p*tag

Bibliography

Vardell, S. and Wong, J. 2011. p*tag. Poetrytagtime.com. Kindle edition.

Review

p*tag is a collection of poems by well-known young adult poets such as Naomi Shihab Nye, Margarita Engle, Joyce Sidman, and Paul Janeczko. The poets choose a picture from a blog and write a poem inspired by that photo. In order to connect the poems, the poet must incorporate at least three words from the previous poem. The poems vary in their subjects, but themes such as solitude, patience, and rebellion travel through several poems. Many of these poems will attract young adults such as “P.K” by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer about a girl planning her escape to New York City from her evangelical father. The concept of this book inspires poets to write authentic poems by using the language of other poets as well as photographs. It will be an interesting read for young adults.

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: middle school

Before reading: Read “Beach Glass” aloud to students. Then read the poem following it “Hair” by Charles Waters.

Hair

Follicly challenged

Is something I’m not,

Please, check out all

Of this hair that I’ve got.

Rapunzel herself

Has NOTHING on me,

A whip of my hair

Could cover a sea

Of boisterous waves

Surrounding our globe—

When eating I need

The patience of Job.

If you counted my

Strands there’d be many—

But oh poor Dad,

He doesn’t have any!

Words from the previous poem by Sara Holbrook: boisterous, waves, patience

After reading: Encourage students to create a p*tag journal. Have photos for them to choose from to write a poem. They must read a poem already in the journal to get three words to incorporate into their journal. Leave the journal in the classroom all year as a piece that can be built upon.

Salting the Ocean:100 Poems by Young Poets

Bibliography

Nye, N.S. 2000. Salting the Ocean:100 Poems by Young Poets. Ill. by Ashley Bryan. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 978-0688161934.

Review

This collection selected by Naomi Shihab Nye includes poems from students in 1^st through 12^th grades. The book begins with a three part introduction. The introductions are addressed to “anyone”, to “teachers, librarians, parents, and other friends who may pick up this book”, and to “poets”. A variety of poem types are included that Nye has collected over a span of 25 years of teaching. The poems are entertaining and thought provoking, but the layout will leave much to be desired for children. There are very few pictures throughout the text, and young children are not likely to be attracted to this book even though they would likely enjoy many of the poems. It would be a great tool for teachers to use to read aloud poetry in the classroom and library in order to demonstrate student created works.

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: elementary age students

During reading: Read the poem “Inside Out” by Wayne Anderson.

My brother’s socks

            Inside out

My brain

            Inside out

My jacket

            Inside out

The sky

            Inside out

Darkness

            Inside out

For the second reading divide the students into two groups. Have the first group read lines 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Have the second group read the words “inside out”.

After reading: Have students illustrate an item or idea that can be turned inside out. Display their pictures in the library.

A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems

Bibliography

Janeczko, P. 2001. A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poetry. Ill. by Chris Raschka. Massachusetts: Candelwick Press. ISBN 978-0763623760.

Review

These creative concrete poems will be visually pleasing to students as well as leave them thinking about the messages. Some poems such as “Popsicle” take on the shape of the subject describing the melting popsicle and the “sticky” stick it is placed on. Others such as “Easy Diver” create movement. In the poem, a pigeon is quickly falling to the ground when it suddenly opens its wings and gently glides downward. The pictures are as much a part of the poem created with watercolors, inks and torn paper. Students will enjoy the wacky twists these visual poems provide.

Classroom/Library Connection

Before reading: Flip through the book, sharing several poems with the students and ask them what they notice about the pictures the words create.

During reading: Show students the picture as you read the poem aloud.

Tennis                                                  is a

game I                                                 could watch

for hours                                              but my

neck won’t                                          let me

Have the students read the poem. Divide them into two groups have the first group read the words on the left and the second group read the words on the right. Discuss how the choppy reading reminds them of a tennis match.

After reading: Allow students to visit the following website to create concrete poems using a template or by drawing their own shapes:

http://www.wild-about-woods.org.uk/elearning/concretepoetry/

The Wishing Bone and Other Poems

Bibliography

Mitchell, S. 2003. The Wishing Bone: And Other Poems. Ill. by Tom Pohrt. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 978-0763611187.

Review

Nine whimsical narrative poems are presented on heavy duty paper that gives this book a special quality that will appeal to children. The language of the poems is rich and rhythmical. The poems are divided into stanzas that allow for easy pauses as children read these lengthy poems. The rhyming stanzas provide a predictable form that will be comforting to children of all ages. The illustrations are created using soft watercolors and add to the magic created in the stories. Students will be delighted with stories such as “The Trial” where a sweaty pig is trying to prosecute an animal, but he’s not quite sure which one. They will also be curious to answer questions posed in the poem “Questions” that asks “How long must circles spin around?” and “Who taught the hummingbird to fly?” Students will be entertained as well as left wondering after reading this lovely book.

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: younger elementary students

Before reading: Allow students to share what they think they will be doing when they grow up.

During reading: Read the poem aloud.

When I grow up and I am wise,

I’ll know if needles shut their eyes,

If shadows dance, if worms have knees,

If bears say “Bless you” when they sneeze.

When I grow up and I am old,

I’ll know where secret tales are told,

Where dreams are born, where dragons fly,

Where ladders lean against the sky.

And when they think that I am dead,

I’ll know who puts the moon to bed,

Who lights the starts, who lifts the sun,

Who leads the planets, one by one.

After reading: Ask each student to write a question they will know the answer to when they grow up. Display their questions on a library bulletin board.

Eureka!: Poems about Inventors

Bibliography

Sidman, J. 2002. Eureka!: Poems about Inventors. Ill. by K. Bennett Chavez. Minneapolis: Millbrook Press. ISBN 978-0761316657.

Review

These sixteen biographical poems are divided into sections titled “The Tapestry of the Past”, “The Age of Invention”, “A Light Interlude”, and “Dawn of the Modern Age”. Celebrating creativity and determination, the poems each tell a short narrative of how an idea was conceived and born. From the first person to mold clay into a bowl to the new age of the World Wide Web, each poem will spark curiosity and encourage students to learn more about the inventors and their life changing inventions. Each illustration that accompanies the poem brings the inventor and his or her invention to life in a detailed portrait. Students can learn more about the inventors by reading the short biographical notes that conclude each section. 

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: upper elementary to middle school students

Read the poem “Walt Tells it Like it is” about Walter Morrison the inventor of the Frisbee.

It wasn’t a new idea.

People have been tossing lids

around for years.

I just did a little design work.

Aerodynamics.

Before the war, the ex-wife and I

would hit the beach

with a few cake pans and throw ‘em around—

called ‘em Pluto Platters.

We were deadly.

Someone would get between us

& we’d lift their hat off.

One day, a guy from Wham-O comes along,

likes what he sees.

Helps me get a patent.

The rest is history.

Sure, I came up with some other stuff:

a water-filled bowling ball, for one.

Never took off.

But that Frisbee, man!

The dough keeps rolling in.

I’m just sitting back, enjoying it.

When you’re poor, you start thinking of things.

When you don’t need it, you relax.

I’m just like anyone else.

Except I always liked throwing rocks.

After reading: Put students into groups of 3-4. Have several lids, plastic plates, and cake pans available. Have them hypothesize which one they think may go the furthest when thrown. Have them test the hypothesis by throwing each object and measuring the distance. Then after they have found their answer, let students throw Frisbees just to have some fun!

Messing Around on the Monkey Bars: And other School Poems for Two Voices

Bibliography

Franco, B. 2009. Messing around on the Monkey Bars: And other School Poems for Two Voices. Ill. by Jessie Hartland. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 978-0763631741.

Review

This book is a collection of nineteen school poems with topics ranging from classroom lessons to fun at recess. In the introduction, Franco explains to students how to read the individual parts as well as the parts that should be read in unison. Each part is shown in a different font boldness and size. The poems are best read aloud with partners, but they could also be enjoyed by an individual reader or as a class. Students will relate to the school situations and will enjoy the rhythmic beat of the poems. Many of the poems encourage movement such as bouncing a basketball along to “Backboard Rap” or tapping out a rhythm to “Jenny’s Pencil”. Students will enjoy interacting with these creative poems.

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: elementary students

Before reading: Have students tap out a rhythm on their desk with a pencil.

During reading: Choose one student to read the bolded words as you read the tap, tap of the pencil. All of the other students should be tapping their pencils on the desk. Here is the first half of the poem:

Tap, tap

Tap, tap

Tap, tap

Tap, tap

Tap, tap                       While we’re reading

Tap, tap                       and we’re writing,

Tap, tap

Tap, tap

Tap, tap                       multiplying

Tap, tap                       or dividing,

Tap, tap

Tap, tap

Tap, tap                       Jenny’s pencil

Tap, tap                       can’t keep quiet.

Tap, tap

Tap, tap

After reading: After reading through the poem once, divide the room into three groups. The first group reads the lines “tap, tap”, the second group reads the words in bold, and the third group keeps the beat with their tapping pencils.

Is this Forever, or What?: Poems and Paintings from Texas

Bibliography

Nye, N.S. (2004). Is this forever, or what?: Poems & paintings from Texas. New York: Greenwillow Books. ISBN 0060511788.

Review

In the introduction to this anthology, Naomi Shihab Nye explains that the poets and the painters that contributed to it “represent the beautiful diversity, the multiplicity of our state”.  This rings true in multicultural poems by poets such as Pat Mora and Sandra Cisneros. Many of the poems are nostalgic, reflecting life in small Texas towns such as “And Every Town it’s Dairy Queen” and “El Ice-Creenero/The Ice-Cream Man”. The topics and poetic formats are also diverse. Some poems are written using rhyming stanzas while others are strictly free verse. “At Sixteen” is written in four line stanzas where the second and fourth line of a stanza become the first and third line of the following stanza creating a playful repetition. The paintings also celebrate diversity showing Texas landscapes as well as abstract pieces. Readers can learn more about the artists that contributed to the book by reading the epilogue.

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: High school students

Before reading: Discuss the term imagery and how it relates to poetry.

During reading: Read the poem “Earl’s” by Andrea Greimel aloud. Put the poem on the document camera so that students may re-read it to themselves. Here are the first three stanzas:

The blue-haired ladies

mash at the crust

of their red cherry pie

with the backs of forks

sip at watery Sanka

all dolled up

with NutraSweet

talk over the gravest faults

of their daughter-in-law

out of the sides

of latticed lips

After reading: Give students art materials such as charcoal pencils, oil pastels, or watercolors and allow them to create this scene as they see it.

Spectacular Science: A Book of Poems

Bibliography

Hopkins, L. B. (1999). Spectacular Science: A book of poems. Ill. by Virginia Halstead. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0689851209.

Review

Lee Bennett Hopkins has collected a variety of poems dealing with scientific topics including wind, magnets, dinosaurs, and other questions about the world around us. Students will be drawn to Halstead’s bright illustrations that accompany each poem. The poems are simple enough for students to comprehend while still containing scientific facts that can be incorporated into curriculum. The form varies by poem, but several poem include elements such as alliteration or repetition like in the poem “Stars” by Carly Sandburg where the first four lines of the five line poem start with “The stars..”. This collection provides students an exciting way to explore the scientific world around them.

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: younger elementary students

Before reading: Ask students what grows from a seed. Make a list on chart paper of their answers.

During reading: Read the poem aloud to students

The Seed

By Aileen Fisher

How does it know,

this little seed,

if it is to grow

to a flower or weed,

if it is to be

a vine or a shoot,

or grow to a tree

with a long deep root?

A seed is so small,

Where do you suppose

It stores up all

Of the things it knows?

After reading: Put students in groups of 3-4. Take them outside, and give each group a small pot, dirt, and some seeds for various flowers. Have students hypothesize about what these seeds may grow into. Have them record their hypothesis in a science journal. Then they plant their seeds. Allow them to take them back to the classroom to care for them and see what blooms from their mystery seeds!

Freedom like Sunlight: Praisesongs for Black Americans

Bibliography

Lewis, J.P.(2000). Freedom like sunlight: Praisesongs for Black Americans. Ill. by John Thompson. Minnesota: Creative Editions. ISBN 978-0898123821.

Review

J. Patrick Lewis honors thirteen African Americans whose legacies have left an impact on society in this celebratory book. The poems highlight the struggles faced by those that wouldn’t accept injustices as shown in the poem “Rosa Parks”:

“And Many a fire was set that night,

And Many a head turned ghostly white

Because she dared disturb the peace”.

Talented African Americans like Marian Anderson are also celebrated. Her voice is compared to a paintbrush painting a masterpiece. The poems are rich with beautiful language, metaphors, and repetition, and they present facts in a way that will captivate students and encourage them to seek more information on the individuals. Each poem is accompanied with a detailed portrait of its subject created using pastels, pencils, and paints. The portraits themselves provide biographical information such as the two page spread of Martin Luther King, Jr. being arrested or the portrait of Harriet Tubman courageously leading a slave to freedom as she grasp her hand firmly. The poems are excellent for accompanying biographical studies or just enjoying as a celebration of African American history. Students can learn more about each figure by reading the biographical notes at the end of the book.

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: upper elementary students

Before reading: Play the students the song “Go Down, Moses” so that they can hear the tune.

During reading: Read the poem “Sojourner Truth” to students and let them hear the words to each verse and the chorus.

Here is the first verse, chorus and last verse of the poem:

I was Isabella born,

Children, hear my cry,

And I was child to scalding scorn,

Children hear my cry.

Chorus:

Hold on, Jesus, ain’t I a woman born?

Tell the children, let them hear my cry.

I go on preaching freedom’s fire.

Children, hear my cry.

It ain’t for sale and it ain’t for hire,

Children, hear my cry.

Chorus

After reading: Have the chorus posted on a SMART board or chart paper so that students can sing it as you read the poem a second time.

Grimericks

Bibliography

Pearson, S. (2005). Grimericks. Ill. by Gris Grimly. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Children.

Review

Limericks with their simple rhyming pattern and humorous topics are a favorite among kids. Pearson’s Grimericks are even more appealing with their spooky illustrations and haunting topics. Each Grimerick is accompanied by an illustration in watercolor and ink by Gris Grimly who is known for his ghoulish art. Many of the pages are outlined in spider webs and numbered with spiders. The introduction is even written in a Limerick:

Dear Reader, please lend me your ear.

If ghosts, ghouls, and goblins you fear,

           don’t open this book.

           No—don’t even look!

There are spooky things hiding in here.

Despite the frightful content, students will still enjoy this book since the poems are more silly than scary. It would be a great one to pull out to read throughout the month of October in preparation for Halloween. Even though every poem doesn’t adhere to the rhythm pattern typical of Limericks, there are several instances of alliteration and word play that children of all ages will enjoy!

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: upper elementary

Before reading: Visit giggle poetry to learn about the pattern of Limericks.  

During reading: Read the following Limerick aloud to students, and then allow them to choral read it.

There are skeleton horses out west

who deliver the mail without rest.

They ride night and day.

I heard someone say

his letter was bony expressed.

After reading:  Have pumpkin, ghost, and witch hat cut outs available to allow students to practice writing their own ghoulish Limericks. Paste them throughout the library at eye level for students to read.

A Funeral in the Bathroom: And Other School Bathroom Poems

Bibliography

Dakos, K.(2011). A funeral in the bathroom: And other school bathroom poems. Ill. by Mark Beech. Chicago, IL: Albert Whitman & Co.

Review

The title alone will invoke curiosity in elementary students everywhere. The only thing better than humorous school poems, are humorous school poems that take place in the bathroom! Dakos uses rhyme schemes and visual poetry that will appeal to young children. Most of the topics are very funny such as the poem “Emergency” where a student causes a puddle after his teacher will not dismiss him to the restroom However, there are poems dealing with more serious subjects that will be familiar to children as well such as “Crying in the Bathroom” where a young girl is crying in the bathroom because her parents have separated and the bathroom is the only place where she can be alone and escape the “sadness of [her] home”. The poems are short and rhythmic which makes them great for read alouds. Once students are introduced to this book, it will never stay on the library shelf!

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: elementary students

This book includes several riddle poems. Post these in the library and allow students to put their answers in a shoebox in front of the riddle. Announce the names of students who get the riddle correct on the announcements.

Here is an example of a poem riddle from the book:

My head’s

in a muddle,

and I can’t find the puzzle

in this puzzle of a poem.

The Perfectionist in Class 4B

I’m

the

perfectionist

in

class

4B.

I always

cross

my

i’s

and

dot

my

t’s!

Can you figure out the riddle?

Answer: We dot our “i’s” and cross our “t’s” not vice versa.

Keesha's House

Bibliography

Frost, H. (2003). Keesha's house. New York: Frances Foster Books/Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Review

Keesha’s house is told from the voice of teens that are looking for a place to fit in. Keesha has found that place at Joe’s and invites others to stay as long as they need to get back on their feet. Stephie is coping with the knowledge that she will be a teen mother and then feeling guilty for the relief that comes when the pregnancy ends in miscarriage. Harris is ostracized by his father after he admits that he is homosexual, and he finds himself living in his car and working to survive on his own. Dontay cannot trust his foster family and he is looking for a way to get out of their house where he doesn’t quite feel like he belongs. Carmen has been arrested on DUI charges and ends up disappointing the one person that cared for her. Katie covets her privacy as she chooses to live in Joe’s basement, a place where she feels safe from her step-father’s inappropriate advances. Keesha embraces each of these teens and helps them find peace through the simple act of giving them a place to stay.

Teens will enjoy reading about these controversial young adult topics while being exposed to beautiful language that connects readers to the characters more deeply than a traditional novel. Each characters’ point of view is told using the French sestina poem where six words are repeated at the end of each line through six stanzas. The people that care most for each teen cry out in fourteen line sonnets like the one highlighted below, and they would be a good way to introduce students to more traditional forms of poetry that will speak to their generation. Even though the teens endure criticism and tragedy, the overall story is one of acceptance and redemption. Teens will want to read the novel for its raw truth, but they will be impressed with the challenging poetic form when they are encouraged to take a closer look.

Classroom/Library Connection

recommended audience: high school students

Before reading: Have several verse novels, including Keesha’s House, out on display.

During reading: read “I Know the Value” by Joe.

I know the Value- Joe

I know the value of a house like this

Old and solid, hardwood stairs and floor.

But when I showed up at Aunt Annie’s door

when I was twelve—bruised, scared, clenched fists—

all I knew then was: I could stay.

As long as you need to, Joe, was what she kept

on saying, right up till she died and left

 the house to me. So now that’s what I say

when kids show up and I know they can’t ask

for what they shouldn’t have to ask for. They need

more than I can give them. I know I’m

no Aunt Annie. I ain’t up to the task

of tryin’ to be their legal foster dad.

But I can give them space—and space is time.

After Reading: Ask students to use Voki.com to create a talking avatar of their character from a verse novel. The character should read a poem or a portion of a poem from their book. Post the vokis on the library’s website.