Ah poetry! Thanks to the NYPL's List of 100 Titles to Read and Share, I have some new poems to celebrate:
#32 Digger, Dozer, Dumper by Hope
Vestergaard
3 Cheers!
Poems for the
mechanically minded. This collection features titles like Tow Truck, Cheery
Picker, and Skid-Steer Loader. Endearing illustrations and lively verse are
great for young readers.
#33 Forest Has A Song: Poems by
Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
4 Cheers!
Maybe it is because I
had a student named Forest, who I adored (I know, not supposed to have
favorites . . . ), and I think he would have loved this book. Regardless, I loved
it! I will definitely be reading each poem to my 3rd graders. I particularly enjoyed “Forest News”—just
enough rhyme, just a enough description, just enough fun. :)
#34 Stardines Swim High Across
the Sky and Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky
3 Cheers!
Jack Prelutsky is
most likely already a classroom or family favorite of yours, and his newest
book is equally delightful, though geared to an older audience (5th
grade or higher, I would think). Each poem is a wordplay, with eclectic
illustrations. Next time I am near the ocean I will be on the look out for some
Jollyfish . . .
#35 We Go Together: A Curious
Selection of Affectionate Verse by
3 Cheers!
Absolutely whimsical,
tender, and tiny! Grab a friend to enjoy this book.
#36 What the Heart Knows: Chants,
Charms, and Blessings by Joyce Sidman
3 Cheers!
I didn’t know what to
expect from the title—I was anticipating maybe Irish rhymes that I have seen cross-stitched
on linen. But these poems are straight from the heart of the poet, a collection
of words meant to draw out the best and guard against the worst that life
throws our way.
She says it
beautifully: “I wrote these poems for comfort, for understanding, for hope: to
remind myself of things I keep learning and forgetting and learning again.
They’re about repairing friendship, slowing down time, understanding happiness,
facing the worst kind of loss. They are words to speak in the face of loneliness,
fear, delight, or confusion.”
#37 When Thunder Comes: Poems for
Civil Rights Leaders by J. Patrick Lewis
2 Cheers!
This book goes around
the world in search of those who have made an impact, from Gandhi to Sylvia
Mendez. Although it was well written, I would not read this book to my 3rd
graders—history can be graphic and this is not lower elementary material (for
example, the case of Emmett Till). As
for me, it was a glimpse into areas of history that I may not have discovered
otherwise (like baseball).
#38 Your Skeleton is Showing by
3 Cheers!
If Tim Burton’s film The Corpse Bride, and Jack Prelutsky’s
book of poetry A Pizza the Size of the
Sun had a baby, it would be this book. It’s delightfully gruesome! I have
no bones to pick with this great collection of macabre verse. (And if you only
share ONE poem from this book with the children you love, I would recommend
‘Joe Shmif’, a cautionary tale of a remorseful skeleton who wishes he had
flossed his teeth.)
Next week we start on Stories for Younger Readers (age 6 -8), with Call Me Oklahoma!
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