Classic Poetry Books [booklist]

              After the classic picture books chosen by the New York Public Library appeared in the May/June 2000 issue of Children’s Book and Play Review (CBPR), several questions came to mind. Why aren’t there lists of poetry books? Why are only three annual awards given to poets (which didn’t begin until 1977) when other children ’s book awards number in the hundreds (beginning in 1922 with the Newbery award and the Caldecott in 1937)? Why has the Symposium for Young Readers at BYU invited only three poets in its eighteen-year history? Why do most teachers spend less than five minutes a week on poetry? Why did Poetry Week only begin a couple of years ago? The answer to these questions is easy poetry is a neglected literacy form, particularly in schools.  Poetry should be taught and celebrated in schools for many reasons. The most basic reason is that children love it. After a program of poetry writing and public poetry readings began at the Brooklyn  Public Library, the increase in poetry circulation in some branches rose 300 percent. The young people couldn’t get enough of it! A children’s bookstore in Texas reports that for five years it has had highly successful programs in writing poetry and then holding public readings of the winning poems (“Poet-Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Susan Asis and “Oh, The Joy of Poetry!” by Tiffany Durham, The Children’s Book Council 2000).  Dramatizing poetry is an activity enjoyed by children of all ages. Poetry’s carefully constructed rhythms and sounds appeal to children before they even begin to understand meanings. The word play in poetry increases and expands their understanding of language because the vocabulary in poetry is anything but ordinary. Poets work hard to find words with sounds and meanings that fit exactly. Poetry is an expression of the innermost feelings and passions of the human mind.  Knowing these benefits of poetry, it is time to begin sharing it with children. Poetry Week in the middle of April is a good time to start, and it also allows a couple of months to prepare discovering new poets and finding ways to present them to children. Visit the Children ’s Book Council’s web site at www.cbcbooks.org and find the posters and materials that are  available to help you and the children in your care enjoy poetry.  To help you get started, a bibliography follows this article. Not all poems will be to everyone’s liking, but the bibliography will be a start in finding poetry that speaks to each individual. If personal favorites have been omitted, feel free to send additional book titles to CBPR (c/o Marsha D. Broadway, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602-6887), and an addendum will be printed to this first list. The bibliography will help you select poetry, but the next step is to share it with children.  Because most people haven’t had poetry read aloud to them, they are very reluctant to read it aloud to children. Now is the time to practice reading aloud. Poetry, like music, is an oral form of art, and the rhythm and music of the words will be missed if it is not heard. Lee Bennett Hopkins has given some guidelines for reading poetry aloud that will help those who are apprehensive about reading poetry. (Pass the Poetry, Please by Lee Bennett Hopkins. HarperCollins, 1998. ISBN 0-06-446199-8, pp 20-22). These same points can be shared with children, for they, too, should be reading and sharing poetry aloud.  they come slowly, thinking-ly from our mouths.  After following Hopkins advice, try tape-recording your efforts and hear where improvements can be made in your poetry reading. When confidence is gained in presenting poetry orally, you will be able to increase the children’s understanding of poetic forms. Poetry offers numerous possibilities for activities that facilitate comprehension. One such activity is writing poetry. Several books on the subject might be of help. The Teachers & Writers Collaborative has published a Handbook of Poetic Forms (1987, ISBN 0-915924-24-4, 5 Union Square West, New York, NY 1003).  Barbara Juster Esbensen’s A Celebration of Bees is more geared to helping children write poetry (Henry Holt,1995. ISBN 0-8050-3765-9). Poem-Making, by Myra Cohn Livingston, describes ways to begin writing poetry (Harper Collins, 1991. ISBN 0 -06-024019-9).  Writing poetry is not the only activity that builds students’  understanding of this genre.  Poetic minidramas can be done in thirty to forty -five minutes using part of the class to read the poem and part to pantomime the actions. When the actions and reading are recorded on video, children can quickly see their successes and mistakes and make rapid improvements in their ability to interpret poetry. Poetry can also be put to music, especially if the adult has some training in reading and writing music. The poem sets the rhythm for the song; the task remaining is to find a melody that fits the words. Children will enjoy illustrating their favorite poems, using the numerous poetry picture books as models. Creative movement can also be put to poetry. In this activity, the focus is on the rhythm of the words and phrases, which greatly enhances children’s understanding and appreciation of all aspects of poetry. Choral reading, a time-honored favorite, continues to be a rewarding activity with poetry. One word of caution, however don’t limit choral readings to programs, where prolonged practices for a performance may dampen some children’s enthusiasm for poetry. Do it just for fun! With the list of poetry books that follows, the hope is that adults will become poetry lovers and presenters by April and will help children do the same.  POETRY BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE ANTHOLOGIES OF POETRY  Bennett, Jill. Noisy Poems. Illustrated by Nick Sharrat. Oxford University Press, 1987. ISBN 0-19-276063-7.  An anthology of poems that focus on sounds of bands, trains, water, fish, storms, yaks, and finally a small ghostie.  Benson, Gerard. This Poem Doesn’t Rhyme. Illustrated by Sara-Jane Stewart. Viking, 1990. ISBN 0-670-82923-4.  This 1991 winner of the Signal Poetry Award in Great Britain is a marvelous collection of poems that don’t rhyme. The introduction gives a concise discussion of problems with rhyme and lists others ways to pattern words in poetry.  Bober, Natalie S. Let’s Pretend: Poems of Flight and Fancy. Illustrated by Bill Bell. Viking, 1986. ISBN 0-670-81176-9.  Bober has collected fantasy poems in the following categories: My Inside Self, Magical People, Secrets, A Taste of Nature, My Animal Friends and Wondering. Brown, Marc. Finger Rhymes. Illustrated by Marc Brown. Dutton, 1980. ISBN 0 -525-29732-4. Old favorites and new rhymes are shown with diagrams for telling the stories with the finger actions.  de Regniers, Beatrice Schenk, et al. Sing a Song of Popcorn. Illustrated by Caldecott Medal artists. Scholastic, 1988. ISBN 0-590-40645-0.  A collection of old and new poetry, enlivened by the illustrations of nine Caldecott Medal artists.  Dunn, Opal. Hippety Hop, Hippety Hay. Illustrated by Sally Anne Lambert. Henry Holt, Inc, 1999. ISBN 0-8050-6081-2.  A collection of poems especially for adults who are often with children from birth to age three. The poems are grouped by age level and include advice from language expert Opal Dunn and actions to accompany the rhymes. Goldstein, Bobbye S. Inner Chimes: Poems on Poetry. Illustrated by Jane Breskin Zalben. Boyds Mill Press, Inc., 1992. ISBN 1-56397-040-6.  Poems about the magic of poetry and the mysterious process of creating them. Harrison, Michael and Christopher Stuart-Clark. The Oxford Treasury of Christmas Poems.  Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-19-276224-9.  A few of the poems talk about Santa Claus and winter weather, but most focus on the birth of Christ. Harvey, Anne. Shades of Green. Illustrated by John Lawrence. Greenwillow, 1992. ISBN 0-688-10890-3. This volume is the winner of the 1992British Signal Award. Her collection of “green” poems reflects the hope and inspiration associated with this color, but is noticeably less flippant than modern American poetry for children. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Good Books, Good Times. Illustrated by Harvey St<f<full>After the classic picture books chosen by the New York Public Library appeared in the May/June 2000 issue of Children’s Book and Play Review (CBPR), several questions came to mind. Why aren’t there lists of poetry books? Why are only three annual awards given to poets (which didn’t begin until 1977) when other children ’s book awards number in the hundreds (beginning in 1922 with the Newbery award and the Caldecott in 1937)? Why has the Symposium for Young Readers at BYU invited only three poets in its eighteen-year history? Why do most teachers spend less than five minutes a week on poetry? Why did Poetry Week only begin a couple of years ago? The answer to these questions is easy poetry is a neglected literacy form, particularly in schools.  Poetry should be taught and celebrated in schools for many reasons. The most basic reason is that children love it. After a program of poetry writing and public poetry readings began at the Brooklyn  Public Library, the increase in poetry circulation in some branches rose 300 percent. The young people couldn’t get enough of it! A children’s bookstore in Texas reports that for five years it has had highly successful programs in writing poetry and then holding public readings of the winning poems (“Poet-Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Susan Asis and “Oh, The Joy of Poetry!” by Tiffany Durham, The Children’s Book Council 2000).  Dramatizing poetry is an activity enjoyed by children of all ages. Poetry’s carefully constructed rhythms and sounds appeal to children before they even begin to understand meanings. The word play in poetry increases and expands their understanding of language because the vocabulary in poetry is anything but ordinary. Poets work hard to find words with sounds and meanings that fit exactly. Poetry is an expression of the innermost feelings and passions of the hu