ShareThisShow your children how to play with words -- read some poetry together!
To get you started, here's a look at some great new poetry books for kids:
-- Poet Nikki Giovanni has gathered a rhythmic collection of poems in "Hip Hop Speaks To Children: A Celebration of Poetry With a Beat" (Sourcebooks, $19.99). Giovanni provides an introduction to hip-hop, complete with a succinct definition --"Poetry with a beat. That's hip hop in a flash." -- then offers suggestions for exploring the book and its accompanying CD. The book's poems range from serious ("If We Must Die" by Claude McKay) to fun ("Harlem Hopscotch" by Maya Angelou). (Ages 8-12.)
-- Bill Martin Jr. made his name as the author of such classic children's picture books as "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" and "Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom."
But, as author-illustrator Eric Carle notes in "The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry" (Simon & Schuster, $21), Martin himself didn't learn to truly read until he was in his late teens when a teacher taught him to read through rhythm. As a result, Martin became a lifelong poetry fan, as demonstrated in this sparkling collection of nearly 200 poems by some of Martin's favorite poets, including Robert Frost, Christina Rossetti, Langston Hughes and Margaret Wise Brown.
Their poetry is complemented by wonderful artwork created by a number of artists, including Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka, Steven Kellogg and Ashley Bryan. This volume offers something for a variety of ages and is a perfect pick for family bookshelves. (Ages 3 up.)
-- In "A Mirror To Nature" (Wordsong, $17.95), poet Jane Yolen and her photographer son Jason Stemple invite young readers to reflect on the natural wonder around them. Stemple's gorgeously clear photographs spotlight various animals and their reflections in surrounding water, while Yolen's poetry plays with the mirror theme. Yolen also includes a fact or two about each of the animals, adding to the interest of this book. (Ages 6-10.)
-- In 2006, Jack Prelutsky was named the first U.S. Children's Poet Laureate, honored for his 40-year career of creating comic poetry for children. Now, more than 100 of Prelutsky's poems have been collected in a new treasury, "Be Glad Your Nose Is On Your Face: And Other Poems" (Greenwillow, $22.99).
Illustrated with colorful panache by Brandon Dorman, this book showcases some of Prelutsky's best work, from the title poem to "We're Fearless Flying Hot Dogs" to "A Pizza the Size of the Sun." This hefty volume includes 15 new poems, a CD with Prelutsky reading some of his poetry and even some activities -- word searches, etc. -- suggested by Prelutsky's poems. This is a collection that kids will dip into time and again. (Ages 5 up.)
-- Lee Bennett Hopkins, another beloved children's poet, takes readers on a vibrant tour of great international metropolises in "City I Love" (Abrams, $16.95). Featuring Marcellus Hall's buoyant illustrations, Hopkins' book offers 18 poems celebrating city life. As Hopkins writes in the opening poem, "Sing a song of cities./If you do,/Cities will sing back/To you." (Ages 5-10.)
-- Hopkins is the editor of another collection of poetry, "Incredible Inventions" (Greenwillow, $17.99), which combines non-fiction with verse. The 16 poems focus on all kinds of inventions; in "In Here, Kitty, Kitty," for example, poet Marilyn Singer praises the invention of kitty litter, while Hopkins himself writes of a popular frozen treat in "What To Do With a Popsicle." Hopkins concludes the volume with information on each invention. The illustrations by Julia Sarcone-Roach add colorful verve to a fun combination of fact and fancy. (Ages 5-10.)
-- Young readers will laugh out loud as they make their way through "The Underwear Salesman And Other Jobs For Better Or Verse" (Atheneum, $16.99). Once again, poet J. Patrick Lewis shows a genius for creating silly poetry with a point as he writes of several dozen mostly unusual occupations, including sword swallower, sunken-treasure hunter and tiger tamer. Serge Bloch's wonderful collage illustrations underline this book's comic intentions. (Ages 8-12.)
-- Fans of felines will revel in "A Curious Collection of Cats" (Tricycle Press, $16.99), in which poet Betsy Franco and artist Michael Wertz team up to present 32 concrete poems on all aspects of a tabby's life. Wertz' bold artwork works perfectly with Franco's saucy poetry. (Ages 7-10.)
-- Charles Smith Jr. takes one of Langston Hughes' most famous poems and gives it a wonderful new look in "My People" (Atheneum, $17.99). Smith, a poet himself, also is a master photographer and uses his skill to create dramatic sepia portraits of African-Americans that bring out the meaning in each line of Hughes' brief but powerful poem. (Ages 5 up.)
(Karen MacPherson, the children's/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library, can be reached at Kam.Macpherson(at)gmail.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com)
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