National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month

In Praise of Poetry

“A word is dead when it is said, some say. I say it just begins to live that day.” – Emily Dickinson

As we celebrate both the spoken and written word, here are some new and noteworthy books I’d like to share with you. Then, take a minute and visit the Web site of Poetry Speaks to learn more about what is happening in the colorful, creative world of poetry.

For ages 2 and up:
0763646822medEverybody Was A Baby Once and Other Poems by Alan Ahlberg and Bruce Ingman (Candlewick Press, $15.99). Filled with witty, funny poems kids will enjoy hearing and parents will love reading, like Small Hairy Mouse, Monster Munch and more!

For ages 3-8:
9781416941354Truckery Rhymes (Part of Jon Scieszka’s Trucktown) with illustrations by the Design Garage: David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon (Simon & Schuster, $17.99). For me a favorite here is The Wheels on The Truck and Wrecker Rosie Sat on a Wall. Truckfulls of silliness in store.

For ages 4-7:
9780061800542Arnold Lobels Odd Owls & Stout Pigs: A Book of Nonsense with color by Adrianne Lobel (HarperCollins Children’s Books, $15.99). Who doesn’t love Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad stories? Now there’s more to love with this collection including some extremely clever limericks with lines you’ll be repeating over and over.

51cdhb6jb5l_sl500_aa300_Maybe I’ll Sleep in the Bathtub Tonight and Other Funny Bedtime Poems by Debbie Levy with illustrations by Stephanie Buscema (Sterling Publishing Co., $14.95). Funny poems about sleepovers, closets, pillows and night clothes fill this book and get kids giggling and grinning before bed, getting imaginations in gear and guaranteeing lots of good dreams!

For ages 9-12:
9781402225178-mThe Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination edited by Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston (Soucebooks/Jabberwocky, $19.99 includes 1 Audio CD). Here’s a collection you and your child will want to revisit again and again because it’s absolutely packed with poems and info about our world. I particularly like that there’s a helpful glossary, bibliography and an About The Poets section, too. Hearing poets read their own works on the CD is simply the icing on the cake.

For ages 12-14:
9781402210747-mPoetry Speaks Who I Am: Poems of Discovery, Inspiration, Independence, and Everything Else in Your Amazing Future edited by Elise Paschen; series editor Dominique Raccah (Soucebooks/Jabberwocky, $19.99 includes 1 Audio CD).   Teens will be inspired to write their own poetry at the end of this book after reading Shakespeare, Rosetti, Nash and more than 100 moving and meaningful poems by contemporary and classic poets. Read and Hear: Billy Collins,  Marilyn Nelson, Sonia Sanchez, Richard Wilbur and more.  The zeitgeist of teen-dom is so perfectly captured and conveyed in this anthology and really does speak to middle-graders  in an exciting array of  voices.

Share this:

It’s National Poetry Month – Does Your Hippo Have The Hiccups?

Or Does Your Doggie Like To Disco?

9781402218095Pick up a copy of My Hippo Has The Hiccups from Sourcebooks’ cool kids imprint Jabberwocky to find out. I guarantee you’ll have tons of fun reading aloud with your children and then laughing yourself silly with the fantastic collection of poems from poet and sought-after school performer, Kenn Nesbitt. Then, when you’re done and yearning for more, why not keep the poetry pulse pumping by visiting Kenn’s website, www.poetry4kids.com?

Not since Shel Silverstein and his belly-laugh inducing poetry have I dog-eared so many pages in a children’s poetry book. Wild and wacky, inventive and inspiring, the 109 poems in this book are certain to entertain. And if they don’t get your kids eager to write their own poetry, I don’t know what will! It was utterly impossible to pick a favorite because I adored them all, but let me contradict myself and select the beginning of one here:

I Often Contradict Myself

I often contradict myself.
Oh no, I never do.
I argue with me day and night.
That simply isn’t true.

With titles in Nesbitt’s vast collection ranging from I Cloned Myself on Friday Night to Don’t Ever Bite Your Sister, I thought I’d give you a taste of what’s in store when you bring this book home (and the best part is there’s even an audio CD included for your portable poetry pleasure). Whet your poetry appetite and listen to Kenn Nesbitt read the following poems by clicking on each title below:

Something I Need to Remember
Dexter McDwyer
Don’t Ever Bite Your Sister

Want a chance to see your poem in print? Go right now (contest ends April 30), please don’t delay, tell the world, you’ve got something to say and visit TIME for Kids in conjunction with www.poetry4kids.com and enter their contest. The best funny poem gets published on the TFK website!

Share this:
Back To Top