UWSSLEC LibGuides: On the Shelves-Books for Children by Genre: Poetry

Description of Genre

Poetry is almost impossible to define. Poetry evokes an emotion or experience for the reader. It is unlike other forms of prose. I this Dylan Thomas Quote describes it best. "Poetry is what makes me laugh or cry or yawn, what makes my toenails twinkle, what makes me want to do this or that or nothing."

Picture Books

Let it Shine: Three Favorite Spitiuals (2007) by Ashley Bryan
ISBN: 9780689847325
Ashley Bryan takes three popular spirituals, "This Little Light of Mine", "Oh, When the Saints go Marching In" and "He's Got the Whole Word in His Hands", and adds breathtakingly colorful collages of cut paper to make a powerful, lyrical experience.
NP
Ages 4-8*MC

Most poetry in picture books rhymes or has a lyrical feel to it, as this appeals to even the youngest of readers. The illustrations in these books add meaning to and hidden details to the words.

Day Is Done (2009) by Peter Yarrow
ISBN: 140274806X
Peter Yarrow, of the band Peter, Paul and Mary, created this book as a follow up to his 2007 book "Puff the Magic Dragon". He took a classic Peter, Paul and Mary song and with the help of Melissa Sweet, a Caldecott winning artist, set the lyrics to illustrations of forest animals settling in as the day ends.
AD550L
Ages 4-8*
Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings (2009) by Douglas Florian
ISBN: 9781416979784
Poems meet dinosaurs in Florian's humorous book. Each of the twenty poems, of rhymes and puns, feature a different dinosaur and a collage like illustration of the beast. The author takes modern day things, like tennis, iPods and buildings and places them in the dinosaur world. A "glossarysaurus" at the end of the book gives readers a more factual account of the ill-fated wonders.
NP
Ages 4-8*

Early to Intermediate Readers

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse (2010) by Marilyn Singer
ISBN: 0525479015
This is a very clever book featuring reversos poem, poems that mean different things when read up as opposed to down. Singer takes classic fairy tales, writes them from one character's point of view one way, and then gives them another meaning and point of view when read the opposite way.
NP
Ages 7-10*

Although these selections seem similar to my picture book selections, they challenge the reader more than the previous group. These peoms are more abstract and require more backround knowledge for understanding.

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature's Survivors (2010) by Joyce Sidman
ISBN: 9780618717194
Ubiquitous means to be everywhere at the same time. Joyce Sidman focuses on species that have stood the test of time and therefore are Ubiquitous. This book features those 1 percent of species that have some unique quality which has allowed them to survive. Sidman uses all different type of poetry in her book. Some examples are shaped, lyrical, and diamante.
NC1300L
Ages 7-10*
The President's Stuck in the Bathtub: Poems About U.S. Presidents (2011) by Susan Katz
ISBN: 054718221X
Sure these poems about former leaders of our country are really funny, but they are also based on true happenings in the White House. William Taft really got stuck in the bathtub and John Quincy Adams used to take late night dips in the Potomac. Footnotes are added throughout the book for background information and historical relevance. Ages 6 and up
Pirates (2008) by David L. Harrison
ISBN: 9781590784556
A book of twenty poems that explore the everyday life of a pirate. The poems along with the illustrations create a realistic picture of what it would be like to explore the seas and hunt for treasure. The verses vary in content, but are all rhyming and lyrical in a mature way.
AD650L
Ages 9-12*

Chapter Books

Time You Let Me In: 25 Poets under 25 (2010) by Naomi Shihab Nye
ISBN: 9780061896378
This is a collection of poems from 26 of the best young poets. Nye's goal was to select 25 poets but ended up including one more than planned. The poems are written about various topics and include different elements of poetry. Young readers will be encouraged to try writing poetry after reading this piece. 14 and up MC
We Troubled the Waters (2009) by Ntozake Shange
ISBN: 0061337358
Shange uses the raw emotions of the Civil Rights movement of the twentieth century to create this volume of poems and paintings of the African American people who lives through it. Leaders such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks are features, but the stories of the everyday nameless individuals are just as powerful. This book is defiantly for an older audience as the poems are not lyrical and lynchings are discussed and illustrated. Ages 13 and up* MC
This is Just to Say: Poems of Apology and Forgiveness (2007) by Joyce Sidman
ISBN: 9780618616800
Sixth grade characters write poems about apologizing and being sorry. Their poems are based on the poem "Apology" by William Carlos Williams. One thing that makes this book interesting is seeing the different interpretations of the meaning of apology. Ages 10 and up.