Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors (Module 3)

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Sidman, Joyce. 2009. Red Sings From Treetops: A Year in Colors. Ill by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 9780547014944

2. PLOT SUMMARY
Sidman’s free verse poetry uses colors to describe the seasons, following the calendar year from spring to summer to fall to winter. From the joy of a spring rain to the frozen fun of winter, the reader will find enjoyment in each season and the colors that it imbues.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The book begins and ends with the “cheer-cheer-cheer” of red “each note drops / like a cherry / into / my / ear.” With this, Sidman really sets the tone for her book in that each color is personified and given delightful characteristics in each season. She also uses the five senses to help create a richer experience of the colors actions: “In spring, / even the rain tastes Green,” “Fall smells / Purple,” and “Red hops to treetops, fluffs its feathers / against the cold.” Because of the personification of each color, the images are vivid and create surprising mental pictures of the colors being incredibly active throughout the year.

Careful word choice in each poem brings it alive with alliteration, consonance, and onomatopoeia. In Spring, yellow and purple are “first flowers, / first friends” and white “sounds like storms.” In Summer, white “clinks in drinks” and gray eats a bug “Snap!”. In Fall, red is an apple “crunch!” and yellow is a bus “Warning—classrooms ahead.” In Winter, “pink prickles,” “blue breathes,” and “white whispers.” Sidman’s free verse lines flow from short to long in the same poem creating a wonderful read aloud.

The illustrations are delightful and playful, fitting the tone of the poetry. The character Zagarenski created is simple, yet brings so much joy to the illustrations as s/he wanders from season to season, color to color enjoying it all. By having the colors so vividly shown throughout the seasons, it helps to express how the colors really blend from season to season. There is a great use of mixed media within each illustration that heightens the creativity. Especially wonderful are the use of cut-out words, like “circle” on the wheel the character stands on in spring or “winter/December” on the scarf worn in the winter.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Awarded Caldecott Honor Medal
• Booklist starred review: “Throughout, the mixed-media illustrations, including collage and paintings on wood, provide much to look at. And as the title implies, the colors that surprise on every page do sing.”
• Horn Book starred review: “A poet known for multilayered explorations of nature rejoices here in the way colors, and how we perceive them, change with the seasons.”
• Kirkus starred review: “The seasons flow into each other, bringing readers full circle. Fresh descriptions and inventive artistry are a charming inspiration to notice colors and correlate emotions. Details in the artwork will invite repeated readings and challenge kids to muse about other color icons.”
• School Library Journal review: “Some of Zagarenski's mixed-media paintings are full of light and others are darker and slightly haunting, but the rich colors come to life on the page. The words and pictures depend upon one another and blend well to conjure up quirky, magical imagery.”

5. CONNECTIONS

• Invite students to think of their favorite color during their favorite season. Help them explore the five senses with that color and season in mind (e.g. How does green sound in the summer?). Once they have done some brainstorming, have the students write poems celebrating each season. Group the poems by season and display in the library.
• Joyce Sidman’s website has both a reader’s guide and video of her speaking about this book. She also has “poem starters” and offers to post some of the kid-authored poems that are submitted to her. Spend time with your students exploring this website and encourage them to submit poetry to her: http://www.joycesidman.com/Index.html
• Other illustrated books about the four seasons:

Gibbons, Gail. The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree. ISBN: 9780152712464

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, ed. Sharing the Seasons: A Book of Poems. ISBN: 9781416902102

Lin, Grace and Ranida McKneally. Our Seasons. ISBN: 9781570913600

Rosenstiehl, Agnes. Silly Lilly and the Four Seasons: A Toon Book. ISBN: 9780979923814