Finding a great children's book is like unwrapping a perfect sweet.
What poem is your pocket today?
Mine is
Allowables
I killed a spider
Not a murderous brown recluse
Nor even a black widow
And if the truth were told this
Was only a small
Sort of papery spider
Who should have run
When I picked up the book
But she didn’t
And she scared me
And I smashed herI don’t think
I’m allowedTo kill something
Because I am
Frightened
This week we have another new picture book for National Poetry Month, Feel the Beat: Dance Poems that Zing from Salsa to Swing by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Kristi Valiant.
First of all, we expect poems to have a distinct rhythm. Prolific author Marilyn Singer takes things a “step” further and incorporates the unique rhythm of each dance she is highlighting into the poem about it. Wow!
For example, for the salsa:
“Our teacher says, “First…
Feel the beat
in your feet
in your heart
Then you start.
Even better, the copy I found at the library has a CD in the back with the poems read by Singer set to appropriate music for each dance. What a treasure!
The illustrations are fabulous. They are so energetic that they bounce off the page. Each captures the flavor of the dance it portrays without being too busy or visually overwhelming.
Do you want to use the book to teach about different cultures? There are historical and cultural notes about each dance in the back matter.
You’ll want to pick up Feel The Beat for Poetry Month and then enjoy it throughout the year.
Related Activity:
Listen to the CD. Have children choose a dance style and write their own poem to the beat.
Age Range: 5 – 8 years
Publisher: Dial Books; Rei/Com edition (March 7, 2017)
ISBN-10: 0803740212
ISBN-13: 978-0803740211
Disclosure: This book was supplied by my local library. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.
Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.
It’s time to plan for National Poetry Month. Let’s start by pulling out two new children’s picture books –written in rhyming verse by Sue Fliess — to share with young readers.
Sue Fliess is a master of the subtly humorous, fast-paced rhyming text that is so appealing to little ones. She also knows what interests children.
The Bug Book
I really like the “go explore nature” message on the first page:
Grab a bucket. Check your guide.
Let’s go find some bugs outside!
Related:
See suggestions for related insect and poetry activities at Growing with Science.
Age Range: 3 – 5 years
Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap (February 23, 2016)
ISBN-10: 044848935X
ISBN-13: 978-0448489353
Calling All Cars
Rest cars, Hush cars
No more rush, cars.
Cars pull in, turn off the light.
Sweet dreams, sleepy cars…goodnight!
The artist added interest by including clues to the events of the next page. Children will have great fun guessing what comes next.
You can get a feel for the book by watching the book trailer.
Although it has a fiction feel, this basic concept book will appeal to lovers of nonfiction, too.
Be sure to pick up The Bug Book and Calling All Cars for fun reading adventures in April!
Related Activities:
Visit Sue’s website for a Calling All Cars Activity Guide to download.
Check the National Poetry Month Website for 30 Ways to Celebrate
Age Range: 3 – 7 years
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (March 1, 2016)
ISBN-10: 1492618810
ISBN-13: 978-1492618812
Disclosure: Calling All Cars was retrieved from NetGalley. The Bug Book was supplied by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.
Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.
Tomorrow, April 30, 2015, is Poem in Your Pocket Day. The idea is to put a copy of a poem in your pocket in the morning and pull it out to share with others throughout the day.
I decided to share one of my favorites, “To Any Reader” by Robert Louis Stevenson (from A Child’s Garden of Verses.)
This poem is both sad and hauntingly beautiful to me.
You can also see and hear it online: Stevenson, R. (1913). To Any Reader. A Child’s Garden of Verses: Selected Poems (Lit2Go Edition). Retrieved April 29, 2015, from http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/59/a-childs-garden-of-verses-selected-poems/4755/to-any-reader/
Looking for more? Diane Rehm has a timely discussion of the fabulous memoir in verse, Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson that you might find enjoyable.
The organizers of the event ask that you share your poem selection on Twitter tomorrow by using the hashtag #pocketpoem.
Will you be sharing a poem? What poem did you choose?
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Disclosure: These books were from my personal library. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.
