Poetry Month isn’t just for adults. In fact, probably the most important audience of National Poetry Month is kids!
Teaching a love for poetry at a young age opens a whole world up to kids. It helps their imaginations, their emotions, and their vocabulary. Poetry imparts valuable life lessons that you are never too young to learn. More than any other type of writing, poetry cuts to the soul with just a few searing words. Poetry shows that engaging openly with the world can be beautiful even when it’s painful. It shows that a sense of humor can be a great tool to have. It shows that just a few short lines can connect us with people who lived decades and centuries ago.
If you would like a child in your life to learn these life lessons, grab one of these delightful volumes, and read some poetry together. Then grab a piece of paper, and write some poetry together. And don’t forget to celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day on April 30th!
Changes: A Child’s First Poetry Collection
By: Charlotte Zolotow
First comes spring with birds building nests…
Summer with its abundance of roses…
Fall with crisp falling leaves…
and winter with bright brushes of snow.Image may be NSFW.
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As the seasons change, there is new beauty waiting to be discovered. Charlotte Zolotow’s classic poems paired with Tiphanie Beeke’s lovely illustrations make for a perfect poetry collection for every child.
Charlotte Zolotow—author, editor, publisher, and educator—had one of the most distinguished careers in the field of children’s literature. Changes: A Child’s First Collection of Poetry is published on the occasion of Charlotte Zolotow’s 100th birthday. (Publisher’s Marketing)
Neon Aliens Ate My Homework: And Other Poems
By: Nick Cannon
Just in time for National Poetry Month, Nick Cannon, entertainer extraordinaire, debuts his poetry book for children.Image may be NSFW.
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Nick Cannon—the unstoppable entertainer, comedian, actor, and musician—was inspired to write Neon Aliens Ate My Homework and Other Poems as a way to combine the worlds of poetry and hip-hop. These two mediums have shaped Nick into the prolific artist he is today. To further pay respect to the urban storytelling that inspired him, each funny, gross, wacky, or thought-provoking poem in this collection is illustrated by one of six incredible street artists who have shown his or her work around the world. There are even four illustrations by Nick himself. (Publisher’s Marketing)
Otto the Owl Who Loved Poetry
By: Vern Kousky
An owl with an unusual passion learns to shine in this fresh, funny debut picture book introducing a poetry-loving owl whom kids will cheer for.Image may be NSFW.
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Otto loves poetry—Keats, Rossetti, Dickinson, even T. S. Eliot. He prefers reading to roosting and reciting to hunting. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a problem. But, you see, Otto is an owl. When the other owls begin to make fun of Otto, he embarks on a difficult journey, finding along the way both his inner poet and a community that accepts him for who he is. Celebrating courage and the importance of sticking with your passion, and incorporating an engaging mix of original and famous poems, Vern Kousky has created an enchanting and inviting world—a forest filled with the sounds of poetry. (Publisher’s Marketing)
Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems
By: Georgia Heard
Try this at home! Poems to inspire young readers!Image may be NSFW.
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From Eileen Spinelli’s many goodbyes to summer at the shore, to Avis Harley’s catalog of ways to say hello across the globe, to a close look at the birds and animals outside, Valiska Gregory’s window in winter…Georgia Heard has collected list poems from contemporary poets. Each list is gathered with a poet’s eye—carefully selected details beautifully presented—so that readers see the extraordinary in the ordinary. And so readers are encouraged to be writers. The simplicity of each poem and Georgia Heard’s introduction will inspire young poets to write their own. (Publisher’s Marketing)
The Bill Martin, Jr Big Book of Poetry
By: Bill Martin, Jr
Years in the making, this full-color treasury contains nearly two hundred poems, all of themImage may be NSFW.
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handpicked by Bill Martin, Jr. Traditional children’s poems are presented alongside contemporary pieces, and the collection is capped off with tributes by Eric Carle and Steven Kellogg, two of Bill Martin, Jr’s best-known collaborators. This essential compilation also features original illustrations by award-winning artists, including Ashley Bryan, Lois Ehlert, Steven Kellogg, Chris Raschka, Dan Yaccarino, Nancy Tafuri, and Derek Anderson. This beautiful anthology is sure to become a classic. (Publisher’s Marketing)
Math Poetry: Linking Language and Math in a Fresh Way
By: Betsy Franco-Feeney
With crystal clear instructions, easy-to-use activities and templates, Math Poetry provides an innovative way to teach both math and writing. Students generally have trouble with math wordImage may be NSFW.
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problems. When they write their own word problems in the form of poems, they learn the vocabulary and concepts. You’ll be amazed by their creativity. Students will learn: Math concepts and operations, place value and fractions, geometry and graphs, measurement and money, word problems, as well as the elements of poetry in fresh context, including similes, metaphors, alliteration, line breaks, poetic language, and forms. And perhaps best of all, the creative process enhances your students’ recall of the concepts taught. (Publisher’s Marketing)
Words with Wings: A Treasury of African-American Poetry and Art
By: Belinda Rochelle
African-American poetry and art take wing and soar in this collection compiled by Belinda Rochelle.
With work that spans the nineteenth century through the present, this stunning collection pairs twentyImage may be NSFW.
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poems by distinguished African-American poets with twenty works of art by acclaimed African-American artists.
Renowned poets and artists such as Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Rita Dove, Countee Cullen, Jacob Lawrence, and Paul Lawrence Dunbar powerfully explore themes of slavery, racism, and black pride, among many others.
Named as one of the New York Public Library’s “100 Titles for Reading and Sharing,” this important collection was described as “a stirring book that will take [readers] up close and also extend their view of themselves” in a starred review by Booklist. (Publisher’s Marketing)
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The post Put a Poem in Your Pocket: Poetry for Children appeared first on The Literary Duck.