Category: National Poetry Month

Posted on

Dreaming Big and Small #Kidlit for #NationalPoetryMonth

National Poetry Month is my favorite time of year and a perfect time to share the poetry collection Dreaming Big and Small by Sara Holbrook, Michael Salinger, and illustrated by Scott Pickering.

As the authors explain up front, this is a collection of ekphrastic poems. Instead of writing poems and hiring an artist to illustrate them, the authors used Scott Pickering’s creative and playful illustrations to inspire their poetry.

Topics ranges from Kangaroos

…They wear a front facing backpack
as they bounce across the outback …

to socks:

Socks on the table
Socks in my drawer
Socks in my pocket
Socks on the floor…

As with any poetry collection, it can be read in pieces or all at once. Readers will likely want to return to their favorites again and again.

What I love the most is the message in the front encouraging readers use art to spark their own poetry.

Dreaming Big and Small is a delightful little book that packs a big wallop. Get inspired by a copy today!

Age: Middle grade +
Publisher: Streamline Publishing (2019)
ISBN-10: 1732519129
ISBN-13: 978-1732519121

 

Disclosure: The book was provided 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.

nonfictionmonday

Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.

Posted on

#Kidlit for #npm16: Two New Children’s Books by Sue Fliess

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 features a delightful array of creepy, crawlies.

The book is illustrated with colorful stock photographs of insects and other bugs, which will help children learn more about them.

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 by Sue Fliess and illustrated by Sarah Beise celebrates an age-appropriate interest in forms of transportation.

Follow all sorts of cars through a day long road trip, which ends with a gentle bedtime message:

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.

nonfictionmonday

Looking for more children’s nonfiction books? Try the Nonfiction Monday blog.

Posted on

Putting a Poem in Your Pocket

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.)

poem-in-your-pocket-to-any-reader

 

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?

 

__________________________________

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.