American at War by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Illustrated by Stephen Alcorn. America at War. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2008.

ISBN: 9781416918325

America at War is an anthology of poems from each of American war beginning with the American Revolution and working through the Iraq War.  There are a total of eight sections, each devoted to a specific war.  The sections are comprised of poems about the specific time of war.  The anthology is not meant to be a historical book filled with facts, dates, and numbers.  Rather, the book is intended to be a piece of art which uses poetry to illustrate the emotions of those affected by the war (men, women, and children alike).  Each poem is accompanied by an exquisite illustration which gives life to each poem and can help the reader understand the meaning and intention of the poem. Many of the poems handle delicate subject matters such as death, loss, and grieving.   It can be a tricky task to cover these subjects with children and teenagers.  It is difficult, even for adults, to comprehend war.  I daresay, it is impossible for anyone at any age to completely understand the meaning, the repercussions, and the grievances of war.  The key of working children through topics of this magnitude is to meet them where they are cognitively and draw connections.  These poems collected in this anthology manage to do this, by drawing connections through close family relationships, cherished items, and culturally shared memories and past times.

Charms by Georgia Heard

Soldiers stuck the ace of spades into helmet bands,

Lugged Bibles through jungles in backpacks,

Cradled Mezuzahs, locks of hair, crumpled photos

Of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, the Pope,

The Beatles, in camouflage pockets.  Crosses,

St. Christophers dangled from strong necks,

Resting against fearful hearts.

They slept with creased snapshots of families,

Wives, kids, dogs, clutched tightly in their fists.

One soldier even carried a homemade oatmeal cookie

His entire tour of Vietnam, swaddled in tin foil.

When he was homesick,

He unwrapped it,

Held it up to his nose,

To smell

What home

Was like.

This poem is one of the many illustrations of the effect personal items can have on a person tried by war.  Each of these items is a representation of something that is most meaningful to a person.  Of course, the items are merely things, but in a time of stress, longing, or fear it can be beneficial to make these items tangible.  For example, a person’s religion can be made tangible by a cross, a Bible, or a picture of the Pope.  One’s love for family can be represented with a picture or a cookie.

I’d introduce this poem to a classroom with a reflection of what makes each student unique.  What is important to each student?  If the student were in a foreign land and stripped of the comforts of home, what would the student want to keep with them?  I’d ask each student to try and select a small tangible item to be representative of what is most important to them.  As an activity, I’d ask the students to fashion a short poem about the item and share.