Flower Child

Marilyn Hersh, Hillside Elementary School, Farmington Hills, MI -- School Library Journal, 7/12/2007

Flower Child. DVD. 30 min. WonderWorld Film and Video. 2006. $18.95.

PreS-Gr 3–Take beautiful poetry, mix it with images of active, happy children, and viewers will be captivated. Poetry written by well-known authors, but not identified on the DVD, such as Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, and Emily Dickinson, is spoken mostly by children, with a little assistance from an occasional adult voice. Multiethnic kids are expertly captured playing, jumping, sleeping, smiling, dancing, twirling, and eating—all in perfect sync with the flowing language. There is the wonderful music of drums and guitars, along with the sounds of nature, adding yet another dimension to the rhythm of this offering. Words and numbers from the many short poems are often displayed artistically on the screen. There is a liquidity and flow to this DVD that will hypnotize both children and adults. It is a good fit with poetry units and creative writing assignments. These images could also be used without sound to inspire kids to write their own poetry. This DVD gives new meaning to the phrase "poetry in motion!"