Traveling the Blue Road

Absolutely beautifully composed, illustrated, and told.

There are five poems that was provided by the publisher for the reading copy of this anthology, which was compiled and edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins. The illustrations drawn by Bob Hansman and Jovan Hansman are captivating and strikingly represents the poems' message.

The titles of the poems included in the file are: Voyage by Paul B. Janeczko; Hunger Ship: 1847 by Georgia Heard; Mediterranean Blue by Naomi Shihab Nye; Men of Waves and Sea by G. Neri; and Seas Seas by Lee Bennett Hopkins.

The poems in the sample copy tackles various issues from different centuries; such as Columbus' Voyage for the fifteenth century, and Irish potato famine during the nineteenth century. There are poems that addressed present-day matters like the Mediterranean refugee crisis on 2014, and the migration of some Sama Bajau from the Philippines to Malaysia on 2015.

These poems are not only fascinating, but informative and an eye opener as well on what happened in the past as well as the current happenings. I consider the most remarkable poems in the sample copy are the Mediterranean Blue and Men of Waves and Sea, especially the latter.

What a beautifully illustrated book! The copy I was given for review had just six of at least 27 pages, but I was thoroughly impressed with the little I saw. The images are incredible and could be a book of their own. I am curious to learn more about the Sama-Bajau, thanks to G. Neri’s poem. Georgia Heard’s line “Hunger took small bites out of hope” is provoking, as is Paul Janeczko’s “fear a constant companion.”

Beautiful illustrations but the poems were less to my taste. I would look at other items with this illustrator.

This book contains a wonderful collection of poems relating to multiple maritime journeys from the past and present. Poems range from 1492 when Columbus sailed in search of the Indies up to the Sama-Bajau people, present day. There are many other voyages shared including the Pilgrims' Mayflower journey to America for religious freedom, The Middle Passage, and the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 to name a few.

We appreciated all of the poems. Many are extremely powerful, emotional, and capture your attention with ease. Some of the poems and illustrations may evoke fear in younger children and may be difficult for them to understand because a few involve slavery, kidnapping and death, but they are honest and share truth about our history, presenting information not typically shared in traditional textbooks.

I really appreciated that the author included a note's section to describe each historical event so that children who may not be fully aware of them obtain insight. The writing is also very easy for them to understand. I was also very pleased that the author included an 'about' section which gives you a little biographical information about each poet. In addition, the illustrations in this book are striking, eye-catching, and convey the hardships experienced during these times.

My personal opinion is that this book would be perfect for elementary students, primarily 4th grade and up. I believe it's listed at 3rd grade and up, but I think it's best for older children, or children that have a fairly good understanding about these tough times in history. The poems are compelling and will more than likely spark interest, motivating kids to ask questions. It's a wonderful supplement to history curriculum's and it's definitely going down as one of my favorite children's books of 2018.

5*****

This is an absolutely amazing and gorgeous book. The picturestimated and poems take you to the sea and leave you wanting to stay. I would want this for my collection and would make a very nice addition to a library.