Climbing Shadows: Poems for Children

Before writing Climbing Shadows>/i>, Shannon Bramer worked as a lunchroom supervisor in a kindergarten classroom in Toronto. As she got to know the children, they discovered that she was a poet. The students were both mystified and amused by this information. In her “Author’s Note”, Shannon tells readers: “Their incredulity made me feel passionate about sharing poetry with them, and with the enthusiastic support of a wonderful teacher, I began the routine of reading poems every Friday, in the tiny window of time they had before going outside.” (p. 44) At first, Shannon shared poems written by famous poets such as Emily Dickinson, Dennis Lee and Gwendolyn MacEwen. The “kindies” started to enjoy poetry, and Shannon offered to write each of them a poem.

Climbing Shadows: Poems for Children is a collection of poems based on Shannon Bramer’s experiences with her kindergarten students. It is full of Bramer’s wonderful and insightful poems which will spark joy in young children. Along with Cindy Derby’s inspired, colorful, and thoughtful illustrations, this collection focuses on the thoughts and feelings experienced by Bramer’s “kindies.”

Beginning with “Little Yellow House”, Bramer invites young children to join her in enjoying the poem that lives in the “little yellow house”. This simple but effective poem is a great beginning to the collection. Other poems focus on specific animals, such as the fox in “I Love to Draw”, the spider in “a spider way of thinking”, and the octopus in “Three Hears and No Bones at All”. Perhaps the most effective poems are those that focus on the emotions felt by kindergarten students. The short poem “afterschool” describes a child who doesn’t want to go to school anymore because “today was hard”. In “I Don’t Need a Poem”, an immigrant child describes her feelings about not being able to return home to Romania.

Climbing Shadows: Poems for Children is a marvelous introduction to poetry for young children. The 20 poems in this collection vary in length and structure with a variety of capitalization and punctuation. The illustrations are luminous with muted colours that project wistfulness and a dreamlike quality for young and old readers alike. These poems can be read aloud by teachers and caregivers and will provide a myriad of topics for discussion.