity with scientific fact, (her) poems appeal to readers' imaginations and intellects alike."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"...This collection illuminates the rich world of activity that goes on beneath our feet. The warm, naturalistic illustrations of underground scenes...often contain an element of charming whimsy...(and) nicely compliment the verses. Great for either a school or public library."—Booklist

"Through a variety of poetic forms, readers will...uncover buried history...The text embodies wonder and factual information...The detailed illustrations...tie the book together and provide little Easter eggs for kids to notice on every page. For scientists and daydreamers, this...volume of poetry approaches the world from a variety of thought-provoking perspectives in an attractive and engaging package." —School Library Journal

“This book of short, fun poems… could be used to teach both poetry and content. The illustrations are bright and feature two children discovering all the wonderful things that live underground.”—School Library Connection

“Twenty-one poems invite children to consider the worlds—natural and manmade— beneath their feet…. shifting perspectives add a sense of playfulness. Notes…for each poem round out this title, offering extra information, conversation starters, and possibly inspiration for children to write about their own subterranean interests."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

02/01/2017
K-Gr 3—"Beneath our feet,/a world apart,/is found our Earth's fast-beating heart./It keeps us living,/soil and root,/while up above/we eat the fruit." Twenty-one pithy poems focus on the world below in this well-designed volume. Bookended by two insightful poems and expanding on the word under (underground, understand, understood), all the verse in between explores under the house, the city, and the ground. Through a variety of poetic forms, readers will meet ants, worms, and moles; uncover buried history, cities, and treasure; and brush up on the science of magma, plate tectonics, and earthquakes. The text embodies wonder and factual information, piquing readers' interest along the way. The detailed illustrations, done in mixed media, tie the book together and provide little Easter eggs for kids to notice on every page. Back matter includes "Notes on the Poems: Both Scientific and Personal," which will help to engage readers with the topic in a more meaningful way. VERDICT For scientists and daydreamers, this slim volume of poetry approaches the world from a variety of thought-provoking perspectives in an attractive and engaging package. A fine addition to STEM-related poetry collections.—Julie Roach, Cambridge Public Library, MA

School Library Journal

★ 2016-11-23
Twenty-one poems that center on the uncommon idea of things "underground." On the cover, a black girl has her ear to the ground beside the roots of a large tree while a white boy cocks his head and listens. The premise of the collection is to encourage children to explore what is under their feet using imagination and wonder. Poems include a variety of forms from terse haiku to a ballad. Whether playful or serious, each poem honors the ability of young readers to navigate syntax, imagery, and wordplay. "Seeds," for example, spins a literary conceit: "This dot, / this spot, / this period at the end / of winter's sentence / writes its way up / through the dull slate of soil / into the paragraph of spring." Yolen's treatment of the underground is expansive, exploring natural subjects as well as a cellar, a subway, and the underpinnings of a city, and buried treasures from pirates' to fossils. Masse's mixed-media illustrations portray the imaginary points of view with aplomb, placing the same two children from the cover in settings both realistic and fanciful. In the backmatter, Yolen offers discursive notes on each poem, expanding on the science presented and her various inspirations. A thoughtful exploration of nature expressed in poetry that should open the eyes of children to unseen worlds. (Picture book/poetry. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews