Magic (Monday Poem)

by Shel Silverstein


Sandra's seen a leprechcaun,
Eddie touched a troll,
Laurie danced with witches once,
Charlie found some goblin's gold.
Donald heard a mermaid sing,
Susie spied an elf,
But all the magic I have known
I've had to make myself.


from Where the Sidewalk Ends
by Shel Silverstein
1974, HarperCollins 

Computer (Monday Poem)

by Gwendolyn Brooks


A computer is a machine.
A machine is interesting.
A machine is useful.
I can study a computer.
I can use it.

Who made it?
Human beings made it.

I am a human being.
I am warm. I am wise.
I have empathies for animals and people.

I conduct a computer.
A computer does not conduct me.



from The Place My Words Are Looking For
Selected by Paul B. Janeczko
1990, Bradbury Press

Cat Watching a Spider (Monday Poem)

by Julie Fogliano


so silent and certain
a spider
can cause
a watchful and wondering cat
to pause

all prowl and prance
and teeth and claws


from World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art  from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Abrams, $16.99

Poetry for Earth Day (FAMILY magazine reviews)

April is a busy month with poetry activities hosted to spotlight the prominence and strengthen the emphasis and importance of poetry, not only in literature but as a way to focus attention. Also, Earth Day arrives in April, with a myriad of celebratory events to engage people in ways to care for the world that is our home. This month’s reviews do not need to compete with each other for attention. The books featured this month are handsome picture books to celebrate the earth and our environment while also enjoying the rhythm and language that poetry is uniquely recognized for. Enjoy!! 

Earth Verse: Haiku from the Ground Up 

by Sally M. Walker 

illustrated by William Grill

The wonders of the earth and its geology are the focus of this groundbreaking haiku picture book. Often a favorite of both children and adults, haiku can express in lean language even surprising and explosive earth movements like a volcano erupting: “hotheaded mountain / loses its cool, spews ash cloud -- / igneous tantrum.”

            Clearly intended for middle graders and older, Walker crafts poetry that supplies profound contrasts as in these two haiku: “sky shenanigans: / lightning bullies storm clouds with / thunderous results” paired with: “birds sleep in their nests / winds unfurl a fog blanket . . . / leaves sing lullabies.” Her prose endnotes inform readers with clarifications and descriptions that support the poetry with science.

            Gill’s color pencil illustrations, are sometimes abstract, but are often large double page spreads surrounding the usually three lines of poetry. From minerals, rocks and fossils, to earthquakes, volcanoes and glaciers, this unusually engaging picture book of haiku poems introduces readers to what’s below and above Earth’s surface.

Candlewick Press, $17.99

Interest Level: Grade 3 +

Curious Critters by David FitzSimmons

            This amazing picture book of poetry is a stunning collection of animal photographs accompanied with a poem written by the author as if each animal is speaking their own story to the reader. The animal images appear on a completely white background so the reader is able to focus on details that stand out sharply.

            The bush katydid is intriguing, at least in part because of its pink color. In the katydid’s words, “My mother . . .. says her great-great-great grandmother was pink. “That’s how I got my color . . . . handed down to me from my relatives.” And because of the color “other animals decide not to eat me. Would you eat a blue hamburger?”

The elegantly realistic photos paired with FitzSimmons cheerful text are an exciting combination to introduce 21 inhabitants of the natural world.

            Back matter includes, two pages of natural history - a small paragraph for each animal beside a small size photo - life-size silhouettes for readers to solve and identify by their shapes, several challenging questions to consider, and a glossary.

Wild Iris Publishing, $17.99

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 3

 

Among other titles by FitzSimmons from the same publisher and of similar high quality, interest level and cost:

Curious Critters Volume 2

Curious Critters Marine

A Place to Start a Family: Poems About Creatures That Build 

by David L. Harrison

illustrated by Giles Laroche

            A variety of animals and their homes are featured in this beautifully constructed picture book of poems. Mammals (black-tailed prairie dog, star-nosed mole, beaver), insects (termite, paper wasp) fish (stickleback, white-spotted pufferfish), birds (red ovenbird, white stork), arachnids (trapdoor spider, yellow garden spider) and a reptile (king cobra) are shown building underground homes, homes on land, in water and in air.

Harrison’s poems are easy to read and understand. The poems use rhyme, rhythm and repetition to explore how food is captured and nests are created and hidden. Laroche’s illustrations are fashioned from original hand painted cut paper in multiple layers to extend and support the poems. The pages are rich in detail, textures and colors; a memorable combination of science and poetry.

Endmatter includes additional information about each creature, accompanied by suggestions of books for further investigation. The final page is a bonus poem and illustration highlight; “A Different Kind of Builder,” sun coral, the creator of coral reefs.

Charlesbridge, $17.99

Interest Level: Kindergarten – Grade 4

(Loving) the World and Everything in It (Monday Poem)

by Marjory Wentworth


Each day I walk out
onto the damp grass
before the sun has spoken,
because I love the world
and the miracle of morning.

I love to stand beside
the old oak trees
beneath a symphony
of birdsong and listen
to every perfect note

while the wind passes
around me like a warm sea.
Sometimes a feather
drifts down into my hands;
I hold it and imagine flying.


celebrating Mary Oliver



from Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets
by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth
illustrated by Ekua Holmes
2017, Candlewick Press 
 

Tambourine Things (Monday Poem)

by Chris Colderley


When you find a fossil
on Tambourine Mountain,
pick it up gently.
Wipe away the dust
and watch the ghosts dance.

Find a big boulder
under the sinking sun.
Open your hand.
Hold the relic to your ear;
listen to the ancient silence.

Sit together
for the rest of the day.
Remember that the shadows
once belonged to the elders
who made the first footsteps.


celebrating Judith Wright


from Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets
by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth
illustrated by Ekua Holmes
2017, Candlewick Press