Welcome to the final stop on the blog tour celebrating the publication of After Dark: Poems About Nocturnal Animals, David L. Harrison’s 97th book! Congratulations, David! I am honored to be part of the festivities. Be sure to visit the previous stops (links below) on the tour for interviews with David about where he gets his ideas, his creative process, and more.
Over at No Water River, David told Renée LaTulippe that “being fascinated with the universe” is one of the major influences on his poetry. This fascination is contagious and shines brightly on every page of this gorgeous book.
One sure-fire way to build students’ curiosity is to introduce topics through poetry. Which is why I was so excited to share After Dark with my students. Each of the 21 poems highlights the nocturnal comings and goings of familiar animals. The beauty of sharing these poems is that they are about animals children will recognize, but will extend their knowledge in playful and engaging ways.
David’s masterful poetry builds vocabulary and will foster a love of language in readers of all ages. First graders loved “Owl Rules,” a perfect mentor text for young writers. They will use this poem to organize what they have learned about animals they are studying. David’s categories are full of humor: “Never work for food,” “Eat whatever,” “Who needs a nest?” and “Tease campers.” Children will be able to adapt these categories or create their own.
Eighth grade students I work with are currently reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They quickly recognized similarities between Shakespeare’s play and “The Queen,” which is filled with rich and royal vocabulary: regal, ermine, suitors, serene.
“The Queen”
(Luna Moth)
Like regal monarch of the night
or fairy in the airy light,
richly robed in ermine white,
winged in velvet royal green.
Suitors you have never seen
find you here in woods serene.
You’ve much to do before the dawn
so when your fleeting life is gone,
future queens can carry on.
© David L. Harrison, 2020
Examples of poetic techniques also abound in After Dark. The rambunctious “growly, pouncy, bitey games” played by wolf pups in “The Rehearsal” is a great example of creating adjectives and making words rhyme. My students are excited to try this themselves! Other favorites, “Toothy Grin,” “The King,” and “Hear This! Hear This” focus on prominent features of the kit fox, the Mexican red-knee tarantula, and spring peepers, then emphasize them through repetition. This poetic technique is one that young writers can easily imitate. The possibilities are truly endless!
Observation is the best way to learn about an animal’s behavior and get ideas about a behavior to focus on in their poem. If heading outside to explore isn’t an option, critter cams are a great way to bring the hidden world of animals into your classroom and spark student writing.
Stephanie Laberis’s expressive digital illustrations are filled with details that are perfectly suited to the personality David emphasizes in each poem. There are two pages of additional facts about each animal at the end of the book. Students could use these fascinating facts in their own poems.
Boyds Mills & Kane has generously donated a copy of After Dark to one lucky reader of today’s post. Thank you! To be entered in the drawing, leave a comment by Saturday, March 7th. If I pick your name at random, a copy of this delightful book will soon be on its way to you. Thank you, David, for inviting me to join in the fun, and for all your wonderful poetry!
Previous stops on the After Dark Blog Tour:
Reading to the Core 
As you know I found this book a wonderful mentor text for kids as well as a way to study poetic elements in addition to animal behavior. My students love writing about unique animals.
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Hi, Margaret,
Many thanks for being one of my hosts during my very first blog tour. I appreciate it!
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[…] stop on my AFTER DARK tour. I finish in the good hands of Catherine Flynn on Reading to the Core at https://readingtothecore.wordpress.com/2020/03/02/after-dark-blog-tour-the-final-stop/ To all my hosts, my heartfelt gratitude. Each of you has posted in a unique way about the book and […]
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So true, Catherine Flynn: “One sure-fire way to build students’ curiosity is to introduce topics through poetry..” David does a beautiful job in this book of introducing us to the night world of these creatures.
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Hi, Yvona, and many thanks for supporting my new book along this tour. I have many people to thank.
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Another fun post about David’s book!
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Wow. Su, has this been a good tour? I think so!
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Catherine and David, you bring the blog tour to a lovely end, but rest assured that readers will be talking about AFTER DARK for a long time to come!
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Oh, Jane! I love it when you talk like that! May it be so.
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How gorgeous! Thanks for a chance to win this lovely book.
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Love the way you’ve ended this special book tour, Catherine. My regret throughout is that I no longer have students to share this and other of David’s books with. But, I do have my granddaughters who already love it! Thanks for telling what you’ve done already with students! Now for a hike “After Dark”!
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Good morning, Linda. I hope you’ve enjoyed the tour even half as much as I have. No book (or author) could possibly ask for more.
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I used picture books with my 6th graders when I taught writing. I wish I had had this beautiful book to use in my classroom. I love David’s books and this one looks amazing.
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Perfect way to finish David’s blog tour–with reactions from readers from 1st to 8th grade, and ideas to use it as a mentor text. Nothing better than learning how kids delve into a book!
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I think you’re right, Buffy. In the end, young readers are the juries who make the final decision about a book. So far so good!
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[…] In case you missed it earlier in the week, there is still time to be entered in my giveaway of David L. Harrison’s new book, After Dark. Read my post about using this book in the classroom here. […]
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Hi Catherine and David,
Poetry can do so much and I love how you highlight the classroom connections and the way this book can really generate interest plus so much more. I can’t wait to have a copy of this to share with students and one for my grandkids. I have loved David’s book tour and your post adds to the interest!. Thanks to both.
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I could feel the words flitting off my tongue, like a moth, as I read ‘The Queen’ aloud 🙂
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Catherine, I like your approach for this book review on the blog stop tour. It shares ways for student readers to have fun with David’s new book. I think teachers will relate beautifully to the book with what you have presented.
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