Poetry, Spring, April – Roll Right In! Celebrate!
April is National Poetry month and the ReaderKidZ have a plethora of rhymes and verses to share. Let’s celebrate poetry in its many forms and moods. May we suggest nibbling on a sweet verse or two? What a perfect way to play with words, sounds, and rhythm!
“Poems for children are like toys that are made of words, and these words give wings to their imagination.”
Mahmud Kianush, founder of children’s poetry in Iran.
THE POETRY FRIDAY ANTHOLOGY FOR CELEBRATIONS compiled by Sylvia Vardell and Janet Wong is a delightful and easy way to introduce simple verses to young readers. The book is called a “poetry Friday” anthology because it encourages and makes it easy for teachers, librarians and parents to celebrate poetry at least once every week. Imagine, in this bilingual collection of over 150 poems written by 115 authors, there are poems for 150 different occasions, holidays, and historic events throughout the calendar year. With a short, serious or funny verse, everyone has year-round celebrations of every day.
Each poem is presented in both Spanish and English. Like the other books in the Poetry Friday Anthology series, every poem is accompanied by a Take 5! Mini-Lesson to make it easy to share the poems, extend the “window of learning,” and most importantly, engage children.
Fun examples for April include CHILDREN’S DAY, BOOK DAY by Pat Mora
Let’s clap!
Say día day, day,
Every day,
Kids and Books Day…
Clap, tap, snap.
Kids and books,
Every day.
Hooray!
Or try “chewing” on this one: POCKET POEMS CARD by Janet Wong
Memorizing
isn’t hard
with your
Pocket Poems card…
Read. Bite.
Read. Chew.
Your poem will soon
Be part of you!
Celebrate poetry every day, it can be delicious. Poets include: Jack Prelutsky, J. Patrick Lewis, Joyce Sidman, Margarita Engle, Marilyn Singer, Nikki Grimes, Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy, Ibtisam Barakat, Uma Krishnaswami, Francisco X. Alarcón, Linda Sue Park, Jane Yolen, Kenn Nesbitt, Jorge Argueta, Grace Lin, Joseph Bruchac, Douglas Florian, Laura Purdie Salas, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand, and 95 others including Nancy Bo Flood with Rose A. Tahe.
Thank you so much, Nancy, for this enthusiastic review—and I love the “First Laugh, Navajo Baby” poem by you and Rose Ann Tahe! I actually mentioned it today, before seeing this post, when I spoke to a Multicultural Literature class at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ)!
Thank you, Janet, for creating a book of poetry – fun and serious – sweet and “sour” – so many flavors that celebrate words, rhythm, rhyme and children. Nancy Bo Flood
Yes, thanks so much, Nancy, for your help in getting the word out and for YOUR wonderful poem (with Rose Ann Tahe). You know I’m a HUGE fan of your work too– especially the amazing COWBOY UP!
Poetry rocks! Thank you, Sylvia, for compiling this amazing book of poems – what a variety! Some are so funny. Others touch your heart. Some inform and many make one pause and ponder. I appreciate your comment about Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo – a book to encourage young readers to keep reading and riding their dreams.