The Fourth Day of Christmas...
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me... poetry!
I don't want to dwell too much on what happened yesterday. I know we are all coping with the tragedy in our own way. However, a hero of mine, and children's author, posted this today. It captures a lot of what I believe. Especially poignant was his reason for making a comment, "I hope you will excuse this singular exception, which I have granted myself because the people I write for, my audience, are being slaughtered with remarkably little effort because of the easy access that people have to very powerful weapons" Thank you Mo Willems, for everything you do. And now, on to poetry!
Most folks know that Shel Silverstein pretty much covers things when it comes to poetry for kids. But how do you keep the flame ignited once your little ones catch on? Here are 3 great poetry books that came out this year.
Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed From a Single Word by Bob Raczka
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book of poems. Bob Raczka explains, in his forward, that he came upon a poem by Andrew Russ that inspired him to create this book of poetry. Each poem uses only the letters from a single word, such as lemonade, to create an image with new words (anagrams), that describe the original word! The other rule is that the letters may only fall in the same position in the poem as they are in the original word, which is the title. (Don't worry, there is a picture below to better explain.) It was so fun to go through and figure out the arrangement of letters and the new phrases. Here is one of my favorites:
Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman
This poetry book was on the top of every critics list this past year. The book is one poem, written about the spiral and where it is found in nature. "A spiral is a snuggling shape. It fits neatly in small places." Every page describes the spirals in nature and features detailed artwork showing just where we can see it. I especially love the back of the book that describes the science and mathematics behind spirals. Your kids will enjoy the art and nature while you learn something new!
All the Water in the World by George Ellen Lyon
"It wobbles in blue pools. It fills your cup up. But where does it come from?" This beautifully illustrated poem about water explains how we get water, the water cycle, and why we need water. The text and illustrations work hand in hand to bring the poem to life. However, it is not just the precise words used to describe the water, such as "cascaded from clouds" and "meandered down mountains" and "thirsty air licks it from lakes," nope, not just that. The actual shape the words take, the size and type of font used, all paint a beautiful picture of the precious resource of water. This is a great book for your "green" and eco-conscious kids, those who love the sound of perfect words, or those who just want to read and hear a beautiful book!
I don't want to dwell too much on what happened yesterday. I know we are all coping with the tragedy in our own way. However, a hero of mine, and children's author, posted this today. It captures a lot of what I believe. Especially poignant was his reason for making a comment, "I hope you will excuse this singular exception, which I have granted myself because the people I write for, my audience, are being slaughtered with remarkably little effort because of the easy access that people have to very powerful weapons" Thank you Mo Willems, for everything you do. And now, on to poetry!
Most folks know that Shel Silverstein pretty much covers things when it comes to poetry for kids. But how do you keep the flame ignited once your little ones catch on? Here are 3 great poetry books that came out this year.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book of poems. Bob Raczka explains, in his forward, that he came upon a poem by Andrew Russ that inspired him to create this book of poetry. Each poem uses only the letters from a single word, such as lemonade, to create an image with new words (anagrams), that describe the original word! The other rule is that the letters may only fall in the same position in the poem as they are in the original word, which is the title. (Don't worry, there is a picture below to better explain.) It was so fun to go through and figure out the arrangement of letters and the new phrases. Here is one of my favorites:
Creative: I crave art (sorry it is blurry!) |

This poetry book was on the top of every critics list this past year. The book is one poem, written about the spiral and where it is found in nature. "A spiral is a snuggling shape. It fits neatly in small places." Every page describes the spirals in nature and features detailed artwork showing just where we can see it. I especially love the back of the book that describes the science and mathematics behind spirals. Your kids will enjoy the art and nature while you learn something new!
All the Water in the World by George Ellen Lyon
"It wobbles in blue pools. It fills your cup up. But where does it come from?" This beautifully illustrated poem about water explains how we get water, the water cycle, and why we need water. The text and illustrations work hand in hand to bring the poem to life. However, it is not just the precise words used to describe the water, such as "cascaded from clouds" and "meandered down mountains" and "thirsty air licks it from lakes," nope, not just that. The actual shape the words take, the size and type of font used, all paint a beautiful picture of the precious resource of water. This is a great book for your "green" and eco-conscious kids, those who love the sound of perfect words, or those who just want to read and hear a beautiful book!
A page from "All the Water in the World" |
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