On Going Bibliography

Alarco’n, Francisco X.. 1997. LAUGHING TOMATOES AND OTHER SPRING POEMS. Illustrated, by Maya Christina Gonzalez. California: Children’s Book Press.
ISBN: 0892391995.

Bunting, Eve. 2002. SING A SONG OF PIGLETS. Illustrated, by Emily Arnold McCully. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN: 0618011374.

Cullinan, Bernice E.. 1996. A JAR OF TINY STARS, POEMS BY NCTE AWARD-WINNG POETS. Pennsylvania: Boyd Mills Press. ISBN: 1563970872.

Florian, Douglas. 1994. BEAST FEAST. Florida: Voyager Books. ISBN: 0152951784.

Florian, Douglas. 2007. COMETS, STARS, THE MOON, AND MARS. New York: Harcourt. ISBN: 9780152053727.

Giovanni, Nikki. 1985. SPIN A SOFT BLACK SONG. New York: Trumpet.
ISBN: 0374464693.

Hesse, Karen. 1997. OUT OF THE DUST. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0329087657.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1998. CLIMB INTO MY LAP. Illustrated. by Kathryn Brown. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 0689807155.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2000. GOOD BOOKS, GOOD TIMES! Illustrated By Harvey Stevenson. New York: Harper Trophy. ISBN: 0064462226.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1997. MARVELOUS MATH. Illustrated By Karen Barbour. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689806582.

Janeczko, Paul. 1998. THE SWEET DIAMOND. Illustrations by Carole Katchen. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 068980735X.

Lane, Barry. 1999. THE REVISER’S TOOLBOX. Discover Writing Press.
ISBN: 0965657442.

Nelson, Marilyn. 2005. A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL. Illustrated By Philippe Lardy. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN: 9780618397525.

Paschen, Elise. 2005. POETRY SPEAKS TO CHILDREN. Illustrated by Judy Love, Wendy Rasmussen, Paula Zinngrabe Wendland. Illinois: Sourcebooks INC. ISBN: 1402203292.

Richey, Frances. 2008.THE WARRIOR, A MOTHER’S STORY OF A SON AT WAR. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN 9780670019618.

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. THIS IS JUST TO SAY. Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 0618616802.

Shore, Diane Z & Jessica Alexander. 2006. THIS IS THE DREAM. Illustrated by James Ransom. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN: 006055519.

Teen Poems by WritersCoprs. 2003. PAINT ME LIKE I AM. New York: HarperTtenmpest. ISBN: 0060292881.

Yolen, Jane. 2006. COUNT ME A RHYME, ANIMAL POEMS by the NUMBERS. Photographs by Jason Stemple. Pennsylvania: Wordsong Boyd Mills Press. ISBN: 159078345.

The Sweet Diamond

THE SWEET DIAMOND
By Paul Janeczko

Janeczko, Paul. 1998. THE SWEET DIAMOND. Illustrations by Carole Katchen. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 068980735X.

Baseball- what many American’s consider the official start of spring! What better way to celebrate the season than with Paul Janeczko’s poem book, The Sweet Diamond. Janeczko offers the readers a collection of his own poems written in free verse and rhyming prose. The Sweet Diamond is a hit for any baseball fan, offering baseball poems of on the field of off, such as A Curse Upon the Pitcher, How to Spit, and After the Game.
Carole Katchen’s paintings are done in abstract pastels and offer a sense of being along the sidelines watching the action.

I Got Carried Away

Introduction:
THIS IS JUST TO SAY, is a collection of poetry written by sixth-graders as part of a poetry unit. The book has two parts: one, apologies and two, responses. During the writing of the book Anthony K., the student who was in charge of the introduction page commented on that a bad thing was going to happen, didn’t and a mystery was solved.

I Got Carried Away
By Reuben

To Kyle

Kyle, I’m sorry
For hitting you so hard in dodge ball.
I just really get carried away
In situations like that.
Kids are screaming and ducking,
Coach bellowing,
All those red rubber balls
Thumping like heartbeats
Against the walls and ceiling,
Blinking back and fourth
Like stop lights
(that really mean
go,
Go,
GO!)
See,
I even got
Carried away
In this poem.

[from THIS IS JUST TO SAY by Joyce Sidman, Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski, Houghton Mifflin, 2007. ISBN:0618616802]

Extension:
Have students pair up and act out the poem, one student playing the part of Kyle and the other playing the part of Reuben.

Sidman, Joyce. 2007. THIS IS JUST TO SAY. Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN: 0618616802.

Paint Me Like I Am

Introduction:
Paint Me Like I Am, is a collection of poetry written by teens through a writing program called WritersCorps. The poem Furious is appropriate for grades five and up. The poem address the emotions of anger and depression.

FURIOUS
By Karen Baylor

My name is furious
I live in the House of Darkness
My favorite game is Truth, Dare, or Consequences
You better tell the truth
You better do my dare
Or you will suffer the consequences
My favorite color of lipstick is
The darkest shade of burgundy
My eyes are full of fire
My mouth is full of heartbreaking words
My heart is full of ice and stone
My hands are like bricks
My eyebrows are your warning
Don’t talk if they say no
Do if they say so
My favorite food is burnt lasagna
Because the world is
Black, bloody and cheesy to me anyway
I drive a purple car, but I love walking
In the valley of the shadow of death
Because I am furious.

[from Paint Me Like I Am by Teen Poems by WritersCorps, HarperTenmpest., 2003. ISBN:0060292881]

Extension:
Ask students to think of a range of emotions that they might go through in a day. Have students pick three to five emotions and create a Powerpoint presentation. For each slide use one emotion or describing word and create a background to match the word being used.

Teen Poems by WritersCoprs. 2003. PAINT ME LIKE I AM. New York: HarperTtenmpest. ISBN: 0060292881.

COUNT ME A RHYME, ANIMAL POEMS by the NUMBERS

COUNT ME A RHYME, ANIMAL POEMS by the NUMBERS
By Jane Yolen

Yolen, Jane. 2006. COUNT ME A RHYME, ANIMAL POEMS by the NUMBERS. Photographs by Jason Stemple. Pennsylvania: Wordsong Boyd Mills Press. ISBN: 159078345.
Count Me A Rhyme uses both poetry and color photographs to craft a book that shows the reader how powerful numbers can be. Yolen explores use of numbers and created both rhyming and nonrhyming verse describing Stemple’s pictures of the animal kingdom. Each poem page not only offers a spectacular picture and poem, but also gives the number in roman numerals and other words that relate to the number.

THE WARRIOR, A MOTHER’S STORY OF A SON AT WAR

THE WARRIOR, A MOTHER’S STORY OF A SON AT WAR
By Frances Richey

Richey, Frances. 2008.THE WARRIOR, A MOTHER’S STORY OF A SON AT WAR. New York: Penguin Group. ISBN 9780670019618.

Frances Richey began writing when her son Ben, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, went on his first deployment to Iraq. The Warrior is a mother’s personal journey exploring the grief of missing a son, prayers being said, and the anxiousness of waiting for him to return home safe. Richey’s poems tell the story of her love for her son through a nonrhyming verse, stories that have a sense of urgency, love, and pain. The Warrior is not only for mothers who anxiously wait for the safe arrival of their son’s who are away at war, but for anyone who is waiting for a love one away at war.

I Rise, I Rise

Introduction:
I rise, I rise is an Osage prayer said before a young man’s first buffalo hunt. Read the poem out loud to the group.

I RISE, I RISE
By Anonymous Osage Poet

I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, whose tread makes the earth to rumble.
I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, in whose thighs there is strength.
I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, who whips his back with his tail when in rage.
I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, in whose humped shoulder there is power.
I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, who shakes his mane when angered.
I rise, I rise, (refrain)
I, whose horns are sharp and curved.

[from POETRY SPEAKS TO CHILDREN by Editor Elise Paschen, Illustrated by Judy Love, Wendy Rasmussen, Paula Zinngrabe Wendland, Sourcebooks INC., 2005. ISBN:1402203292]

Extension:
Ask students how a young man might feel going on his first buffalo hunt. Read the poem again, inviting the students to join in on the refrain, starting off soft and then ending with high spirits.

Paschen, Elise. 2005. POETRY SPEAKS TO CHILDREN. Illustrated by Judy Love, Wendy Rasmussen, Paula Zinngrabe Wendland. Illinois: Sourcebooks INC. ISBN: 1402203292.

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars

by Douglas Florian

Florian, Douglas. 2007. COMETS, STARS, THE MOON, AND MARS. New York: Harcourt. ISBN 9780152053727.

Comets, Stars, the Moon, and Mars looks at astronomy through various forms of poetry. Each two spread page offers illustrations to enhance a poem written about something that can be found in space. Each poem offers facts and details, creating a fun environment for learning about space. An example of a fact fill poem, The Earth: two-thirds water/ one-third land/ valleys deep/ mountains grand/ sky of blue/ clouds of gray/ life here, too/ think I’ll stay. At the end of the book the reader can find a section call A Galactic Glossary, this section offers a paragraph of details for each poem found in the book and a list of books for further reading.

Douglas Florian’s illustrations are collage, rubber stamps, and a painting technique called gouache. The illustrations all done on a common element, a brow paper bag. Some pages even offer a cutout, giving the page a bit of a 3D affect.

A Wreath for Emmett Till

Introduction:
Marilyn Nelson was nine when Emmett Till was lynched. His history has been part of her life. Nelson wrote this book to let other young people know what challenges and injustices people experience. This poem would be perfect to read during a civil rights lesson.

Pierced by the screams of a shortened childhood
By Marilyn Nelson

Pierced by the screams of a shortened childhood
My heartwood has been scarred for fifty years
By what I heard, with hundreds of green ears.
That jackal laughter. Two hundred years I stood
Listening to small struggles to find food,
To the songs of creature life, which disappears
And comes again, to the music of spheres.
Two hundred years of deaths I understood.
Then slaughter axed one quiet summer night,
Shivering the deep silence of the stars.
A running boy, five men in close pursuit.
One dark, five pale faces in the moonlight.
Noise, silence, black-slaps. One match, five cigars.
Emmett Till’s name still catches in the throat.

[from A WREATH FOR EMMETT TILL by Marilyn Nelson, Illustrated by, Philippe Lardy, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005]

Extension:
Invite students to share their emotions after hearing the poem.

Sing A Song of Piglets

Introduction:
Sing a Song of Piglets takes the reader on a journey through the months of the year. Each month offers a glimpse of what to expect and adventure that could happen. This book is a great resource for preschool or young elementary students who are making connections about months and what happens in each month.

March
By Eve Bunting
Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully

Sing a song of shamrocks,
tucked behind each ear.
a scarf that’s green,
a tambourine…
St. Patrick’s Day is here.

[from SING A SONG OF PIGLETS by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully, Clarion Books, 2002]

Extension:
Read the poem twice. On the second reading show the illustrations. After reading the poem, ask students what other events happen in March and what the weather tends to be like in March. Create a March Web with the information the students share out.

Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse

Hesse, Karen. 1997. OUT OF THE DUST. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0329087657

Billie Jo, the main character, writes of her life in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl from the winter of 1934 to the winter of 1935 through free verse. As we read about Billie Jo’s life, we realize through the free verse that Billie Jo does not have a lot to say, but what she does say is done with elegance and a sense of pride. We are taken on the journey of the death of Billie Jo’s mom and baby brother, her dad’s skin cancer, and the curiosity of where Billie Jo thinks she belongs. The novel takes on a narrative style with realistic and intense situations, which are characteristics of verse novels. Out of the Dust is a quick read, intended for fourth grade and up.

Introduction:
Fractions can be confusing and cause disorder. Read this poem after teaching a few fraction lessons when the students are becoming frustrated with the challenges that fractions pose.

Fractions
By Lee Bennett Hopkins

FRACTONS
Broken number pieces
disconnected-

a quarter
a half
an eighth

fragmented-

out of order-
out of control-

until-

I explore them
restore them

make them
whole
once more
again.

[from Marvelous Math selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Simon & Schuster, 1997]

Extension:
After teaching a few fraction lessons, read FRACTIONS to the class. Ask students to reflect on their feelings about fractions. Invite students to choose a fraction, and write a poem based on the fraction they selected.

This Is The Dream

Introduction:
This Is The Dream, poem picture book, celebrates change, courage, nonviolent actions, and the journey the nation has taken so far.

This Is The Dream
By Diane Z. Shore & Jessica Alexander
Illustrated by James Ransome

These are the fountains
that stand in the square,
and the black-and-white signs
say who will drink where.

These are the buses-a dime buys a ride,
but people are sorted by color inside.

These are the restaurants where “WHITES ONLY” eat
at tables up front and at lunch-counter seats.

These are the libraries, two separate sections,
with separate bookcases and separate selections.

These are the door that are closed in the schools,
and “separate but equal” is not just a rule
but a law that’s enforced on the busses and trains
and in theaters, rest rooms, department-store chains,
and in libraries, hospitals- all public places,
dividing up people by colors and races
with harsh written words that are slapped on the walls,
denying both freedom and justice for all.

These are the students who step through the doors
where people of color have not walked before.

These are the passengers, on weary feet,
walking until they can choose their own seat.

These are the diners who sit and wait at
the “WHITES ONLY” counter, ignoring the hate.

These are the marchers who forge through the street
as they carry their message through shimmering heat.

These are the leaders whose powerful voices
lift up the marchers demanding new choices
for fair-paying jobs and a good education,
to vote without fear and to live in a nation
where everyone’s equal and judge from within,
never jailed or arrested because of their skin;
fighting firm without fist, sitting down, standing tall,
pressing onward toward freedom and justice for all.


This is the fountain that sound in the square,
and the unwritten rule is to take turns and share.

This is the bus that roars through the streets,
and all the passengers choose their own seats.

This is the restaurant where, up in the front,
the black-and-white sign says “OPEN FOR LUNCH.”

This is the library, books wall to wall
free to be read-not by some but all.

This is the school where the doors open wide, and the children are learning together inside
about students and marchers and leaders who fought
to make right what was wrong.
without violence they sought to make changes together, establish new laws.

With many small triumphs they strength their cause
as They sat that counters and rode through the stations
and gathered up hands as they marched through the nation;
with courage they rallied and answered the call…
Dreaming of freedom and justice for all.

[from THIS IS THE DREAM by Diane Z. Shore & Jessica Alexander, Illustrated by James Ransome, HarperCollins, 2006. ISBN: 0-06-055519-X]

Extension:
Read the poem, pausing on each page so the students can see the illustrations. Have students pair up and pick a section of the poem. Each pair will then create a collage based on a section of the poem they picked. The collage can be based on a time they felt they were being excluded or mistreated.

The Firefly

Introduction:
Beast Feast is a collection of humorous poems about animals. The Firefly paints a mental imagine of the Firefly as it flies through the night sky. As the students meander in, dim the lights and pass out flashlights.

The Firefly
By Douglas Florian

On August nights
The firefly lights
Blink
ON and OFF
Amongst the trees
But have no need
For batteries

[From BEAST FEAST written and illustrated by Douglas Florian, 1994, 0152951784]

Extension:
Whisper as you read the poem, turning on and off your flashlight. The second time you read the flashlight, invite the students to ‘BLLINK’ their flashlight along with you.

Chile

Introduction:
Francisco X. Alarcon is an award-winning Chicano poet who boasts that a poem makes us see every thing for the first time. Hang various types of chilies around the reading area. As the students start to arrive, invite them to discover the chilies using some of their senses.

Chile
By Francisco X. Alarcon

Chile El chile
sometimes a veces basta
a bite is all it takes una mordida
for a supernova para que explote
to explode una supernova

[From LAUGHING TOMATOES AND OTHER SPRING POEMS by Francisco X. Alarcon, Illustrated, by Maya Christina Gonzalez 1997, ISBN: 0892391995]

Extension:
Read the poem in English and Spanish. After reading the poem, invite students to share their experiences they have had after eating something spicy and then invite the students to share their experiences after eating something bland. As a group, create a new poem only using something bland as the subject.

Martin Luther King

Introduction:
This poem would be perfect to share during African American Month or On Martin Luther King’s birthday. Invite children to share with each other what they know about Martin Luther King.

Martin Luther King
By Myra Cohn Livingston

Got me a special place
For Martin Luther King.
His picture on the wall
Makes me sing.

I look at it for a long time
And think of some
Real good ways
We will overcome.

[From A JAR OF TINY STARS, POEMS BY NCTE AWARD-WINNING POETS Edited by Bernice E. Cullinan, 1996]

Extension:
After reading the poem, encourage children to share why Martin Luther King has a special place for the person in the poem and how he has made an impact in their life.

The Messy Room

Introduction:This is poem creates a mental picture of a extremely messy room. Before the group arrives, create a messy area around you. As the group starts to arrive, invite them to find a seat around you. Ignore the comments made by students on how messy the area is.

The Messy RoomBy Barry Lane

The Messy Room

Clothes wrestling on the floor,
The shirts and pants pinning the underwear,
The socks balled and stinky,
Sprinkled like black olives over the furniture.

In one corner
The mangled Barbies gather.
Malibu Barbie surfs a sea of headless Ken
Naked Hawaiian Hair Barbie drowns
in a mass of matted grass skirt
wadded with the grape bubble gum
that you tried to save.
A legless Skipper has skipped her last time.

Legos crunched beneath your feet as you
Proceed to the unmade bed,
The bed you were suppose to make every day,
If you were the kind of child
That made her bed every day
That puts her toys away,
And never drank milk from the carton
when no one was looking.

[from THE REVISER’S TOOLBOX by Barry Lane, Discover Writing Press, 1999 ISBN:0965657442, ]

Extension: Encourage students to share the vivid phrases that caught their attention. Have students compose their own vivid phrase that describe their room.

Mommies

Introduction:
This is poem expresses a feeling for a certain family member. Once the group has settled around you, share with them a fond memory of a relative. This poem could also be used around Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, and Valentine’s Day.

Mommies
By Nikki Giovanni

MOMMIES
Make you brush your teeth
And put your old clothes on
And clean the room
And call you from the playground
And fuss at daddies and uncles
And tuck you in at night
And kiss you

[from SPIN A SOFT BLACK SONG by Nikki Giovanni, Trumpet, 1985]

Extension:Invite students to share their own memory of a family member. Have students compose their own poem of a family member.

Climb Into My Lap

Climb Into My Lap

Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1998. CLIMB INTO MY LAP. Illustrated By Kathryn Brown. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689807155

Sharing poems with young children is the bases of Climb into My Lap. LeeBennett Hopkins assembled a group of poems meant to be read aloud and enjoyed. Some of the pomes are traditional (Eentsy, Weentsy Spider, This Little Piggy) while others offer a bit of an unusual spin (Whi Ever Sausage a Thing?). The book is divided into eight sections that relate to a young child’s life, starting with ME! and ending with Good Night. Each section offers a variety of free verse poems and rhyming poems, long poems (four pages long) and short poems (four verses Long). Some of the poems offer a glimpse into the past (When I was a baby I did that), comfort of knowing others do the same thing (I have a secret place to go), and permission to be silly (I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed).

Kathryn Brown’s illustrations give the reader and viewer a sense of actually being there in the poem by adding details to the characters on the pages. In the poem My Name, the little boy sports a smile missing a tooth and one cowboy boot on and the other one lying under the chair.

Introduction: This is great for 4th grade when the Writing TAKS test is approaching and the students are stressing. Have posted around you on sentence strips, written in colorful markers, quality sentences various students have written. When the students gather around you, look at each sentence nod your head and, smile.


An Historic Moment
By William J. Harris

The man said,
After inventing poetry,
“WOW!”
and did a full somersault.

[from GOOD BOOKS, GOOD TIMES! Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, HarperCollins, 1990]

Extension: Invite students to read out loud the sentences posted around you. Discuss the good points each sentence offers and talk about how the author of each sentence strip must have felt when they invented a ‘fabulous sentence’. Pass out colorful paper and encourage the students to invent a ‘fabulous sentence’ (they may have a few days to work and conference with peers) to be displayed.

Hello everyone! I am new to Blogging~ please be patient with me! This blog spot was created for LS 5663.20 Poetry for Children and Young Adults. Throughout the semester I will post book reviews, special poetry breaks, and my thoughts as I share poetry with my students.