Hey World, Here I Am!

I discovered this little book while gathering material for my Grades 5/6 poetry unit. Jean Little captures large truths in small poems. Many students, girls particularly, found themselves in several of the selections. One small poem about War has become my introduction for my Remembrance Day unit this year.

I had been meaning to read this book for quite awhile, but never quite got around to it until today. This book is a quick read. (I think it only took me about 45 minutes to read from cover to cover. However, I didn't take time to ponder most of the illustrations.)Kate is a great character. Strangely enough, the title poem "Hey World, here I am" is probably the one I liked the least in the whole book. I haven't read any of the other books that include Kate, but this book does stand alone. With this book, the reader gets an insight into Kate that is refreshing. Rather than using long journal entries, Kate relates little things in her world through poems and through short stories. Some of these things are quite moving, such as the time that Kate's mother yells at her to clean her room. Later, Kate's mother comes back to apologize, saying she had a bad day at work, etc, and that she didn't mean to snap like that. Kate's observation on the situation is that she could deal with being snapped at, but having to deal with her mother's sadness was something much harder. Other observations are more joyful, such as the hope for spring (in February in Canada!) or being happy to have a best friend like her friend Emily. I think this is a wonderful book. Don't let it's shortness put you off. Not every book is meant to be 300 pages.

I loved the poetry that outlined the story. Kate, whom we first met in "Through My Window" is the central figure in this story. Bright and outgoing, Kate speaks her mind on a myriad of subjects such as her religious identity, her social concerns and people she encounters regularly.This book delighted me because Kate is such a strong, female protagonist. She's wonderfully believable and her voice is certainly heartfelt. Kate is also funny.

This slim book of poetry and short poems, written from oneteenage girl's prespective, is a small treasure of wisdom andwit. With the help of goofy illustrations by Sue Truesdell (they remind me a bit of Kwentin Blake), this book somehow manages to capture the feeling of being a young teenager, without going cheesy or sounding remotely like a beauty magazine. Don't underestimate it - it's a huge accomplishment.

My daughter read this book several times in a row, so I had to read it, too. It's a mixture of poems and stories that create the charachter Kate Bloomfield, a very real and compelling girl. She comments on her life, about things like her best friend's baby sister, being Jewish, and turning cartwheels. It sounds corny, but the book is as touching as it is very funny.