Hopkins Anthology

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. DINOSAURS. Ill. Tinkelman, Murray. San Diego: Voyager Books/Harcourt. 1987.

Mr. Hopkins has given us a look back in time through poetry about dinosaurs. The collection includes poems by Hopkins and several poets like; Patricia Hubbell, Valerie Worth, Victoria Day Najjar, and Bernard Most. The theme of this anthology is to remember dinosaurs and to praise these mighty creatures who once roamed the earth. The cover and illustrations connect with the poems (they look old). The book includes a table of content along with poets for each poem. I liked this poem at the beginning of the book that captured the theme.

WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH
by Patricia Hubbell

Brontosaurus, diplodocus, gentle
trachodon,
Dabbled in the muds of time,
Once upon, upon.
.....
Allosaurus awed his foe,
He sawed his friends who passed,
His teeth were made for tearing flesh,
His teeth were made to gnash.
Taller than a building now,
Taller than a tree,
He roamed about the swamp-filled world
And ate his company.

Children learn the names and the habits of dinosaurs by reading this poem. The other poems are enjoyable and educational. It's not a collection about fear or blood and guts. Hopkins connects the past to our museums which house many bones of past dinosaurs. Children can extend their knowledge and be enriched. A poem that indicates their age is "Fossils."

FOSSILS
by Lilian Moore

Older than books,
than scrolls,

older
than the first
tales told

or the
first words
spoken

are the stories

in forests that
turned to
stone

in ice walls
that trapped the
mammoth

in the long
bones of
dinosaurs--

the fossil
stories that begin
Once upon a time

It's an inspiring collection and has encouraged me to search for more poems by the other poets. Children will find it easy to read. 2-6 grades

Review
From School Library Journal--Grade 3-6 Joining the ever-growing collection of dinosaur lore is Hopkins' new poetry anthology. Not a bad idea, and there is no question as to the literary merit of these poems; the poets include Lillian Moore, Myra Cohn Livingston, and Lillian M. Fisher. But Hopkins has dug up bones, not dinosaurs. These poems celebrate museum displays, not teeth-knashing, tail-twitching giants. Although well executed, the black-and-white ink drawings reinforce the book's dreamy and reflective but ultimately static mood. Yes, it's a good book, but one can't help wishing a real tyrannosaurus or two had stumbled onto these pages, to raise the dust and spew a little excitement into these placid poems.