This is Just to Say

This is Just to Say

Written By Joyce Sidman, Illustrated By Pamela Zagarenski

http://www.joycesidman.com/books/this-is-just-to-say-poems/

Accessed October 6th, 2013

Summary

Anthony, a fictitious 6^th grader in Mrs. Merz’s class, introduces this heartfelt book of apology and response poetry as a class assignment of “sorry” poems that grew and grew until the class had a complete book. Rounded out with "student" created illustrations, this collection expresses the sorrows and reconciliations (sometimes not the reconciliations you would expect) of these young student’s lives.  With heartfelt apologies for letting down their mom, to not-so-heartfelt apologies for pegging someone in dodge ball these poems express the myriad of emotions felt by kids…and the joy, and pain that can come from listening to the person you apologize to.

Critical Analysis

Finding the words to apologize is one of the hardest things a person can do, however, Joyce Sidman provides a lyrical, expressive alternative to the rote “I’m sorry”. This is Just to Say is a collection of heartfelt poetry that expresses a whole myriad of emotion that can come with an apology – sadness, guilt, and smug satisfaction can all exist when we try to say we are sorry. Through the use of different types of poetry, colorful mixed media illustrations and a colossal range of reasons to be sorry, Sidman and illustrator Pamela Zaragenski run the gambit of a child’s emotional life – from feeling like your mistakes are the reason your father left, to sneaking into the teachers lounge and stealing jelly doughnuts, these poems leave few stones unturned.

In the poem “Dodge Ball Crazy” a poem apologizing (kind of) for an excessively rough dodge ball game, the poem is visually and rhythmically reflective of a bouncing ball. Through the punctuated words and the bouncing arrangement of the text readers feel the competitive, active nature of this rather grudging apology. The variation of poetic style, rhythm (but no rhyme) employed by this collection allow readers to see the rainbow of expressive opportunity available through poetry, and how with a single poem, you can expose your whole heart.

This poetry collection is divided into two parts, Apologies and Responses. The apology and response organization of this collection of poems provides balance and closure to each poem, however readers will have to sometimes go back to the original apology poem to ensure that they understand the response. Interestingly, the response poems are not always the same style of poem used in the apology poem – so the reader learns different types of poetry are suitable for different situations. In the poem “Fashion Sense” Carmen apologizes to Mrs. Merz for insulting her dress in a classic, heartfelt, verse styled poem but Mrs. Merz responds with a beautiful haiku “Haiku for Carmen” that sidesteps Carmen’s rather backhanded apology post script “Green makes you look thinner anyway” (Sidman, pg. 12). Mrs. Merz acknowledges Carmen’s apology and then speaks of the feeling of freedom that color blue can bring. The language used in the poems also changes between the apologies and the responses, reflective of the age of the writer. The apologies (with the exception of the apology poem written by Mrs. Merz) are all comprised of language appropriate to a 6^th grader while adults or siblings of a different age write some of the responses. The poem “Roses are Red” is a decidedly more child-like response poem and through the language of this poem we understand that Cassie (Alyssa’s sister) is the younger of the two. Joyous, humorous as well as heartbreaking these responses show the reader that while reconciliation is ideal, it is not always possible. As the reader experiences the lives of these fictitious 6th graders, you come to understand that it is not through a “happy ending” that one achieves victory, but through the true expression of feelings. 

A Haiku for this collection

Honest words express

Filling each person they touch

The heart finds freedom

A limerick to express my disappointment that this collection was not really written or illustrated by real 6^th graders.

There once was a fake poem book

Who’s reality Monica mistook

She was very upset

And wanted to forget

That the kid poets were all falshtook!

Reviews

Publishers Weekly (03/05/2007):
Sidman ("Song of the Waterboatman and Other Pond Poems") explains, via an introduction from one of the book's sixth-grade characters, that the poems contained in this often humorous and touching anthology were inspired by the title poem of apology, which was penned by William Carlos Williams. The student in Mrs. Merz's class who introduces the book explains that some of the students received answers to their "sorry" poems. One pair of poems shares a spread and addresses a dodge ball exchange ("Sorry/ Reubs, / for belting you/ as hard/ as I could/ in dodge ball/ I'd like/ to say/ I wouldn't/ do it again/ but I'd/ be lying"). But for most entries, unfortunately, in order to read the call-and-response in succession, readers must awkwardly flip from the first half of the book ("Apologies") to the second ("Responses"). Yet the poems successfully navigate the complicated terrain for those who seek forgiveness. In one especially moving poem, "The Black Spot," Alyssa tells her sister Carrie that the black spot of lead on Carrie's arm makes manifest the "nugget of darkness" within Alyssa that propelled her to injure her sibling (Carrie's response conveys her enduring anger at Alyssa). Zagarenski's ("Mites to Mastodons") inventive mixed-media illustrations brim with items found in a classroom: a dictionary entry on "apology," for instance, becomes part of a student's clothing, and white hole reinforcements resemble a character's stolen doughnuts. But the book's odd organization seems a missed opportunity to tie the well-wrought, corresponding poems together and reinforce the complex relationships between the characters.



School Library Journal (05/01/2007):
Gr 4-7-Mrs. Merz assigns her sixth-grade students to write poems of apology, and what emerges is a surprising array of emotions, poetic forms, and subjects from dead pets and biting hamsters to angry siblings and betrayal of trust. The children decide to create their own book of these poems, complete with an introduction and occasional notes by editor Anthony K. Fast-talking Thomas writes a humorous poem patterned after William Carlos Williamss This Is Just to Say, apologizing to Mrs. Garcia in the office, for stealing the jelly donuts in the teachers lounge: Forgive me/they were delicious/so sweet/and so gloppy. Mrs. Garcias response poem says, Of course I forgive you./But I still have to call your mother. A more serious concern emerges in Next Time, written by Jewel: Please, please come back./Dont leave me spinning alone, /like a slow, sad tornado./Im sorry, Daddy./Next time Ill be/perfect. In the response poem, Jewel describes her fathers wrenching reply telling her that, None of the stupid things/I have ever done/are even close to being your fault. Sidmans ear is keen, capturing many voices. Her skill as a poet accessible to young people is unmatched. Zagarenskis delicately outlined collage drawings and paintings are created on mixed backgroundsnotebook paper, paper bags, newspaper, graph paper, school supplies. This is an important book both for its creativity and for its wisdom."

Illustration

Pamela Zagarenski crafts bright, colorful illustrations that are reflective in style to what a 6^th grader has access to in middle school. Collage, basic computer illustration, paint and ink are all employed on ever page and accentuate the school assignment theme of this collection. The faces of the characters are very cartoonlike and yet they still are able to reflect the extraordinarily wide range of emotion felt in the poems. Particularly charming is the use of dictionary pages as collage accents that acts as a visual reminder of the importance of words.

Connections

With This is Just to Say readers experience the emotion that comes with apology. With Michael Rosen’s Sad Book, readers feel the unmitigated sadness Michael Rosen experienced after the death of his son. Like This is Just to Say, Michael Rosen’s Sad Book explores the wide range of emotion that accompanies sadness. By pairing these two titles reader achieve a better grasp of the emotions that color our world, and hopefully, a better understanding of how to recognize and express these emotions.

References

Kirkus Review - Children 03/15/2007 pg. 287 (EAN 9780618616800

Publishers Weekly 03/05/2007 pg. 61 (EAN 9780618616800

Rosen, Michael. 2005. Michael Rosen’s Sad Book. Ill by Quentin Blake. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press. ISBN 0763624973

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. This is Just to Say. Ill by Pamela Zagarenski. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 9780618616800