Joyce Sidman Book — Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night — Sidman and Allen

 Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night

Written by Joyce Sidman and Illustrated by Rick Allen

Bibliography:

Sidman, J., & Allen, R. (2010). Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children.

Summary:

Dark Emperor is a collection of poems written by Joyce Sidman that is illustrated by Rick Allen. All of the poems within the poem focus on specific subjects of nature and are paired with a paragraph of information about that creature/organism/object. Each poem also has a corresponding illustration that depicts its subject and their surrounding environment. 

Analysis:

As a lover of pretty much all living things and of nature itself, I adore this collection's ability to romanticize the lives of these creatures and give the reader a closer perspective of their environment and survival methods. I usually have conflicting feelings with information overload that can come with poetry books that contain both poetry and facts, but I think it is balanced beautifully in this book. The factual paragraphs are at the far end of the opposite page of each poem and are written in a much smaller font, which makes it clear that they are only they're for supplemental information, and the focus should be on the poems themselves, then the illustrations, with the paragraphs coming last.

Allen's illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. There is a darker, artistic style that brings a sense of realism to the animals and environments depicted and blends with Sidman's words in a way that makes everything together seem more life-like. I think Allen's style really works here because a more cartoony or playful style might underplay the additional information or even the poems themselves since there is an aspect of separation of reality that comes into play when living things look less and less like their real-life counterparts. 

Excerpt:

Night-Spider's Advice

Build a frame

and stick to it,

I always say.

Life's a circle.

Just keep going around.

Do your work, then

sit back and see

what falls in your lap.

Eat your triumphs,

eat your mistakes:

that way your belly

will always be full.

Use what you have.

Rest when you need to.

Dawn will come soon enough.

Someone as to remake 

the world each night.

It might as well be you. 

Many insects are busy after dark: hunting for food, attracting mates, or laying eggs. Some spiders are nocturnal, too. The orb spider builds a new spiral-shaped web each night. often in the same spot and using the same anchor threads. Web silk —an incredibly strong, elastic thread — is formed as a liquid inside the spider's body and pulled out form sic spinnerets" in its abdomen. Each spinneret produces a different kind of sild: some strong, some silky, some for making egg sacs. When web-making, the spider first lays down spoke threads, which will serve as walkways. The it weaves a spiral of sticky sild to snag night insects such as flies, moths, and mosquitoes. Toward dawn, after a night of hunting, most orb spiders eat their damages webs, which provide nutrients for a fresh batch of silk. 

Activity Idea:

What better way to experience the life of a spider who builds their web and eats it every night than to do the same? The example poem above would pair great with a snacktivity program that allows kids to make their own edible spider webs so they too can eat their triumphs and mistakes. The activity would require about five pretzel sticks per web and melted white chocolate in a piping bag that can be spiraled over the pretzel sticks (on wax paper for easy removal) for each child to create their own unique web pattern. Once the chocolate hardens, it can be picked up to take home as a souvenir / snack on the go.