Saturday, April 4, 2009

Weekly Geeks: Reading Poetry with Children


Whatever you do, find ways to read poetry. Eat it, drink it, enjoy it, and share it.”
~Eve Merriam


Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? I find it hard to call myself a "writer" but that is what I am at the core, and even more specifically, I am a writer of poetry. Sadly, poetry is terribly misunderstood because most of us read so much incomprehensible poetry when we were in school and learned to dislike it. During this month, I'll be tossing out poetry suggestions every now and then. For now, here is a repost from last year about poetry for children:

Before I list my favorite books written specifically for children, let me emphasize that you don't have to stick with "kids' poetry" when reading to your children. In other words, some poets write specifically for a younger audience--much of Jack Prelutsky, for example. But poetry doesn't have to rhyme and be about cute kitties or dog poop to appeal to children (although rhyming bodily functions certainly can heighten a child's appreciation of poetry).

Along those lines, I highly recommend A Treasury of Poetry for Young People. This contains poems selected with a younger audience (5th grade and up) in mind by some of the best-known poets: Carl Sandburg, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe, Walt Whitman and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. There is a two or three page introduction of each author before his/her section of poetry. The illustrations are simple and beautiful. Notes at the bottom of each page give a very brief commentary on each poem. For example, at the end of the familiar Frost poem "The Road Not Taken," the note simply states: "We all know the feel of a cool autumn day, when we can shuffle our feet through fallen leaves and kick up the smells of the season. This is a poem about such a walk, about coming to a fork in the path, and about making choices in our lives."

For a wider variety of poets, I recommend the Poetry for Young People Series. These books are also published by Sterling Publishing, like the one above, but each books features a different poet. Scholastic often has these titles in their monthly sale fliers for home or school. Featured authors include: Robert Browning, Langston Hughes, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and all the ones mentioned above.

One more collection I really love for kids: The Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems, edited by Donald Hall. This one takes a chronological approach to American poetry, beginning with the Native American cradle song, "Chant to the Fire-Fly" and ending with the contemporary poetry of Sandra Cisneros and Janet S. Wong. I love the diversity offered in this collection: poetry isn't all written by white guys and reclusive women. And one of my personal favorites is included here: Nikki Giovanni's "Knoxville, Tennessee." Even if you don't live around these parts, you and your children can surely relate to Giovanni's ode to the pure bliss of summertime.

Of course, you can get out your old copy of The Norton Anthology of Poetry and just pick out age-appropriate poems from some of the world's best poets of all time. What? You don't have an old Norton's Anthology? Run to your nearest used bookstore or Goodwill and pick one up. Please. You never know when you might need to read T.S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock":
I grow old. . . . I grow old . . .
I shall wear the bottoms of my trouser rolled.
Shall I part my hair behind? Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.
I do not think they will sing to me.

But I digress. Moving on to poetry written specifically for children, I must present my four favorites: Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, Eve Merriam, and Valerie Worth. Does anyone not know Shel Silverstein's works? Silverstein, who died in 1999, is the king of children's poetry. His website is great fun, and you can read all about his works there. You local library will have every book; better yet, buy at least a couple. No family library can possibly be complete with A Light in the Attic or Where the Sidewalk Ends. If your kids hear the word "poetry" and cover their ears, try reading "Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out' to them. They will want to hear more.

Jack Prelutsky also has a gift for luring children in with the absurd. He knows how to engage children with the silly, absurd, and irresistibly disgusting:
Slime, slime,
Savory slime,
you're luscious and succulent
any old time,
there's hardly a thing
that is nearly as grand
as a dollop of slime
in the palm of my hand.

Prelutsky also has a great website, where you can read all about him and his books and get teaching ideas, too.

The poet Eve Merriam loved language--loved the sound of words alone and in combination with other words. When I read her poetry, I imagine how carefully she chose each word. From her widely anthologized "Lullaby":

Purple as a king's cape
Purple as a grape.

Purple for the evening
When daylight is leaving.

Soft and purry,

Gentle and furry,

Velvet evening-time.
 
I have a cassette tape of Merriam reading some of her poetry; when my oldest was little, this was one of his favorites. Check out your local library or amazon.com for poetry by Eve Merriam, including You Be Good and I'll Be Night and A Sky Full of Poems.

One last poet who might be less familiar but who also takes great care in crafting poetry: Valerie Worth. In the wonderful All the Small Poems and Fourteen More, Worth turns every day things--animal, vegetable and mineral--into exquisite works of art. This is a fantastic collection for teaching personification, metaphor and simile, and for emphasizing the power of observation and the craft of language.
The sun
is a leaping fire
too hot
to go near,
But it will still
lie down
in warm yellow squares
on the floor
lie a flat
quilt, where
the cat can curl
and purr.

This is just a tiny taste of the wonderful feast that is the world of poetry. Surf the internet and shuffle through the library bookshelves. If you had a bad experience with poetry in your own schooling, try again--with your child. I promise, you'll both find something you love.

(For more posts on Children's Book Day and National Poetry Month, check out Dewey's Weekly Geeks.)

15 comments:

Maree said...

Great resources! And I agree _ you never know when you might need The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock.
Happy Weekly Geeks :)

claire said...

Love love love your post! I'm a a fan of children's poetry and my children, too. We have 3 Shel Silverstein poetry books. But I've never heard of the other three you mentioned.. Will be looking out for them for sure. I might have a poem or two by them, though, in our Children's Poetry treasury book.. I'll check. Thanks so much for this wonderful post. :D

Marinela said...

I'm a a fan of children's poetry too!

Gavin said...

Wonderful post with lots of great resources. Some titles to add to our school library. Sometimes, at the end of the day, children will grab a book by Prelutsky or Silverstein and read them aloud to each other. It's great fun.

gautami tripathy said...

Wonderful post. Very informative. I will go check the resources!

Review in Senryu

pussreboots said...

Another good selection of poetry for kids and adults is Read Me 1. I'm currently reading it and will review it once I'm done. My Weekly Geeks is here.

Vasilly said...

What a great post! I'm writing down all the titles you wrote about.

Overeducated Twit said...

You never know about Prufrock. I always know my friend's having a bad time when it shows up in her Facebook status updates :).

Dorte H said...

Fine post.
I am not a writer or a poet, but I have written a few psalms recently and quite enjoyed trying it.

Kerrie said...

Excellent post

Rebecca Reid said...

Awesome post! I like poetry but I certainly am not a poet by any stretch of the imagination. I look forward to visiting various poetry "stuff" this month. Thanks for this post.

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful reminder of childhood this post was! One of the books I have treasured the most from those years is my copy of Robert Louis Stephenson's "A Child's Garden of Verse". I find its rhythms influencing my poems even now.

Cheryl Vanatti said...

Excellent, well researched post. Thanks for all that info in one location, bookmarking it for later use.

Dreamybee said...

What a great reminder that poetry can be fun. I get in a rut thinking that poetry always has to be deep, sombre, complicated, and full of symbolism; but Shel Silverstein was one of my favorites as a kid. :)

j said...

Thank you for this post -- my son really seems to enjoy playing with language and I think he would love to read poetry (whereas I am still a bit scared of it; don't want to pass that along).

By the way, my blog lives. I decided to keep it going. Thanks for your support.