I guess our two very different poets stumped everyone this week.
54. Our first poet often explores her roots as an Arab-American. Her mother was American and her father was Palestinian. She writes both for adults and children, and has written a young-adult novel and pictures books, as well as books of poetry. Her poetry collections include A Maze Me: Poems for Girls. Do you recognize this poet/author?
Naomi Shihab Nye is a very versatile poet and author. As well as a number of collections of poems, Nye has written a young-adult novel called Habibi, the story of an Arab-American teenager who moves to Jerusalem. She has also picture book Lullaby Raft, based on the title songs of one of her two albums of music, which she often sings at school visits. Some of her other titles for young children include Sitti’s Secrets and Benito’s Dream Bottle.
Here a brief video of Naomi Shihab Nye talking about creativity.
What an interesting woman.
Here’s a peek at her books:
55. Our second poet writes lighthearted poetry for kids that is likely to cause giggles. He also runs a poetry website for children where they can read and comment on his recent poems. His poems often relate to funny things that happen at school or common, everyday events. He even has a poem about broccoli.
You should definitely visit Kenn Nesbitt’s website. There’s a lot of fun things to do and see. (I’ve added the link to the broccoli poem in the question above.)
The following video of a child reading and interpreting one of Kenn Nesbitt’s poems also gives you an idea of the humorous flavor of his poetry. I like the “tire” pun.
A sample of Kenn Nesbitt’s books: