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Bookshelf

The Wonderful World of Verse

Poems for Every Age

     Sprinkle a poem a day, and watch your children grow. It sounds like wonderful advice, doesn’t it? But so many parents and children feel uncomfortable with poetry — perhaps it reminds them of being tortured in high school English classes as they waded through poetry, analyzing each line. Try not to bring this anxiety to your children. Poetry can communicate so much. Some poems are fun and silly; others speak to us about hope, love or loss. Share and play with poetry — read it aloud, try out poems you like or ones that intrigue you. Just a little will go a long way, planting seeds in their minds and hearts. April is National Poetry Month, a month-long, national celebration of poetry established by the Academy of American Poets. Take this opportunity to explore some poetry that fits your family.

Family Reading: Books That Span Across the Ages

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, edited by Bill Martin Jr., with Michael Sampson (Simon & Schuster; 175 p., $21, ages 4–10).
Nearly 200 poems are gathered in this anthology. Each poem is paired with an illustration from many of the best picture-book illustrators. The result is a feast for the eyes, ears and heart, one you can dip into or stay awhile and browse through. The poems include works by well-known poets, including Robert Frost, Christina Rossetti, Langston Hughes, Nikki Grimes, Aliki and Jack Prelutsky. This is a great collection to have, one that can remind you of old favorites or introduce you to new poets and illustrators to explore.

The Negro Speaks of Rivers, by Langston Hughes, with illustrations by E.B. Lewis (Disney Jump at the Sun; 32 p., $16.99, ages 4-14).
Langston Hughes wrote this poem in 1920 at the age of 18. As he crossed the Mississippi River, he thought about how the history of African-Americans is linked to this great river. E.B. Lewis’ luminescent watercolors fill each page, truly bringing the poem to life — breathing meaning, history and feelings into the words of the poem. Lewis visually represents the important role that water has played in the lives of Africans and African-Americans throughout history. Lewis pairs each line of the poem with a large painting, some showing scenes from modern life, others showing scenes from history. The poetry and artwork are deeply layered with emotions and a sense of history. Through these images, children both young and old will be able to connect personally to Hughes’ masterful poem.

The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination, edited by Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; 224 p., $19.99, ages 8-14).
Poetry and science both ask us to think about the world around us, to pause and reflect on nature’s patterns and rhythms, the plants and animals we see and learn about. More than that, poetry and science prompt us to ask questions, to explore and to wonder. This poetry collection helps children think more closely about our natural world, what we see today and the world that was here long before we were. I was particularly impressed by the range of poems in this collection and how they will appeal to children in a wide age range. Some poems are simple and direct, while others are complex in their vocabulary and images. The footnotes are a particularly helpful feature in this book, providing a great launch into conversations with children about science and poetry.

Playing With Rhymes and Songs: Poetry for Preschoolers and Kindergartners

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault, illustrated by Lois Ehlert (Simon & Schuster, 40 p., $7.99, ages 1–4).
This bright and energetic rhyme comes alive with repeated chanting and the colorful block illustrations. “A told B, and B told C, ‘I’ll meet you at the top of the coconut tree.’ ” As all the letters of the alphabet start climbing up the coconut tree, kids begin to wonder if the letters can all fit. And then comes the refrain, “Chicka chicka boom boom, will there be enough room?” By the end, when Z squeezes in, the overloaded coconut tree topples over and the letters crash to the ground in a chaotic heap — great fun, and a great book to read aloud.

Here’s a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry, collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters; illustrated by Polly Dunbar (Candlewick; 104 p., $21.99, ages 2–5).
This is a wonderful collection of poems for young children: toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners. The poems selected are perfect for a young audience. Each poem is only a few lines long; the expressive illustrations are full of joy and a love of life. This collection reflects a young child’s world, with poems organized into categories like “Me, Myself and I,” and “Who Lives in My House?” Above all, this is a very child-centered collection, one that you will treasure sharing with young children.

¡Pío Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes, selected by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy, English adaptations by Alice Schertle, illustrations by Vivi Escriva (HarperCollins; 64 p., $14.99, ages 2–6).
Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy, both Bay Area local teachers and writers, collected nursery rhymes and songs from across Spain, Latin America and the American Southwest, especially looking for traditional songs and rhymes from their childhoods. Shared in both Spanish and English, these nursery rhymes are sweet, simple and musical. The original Spanish rhymes are paired with English versions that are not direct translations, but rather “poetic recreations.” Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy both live in San Francisco and are wonderful authors and teachers who bring Hispanic culture alive through storytelling and poetry. This collection will delight young children and their parents.
 

Exploring the Natural World: Poetry for 1st and 2nd Graders

Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings, by Douglas Florian (Atheneum; 43 p., $17.99, ages 4–8).
Many little kids are fascinated by huge, towering dinosaurs. Florian taps on that interest with these poems, combining clever wordplay, silly rhymes and solid facts about different dinosaurs. Species range from the well known Triceratops (“Try-scare-a-tops. / Try-wouldn’t-want-to-dare-a-tops”) to the lesser known Barosaurus (“I’m higher than five elephants./ I’m longer than most whales./ My giant neck is balanced by / My forty-three foot tail”). Florian is a poet and artist with a gift for luring kids into noticing clever details about the world and the words all around them. Check out his many poetry books, including insectlopedia, Beast Feast and his newest, Poetrees.

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors, by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 32 p., $16, ages 6–10).
Do you remember when your preschooler first started to notice the seasons changing around her? I remember my children being fascinated with the crunching of brown leaves or the bright green of new grass. Sidman and Zagarenski evoke wonderful memories of new seasons by focusing on the colors of our world, and they do so in a complex, unique way. Spring is much more than green: red with cardinals, maple buds and rhubarb spears, yellow with goldfinches and white with lightning. This is a wonderful collection of poems and it can prompt lovely conversations about the colors you and your children notice around you.

Where in the Wild: Camouflaged Animals Concealed … and Revealed and the sequel Where Else in the Wild? More Camouflaged Creatures Concealed … and Revealed, both by David M. Schwartz and Yael Schy; photography by Dwight Kuhn (Tricycle; 44 p., $16.99, ages 4–9).
Local author Schwartz loves to find unusual, whimsical ways to make math and science come alive for kids. In these two books, he combines science, nature and eye-tricking photography to hook kids into noticing hidden details in nature. Kids will stare at the photographs, trying to pick out the small animals hidden in the backgrounds, and then they will test you to see if you can find them. Each photograph is paired with a short poem that offers hints describing the animal: “ … nesting / outspread / wings of white / blend with birch bark / by day’s light”. When you open the spread, you see a washed-out version of the same picture with the hiding animal highlighted, plus factual information about each animal.

Poems to Make You Laugh: More Sophisticated Poems Perfect for 3rd through 5th Graders

The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme, by Bobbi Katz, illustrations by Adam McCauley (Sterling; 50 p., $17.95; ages 8–12).
“If monsters are what interest you,/ the how and why of what they do,/ I know the facts: What’s false, what’s true,/ since I’m a monsterologist.” Katz and McCauley explore the world of monsters ranging from the real (a computer virus) to the imaginary (zombies, vampires) to the mythical (Medusa) to those in-between (ghosts, the yeti, the Loch Ness monster) that may or may not be real. The design, layout and illustrations are fresh and engaging, and will draw many readers in to browse. The playful and clever poems are occasionally gruesome, but in a way that kids love (“Take half a dozen dozing Danes./ Split their skills./ Pull out their brains./ Tear off arms./ Tear off legs./ Add flour to/ well-beaten eggs”). These poems will have kids coming back over and over again to study the monsters inside.

Technically, It’s Not My Fault, by John Grandits (Clarion, 48 p., $15.99, ages 9–12).
Any book that has a poem called “The Autobiography of Murray the Fart” is going to make kids laugh and want to read more. These poems are all told from the point of view of Robert, an 11-year-old boy who is clever but bored. “Technically, it’s not Robert’s fault that a concrete block fell on the car or that his sister’s homework got blown to smithereens. Really, he doesn’t try to cause trouble. He’s just an ordinary kid who likes pizza and sports and computer games.” Grandits creates visually engaging, hilarious concrete poems — shape poems that combine words, ideas, type and art to make pictures. But it’s Grandits’ humor and understanding of real kids that will make readers laugh about the most ordinary things. This accessible, goofy collection shows how you can bend and twist language to create meaning in new ways.
 

Poetry Speaks to a Young Teen’s Growing Sense of Identity: Poems for Tweens and Young Teens

Cool Salsa: Bilingual Poems on Growing Up Latino in the United States, edited by Lori M. Carlson (Henry Holt, 123 p., $7.99, ages 12–18).
This collection of poetry by Gary Soto, Oscar Hijuelos and other contemporary Latino writers reflects the sights, sounds, and smells of Latino culture in America. The poems deal with the experiences of teenagers and are divided into six categories: School Days, Home and Homeland, Memories, Hard Times, Time to Party and A Promising Future. Presented in both English and Spanish, each poem helps teens to discover the stories woven within their heritage and experiences. It is a vibrant, moving, and varied collection which will speak to teens.

A Curious Collection of Cats, by Betsy Franco, illustrations by Michael Wertz (Tricycle, 40 p. $16.99, ages 6–12)
Kids love pets, love noticing how they act, what they’re feeling, the trouble they cause. Franco and Wertz, both local to the Bay Area, bring alive the playful world of cats with these concrete poems — poems that blend words and pictures to create a whole that is more than the sum of their parts. They capture cats in all their moods, from acrobat flipping to tomcat fighting, from cuddling around a little girl’s neck to chasing birds and spiders. Follow these poems up and down or in curving jumps, and have fun with the playful images. The illustrations are bright and bold, capturing cats’ behaviors, with all their attitudes and peculiarities. Franco is an award-winning poet from Palo Alto, and Wertz is an East Bay graphic artist.

Poetry Speaks Who I Am: Poems of Discovery, Inspiration, Independence, and Everything Else, edited by Elise Paschen and Dominique Raccah (Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 176 p., $19.99, ages 10–15)
This collection has been crafted to mirror the hopes and fears of teens today. One minute, young teens will think about big issues in life in complex, abstract ways, and the next they’ll obsess about small, everyday concerns. This collection jumps from big to little, funny to serious, first loves to lasting relationships. The poems are about all the things that are important to teens: love, friendship, parents, death, animals. At its best, poetry and literature can help us try to make sense of the world, and this collection does just that.

The Way a Door Closes, by Hope Anita Smith, illustrated by Shane W. Evans (Henry Holt, 64 p., $19.99, ages 10–14).
In the voice of a 13-year old boy, Smith tells the story of a young man’s struggle to accept a father who has walked out on his family. The book begins by building CJ’s relationship with his father, and the glowing tenderness the father has for his son. But soon times turn hard, and CJ’s father loses his job and leaves his family. Through brief, narrative poems, we see how CJ copes with his pain and what it takes to hold things together when times are the toughest. Readers will be moved by this portrait of pain and healing. It’s especially moving to share narrative poetry (poems that tell a story) that is accessible to young teens and speaks to their experiences or those of their friends.

Mary Ann Scheuer, mother of three kids, lives in Berkeley and is a librarian at Redwood Day School and a former 8th-grade English teacher. She writes the blog Great Kid Books (greatkidbooks.blogspot.com) as a site to help parents find great books for their children, ages 4–14.