(Book Cover compliments of Titlewave)
Bibliography
Franco, Betsy. Things I Have to Tell You: Poems and Writing by Teenage Girls. Photographs by Betsy Franco. Cambridge: Candlewick Press. 2001. ISBN 0763609056
Review
In Things I Have to Tell You, Betsy Franco delivers a powerful collection of poems and prose written by teen girls. In the author’s preface, Franco explains that after visiting with a teenage friend about some challenging circumstances, she decided to “collect poems, stories, and essays by young women twelve to eighteen in order to provide a vehicle for them to communicate their experiences and tell each other how they had made it through some of the challenges in their lives.” Over 30 poems are presented in the book providing a diverse group of viewpoints that unwrap the universal emotions of disillusionment, joy, anger, infatuation, confusion and hope of teen girls. One girl’s poem expresses indignation at the synonyms for “gentle” that are ascribed to women: “moderate, nonviolent, reasonable, judicious, tame, mild as milk, innocuous…” Another sixteen year-old girl voices her doubt in her own power saying “I am closing in on the sky/Hoping it will try to escape/And I know I will let it get away/Like I let a lot of things get away/Cuz then I won’t have to continue the search/For my power.” Nina Nickels’ insightful black and white candid photographs of young women in day-to-day encounters add several measures of raw punch to the book. The expressions and diversity in the photographs remind the reader that the poems are real words from real teens. Dealing with body image, social conformity, infatuation, self-discovery, and relationship issues, Things I Have to Tell You relates to teen girls right where they live.
Honors
2001 ALA Best Books for Young Adults
2001 Quick Picks for Young Adults
2002 ALA Notable Children’s Books
Booklist Top Ten Poetry Books for Young Adults
2004 New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
Starred Reviews: Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA), Book Report
Reviewed in: School Library Journal, Hornbook, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Wilson’s Junior High and Senior High,
Sample poem:
Secrets
Do you know my secret,
Did I tell you it last night,
Were you listening to my dreams,
Were you hiding out of sight?
Do you look to find my secret,
Reading letters, reading notes,
Picking up sometimes on phone calls,
Opening books to see what I wrote?
Do you really want to know my secret,
Will it answer all your questions,
Take away your mass of worries,
Or maybe, you could ask for my suggestions.
Do you ever think to ask me about my secret,
Being honest and forthright,
With no lies or hidden feelings?
Only then will my secret come to light.
-Jessica L. McClosky, age 16
Connections
English Language Arts :
For 8th grade and up
Pair this book with Franco’s companion poetry book for teen boys:
Franco, Betsy. You Hear Me?: Poems and Writing by Teenage Boys. Cambridge, Mass: Candlewick Press, 2000. Print.
Using poetry writing prompts like those published by Candlewick Press (see link below), pair a poem from each book with a writing prompt. These poems could be utilized as bell-ringers and writing prompts weekly. Follow-up with pair-share discussions.
Sample writing prompt after reading “Words” on page 56.
What are words or phrases that people say that you don’t like? Why? What are words that you like others to say instead? Talk about that.
(See poem pairings and writing prompts for both books at http://www.candlewick.com/bookxtras.asp?isbn=076361159x&id=&browse=&view=readersguide&sprd=&bktitle=You+Hear+Me%3F )
Create inner/outer discussion circles and writing prompts on selected poems (or short stories) from Franco’s books as well as other adolescent poetry books like:
Deitz, Paula. Writes of Passage: Coming-of-age Stories and Memoirs from the Hudson Review. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher, 2008. Print.
Frosch, Mary. Coming of Age in the 21st Century: Growing Up in America Today. New York: New Press, 2008. Print.
Meyer, Stephanie H, John Meyer, and Peggy Veljkovic. Teen Ink: What Matters. Deerfield Beach, Fla: Health Communications, 2003. Print
(and other books from the Teen Ink series)
More Resources:
See author Betsy Franco’s website at http://www.betsyfranco.com/index.htm Her site is a treasure trove of resources including fun pictures and stories about her three famous sons who are writers, actors, artists and how they inspire her.
See the interview with Franco by publisher Candlewick on Things I Have to Tell You and You Hear Me? http://www.candlewick.com/book_files/0763609056.art.1.pdf
