Bibliography

Bibliography for my Poetry Blog

America At War. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2008

Dirty Laundry Pile.  Janeczko, Paul B. Illustrations by Melissa Sweet. Harper Collins, New York, NY. 2001.

Good Dog. Gottfried, Maya. Ill. by Robert Rahway Zakanitch. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. 2005.

Hamsters, Shells, and Spelling Bees School Poems.  I Can Read!. Lee Bennett Hopkins. New York: Harper Collings, 2008.

Honey, I Love and other love poems. Greenfield, Eloise.  Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1978]

Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems. Alcaron, Francisco X. Illustrations by Gonzalez, Maya Christina.  Children's Book Press, San Francisco, CA.  1997.

My Own True Name: New and Selected Poems for Young Adults, 1984-1999. Mora, Pat. Pinata Books. Houston, Texas. 2000. 

Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem.   Prelutsky, Jack. Harper Collins, New York, NY. 2008.

Reasons Why I don't Focus.  Asher J.  Venture Home School Program. 2009.

A Pocketful of Poems. Grimes, Nikki Ill. Javaka Steptoe. Clarion Books, New York,  NY. 2001.

Spectacular Science: A Book of Poems. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Ill. Halstead, Virginia. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.  New York, NY. 1999.

Stop Pretending:What happened when my big sister went crazy. Sones, Sonya. Harper Collins Publishing. New York, NY.  1999

Twelve Rounds to Glory: The Story of Muhammad Ali. Smith Jr., Charles R. Illustrated by Bryan Collier.  Candlewick Press, Cambridge, MS. 2007.

What My Mother doesn't Know. Sones, Sonya.  New York, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. 2001.

 Where the Sidewalk Ends.   Silverstein, Shell. Harper Collins Publishers. New York, NY. 2004

(special 30th anniversary edition)

Wing Nuts: Screwy Haiku.  Janeczko, Paul B.  and J. Patrick Lewis. New York:  Little, Brown and Company.2006.

Wonderful Words Poems about Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Illustrations by Karen Barbour. Simon & Schuster. 2004.

Zoo's Who. Florian, Douglas.  Harcourt Publishing, New York, NY. 2005

Serious Topic

Stop Pretending:What happened when my big sister went crazy. Sones, Sonya. Harper Collins Publishing. New York, NY.  1999

Introduction:

Ask students to think about things that have happened in their lives, serious events that maybe they were embarrassed about, but had no control over.  Give them a few minutes to ponder that thought.  Then introduce the verse novel Stop Pretending: What happened when my big sister went crazy by Sonya Sones.    Explain that it is a poetry book and that each "chapter" is a verse in the poem.  Read the inside of the dust jacket to the class, giving them more information on the novel.

Next, tell the class you would like to read a few of the verses from the novel:

Molly, Kate         and Me

Last Thursday

I finally got the courage up

  to tell Molly and Kate

about my sister.

They were so nice about it.

So understanding.

At first.

But now they ignore me,

and every morning

when I walk to school

I can see them up ahead, 

shoulder to cold shoulder,

freezing me out.

Allow a few minutes for the class to let this poem sink in, then reread it. 

Ask "has anyone ever had a friend turn on you? or "dump" you when you really needed a friend?"   "Or, have you ever dropped a friend when things got rocky in their life?" (don't ask students to answer, just think about the questions)

Next read:

During History Class

I notice

Molly scribbling something

on a scrap of paper.

She passes it to Lindsey

when Mrs. Ray isn't looking.

Lindsey reads it and giggles,

peeking in my direction.

She passes it to Jessica

who stifles a laugh and passes it to Rachel

who grins and passes it to Megan.

Megan's sitting right next to me.

She reads it and snickers

but doesn't pass it to me.

Instead she crumples it up

and stuffs it into her desk.

When Megan gets called up

to read her report to the class,

I sneak my hand into her desk

and pull out 

the note.

It says:

COOKIE'S SISTER IS CUCKOO.

And underneath the words

is a drawing of a girl

with her eyes crossed

and her hair looking like she just

stuck her finger into an electric outlet.

I cram the note

into my pocket

and pray for the bell to ring

so I can escape

before anyone sees my face.

I hate them all.

These two verses could be used as a lesson on friendship or how to treat others, or how not to treat others.  An idea would be to have students write about a time they were treated badly by someone they thought was a friend, or how they treated a friend badly.  This could be used to build character and to open the door for discussions on keeping a friend's confidence when they share something private and personal with you.

I feel this would be a great activity for middle schooler and high schoolers. They are dealing with so many issues and so often are betrayed by someone they thought was a friend.

http://www.sonyasones.com/

Paul B. Janeczko, Dirty Laundry Pile

Dirty Laundry Pile.  Janeczko, Paul B. Illustrations by Melissa Sweet. Harper Collins, New York, NY. 2001.

Dirty Laundry Pile  by Paul B. Janeczko and illustrated by Melissa Sweet is a compilation of poems by a variety of authors. Each poem is written in the voice of the object or thing the poem is about. It is so much fun to read a poem that lets you know what a  broom is thinking while sweeping, or what bacterium enjoys about lurking in your food.  It also puts these everyday objects on a new level, and makes you look at other "everyday objects" with a different perspective.

The poems vary from a slightly serious topic such as "The Cow's Complaint" to just plain funny and silly, like "Washing Machine".  Each poet creatively writes about their object in such a way that most people have probably never looked at that object, such as does dirty laundry know or even care that it begins to smell after sitting on the floor in a pile?   Or does a hippopotamus get tired or wallowing in the mud? Would it rather do something else?

I think this book could be used in different ways. It would be great for poetry  breaks, the poems are all short and fun and grab your attention right away.  It could also be used to demonstrate different ways to write poetry, that it does not have to be serious or "true", it can be make-believe or your own version of "true".   Many of the poems lend themselves to a fun way to introduce a new subject in the classroom,  an example would be "Crayon Dance" by April Halprin Wayland, what a fun poem to use in an Art class or art lesson.  What a wonderful poem to put on a poster and have displayed in the classroom.  For wintertime the poem "Prayer of a Snowflake" by Cynthia Pederson would be fun to share with the class, or even share it on a hot day to help everyone "cool off" a bit.

I enjoyed reading this book of poetry and feel it would be a perfect addition to any poetry collection.

Texas Bluebonnet 2004-2005

Lesson Ideas and connections by Suzy Red:  http://suzyred.com/2004dirtylaundrypile.html

Poem written by a student

Poetry  Break:

Introduction:

This poem was written by a student of mine. Listen closely as I read it, and enjoy.

Reasons Why I don't Focus

by Asher J

music

guitar

write it up

talking

texting

dude what's up!?!?

daydreams

questions

thoughtfulness

dirty 

bedroom

what a mess!!!

playing

fighting

lots of fun

boyfriends

best friends

nothing done.

Allow the poem to sink in for a minute, then reread it again.  After reading it the second time, ask students to list reasons they don't "focus".  Make a list on a large sheet of paper or white board as they name their reasons.

After making an extensive list, reread the poem again. 

If time allows, use this as a Poetry lesson and encourage students to choose one of the reasons they listed as a topic to write a poem about.  

Another way to extend the poem would be to allow students to line up and each read 1 word out loud from the poem. It would be fun to hear this poem read in a variety of different voices, and to see how the students emphasize the word they are reading.

Reasons Why I don't Focus.  Asher J.  Venture Home School Program. 2009.

Newer Book Poetry Choice

Prelutsky, Jack.  Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem.  Harper Collins, New York, NY. 2008.

While browsing the poetry section of my local public library, I ran across this book. The title was interesting and it met the date requirements for my current assignment, so I checked it out.  I am thrilled that this book was there waiting for me to come along. It is a true gem and I am so thankful I found it, checked it out and took the time to read it.

I've read some of Jack Prelutsky's work and have enjoyed it, I've even incorporated a poem or two into  a lesson or Language Arts assignment for my students. After reading this book, Pizza, Pigs. and Poetry: How to Write a Poem, I will be a loyal fan of Jack Prelutsky for the rest of my life.

In this book Prelutsky both encourages and supports kids, or anyone reading the book, to write poetry. He makes it sound  fun, exciting and "doable", and I feel that many people will take a stab at writing a poem after reading this book.

The book is written in small segments and each segment includes a narrative about an event in Prelutsky's life then how he used that event to write a poem, then the poem he wrote. He gives wonderful advice for writing and repeats over and over the importance of keeping notebooks and writing down ideas, then going back to those ideas for future poetry. 

The format Prelutsky uses for this book makes it an easy read, it also makes you laugh out loud as well as feel nostalgic about various events that have happened in your own life.  I think this book would be a great one to use in a classroom setting, not only for poetry but for any form of writing. 

After reading the personal experiences in Jack Prelutsky's life his poems take on a whole new persona. When reading one of his poems and thinking back on what you've learned about the poet that wrote them, you feel a strong connection to the poems and want to start keeping your own notebook right away.

This book is a must have! I think every library should have multiple copies and create a display of Jack Prelutsky's work. I feel confident this book will single-handedly create many poets in the near future.

A few other books by Jack Prelutsky:

Poetry Book Review: New Book

Gottfried, Maya. Good Dog. Ill. by Robert Rahway Zakanitch. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. 2005.

I have adored this book since the first time I picked it up.  Maya Gottfried and Robert Rahway Zakanitch must be "dog people" to have put together a book that will touch the hearts of other "dog people" such as myself.

The poems are whimsical and fun, each one shows a different aspect of the various breed they are about. Some are a little on the "pitiful" side, like Memo To: My Person  about a Pekingese that had an accident and stained the piano bench. My heart goes out to that little dog and the agony he appears to be going threw over this accident.

Others are hard to read out loud because I can barely contain my laughter, such as the poem by a Pomeranian who just received a hairdo and is not happy about it. The illustration of this poem is absolutely hilarious!

Excerpt from this poem:

"Look at me!

Hair! Hair! Hair! I can barely see!

Now I'm as round as a powder puff.

This is just embarrassing."

I think this book is a must have in every library, it is fun to read, and would be excellent for struggling readers to build their confidence. It would also appeal to most students that have a dog or want to have a dog as a pet.

Refrain

 

Silverstein, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends. Harper Collins Publishers. New York, NY. 2004

(special 30th anniversary edition)

Introduction:  The teacher, a student or both could be jumping rope as the class comes into the library.   After all students are seated and wondering what is going on, turn out the lights and turn on the overhead that has the poem written on it.

Read the poem out loud.

Jumping Rope

by Shel Silverstein

This started out as a 

jumping rope

You probably think that

I'm a dope

But this started out as a 

jumping rope

And now I fear there is

no hope

But this started out as a 

jumping rope.

Give the students a few minutes to ponder the poem, then ask them to close their eyes and listen to it again. This time read the poem a little slower with a strong emphasis on the refrain line "this started out as a jumping rope".

Turn on the lights and ask students to brainstorm what they think happened, and why the poet keeps repeating that line over and over in the poem.  

After hearing ideas, open a copy of the book and show them the illustration that accompanies the poem.

www.shelsilverstein.com