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Teen Read Week: Poem #2 "Future Hoopsters" by Avis Harley

October 18, 2015, 3:37 am
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It's time for our second installment in our poems for Teen Read Week and the theme "Get Away @ the library" to spotlight all the great resources and activities available to help teens build literacy skills while reading for the fun of it. Here's"Future Hoopsters" by Avis Harley from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School.  It is also available at Pinterest here.


And here are the"Take 5"activities that accompany the poem, also at Pinterest here.



More to come...
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Teen Read Week: Poem #3 "How Romantic Can You Get?" by George Ella Lyon

October 19, 2015, 12:00 pm
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Here's the third poem in my series for Teen Read Week on the theme "Get Away @ the library" to spotlight all the great resources and activities available to help teens build literacy skills while reading for the fun to it.It's "How Romantic Can You Get?" by George Ella Lyon from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School (Pomelo Books, 2013). You can also find it at Pinterest here. 


And here are the Take 5 activities from the book also available at Pinterest here. 


More to come!

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Teen Read Week: Poem #4 "Spiral Glide" by Mary Lee Hahn

October 20, 2015, 5:00 am
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Here's the fourth poem in celebration of Teen Read Week and the theme "Get Away @ the library" which is intended to spotlight all the great resources and activities available to help teens build literacy skills while reading for the fun to it. Share this thoughtful poem,"Spiral Glide" by Mary Lee Hahn from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School (Pomelo Books, 2013). You can also find it at Pinterest here. 


And here are the Take 5 activities that accompany the poem. The Pinterest link for the Take 5 activities is here.



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Teen Read Week: Poem #4 "Racing the Clouds" by Jacqueline Jules

October 21, 2015, 3:56 am
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Here's the fourth poem in my series for Teen Read Week on the theme "Get Away @ the library" to spotlight all the great resources and activities available to help teens build literacy skills while reading for the fun to it.It's "Racing the Clouds" by Jacqueline Jules from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle School (Pomelo Books, 2013). You can also find it at Pinterest here.


And here are the Take 5 activities that accompany this poem. The Pinterest link is here.

More to come...
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Teen Read Week: Poem #6 "Texas, Out Driving" by Naomi Shihab Nye

October 22, 2015, 6:28 am
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Teen Read Week continues with the theme "Get Away @ the library" to spotlight all the great resources and activities available to help teens build literacy skills while reading for the fun to it. Today, I'm sharing"Texas, Out Driving" by Naomi Shihab Nye.Yes, I live in Texas, so of course I love this poem, but I think you will too. Who doesn't love Naomi's lovely, lyrical, intelligent, compassionate poems?I'm so proud that this one is featured in The Poetry Friday Anthology® for Middle School (Pomelo Books, 2013). You can also find this poem graphic at Pinterest here. 

If you'd like ideas about how to share this poem with teens and tweens, try these "Take 5" activities from The Poetry Friday Anthology® for Middle School. This graphic is also available at Pinterest here.


One more poem coming tomorrow (and perfect for Halloween)...
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Teen Read Week: Poem #7 "Dracula" by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand

October 23, 2015, 5:00 am
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Here's the final poem in my series for Teen Read Week on the theme "Get Away @ the library" to spotlight all the great resources and activities available to help teens build literacy skills while reading for the fun to it.It's also a great poem for celebrating Halloween next week! It's "Dracula" by Carmen T. Bernier Grand from The Poetry Friday Anthology® for Middle School (Pomelo Books, 2013). You can also find it at Pinterest here. 


And here are the "Take 5" activities for sharing this poem also available at Pinterest here.


If you haven't gotten your copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology® for Middle School, it's not too late! It includes 110 poems by 71 poets along with "Take 5" mini-lessons for each and every poem tied to the Common Core skills (and/or TEKS in Texas) for each grade level, grades 6, 7, 8. 

Now head on over to Jama's place to celebrate Poetry Friday. She always has a yummy treat for us!
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Celebrating Day of the Dead

October 30, 2015, 7:54 am
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I love Halloween! I love making costumes and trick or treaters and candy and skeletons and pumpkins! Living in Texas, I also enjoyed discovering the tradition of the Day of the Dead-- a time to remember those we love who are no longer with us (thinking of you, Dad, Oma, Opa, Julia, Izell, Monte, Lettie). So, I was happy that we featured a poem about the Day of the Dead by our very own Texas author, René Saldaña, Jr., in this year's Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations(Pomelo Books, 2015). On top of that, my talented collaborator, Janet Wong, tried her hand at making a poem video for this poem which you can view by clicking HERE.

Here is the poem in English AND Spanish along with the Take 5 activities to guide you in sharing this poem. Enjoy!



Now head on over to Check it Out where Jone is hosting our Poetry Friday gathering here.
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Book Links: Playing Tag with Science Poets

November 6, 2015, 7:32 am
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I just got my copy of the November issue of Book Linksand I was so tickled to see that my usual poetry column was a featured article this time! Woo hoo! Thanks to the 15 poets who graciously collaborated with me to share favorite science poetry books. The title is Playing Tag with Science Poets"and these poets participated: Joyce Sidman, J. Patrick Lewis, Margarita Engle, Leslie Bulion, Jane Yolen, Marilyn Singer, Betsy Franco, Douglas Florian, Carole Gerber, Avis Harley, David L. Harrison, Lee Bennett Hopkins, and Michael J. Rosen.

Here's how the article begins:
I’ve made the case for connecting science and poetry many times in the last few years, focusing on how scientists and poets both observe the world closely and describe their observations in distinctive ways. I’ve pointed out the long poetry tradition of capturing the natural world through lyrical language. So this time I’m turning to the poets themselves. I asked 15 poets who write science-themed poetry to recommend one of their favorite recent collections of science-themed poetry by another poet. And none of them knew who was participating and which book others were choosing, so it was fun to see the tag team connections that emerged.

Poetry and science may seem at first glance to be strange companions, but they offer interesting connections for children who view all the world with wonder. They need both information and inspiration to understand what they see, hear, touch, and learn. As the great novelist Victor Hugo observed, “science is a ladder... poetry is a winged flight.” Surely we can provide both to the children we reach.

And then the poets get rolling:

Avis Harley tags J. Patrick Lewis
Avis Harley explores the natural world through collections such asSea Stars: Saltwater Poems; The Monarch’s Progress: Poems with Wings, and African Acrostics; A Word in Edgeways, among others and she explores the natural world with a knack for crafting poems in distinctive forms, some of which she has invented herself! Here, Avis Harley salutes‎The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry edited by J. Patrick Lewis: “National Geographic’s Book of Animal Poetry edited by J. Patrick Lewis, is a superb collection of 200 classic and contemporary poems, each paired with a spectacular photograph illustrating the beauty, wonder, and strangeness of the animal world.  There is a section on the writing of such poems, plus valuable resources, and four indexes to guide you to a favorite animal.  Poems and photos are humorous, serious, poignant, reflective, full of surprises: a truly gorgeous addition to your poetry shelf."

J. Patrick Lewis tags Leslie Bulion
Former Children’s Poet Laureate J. Patrick Lewis has produced many cross-curricular collections of poetry including several science-centric works like the insect poems in Face Bug: Poems as well as serving as anthologist for the two collections cited by others here. J. Patrick Lewis applauds Random Body Parts: Gross Anatomy Riddles in Verse by Leslie Bulion: “If what you’re after is a salmagundi of delightful poetry pieces, look no further than Leslie Bulion’s tour de force, an inventive mix of riddles, Shakespeare, and various verse forms. Elegant riddles are evoked in a limerick, a ballad stanza, a triolet, a double dactyl and more. Playfully fashioned from shades of Shakespeare, each riddle is accompanied by an explanation of the body part as a helpful clue. And all the verse forms are deftly described in End Notes. Random Body Parts is sure to challenge anatomy buffs of all ages.”

Leslie Bulion tags Laura Purdie Salas
Leslie Bulion studied oceanography and her science background comes through her poetry, including At the Sea Floor Café; Odd Ocean Critter Poems and Hey There, Stink Bug!, as well as this year’s Random Body Parts.When asked for her recommendation, she chose Water Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas: “I love the way the brilliant imagery in Laura Purdie Salas’s Water Can Be… invites me to linger on every single page. For example, “Picture catcher” transports my mind to wonderful water reflections I’ve seen, and when I read “Woodchuck warmer,” I wonder about those woodchucks tucked snug under snow in winter. Laura uses accessible, developmentally appropriate language to explain the science concepts behind each lyrical, rhythmic phrase in the back matter--perfect for young science poets!”


and it goes on...
(As soon as I see it online, I'll post the link, but it's currently only available to Booklist subscribers.)

And I end with suggestions of activitiesto consider (along with CCSS connections). Here's that chunk:

1. Play science poetry tag! Gather a selection of science-themed poetry books and encourage children to browse through them, sharing poems spontaneously with one another. Then, choose one poem to begin. Read it aloud and talk about it together. Then find another poem to link to it based on some connection between the two poems: another poem by the same the poet, another poem on the same topic (animals, nature, planets, etc.), or another poem from the same area of science (biology, astronomy, etc.). Share that poem aloud and discuss and compare. If time allows, keep going by “tagging” another poem.

2. Start with science photos. There are so many excellent sources of images for science study, from those in print books, of course, to online sources such as National Geographic (e.g., Animals.NationalGeographic.com; Photography.NationalGeographic.com; Kids.NationalGeographic.com). Choose a subject that is of current relevance and interest (e.g., Mars, chimpanzees, bacteria) and peruse the available images (in print or online sources). Then, search through available poetry anthologies and see if you can find a poem to go with the image. It might be an explicit connection— a poem about the sun to go with an image of the sun—or it might be a more abstract connection, such as a poem about summer fun, day vs. night, or warmth and caring. Work together to create your own collaborative anthology of images and matching poems. 

3. Many of the science-themed poetry books mentioned here weave together poetry, prose, and art. Challenge children to work in trios to research a science topic of their choice. Then allow them to choose their role for the next step: who will write the explanatory prose paragraph? Who will write the poem? Who will create the accompanying illustration? Afterward, talk about each role and discuss which they find easiest or hardest and why. Invite them to challenge themselves by taking on one of the OTHER roles next time and talk about how each information source is valuable and unique: prose, poetry and art. 

Finally, the article also includes a comprehensive bibliography of science poetry books, too including all the books by these poets and "tagged" by them too. 

Science Poetry Scoop
And I have a science poetry project of my own (that includes many of these poets, of course) that I'm very excited about and will share more news about that on Dec. 1. Stay tuned! 

Meanwhile, join the Poetry Friday crew over at Write. Sketch. Repeat. hosted by Katya Czaja. See you there!
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Science + Poetry + Movement

November 13, 2015, 4:54 am
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I just presented a session at an area conference of the National Science Teachers Association in Philadelphia (along with Janet Wong) and what a great crowd we had! Plus, walking the exhibit hall I learned about Science Friday, a weekly radio program (now with podcasts and more) that's been around for 25 years. We talked with them about linking POETRY Friday with SCIENCE Friday! I'll keep you posted on how that develops. We also ran into "Ben Franklin" and shared a poem about him from one of our books-- that was a hoot. He seemed to genuinely enjoy that moment too. He even asked to have our picture taken with HIS camera! We talked about how poets are like scientists in their careful observations, focus on details, and sharing of their "findings!" And of course, we shared tons of poems (and Take 5 activities).  One of the most popular was this one (along with the Take 5 activities):

 
And of course we had to share this 13 second video of Jane Goodall herself making the chimp call!
 
Also this poem offers a perfect transition to NEXT week's presentation at the annual conference of the National Council of Teacher's of English. Next week, Janet and I shift gears at join forces with poets and authors Susan Marie Swanson (who wrote the "Jane Goodall Begins a Speech" poem above) and Laura Purdie Salas to talk about poetry and movement, "Into the Poem: Active Strategies for Engaging Kinesthetic Learning." More on that next week! Meanwhile, head on over to Wee Words for Wee Ones for the rest of the Poetry Friday fun and enjoy our closing slide from our presentation, "How is a Scientist Like a Poet: Connecting Literacy and Science."
 
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Thankful

November 20, 2015, 7:39 am
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Time again to pause and think about the many things we are grateful for in our lives-- like this online community of poetry lovers, for example. Thank YOU for continuing to support my little blog and the field of poetry for young people all around. What a privilege it is. But I always like to balance the serious with some silliness too. So, I hope you'll indulge my sharing this nutty Thanksgiving-themed poem from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations (with thanks to Brod Bagert, too). The "artistic" interpretation, however, is mine (with thanks to Matt Groening).

I'll be sharing this poem this afternoon at my NCTE presentation (with Janet Wong, Laura Purdie Salas, and Susan Marie). If I had any cheerleading experience, I think it would be a hoot to choreograph this as a cheer with the staccato motions and gestures that cheerleaders use. But, I'm just going to rely on my "Take 5" activities from the Celebrations book:

Take 5
  1. Before reading the poem aloud, ask children to close their eyes and envision a Thanksgiving gathering and meal. Then read the poem aloud with enthusiasm.
  2. Read the poem aloud again and invite children to chime in on the second line of each three-line stanza (echoing you and the first line) and then on the final word, YOU!
  3. As a group, talk about favorite Thanksgiving foods and traditions.
  4. Pair this poem with the picture book Duck for Turkey Day by Jacqueline Jules (Albert Whitman, 2009) and discuss the many “right ways” to celebrate Thanksgiving.
  5. Connect this poem with “‘Break-Fast’ at Night” by Ibtisam Barakat (June, pages 180-181) and with selections from Thanksgiving Day at Our House: Thanksgiving Poems for the Very Young by Nancy White Carlstrom (Aladdin, 2002) and Holiday Stew: A Kid’s Portion of Holiday and Seasonal Poems by Jenny Whitehead (Henry Holt, 2007).
If you're looking for more holiday poems for November and December, we have a wonderful assortment to share in classrooms, libraries, and at family gatherings. Here's a select list from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations:


And don't forget to check out the rest of the Poetry Friday fun over at Miss Rumphius where Tricia has a bit of Robert Frost to share!
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Launching the "remix" of science poetry for KIDS

December 4, 2015, 6:56 am
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Janet (Wong) and I are so excited to announce the launch of our latest venture! (Yes, that is Janet being excited!) It's The Poetry of Science: The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science for KIDS.
This new book features 248 poems by 78 poets, along with illustrations by Frank Ramspott and Bug Wang. It's arranged thematically by science topics such as what scientists do, the science fair, classroom science, kitchen science, matter, earth & sun, space & sky, water, weather, surviving disasters, land & soil, ecology & conservation, endangered & extinct, the human body, engineering, computers, math, and the future. 

This is the companion volume to The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science for teachers published last year (2014) which includes "Take 5" activities for each poem. The new "remix"features ONLY THE POEMS and not the "Take 5" teaching activities. Plus, it offers 30 "bonus" poems not featured in the teacher's edition. Here's a sample double-page spread.

You can find more sample poems from the book at Pinterest here.

Below is the cover of the "Teacher Edition" of The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science for teachers (2014) which includes "Take 5" activities for each poem aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (as well as the CCSS and TEKS). 


And just for fun, did you notice that the robots on the cover of the new book look a tiny bit like Janet and me? 
And don't forget our "celebrations" anthology with perfect poems for many December holidays including a December birthday poem for people like me who have birthdays during this holiday time! 

Now, head over to Buffy's place for our Poetry Friday celebration! Buffy (Silverman) also happens to be one of the featured poets in our science poetry anthologies, too! Here's a list of all those fabulous science poets who contributed:
What an amazing group, right? 

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National Cocoa Day

December 11, 2015, 8:42 am
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Various sources claim that either December 12 or December 13 is National Cocoa Day. Here in Texas it's warm again (near 80 degrees!), so it's not exactly ideal cocoa drinking weather, but I am going for it anyway. I love hot cocoa, so I was happy to see this "holiday" exists and we thought it would be a fun one to include in our anthology, The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. Read it now or save it for a chilly day!


And if you want to use the "Take 5" activities that accompany this poem in the book, here you go:
  1. As your poetry prop, hold a mug as if it were full of hot cocoa and read this National Cocoa Day poem aloud with enthusiasm.
  2. Share the poem again and invite children to chime in on the repeated phrase It’s cocoa, it’s cocoawhile you read the rest of the poem aloud. Hold up your mug to cue them.
  3. Use details from the poem to work together and make a list of things that contain cocoa. Another resource is TheStoryofChocolate.com.
  4. Pair this poem with the picture book No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart (Charlesbridge, 2013). Talk about where cocoa comes from and how the interdependence of rain forest plants and animals is essential to its growth.
  5. Connect with “On the Day of the Dead” by René Saldaña, Jr. (November, pages 292-293) and with selections from ¡Yum!¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico!: America's Sproutingsby Pat Mora (Lee & Low, 2007) and The Popcorn Astronauts and Other Biteable Rhymes by Deborah Ruddell (McElderry, 2015).

Now check out the Poetry Friday fun over at A Teaching Life where Tara is hosting the party!



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A Christmas Poem

December 18, 2015, 9:19 am
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Can you believe that Christmas is next week? If you celebrate, do you decorate a Christmas tree? Ilove the tree tradition and I have several different ones in my house (including an aluminum tree with Star Wars ornaments!). But this poem by Joseph Bruchac from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations captures the simple beauty of a live tree. 


And if you'd like to use the Take 5 activities from the book that accompany this poem, here you go:
1. If possible, set the stage with the smell of a Christmas tree—with live branches, scented air freshener, or a pine-scented candle (if allowed). Then read the poem slowly with a pause after each stanza.
2. Read the poem aloud again and invite children to chime in on the repeated and crucial word "tree."
3. Work together to draw a picture or create a collage of a Christmas tree based on the details in this poem (green branches, colored balls, lights, star). Then read the poem aloud again together.  
4. Pair this poem with the picture book Christmas Tree! by Florence and Wendell Minor (HarperCollins, 2005) and identify all the different kinds of Christmas trees pictured in the illustrations.
5.  Match this poem with “Oh Summer Books” by Diana Murray (June, pages 162-163) because of the tune connection (“O Tannenbaum”), “Tree Day Celebration” by Ibtisam Barakat (April, pages 104-105), and poems from Winter Trees by Carole Gerber (Charlesbridge, 2008), or link to Christmas poems with Manger edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins (Eerdmans, 2014).

This is just one of a dozen December holiday poems from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. Of course we also have poems for Chanukah, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Eve, too, among other special occasions this month. And of course we have even more poems for a dozen holidays in EVERY month of the year, January through December. Get your copy now and be ready for 2016!
 

Meanwhile, join the Poetry Friday fray over at Random Noodling where Diane is hosting the festivities! 

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Poetry at the YMA

January 15, 2016, 8:37 am
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Just a week ago I was in Boston for the midwinter conference of the American Library Association. I was lucky enough to co-chair the Morris Seminar alongside the amazing Deb Taylor and we had a great day spent with a dozen leaders in our field engaging 32 participants (new-ish librarians) in talking about children's literature in deep, thoughtful ways. Of course, I started the day by sharing a poem with the group! Then on Monday, I attended the YMA (youth media awards) press conference where all the major ALA (ALSC, and YALSA) awards were announced. Such an exciting time for a book nerd like me! There were so many wonderful surprises among the awards, but I am always looking for any and all POETRY books that are getting recognized in this way. So, here's the round up of the poetry titles that received ALA awards this year.

Hurray for author and poet Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Ekua Holmes for Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, published by Candlewick Press. It received HEAPS of lovely recognition-- for the art and for the informative poetic content! It won:
  • Caldecott honor (for illustration)
  • Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award
  • Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award honor
There's a great blog post at A Rep Reading about the book here.

Congratulations to author and poet Margarita Engle and illustrator Rafael López who also garnered several awards for the poetic picture book, Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl's Courage Changed Music published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. It won the Pura Belpré (Illustrator) Award honoring a Latino illustrator whose children’s books best portray, affirm and celebrate the Latino cultural experience.

Interestingly, it also was selected as a Picture Book Honor book for the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (APALA) because this story is based upon the childhood of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, a Chinese-African-Cuban girl who challenged Cuba's traditional taboo against female drummers.  

You can read more about this beautiful book at Latinos in Kid Lit here and at Rhapsody in Books here.

Margarita Engle's poem memoir, Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division also received dual recognitions. 
  • Pura Belpré (Author) Award
  • YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults honor book
Poet and author Holly Thompson interviewed Margarita Engle about Enchanted Air previously on my blog here:

Kudos to author and poet Marilyn Hilton for receiving the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature (APALA) in the "Children’s" category for her novel in verse, Full Cicada Moon published by Dial Books/Penguin Random House.

You can find an interview with Marilyn Hilton over at The Hiding Spothere.

Finally, Jacqueline Woodson was chosen to deliver the 2017 May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture. The May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award recognizes an author, critic, librarian, historian or teacher of children’s literature, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site. Jacqueline Woodson is the 2014 National Book Award winner for her New York Times bestselling memoir, Brown Girl Dreaming. The author of more than two dozen books for young readers, she is a four-time Newbery Honor winner, a recipient of the NAACP Image Award, a two-time Coretta Scott King Award winner and was recently named the Young People’s Poet Laureate by the Poetry Foundation.

Congratulations to each of these authors, poets, and illustrators for these wonderful books and worthy awards. These are some of MY favorite poetry books of the year, too and I'm so glad to see these poetry contributions receive additional recognition. You may also notice that each of these books also reflects the distinctive experiences and rich language that comes from diverse authors and stories. In addition, these works won "multicultural" awards as well as awards for art and text given across the spectrum. I've said it before and I'll say it again (over and over), some of the best poetry being published for young people today reflects the beautiful diversity of our nation and the awards that target diverse literature are often the first ones to recognize poetry specifically.That's also something to celebrate! I would even argue that this year's Newbery winner (a picture book!), Last Stop on Market Street written by Matt de la Peña and illustrated by Christian Robinson, is also VERY poetic in it's use of language! 

More poetry books were featured on the ALSC Notables list (hurray!), but that's a future post...

Now head on over to Keri Recommends for more poetry goodness on this Poetry Friday!

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Sneak Peek list for 2016

January 22, 2016, 5:39 am
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It's time again to post my annual "sneak peek" list of all the poetry for young people that will be published in the coming year(that I know about, thus far). This includes poetry collections,  anthologies and novels in verse. I talked with publishers at the ALA Midwinter conference, attended previews, combed publisher websites, looked for forthcoming titles at Books in Print, and made notes based on PW Children's Bookshelf and other venues, and this is what I know so far. If you know about other poetry for young readers set to be published this year (or have changes to suggest about these titles below), please let me know (in the comments). I'll be updating this list all year long, so it becomes a resource as you look for the latest poetry books for young people. There's a quick link to this post in the menu on the right-hand side of this blog, too. As always, I'm so excited to find, get, and read all of these books! Congrats poets and yay for poetry readers!
  1. Alarcón, Francisco X. 2016. Family Poems/ Poemas familiares. Ill. by Maya Christina Gonzalez. Lee & Low. 
  2. Alexander, Kwame. 2016. Booked. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  3. Atkins, Jeannine. 2016. Finding Wonders: Three Girls Who Changed Science. Atheneum/Simon & Schuster.
  4. Bint Mahmood, Ayesha. 2016. Thank You O Allah! Kube Publishing.
  5. Brown, Skila. 2016. To Stay Alive. Candlewick.
  6. Burg, Ann. 2016. Unbound. Scholastic.
  7. Caswell, Deanna. 2016. Guess Who Haiku. Abrams.
  8. Cleary, Brian P. 2016. I Saw an Invisible Lion Today: Quatrains. Lerner/Millbrook.
  9. Dolby, Karen. 2016. Oranges and Lemons: Rhymes from Past Times. Michael O’Mara Books.
  10. Donaldson, Julia. 2016. Songbook Treasury. Ill. by Axel Scheffler. Pan Macmillan. 
  11. Donwerth-Chikamatsu, Annie. 2016. Somewhere Among. Simon & Schuster.
  12. Elya, Susan Middleton. 2016. ¡Celebración! Ill. by Ana Aranda. 
  13. Elya, Susan Middleton. 2016. La Madre Goose: Nursery Rhymes for Los Niños. Ill. by Juana Martinez-Neal. Penguin Random House/Putnam. 
  14. Engle, Margarita. 2016. Lion Island: Cuba’s Warrior of Words. Atheneum.
  15. Engle, Margarita. 2016. Morning Star Horse/ El Caballo Lucero. Translated by Alexis Romay. HBE Publishers (available in English bilingual [Spanish/English] editions)
  16. Fogliano, Julie. 2016. When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons. Ill. by Julie Morstad. Macmillan/Roaring Brook/Porter.
  17. Frost, Helen. 2016. Among a Thousand Fireflies. Ill. by Rick Lieder. Candlewick.
  18. Frost, Helen. 2016. Applesauce Weather. Ill. by Amy June Bates. Candlewick.
  19. Grimes, Nikki. 2016. Garvey’s Choice. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
  20. Harrington, Janice L. 2016. Catching a Storyfish. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
  21. Harrison, David L. 2016. Now You See Them, Now You Don’t: Poems About Creatures that Hide. Ill. by Giles Laroche. Charlesbridge.
  22. Hepperman, Christine. 2016. Ask Me How I Got Here. HarperCollins.
  23. Herrington, Janice. 2016. Catching a Storyfish. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
  24. Koyczan, Shane. 2016. To This Day. Annick Press.
  25. Latham, Irene. 2016. Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmers' Market. Ill. by Mique Moriuchi. Highlights/Wordsong.
  26. Latham, Irene. 2016. When the Sun Shines on Antarctica: And Other Poems About the Frozen Continent. Ill. by Anna Wadham. Millbrook Press. 
  27. Lea, Synne. 2016. Night Guard. Ill. by Stian Hole. Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. 
  28. Lewis, Jan. 2016. My Mother Goose Collection: Playtime Rhymes. Anness Publishing.
  29. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2016. Kooky Crumbs: Poems in Praise of Dizzy Days. Ill. by Mary Uhles. Kane-Miller. 
  30. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2016. The Navajo Code Talkers. Ill. by Gary Kelley. Creative Editions. 
  31. Lin, Grace and McKneally, Ranida T. 2016. Our Food. Ill. by Grace Zong. Charlesbridge.
  32. Luján, Jorge. 2016. Trunk to Trunklet. Ill. by Mandana Sadat. Brooklyn, NY: Enchanted Lion Books. 
  33. Lowitz, Leza. 2016. Up From the Sea. Crown/Random House.
  34. Magliaro, Elaine. 2016. Things to Do. Chronicle.
  35. Marks, Alan. Ed. 2016. The People of the Town: Nursery Rhyme Friends for You and Me. Charlesbridge.
  36. McNally, Janet. 2016. Girls in the Moon. HarperTeen.
  37. Moser, Lisa. 2016. Stories from Bug Garden. Candlewick.
  38. Nelson, Marilyn. 2016. American Ace. Dial Books. 
  39. Nesbitt, Kenn. Ed. 2016. One Minute Till Bedtime. Little Brown.
  40. Norris, Charles M. Ed. 2016. Mommy Goose: Rhymes from the Mountains. Ill. by Minnie Adkins. University Press of Kentucky.
  41. Orgill, Roxane. 2016. Jazz Day. Ill. by Francis Vallejo. Candlewick.
  42. Powell, Patricia Hruby. 2016. Loving vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case. Ill. by Shadra Strickland. Chronicle
  43. Raczka, Bob. 2016. Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems. Roaring Brook Press. 
  44. Redgate, Riley. 2016. Seven Ways We Lie. Amulet/Abrams.
  45. Shovan, Laura. 2016. The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary. Random House.
  46. Singer, Marilyn. 2016. Echo, Echo: Reverso Poems about Greek Myths. Ill. by Josée Masse. Dial.
  47. Singer, Marilyn. 2016. Miss Muffet, or What Came After? Ill. by David Litchfield. Clarion.
  48. Snively, Susan. 2016. Poetry for Kids: Emily Dickinson. Ill. by Christine Davenier. MoonDancePress. (Quarto)
  49. Steig, Jeanne and Steig, William. 2016. Divine Comedies: The Old Testament Made Easy and a Gift from Zeus. Simon & Schuster.
  50. Steig, Jeanne and Steig, William. 2016. Consider the Lemming (reissue). Simon & Schuster.
  51. Steig, Jeanne and Steig, William. 2016. Alpha Beta Chowder (reissue). Simon & Schuster.
  52. Stoop, Naoko. 2016. Sing with Me!Action Songs Every Child Should Know. Henry Holt.
  53. Stroud, Bettye. 2016. The World’s Wide Open. Ill. by Pat Cummings. Simon & Schuster.
  54. Thompson, Holly. 2016. Falling Into the Dragon’s Mouth. New York: Henry Holt.
  55. Trillin, Calvin. 2016. No Fair! No Fair! And Other Jolly Poems of Childhood. Ill. by Roz Chast. Scholastic/Orchard. 
  56. Viorst, Judith. 2016. What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About?Poems for When a Person Needs a Poem. Ill. by Lee White. Simon & Schuster.
  57. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2016. You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen. Simon & Schuster.
  58. Withrow, Steven and Stevens, Roger. 2016 It's Not My Fault. Bloomsbury UK/A&C Black.
  59. Yolen, Jane. 2016. The Alligator’s Smile and Other Poems. Lerner.
  60. Yolen, Jane and Dotlich, Rebecca Kai. 2016. Grumbles from the Town: Mother Goose Voices with a Twist. Ill. by Angela Matteson. Wordsong/Boyds Mills.
(P.S. Within minutes I already made revisions, thanks to Laura Shovan's post at Michelle Heidenrich Barnes's blog, Today's Little Ditty!) BTW, this list includes books that have SOME poetry, but may not be entirely poetry. And I'll keep updating this list as I hear of new titles to add.

Rhyming Picture Books
Since posting my original list, I've discovered that some of these titles are rhyming picture books-- also lovely-- but I'm trying to focus specifically on poetry titles (including novels in verse). So, I'm starting a separate list below of poets' rhyming picture books. If someone else is already keeping such a list, please let me know and I can direct people there!
  1. Singer, Marilyn. 2016. What's an Apple? Ill. by Greg Pizzoli.
  2. Singer, Marilyn. 2016. What's a Banana? Ill. by Greg Pizzoli.
  3. Swinburne, Stephen. 2016. Safe in a Storm. Scholastic.
  4. Wing, Natasha. 2016. The Night Before the New Pet. Ill. by Amy Wummer. Penguin/Grosset & Dunlap.
  5. Wissinger, Tamera Will. 2016. There Was an Old Lady Who Gobbled a Skink. Ill. by Ana Bermejo.Sky Pony Press.
  6. Yolen, Jane. 2016. How Do Dinosaurs Stay Friends? Ill. by Mark Teague. Scholastic.
  7. Yolen, Jane. 2016. On Bird Hill. Ill. by Bob Marstall. Cornell Lab Publishing Group.
  8. Yolen, Jane. 2016. What to Do with a Box. Ill. by Chris Shiban. Creative Editions.
Meanwhile, head over to Tara's blog, A Teaching Life, to see what else is going on this Poetry Friday!
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Celebrating Multicultural Children's Book Day

January 26, 2016, 9:17 am
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It's time to celebrate Multicultural Children's Book Day. This is a celebration of diversity in literature for young people launched by children’s reading and play advocates Valarie Budayr from Jump Into a Book and Mia Wenjen from Pragmatic Mom. You can find tons of links to many multicultural blog posts at their blogs too. At Pomelo Books, Janet (Wong) and I are so pleased to be sponsors of this great celebration. In fact, we're so pleased that diversity has been a hallmark of each of our Poetry Friday anthologies. We've featured diverse poets, diverse themes and topics, and even bilingual poetry in Spanish/English. 

This week, Janet is presenting along with poets Julie Larios, Charles Waters, and Carmen T. Bernier-Grand at Dearborn Park Elementary School in Seattle, a Title I school that educates children who are Asian American, African American, and Latino. Children even learn Mandarin or Spanish starting in kindergarten! 

I'm featuring poems by each of these lovely peeps today to celebrate Multicultural Children's Book Day (officially January 27). Join the Twitter Party on Jan. 27 at 8pm with #ReadYourWorld. There will be great conversation and lots of giveaways too! 

Meanwhile, here are lovely gems by Charles Waters, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, Julie Larios and Janet Wong. Enjoy!

Have you ever heard Charles Waterspresent? He's a hoot, a ham, and a force! This poem by him is from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrationsand is perfect for launching a celebration of Black History Month in February-- plus he has many other poems celebrating African Americans to use any time of the year! 

Are you familiar with the work of Carmen T. Bernier-Grand? I just love her poem biographies. This featured poem below is a bilingual (Spanish/English) poem from our science anthology, The Poetry Friday Anthology for Science, as well as the student edition, The Poetry of Science. I just love the Spanish title "Compu-nerdo," don't you?

Julie Larios is the lovely lady behind the poetry of Yellow Elephant and Imaginary Menagerie, among others. Plus her blog, The Drift Record, is not-to-be-missed. Her lyrical poem, "Names" (below) from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Middle Schoolmakes my mouth water!


Finally, you know how much I love Janet (Wong), her poetry, and her endless advocacy for diversity AND poetry. Her poem below, "Grandfather's Chopsticks" is from our first book together, The Poetry Friday Anthology K-5. 

Remember to check out all the resources at Multicultural Children's Book Day and join the Twitter gathering, too. It's so great to see diversity celebrated so widely by so many. Don't miss the party!


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Ready for Spring? Celebrating Groundhog Day

January 29, 2016, 8:21 am
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I can't believe January is almost over, can you? Now that I've gathered my list of forthcoming poetry for young people this year, I'm working on getting my hands on the actual BOOKS! Hope to post more about them, the poets, and poetry news soon. Meanwhile, I thought it might be fun to stop and celebrate the upcoming Groundhog Day (I love that Bill Murray movie). So, here we go. The lovely, talented Jane Yolen wrote a poem specifically for Groundhog Day especially for our Poetry Friday for Celebrations.
And here are the Take 5 activities from the Celebrations anthology for sharing Jane's Groundhog Day poem.


You'll also find these two "poem postcards" at Pinterest here, along with hundreds of other poems in digital postcard form to share with young people.

Now I'm guessing that winter will be hanging around a bit longer, although our temps in Texas keep going up and down-- mostly up. But, when you're ready to think about spring, here's a list of poetry books all about spring (from my Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists).

Poetry Books about Spring
People often think poetry is all about springtime and daffodils and tulips—and not in a good way—but poetry can be about so many different topics. Of course poetry can also be about springtime and related topics, as the following book titles demonstrate. 

Adoff, Arnold. 1991. In for Winter, Out for Spring. San Diego, CA: Harcourt Brace.
Alarcón, Francisco X. 1997. Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems/Jitomates Risuenos y Otros Poemas de Primavera. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
Blackaby, Susan. 2010. Nest, Nook & Cranny. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. 
Booth, David. 1990. Voices on the Wind:  Poems for All Seasons. New York: Morrow.
Brenner, Barbara. Ed. 1994. The Earth is Painted Green:  A Garden of Poems about Our Planet. New York: Scholastic.
Bruchac, Joseph. 1992.  Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back: A Native American Year of Moons. New York: Philomel Books.
Bruchac, Joseph. 1995. The Earth under Sky Bear's Feet: Native American Poems of the Land. New York: Philomel Books.
Esbensen, Barbara Juster. 1984. Cold Stars and Fireflies:  Poems of the Four Seasons. New York: Crowell. 
Fletcher, Ralph J. 1997. Ordinary Things: Poems from a Walk in Early Spring. New York: Atheneum.
Florian, Douglas. 2006. Handsprings. New York: Greenwillow.
George, Kristine O’Connell. 2004. Hummingbird Nest: A Journal of Poems. New York: Harcourt.
Harley, Avis. 2008. The Monarch’s Progress: Poems with Wings. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
Havill, Juanita. 2006. I Heard It from Alice Zucchini: Poems About the Garden. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
Hopkins, Lee. Bennett. Ed. 2010. Sharing the Seasons. New York: Margaret McElderry.
Katz, Bobbi. Ed. 1992. Puddle-wonderful: Poems to Welcome Spring. New York: Random House.
Merriam, Eve. 1992. The Singing Green: New and Selected Poems for All Seasons. New York: HarperCollins.
Nicholls, Judith. 2003. The Sun in Me: Poems about the Planet. Somerville, MA:  Barefoot Books.
Oelschlager, Vanita. 2009. Ivy in Bloom: The Poetry of Spring from Great Poets and Writers of the Past. Ill. by Kristin Blackwood. Akron, OH: Vanitabooks.
Roemer, Heidi. 2009. Whose Nest is This? NorthWord.
Rosen, Michael J. 2009. The Cuckoo’s Haiku and Other Birding Poems. Ill. by Stan Fellows. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. 
Schnur, Steven. 1999. Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic. New York: Clarion.
Shannon, George. Ed. 1996. Spring: A Haiku Story. New York: Greenwillow.
Sidman, Joyce. 2006. Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow. Ill. by Beth Krommes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 
Thomas, Patricia. 2008. Nature’s Paintbox: A Seasonal Gallery of Art and Verse. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.
Wolf, Sallie. 2010. The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound. Charlesbridge.
Yolen, Jane. 2002. Ring of Earth: A Child’s Book of Seasons. San Diego: Harcourt. 
Yolen, Jane. 2009. A Mirror to Nature. Ill. by Jason Stemple. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press. 
Zolotow, Charlotte. 2002. Seasons; A Book of Poems. New York: HarperCollins. 


NBGS List 2016
We're also so pleased to announce that The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations was chosen for the 2016 list of Notable Books for a Global Society by the International Literacy Association! In fact, there were several books of poetry featured on their 2016 list, including: Drum Dream Girl by Margarita Engle, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer by Carole Boston Weatherford, and Audacity by Melanie Crowder. For the complete list, click here.

***Now head on over to Reading to the Core where Catherine is hosting Poetry Friday.
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Celebrating Black History Month with Poetry

February 5, 2016, 10:02 am
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February-- Black History Month-- is a great opportunity to showcase all the wonderful poetry created by African American poets who write for young people and there are so many great choices! Of course, we include this poetry in our programs, lessons, and special celebrations all year long, but this is a great opportunity to immerse ourselves in these great writers. 

First, I want to give a shout-out to Curious City for featuring 28 Days: Moments in Black History That Changed the World by Charles R. Smith, Jr. with audio versions of each excerpt free and accessible to all! Here's the link. Each poem is read by a range of professional narrators, complete with music and sound effects. Just listen to the first one and you'll be hooked! 

Poem Postcard
I featured a "theme" poem for Black History Month by Charles Waters from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations earlier. You'll find the poem postcard on Pinterest here. 

List of African American Poetry for Young People
There are so many wonderful African American poets writing for young people-- and who have been writing for years. In my book, The Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists, I provide a list to get you started. Here it is updated a bit and as usual I welcome any suggestions for additions.

  1. Adedjouma, D. Ed.. 1996. The Palm of My Heart: Poetry by African American Children. New York: Lee & Low.
  2. Adoff, Arnold, comp. 1974. My Black Me: A Beginning Book of Black Poetry. New York: Dutton. Reprinted, 1994.
  3. Adoff, Arnold. 2010. Roots and Blues, A Celebration. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  4. Adoff, Jaime. 2005. Jimi & Me. New York: Hyperion.
  5. Adoff, Jaime. 2008. The Death of Jayson Porter. New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion. 
  6. Alexander, Elizabeth and Nelson, Marilyn. 2007.  Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong.
  7. Alexander, Kwame. 2014. The Crossover.Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  8. Alexander, Kwame. 2016. Booked. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
  9. Angelou, Maya. 1993. Life Doesn’t Frighten Me. New York: Steward, Tabori, & Chang.
  10. Brooks, Gwendolyn. 1956/1984. Bronzeville Boys and Girls. New York: HarperCollins.
  11. Bryan, Ashley. 1997. Ashley Bryan's ABC of African American Poetry. New York: Atheneum.
  12. Bryan, Ashley. 2014. Ashley Bryan's Puppets: Making Something from Everything. New York: Atheneum.
  13. Clinton, Catherine. Ed. 1998. I, Too, Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
  14. Crisler, Curtis. 2007. Tough Boy Sonatas. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills.
  15. Dunbar, Paul Laurence. Reissued, 1999. Jump Back Honey. New York: Hyperion.
  16. Feelings. Tom. 1993. Soul Looks Back in Wonder. New York: Dial.
  17. Giovanni, Nikki. 1994. Knoxville, Tennessee. New York: Scholastic.
  18. Giovanni, Nikki. 1996. The Sun Is So Quiet. New York: Henry Holt.
  19. Giovanni, Nikki. 1997. It’s Raining Laughter. New York: Dial.
  20. Giovanni, Nikki. Coll. 2008. Hip Hop Speaks to Children. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
  21. Greenfield, Eloise. 2004. In the Land of Words. New York: HarperCollins. 
  22. Greenfield, Eloise. 2006. The Friendly Four. Ill. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. New York: HarperCollins.
  23. Greenfield, Eloise. 2008. Brothers and Sisters: Family Poems. New York: Amistad/HarperCollins.
  24. Greenfield, Eloise. 2011. The Great Migration: Journey to the North. Ill. by Jan Spivey Gilchrist. Amistad/HarperCollins. 
  25. Grimes, Nikki. 1994. Meet Danitra Brown. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard. 
  26. Grimes, Nikki. 1996. Come Sunday. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans.
  27. Grimes, Nikki. 1997. It’s Raining Laughter: Poems. New York: Dial.
  28. Grimes, Nikki. 1998. A Dime a Dozen. New York: Dial.
  29. Grimes, Nikki. 1998. Jazmin’s Notebook. New York: Dial.
  30. Grimes, Nikki. 1999. At Break of Day. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman.
  31. Grimes, Nikki. 1999. At Jerusalem’s gate. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdman.
  32. Grimes, Nikki. 1999. Hopscotch Love: A Family Treasury of Love Poems. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard. 
  33. Grimes, Nikki. 1999. My Man Blue: Poems. New York: Dial.
  34. Grimes, Nikki. 2000. Shoe Magic. New York: Orchard.
  35. Grimes, Nikki. 2000. Is It Far to Zanzibar: Poems about Tanzania. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard. 
  36. Grimes, Nikki. 2000. Stepping out with Grandma Mac. New York: Simon & Schuster.
  37. Grimes, Nikki. 2001. A Pocketful of Poems. New York: Clarion.
  38. Grimes, Nikki. 2002. Bronx Masquerade. New York: Dial.
  39. Grimes, Nikki. 2002. Danitra Brown Leaves Town. New York: HarperCollins.
  40. Grimes, Nikki. 2004. What is Goodbye? New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion.
  41. Grimes, Nikki. 2004. Tai Chi morning: Snapshots of China. Chicago: Cricket Books.
  42. Grimes, Nikki. 2005. Danitra Brown, Class Clown. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard.
  43. Grimes, Nikki. 2005. Dark Sons. New York: Hyperion.
  44. Grimes, Nikki. 2006. Thanks a Million. New York: Amistad.
  45. Grimes, Nikki. 2007. When Gorilla Goes Walking. New York: Orchard.
  46. Grimes, Nikki. 2011. Planet Middle School. New York: Bloomsbury.
  47. Grimes, Nikki. 2013. Words with Wings.Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
  48. Grimes, Nikki. 2015. Poems in the Attic. Ill. by Elizabeth Zunon. New York: Lee & Low. 
  49. Grimes, Nikki. 2016. Garvey’s Choice. Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
  50. Gunning, Monica. 2004. A Shelter In Our Car. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
  51. Gunning, Monica. 2004. America, My New Home. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
  52. Hudson, Wade. Ed. 1993. Pass It On:  African American Poetry for Children.  New York: Scholastic. 
  53. Hughes, Langston. (75th anniversary edition) 2007. The Dream Keeper (and seven additional poems). New York: Knopf.
  54. Hughes, Langston. 2012. I, Too, Am America. Ill. by Bryan Collier. Simon & Schuster.
  55. Hughes, Langston. 2009. My People. Ill. by Charles R Smith Jr. New York: Simon & Schuster.
  56. Hughes, Langston. 2009. The Negro Speaks of Rivers. Ill. by E. B. Lewis. New York: Disney-Hyperion.
  57. Iyengar, Malathi Michelle. 2009. Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown. Ill. by Jamel Akib. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
  58. Johnson, Angela. 1998. The Other Side: Shorter Poems. New York: Orchard.
  59. Johnson, James Weldon. 1995. Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing. New York: Scholastic.
  60. McKissack, Patricia. 2011. Never Forgotten. Ill. by Leo and Diane Dillon. New York: Schwartz & Wade.
  61. McKissack, Patricia. 2008. Stitchin’ and Pullin’; A Gee’s Bend Quilt. Illus. by Cozbi A. Cabrera. New York: Random House.
  62. Myers, Walter Dean. 1993. Brown Angels:  An Album of Pictures and Verse. New York: HarperCollins.  
  63. Myers, Walter Dean. 1995. Glorious Angels:  A Celebration of Children. New York: HarperCollins.  
  64. Myers, Walter Dean. 1997. Harlem: A Poem. New York: Scholastic.
  65. Myers, Walter Dean. 1998. Angel to Angel. New York: HarperCollins.
  66. Myers, Walter Dean. 2003. Blues Journey. New York: Holiday House.
  67. Myers, Walter Dean. 2004. Here in Harlem: Poems in Many Voices. New York: Holiday House.
  68. Myers, Walter Dean. 2006. Jazz. Ill. by Christopher Myers. New York: Holiday House.
  69. Myers, Walter Dean. 2009. Amiri and Odette: A Love Story. Ill. by Javaka Steptoe. New York: Scholastic.
  70. Myers, Walter Dean. 2011. We are America; A Tribute from the Heart. Ill. by Christopher Myers. HarperCollins.
  71. Nelson, Marilyn. 2001. Carver: A Life in Poems. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
  72. Nelson, Marilyn. 2004. Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
  73. Nelson, Marilyn. 2005. A Wreath for Emmett Till.Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
  74. Nelson, Marilyn. 2008. The Freedom Business. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
  75. Nelson, Marilyn. 2009. Sweethearts of Rhythm; The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World. Ill. by Jerry Pinkney. NY: Dial.
  76. Nelson, Marilyn. 1997. The Fields Of Praise: New and Selected Poems. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.
  77. Nelson, Marilyn. 2015. My Seneca Village. Namelos.
  78. Nelson, Marilyn. 2014. How I Discovered Poetry. New York: Dial.
  79. Nelson, Marilyn. 2016. American Ace. Dial Books. 
  80. Neri, G. 2010. Yummy; The Last Days of a Southside Shorty. Ill. by Randy DuBurke. New York: Lee and Low.
  81. Neri, G. and Watson, Jesse Joshua. 2007. Chess Rumble. New York, NY: Lee & Low.
  82. Neri, Greg. 2014. Hello, I'm Johnny Cash. Ill. by A. G. Ford. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
  83. Newsome, Effie Lee. 1999. Wonders: The Best Children’s Poems by Effie Lee Newsome. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills.
  84. Okutoro, L. O. 1999. Quiet Storm: Voices from Young Black Poets. New York: Hyperion.
  85. Pinkney, Andrea Davis. The Red Pencil.Ill. by Shane W. Evans. New York: Little, Brown.

  86. Shakur, Tupac. 1999. A Rose That Grew from Concrete. New York: Pocket Books.
  87. Smith, Charles R. Jr. 2002. Perfect Harmony: A Musical Journey with the Boys Choir of Harlem. New York: Hyperion/Jump at the Sun.
  88. Smith, Charles R. Jr. 2003. Hoop Queens. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. 
  89. Smith, Charles R. Jr. 2003. I am America. New York: Scholastic. 
  90. Smith, Charles R. Jr. 2004. Hoop Kings. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. 
  91. Smith, Charles R. Jr. Jr. 2007. Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
  92. Smith, Charles R., Jr. 2010. Black Jack; The Ballad of Jack Johnson. Roaring Brook.
  93. Smith, Charles R., Jr. 2012. Stars in the Shadows: The Negro League All-Star Game of 1934. Ill. by Frank Morrison. Atheneum.
  94. Smith, Charles R. Jr. 28 Days: Moments in Black History that Changed the World. Ill. by Shane W. Evans. New York: Macmillan.
  95. Smith, Hope Anita. 2003. The Way a Door Closes. New York: Henry Holt.
  96. Smith, Hope Anita. 2008. Keeping the Night Watch. New York: Henry Holt.
  97. Smith, Hope Anita. 2009. Mother; Poems. New York: Henry Holt. 
  98. Smith, Jr., Charles R. 2004. Diamond Life: Baseball Sights, Sounds, and Swings. New York: Orchard.
  99. Steptoe, Javaka. Ed. 1997. In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers. New York: Lee & Low.
  100. Strickland, Dorothy S. and Michael R. Strickland. Eds. 1994. Families: Poems Celebrating the African-American Experience. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills.
  101. Thomas, Joyce Carol. 1993. Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea: Poems. New York:  HarperCollins.
  102. Thomas, Joyce Carol. 1995. Gingerbread Days. New York: HarperCollins.

  104. Thomas, Joyce Carol. 2000. Hush Songs: African American Lullabies. New York: Hyperion. 
  105. Thomas, Joyce Carol. 2001. A Mother’s Heart, A Daughter’s Love: Poems for Us to Share. New York: HarperCollins. 
  106. Thomas, Joyce Carol. 2002. Crowning Glory. New York: HarperCollins. 
  107. Thomas, Joyce Carol. 2007. Shouting! New York: Hyperion.
  108. Thomas, Joyce Carol. 2008. The Blacker the Berry. Illus. by Floyd Cooper. New York: Amistad.
  109. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2000. The Sound that Jazz Makes. New York: Walker.
  110. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2001. Sidewalk Chalk; Poems of the City. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press. 
  111. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2002. Remember the Bridge: Poems of a People. New York: Philomel. 
  112. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2006. Dear Mr. Rosenwald. Ill. by R. Gregory Christie. New York: Scholastic. 
  113. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2007. Birmingham, 1963. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
  114. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2008. Becoming Billie Holiday. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
  115. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2008. I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer. Ill. by Eric Velasquez.
  116. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2014. Gordon Parks: How the Photographer Captured Black and White America. Ill. by Jamey Christoph. Chicago: Albert Whitman.
  117. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2014. Sugar Hill: Harlem's Historic Neighborhood. Ill. by R. Gregory Christie. Chicago: Whitman.
  118. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2015. Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer: The Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
  119. Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2016. You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen. Simon & Schuster.
  120. Woodson, Jacqueline. 2003. Locomotion. New York: Putnam.
  121. Woodson, Jacqueline. 2014. Brown Girl Dreaming. New York: Nancy Paulsen Books/Penguin.


Previously
And here is a list of previous blog posts that feature poetry for young people by African American writers:
1. For my post, "Happy birthday, Maya Angelou," click here and for a tribute to her poetry for young people, click here.
2. For two posts on The Great Migration by Eloise Greenfield, click here and here.
3. For my post on Roots and Blues by Arnold Adoff, click here.
4. For my post on Shouting! by Joyce Carol Thomas, click here. 
5. For my post on Rosa Parks Day, click here.
6. For my post on I Am the Darker Brother by Arnold Adoff, click here.
7. For my post on Poet: The Remarkable Story of George Moses Horton by Don Tate, click here. 
8. For my post on Marilyn Nelson's contribution to Poetry Tag, click here.

Now head on over to Tricia's place, The Miss Rumphius Effect, for more Poetry Friday fellowship. See you there!


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Cybils Poetry Valentines!

February 12, 2016, 7:09 am
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The Cybils Awards winners will be announced on Sunday, Feb. 14, Valentine's Day. The Cybils awards (or Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards) "aim to recognize the children's and young adult authors and illustrators whose books combine the highest literary merit and popular appeal."

I was fortunate to participate in selecting the finalists last fall, along with my fellow poetry judges, Carol Wilcox (Carol’s Corner), Nancy Bo Flood (The Pirate Tree), Tricia Stohr-Hunt (The Miss Rumphius Effect), Irene Latham (Live Your Poem), and Margaret Simon (Reflections on the Teche).What fun to pore over all the nominated poetry from 2015 and whittle down to a handful of books. Our final choices?




The 2015 Poetry Finalists (you'll find complete annotations for these books here)


Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton (Dial Books)

House Arrest by K.A. Holt (Chronicle Books)


Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott (Margaret K. McElderry Books)

The Popcorn Astronauts: And Other Biteable Rhymes by Deborah Ruddell (Margaret K. McElderry Books)

Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers)

Earlier this year, another group of judges read and discussed these books and chose ONE as the winner for 2015. I'll post that info on Sunday, as soon as it's public. You can also check at the Cybils site here for that info. This year, we were also able to consider novels in verse, so I'm very happy that this form was included this year. (And there's even talk of creating a separate category for novels in verse which I think would be wonderful!)

All 2015 Nominations for the Cybils Award for Poetry
Anyone can nominate a book for consideration and this year there were 47 poetry titles nominated (the most ever!). Here’s that complete list, fyi:

Novels in verse
1.5 to 1 by Holly Bodger
2.A Heart Like Ringo Starr by Linda Oatman High
3.Audacity by Melanie Crowder
4.Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose
5.Dating Down by Stefanie Lyons
6.Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings by Margarita Engle
7.Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton
8.House Arrest by K.A. Holt
9.My Seneca Village by Marilyn Nelson
10.Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott
11.Red Butterfly by A.L. Sonnichsen
12.Skyscraping by Cordelia Jensen
13.The Lost Marble Notebook of Forgotten Girl & Random Boy by Marie Jaskulka

Collections
1.A Great Big Cuddle: Poems for the Very Young by Michael Rosen
2.A Spectacular Selection of Sea Critters: Concrete Poems by Betsy Franco
3.After the Bell Rings: Poems About After-School Time by Carol Diggory Shields
4.An Ambush of Tigers: Collective Nouns by Betsy R. Rosenthal
5.Bigfoot is Missing! by J. Patrick Lewis and Kenn Nesbitt
6.Changes: A Child's First Poetry Collection by Charlotte Zolotow
7.Double Happiness by Nancy Tupper Ling
8.Feeding the Flying Fanellis: And Other Poems from a Circus Chef by Kate Hosford
9.Flutter and Hum / Aleteo y Zumbido: Animal Poems by Julie Paschkis
10.Goodnight Songs: A Celebration of the Seasons by Margaret Wise Brown
11.Hypnotize a Tiger: Poems by Calef Brown
12.Orangutanka: A Story in Poems by Margarita Engle
13.Poems in the Attic by Nikki Grimes
14.Presidential Misadventures: Poems That Poke by Bob Raczka
15.Random Body Parts: Gross Anatomy Riddles in Verse by Leslie Bulion
16.Sail Away by Langston Hughes
17.Salsa: Un poema para cocinar / A Cooking Poem by Jorge Argueta
18.Sing a Season Song by Jane Yolen
19.Sleepy Snoozy Cozy Coozy by Judy Young
20.Sometimes I Feel Like a Fox by Danielle Daniel
21.The Maine Coon's Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers by Michael J. Rosen
22.The Popcorn Astronauts by Deborah Ruddell
23.The Sky Painter by Margarita Engle
24.Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman
25.Won Ton and Chopstick: A Cat and Dog Tale by Lee Wardlaw

Anthologies
1.A Pirate's Mother Goose by Nancy I. Sanders
2.Amazing Places edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins
3.Beastly Verse illustrated by JooHee Yoon
4.Dear Tomato: An International Crop of Food and Agriculture Poems edited by Carol-Ann Hoyte
5.Jumping Off Library Shelves edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins
6.Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes by Henry, Josh, and Harrison Herz
7.National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry: More than 200 Poems With Photographs That Float, Zoom, and Bloom! edited by J. Patrick Lewis
8.Over the Hills and Far Away: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes edited by Elizabeth Hammill
9.The Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects edited by Paul B. Janeczko

Congratulations to all the poets, illustrators, editors, and publishers who produced these wonderful works of poetry!

ALL Cybils Award Winners for Poetry (2006-2015)
Here are ALL the poetry winners (including an update with the 2015 winner):

2015 Flutter and Hum / Aleteo y Zumbido: Animal Poems / Poemas de Animales by Julie Paschkis (Henry Holt)

2014 Voices from the March on Washington by J. Patrick Lewis and George Ella Lyon (Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press)

2013 Forest Has a Song: Poems by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater (Clarion Books)

2012 BookSpeak!: Poems About Books by Laura Purdie Salas (Clarion Books)

2011 Requiem: Poems of the Terezin Ghetto by Paul B. Janeczko (Candlewick Press)

2010 Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer (Penguin Young Readers)

2009 Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

2008 Honeybee by Naomi Shihab Nye (HarperCollins) 

2007 This Is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness by Joyce Sidman (Houghton Mifflin)

2006 Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman (Houghton Mifflin)

Ten years of Cybils! Woohoo!

And just for you for Valentine's Day, you'll find my previous post about "love" poetry for kids here.

Now head on over to Kimberley's place for the Poetry Friday gathering at Written Reflections.




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Blog Tour: NORMAL NORMAN

February 27, 2016, 7:44 pm
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Welcome to the first stop on the blog tour for Normal Norman (Sterling Children's Books @SterlingKids) by Tara Lazar (@taralazar) founder of PiBoIdMo, and illustrated by S.britt (@StephanBritt) and due to be published March 1. Join the crew blog by blog and on Twitter (#NormalNormanBlogTour). 

Normal Norman is a picture book with a retro look that adds humor and energy to this blend of science and nonsense. A young "junior scientist" in a white lab coat (a spunky girl-- yay!) who is also the book's narrator is on a quest to define "normal" In empirical ways. Her subject? A purple orangutan. So, we know this is going to be an interesting "experiment" from the get-go. And this orangutan (Norman) is not cooperating-- he speaks English, sleeps in a bed, and loves pizza! Each double-page spread is teeming with energy, details, and humor. Plus, it begs to be read aloud and should surely generate some interesting discussion about what is "normal"-- in the animal world, as well as in ours. 

>>> Link this book with a Orangutanka: A Story in Poems by Margarita Engle to offer a contrasting (and more reality-based) look at orangutans. And just for fun, Sterling Kids Publishing has provided fun, interactive activity pages to accompany this book (below). Enjoy!







Special thanks to Josh Redlich for facilitating this fun!
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