Poetry: "Hi, Koo!"

Book’s Title: Hi, Koo!

Author: Jon Muth

Summary

The book I chose is “Hi, Koo!” by Jon Muth. The book is written as a “Haiku,” a Japanese word for “俳句”—a Japanese tradition poetic form. It is divided into three lines with five, then seven, then five on (on is the sound part, the syllables). The author wanted to show haiku in English, but he said, “English syllables and on are not the same.” The book uses haiku to talk about Asia’s year of seasons.

The panda’s name is Koo, the main character, and s/he plays with two friends through a year of four seasons. The book is beautifully illustrated using watercolors and soft picture. These characters experience beautiful natures and traditional life style.

Poetry Style

The book is divided into individual poems and rhythm that follows the American alphabet on each page. The book followed the Japanese’s haiku style using English’s language and alphabet, which was creative idea. The storytelling seems to follow the American way of using the English alphabet to write poetry, which the American Sign Language (ASL) can be used to show Deaf children the alphabet. If the readers do not know Asia’s cultural background, they may have difficulty understanding the poem’s subject. Each page shows three lines with one to seven texts; thus, it is a simple, short story. Since I am Japanese, I can relate to the book, but the book does not explain enough about the “Chinese” culture and identity, which is shown only in the pictures.  Although Japanese tradition is a little different from China, the Chinese’s four seasons and the ambiences of life style are similar to Japan.

Six Elements of Social Justice Curriculum

The book is about self-love and knowledge and respect for others according to the Six Elements of Social Justice Curriculum Design for Elementary Education. Koo and two friends identify with the Chinese culture because Panda was born there. For example, the dragon and the colorful kite are Chinese’s traditional symbols. Students can learn about the Chinese cultural background and identity to respect the Chinese person.

The book is valuable for teaching different country’s culture and identity. Students can learn how to create a short poetry that is also a creative story. Also, sometime involving picture with short text will help make the images themselves. Another idea is looking for matching pictures and words that follow the alphabet during storytelling can motivate the students to learn the language.