7 New Poetry Books

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 3^rd 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 (5^th 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 3^rd 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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