A Child’s Calendar by John Updike, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman was awarded a Caldecott Honor in the 1960s and it’s not just Hyman’s soft and detailed illustrations that are noteworthy. John Updike’s poems give life to the seasons, from the frozen stanzas of January to the warm months of summer and the festivities of December.
Given the current changing season where I live, I liked April’s poems the best:
It’s spring! Farewell
To chills and colds!
The blushing, girlish
World unfolds.Each flower, leaf,
And blade of turf –
Small love-notes sent
From air to earth. …
Each month has four or five stanzas that perfectly match the tone of the month for America, highlighting not just the changing weather but the holidays that make each month memorable. A Child’s Calendar is a wonderful introduction to the months for young readers, but it also is a collection of well-written poems. I can envision encouraging students to word their own poems to the season or month after reading Updike’s rendition. This is something to return to in my homeschooling journey.
