Dare to Dream...Change the World

Title: Dare to Dream...Change the World

Editor: Jill Corcoran

Poets: Jill Corcoran, J. Patrick Lewis, Alice Schertle, David L. Harrison, Jane Yolen, Joan Bransfield Graham, Ellen Hopkins, Georgia Heard, Hope Anita Smith, Elaine Magliaro, Curtis L. Crisler, Janet S. Wong, Denise Lewis Patrick, Joyce Lee Wong, Jacqui Robbins, Julia Durango, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, Lisa Wheeler, Hope Vestergaard, Carol M. Tanzman, Stephanie Hemphill, Alan Katz, Lee Bennett Hopkins, Marilyn Singer, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Joyce Sidman, Rose Horowitz, Bruce Coville, Kelly Ramsdell Fineman, Laura Purdie Salas

Illustrator: J. Beth Jepson

Publisher: Kane Miller

Publication Date: 2012

Genre/Format: Biography/Illustrated Poetry Anthology

Goodreads Summary: From Jonas Salk to Steven Spielberg, the subjects of these biographical-inspired poems invented something, said something, stood for something, did something, changed something. They dared to dream. 
     Thirty of our nation's most prestigious poets focus their creative vision on people who not only changed their own lives, but the lives of people all over the world. 
What Jen Thinks: We have so much to learn from the people who have come before us and made a difference in the world. This book collects so many biographical poems about many people throughout history who dared to dream and were able to make a difference. I especially enjoyed the pages that held a poem and a brief paragraph about the person who the poem was about. This type of combination of poems and prose reminds me of some of Steve Jenkins' books. What a great resource to discuss biographies. Using this text and other formats of biographies would help students recognize how one topic can be represented in different formats. It would also be interesting to look at how two different poets wrote poems about one person. Where do their ideas overlap, how are they similar, how are they different?

What Kellee Thinks: Jill Cochran’s introductory poem starts this book off perfectly: with using a butterfly leaving its cocoon to symbolize daring to dream. Within the anthology, I learned about historical figures who did amazing things such as Sylvia Mendez who helped desegregate Mexican students in California to Jonas Salk who discovered the Polio vaccine, modern day heroes such as Nicholas Cobb who as a child started a nonprofit organization to Chad Hurley, Steven Chen, and Jawed Karim who are the co-founders of You Tube, as well as artists who fought to stand out like Michelle Kwan, Steven Spielberg, Georgia O’Keefe, Martha Graham, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. All corners of heroes are represented. What I loved about who was chosen to be in this book is that although they are all extraordinary people, all of what they did is within the reach of anyone reading. It definitely pushes the readers’ mind when thinking about what is possible.  In Dare to Dream, you not only learn about these people through the poetry, but Jill Cochran also included biographical text boxes for each dreamer to share what they did to change the world.

     Many different kinds of poetry are also part of the anthology. Most are narrative, telling us the story of the life of inspirational person, while others are lyric or acrostic. Some rhymed while others didn't. One included quotes and another was written completely inspired by a quote. Not two poems are alike.

     Another beautiful aspect to this book are the illustrations by J. Beth Jepsen. It is amazing how she was able to change her style based on the poem/person. Anne Frank’s pages are filled with a depression while Father Gregory Boyle’s pages are filled with hope. Each page represents the dreamer in such a beautiful way. Would be a wonderful book to do a visual analysis on. 

Read Together: Grades K and up

Read Alone: Grades 3 and up

Read With: Tito Puente, Mambo King and Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People by Monica Brown, The Boy on Fairfield Street, Jim Henson: The Guy Who Played with Puppets and others by Kathlee Krull, Each Kindness by Jacqueline Woodson, Because Amelia Smiled by David Ezra Stein, Biographies of any of the subjects

Snatch of Text: 

Ripples

By Bruce Coville

No one acts in isolation

And no act leaves the world the same.

Words and gestures ripple outward,

What shores they reach we cannot name.

All our lives end in a riddle - 

A mystery without an answer,

For even gone we ripple on,

Like a dance without the dancer.

Did you extend a friendly hand?

Did you lift a battered spirit?

The one you helped helped someone else

Ah! Now we're getting near it.

That second someone dropped despair

Did not give in, instead revived

To teach, to love, to fight, to dare,

And what you've done lived on, survived.

On and out the circle widens,

Past all hope of comprehending.

The slightest touch can change the world

Healing, helping, lifting, mending.

Actions last for generations

Our fathers' mothers mold our hearts.

We in turn shape all that follows; 

Each time we act, a ripple starts.

Mentor Text for: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Inferences, Descriptive, Expository, Compare and Contrast, Illustration, Poetic Elements

Writing Prompts: What do you notice about how the poets' styles? Are they similar, different? How does each poet capture the tone or mood of each person he or she writes about?; What did you notice about the subtle changes in the artists' style from page to page? How did the style reflect the person who was being written about?  

Topics Covered: Courage, Adversity, Determination, Belief, Motivation

Jen *hearts* It:

Kellee *hearts* It:

and

**Thank you to Lynn Kelley at Kane Miller EDC Publishing for providing a copy for review**