Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night

Title: Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night

Author: Joyce Sidman

Illustrator: Rick Allen

Summary: This picture book is a collection of short poems about different things that relate to the night. There are poems about owls, spiders, snails, trees, mushrooms, the moon and other things. Each poem is accompanied with a detailed illustration and educational information about that thing that the poem represents. 

Genre: This is a picture book of poetry and a nonfiction book combined.

Art: The artwork in this book is incredibly captivating. It is so detailed. The artwork was created using a process called relief painting. Taking blocks of wood that they carved each picture into, then they applied ink and transferred the images to paper.

Literary Elements: The collection of poems is quite carried. Each poem is short and sweet. There rhymes, narratives, alliterations, metaphors, imagery, and personification. Alliterations and imagery are used in many of the different poems.

Critical Literacy: This kind of collection is a good example to use to teach students about the beauty of poetry and how you can find beauty in many different things such as spiders, snails and mice. It teaches children how to apply feelings and imagery to your writing.

Personal Evaluation: I enjoyed the poems within the book. They were not deep and meaningful, but more short and sweet pertaining to the life, actions, and habits of different aspects of the night. I really enjoyed reading the educational information that was provided with each poem. I was able to learn a few interesting facts. The