poetry for kids

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Shoes for Me Book Inspires Activities

March 19, 2011 in National Poetry Month, Picture book- fiction, Poetry by Roberta | 5 comments

Shoes for Me! by Sue Fliess and illustrated by Mike Laughead has been released just in time to celebrate National Poetry Month in April. The story follows a colorful, bouncy romp through a shoe store with Hippo. Fliess creates a pitch perfect rhyme to keep the tempo fast-paced and exciting. You are compelled to turn the page to discover what shoes Hippo will find next.

“Feet got bigger,
heel to toe.
Time for new shoes.
Off we go!”

You get a good sense of the flavor of the book in this trailer.

Shoes For Me! is a sweet, amusing addition to your poetry shelf that is sure to appeal to the shoe shopper in all of us. It might also be useful for children who are shy about getting new shoes and need a little preparation for the big event.

Reading the book will encourage little fashion designers and poets to get creative. Satisfy their cravings with some fun “tie-in” activities.

1. Write a poem about shoes (or an article of clothing).

Shoe Acrostic (with alliteration)

What shoes should I wear today?

Sloppy slippers?
Holey high-tops?
Old oxfords?
Elegant espadrilles?
Sassy sandals?

I know, no shoes!

(By Roberta Gibson)

A shape poem of a shoe or t-shirt might be fun. ReadWriteThink has an interactive shape poem generator to help get started.

2. Design your own shoes on paper.

Draw some shoes on a piece of paper and color them with marker, crayons or colored pencils. Cut out bits of colorful cloth and glue them on the shoes. Pieces of ribbon or lace might be nice to add, too. Consider sprinkling on glitter or sequins to add shine.

If you don’t want to draw your own shoes, here are a pair of shoes to color (link is for.pdf file)

3. Decorate some canvas shoes

Gather:

  • Clean canvas shoes
  • Fabric paint (older children might use acrylic)
  • Ribbons or lace (optional)
  • Sharpie marker (optional)
  • Stencils (optional)

Draw a design onto the shoes lightly with pencil with a stencil or freehand. You might want to color areas or apply the fabric paint only to the design. Try an Google image search with keywords “canvas shoe hand paint children” to see some great ideas.

365 Days of Crafts has an example of painted shoes.

Special thanks to Jessica and Selena for sharing their thoughts about this book.

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 24 pages
Publisher: Marshall Cavendish Corp (March 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 0761458255
ISBN-13: 978-0761458258

Book was provided by author for review purposes.

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Bursting With Poetry

April 12, 2010 in National Poetry Month, Nonfiction Monday Review, Poetry by Roberta | 4 comments

April is a wonderful time for National Poetry Month. Flowers are blooming, the leaves are popping, insects are buzzing. Spring is a magical time of rebirth, which seems can only be fully and joyfully expressed in the form of poetry.

For example, the bright yellow brittlebush (Encelia farinosa) are blooming on the roadsides right now in Arizona.

brittlebush

brittlebush1

The bright yellow masses inspired this simple acrostic poem:

Brittlebush

Bright yellow flowers
Rattlesnakes slip into shade
Indigenous to Arizona
Tortoises munch
Tarantulas wander by
Lizards sunbathe quietly
Elegant bouquet

Bees slurp, then zip
Underneath is cool
Sun loving
Heat resistant

By Nathan and Roberta

brittlebush-bee

And this haiku:

bee sits on flower

buzz buzz bee sips sweet nectar

quick! next flower waits

Roberta Gibson

If you are in the mood to read some insect-inspired poetry, then Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman (illustrated by Eric Beddows), is an absoulutely wonderful older book to pull out and enjoy once again. It was the winner of 1989 Newbery Medal.Joyful-Noise

On page 3, the grasshopper poem is a perfect accompaniment to a good bout of spring fever.

Enjoy!

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 64 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; First Edition edition (December 28, 2004)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0064460932
ISBN-13: 978-0064460934

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day. This week’s post is at Shelf-Employed.

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Nest, Nook and Cranny Review

March 29, 2010 in Nonfiction, Nonfiction Monday Review, Poetry by Roberta | No comments

How do poets like Susan Blackaby do it? In her new book, Nest, Nook and Cranny (illustrated by Jamie Hogan) Blackaby manages to condense an obviously superb understanding of animal behavior and ecology into 22 beautifully-crafted poems, while still injecting humor and word play. What a delight!nest-nook-and-cranny

Teachers will absolutely love this book. Not only can you squeeze in science (the book is organized by habitats and the author includes a description of each in the back), but also language arts. Blackaby has added a behind-the-scenes look at each of her poems in her “Writing Poetry” section. No need to guess whether or not she intended the poem about the skink to be a cinquain, she tells you that it is, and explains the form. This section will be especially helpful to budding poets because they can go to the poems and see concrete examples of different types of poetry, from sonnets to triolet.

You might think that this revealing of craft could make the poems seem artificial or stiff, but they hang together wonderfully as a coherent package. And describing hanging bats as “fur bangles,” you just have to laugh.

The charcoal and pastel illustrations give the feel of a nature journal, with just the right touch of sophistication added by use of occasional silhouettes.

My favorite part of reading this book to my son was when we reached the poem about the duck on page 24, he spontaneously decided to read the quacks in counterpoint to my reading the text. It was a special moment.

If you love poetry and nature, this book is a sure winner.

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Hardcover: 49 pages
Publisher: Charlesbridge Publishing; New edition (February 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1580893503
ISBN-13: 978-1580893503

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day. This week’s post is at Miss Rumphius Effect.

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I Heard It From Alice Zucchini: Poems About The Garden

April 27, 2009 in Poetry by Roberta | 3 comments

In Celebration of Poetry Month

I Heard It From Alice Zucchini: Poems About The Garden by Juanita Havill
Illustrated by Christine Davenier

I have to admit a bias about this book right up front. The author, Juanita Havill, lives in Arizona and loves to garden. Anyone who can successfully garden in Arizona gets my respect right away.

The poems in this book make me feel like I’m a small person wandering through an actual garden, or perhaps even one of the plants, getting to know those around me in a down to earth way. Peas, beans, carrots and dill all get their turn in the spotlight, as well the garden creatures such as worms, crickets and bees.

The scientist in me does ponder the events of one poem, “Sweet Cicely and the Bee.” The bee is “an elegant gentleman bee.” Although honey bees do produce males, they spend almost their entire short lives in the hive and do not visit flowers. All the honey bees you see at flowers are technically females. To give her the benefit of the doubt, perhaps Havill knows a lot about bees and was thinking of the tiny male “sleeper” bees that do spend the night in flowers. Perhaps she could let us know?

This book is a wonderful companion to a gardening project because it lends another level of interest. I would recommend it as a companion for cooking activities as well, because it connects children to where their food comes from. Havill includes a poem “Vegetable Stew” that just cries out to be paired with a nice warm bowl of ratatouille. Yum!

Reading level: Ages 9-12 (other reviewers suggest k-3 and k-6)
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Chronicle Books (February 23, 2006)
ISBN-10: 0811839621
ISBN-13: 978-0811839624

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day.

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Poetry Books by Douglas Florian

April 19, 2009 in Poetry by Roberta | No comments

In Celebration of National Poetry Month

Douglas Florian is a prolific writer of children’s poetry, particularly with animal themes.

I have a problem with his book insectlopedia, albeit it is a good problem. I don’t know whether to put it on the poetry shelf or stash it with my insect books. With twenty-one poems, it definitely qualifies as a top-notch poetry book. The quality of the information and the freshness of the observations provided, however, suggests it should be on the shelf with some of my better entomology books for children. Maybe I just need to get another copy. Or maybe I should buy two copies, because it should be on the humor shelf as well. I have read that Douglas Florian was formerly a cartoonist, and his fun, silly side comes through in his poetry books.

The illustrations that accompany the poems are quirky. Florian painted them with watercolors on brown paper bags. It gives them an informal look that makes them appealing and kid-friendly. Some of the poems don’t even need illustrations, like the inchworm for example, because the words form a shape. These could be used in lessons on concrete poetry.

Douglas Florian’s in the swim has playful poems about numerous animals found in the sea, from blennies, to sea horses and whales. Although they are fun, once again Florian fills the poems with accurate information and even trained scientists will find them intriguing. They are guaranteed to make you smile and probably even laugh out loud.

As with insectlopedia, Florian slips in some concrete poems to add visual interest. The illustrations are done on watercolor paper this time, but still have a fanciful appeal. The watercolor adds to the feeling of being down in the water with the creatures. His imagination is wonderful, like having the sea horses wear saddles.

Florian’s newest book about dinosaurs has gotten some great reviews. Catch a peek at his blog.

nonfictionmonday

Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. For more information, stop by Picture Book of the Day. This week the celebration is at Mommy’s Favorite Children’s Books.

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