Media Matters

Book by Sharon Creech.  A series of free verse poems written by a boy to his teacher while learning about poetry. This would definitely be a good book to read while teaching a poetry unit. 

 Poetry anthology picture book by Fred Rogers. Some of these poems work better than others as actual poems rather than song lyrics, which is how they were originally presented. I wish there was a link in the book to actually listen to the recordings of the songs! That said, there are definitely some gems in this book that would work well as poems for families to discuss and/or for young children to read or even memorize. A few of my favorites: Things Are Different, pg. 25 Smile in Your Pocket, pg. 28 Fences, pg. 35 Summer Rain, pg. 58 It’s You I Like, pg. 71 What Do You Think is Important, pg. 72 Good People Sometimes Do Bad Things, pg. 96 Sometimes People are good, pg. 110 I’m Tame, pg. 112 A Smile’s the Style, pg. 130

 A collection of poems by Jack Prelutsky Most poetry collections are a mixed-bag, and this one is lackluster more often than not.  However, there were 10 Poems I quite liked and found clever and would recommend: The Leaves are Drifting (p. 10) Figure 8 (p. 24) My Carrots are Angry (p. 34) A Groundhog Speaks (p. 68) My Cows Have Stopped Mooing (p. 74) A Kitchen Sink (p. 75) I Love to Sleep All Morning (p. 107) Sludd (p. 108) If You Fail (p. 120) Tallulah (p. 130)

 Picture book collection of poems by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater. This is a book of poetry all about various aspects of the writing process. Several of the poems are quite exquisite in their word choice. 

 Picture book by Holly Meade. This is a beautiful piece of poetry that teaches the importance of stepping outside of your comfortable nest and trying something new. Activity idea: Try something new together.

Poetry historical non-fiction book by Lois Lowry. What a gem! This book is written entirely in poetry form and is split into three parts. The first is a memorial to the Americans at Pearl Harbor. The second is a memorial to the Japanese in Hiroshima. The final part tells the author’s experiences of living in Japan as a young girl after the war. It is both somber and hopeful. The only thing that would have made it better would have been having it illustrated by Allen Say, whose story is told in the book. (Definitely read the author’s note at the end.) 

 Book by Eileen Spinelli. This was a very quick read, written in short free verse poems with a wonderful pencil sketch to illustrate each poem. The poems are written by Diana, a young poet and astronomy enthusiast, who talks about her life and family and having to move to a new city. The tone is both wistful and hopeful. Simple and lovely.

 Memoir by Jacqueline Woodson. This is such a beautifully written memoir of the author’s growing up years. Told entirely in free verse, it touches on divorce, moving, civil rights protests, extended family, life as a Jehovah’s Witness, lead paint poisoning, an uncle in jail, sibling rivalries, friends and neighbors, and most of all, her desire to become a writer. And although my growing up years were different from hers, there are things we have in common. Our humanity, our dreams, our love for our families... these are the things that bind us all together as people, that give me hope for unity rather than racial divisions. Ages 10-adult.

 Novel by Eileen Spinelli. A sweet book about a 12 year old girl learning to move on after her dad dies.  Written in free verse.

 Picture book by Andrea Beaty. Young Ada is curious, asking lots of questions and constantly experimenting (which sometimes gets her into trouble). But her parents recognize her motives are good and they nurture her curiosity and scientific enthusiasm. Cute rhyming text and wonderful illustrations.

 Three collections of poetry by Shel Silverstein. These poems range from ridiculous to revealing, and are sometimes simultaneously riotous and relevant. As with any collection, I don’t necessarily recommend every poem, but there is good stuff to be found here.

 Novel by Robert Paul Weston. This book was utterly delightful! Imagine a plot with Roald Dahl-like sensibilities written entirely in Dr. Seuss style rhymes. This would be a fun read-aloud, especially if you came up with different voices for the various characters. There's also a wonderful theme of using ingenuity and inventiveness rather than letting your brain go into unthinking, boring mode.

 Picture book by Margarita Engle. I loved this true story, written in free verse, about a girl who dreamed of being a drummer at a time girls weren’t allowed to play drums in Cuba, and how her persistence in following that dream changed the world. Fun to read, with beautiful illustrations too. Activity idea: Learn to play the drums.

  This is a picture book of poetry by Laura Purdie Salas. Darling book of “Riddle-ku”: haiku poems that are spoken by inanimate objects with an implied “what am I ?” for the reader to try to answer. A perfect introduction to haiku, with instructions and encouragement in the back of the book for writing your own riddle-ku poems. The illustrations give additional clues to help younger readers to guess correctly, but for older readers, I would recommend it first as a read-aloud guessing game, without the help from the pictures.

 This is a picture book by Dr. Seuss. The story of the “pale green pants with nobody inside them” is one of my all time favorite read-alouds. It’s also a great way to discuss the idea of not judging a person based on their appearance.