Poetry in the Classroom - In the Big City

I read (and write) a lot of poetry about animals and nature, but I am also quite fond of poems about the city. Good poems about the city capture the sights, sounds and smells and catapult me back my days walking the streets of New York City. Life in the big city is vastly different from the rural area where I grew up, and for many students, life in the big city may be just as foreign. Here are some poetry selections that capture life in the city.

City I Love, written by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Marcellus Hall, is a collection of poems that Lee wrote about city life and living. Even though the illustrations depict cities around the world, the sights, sounds, and sentiments are the same. You'll find poems here about subways, taxis, zoos, weather, bridges, lights and more. I can't say enough about how much these poems made me want to run right off to to the big city for a fix. You'll feel the same when you read them. Here is my favorite poem from the collection

MOTHER'S PLEA

Silence sirens.

Hush all horns.

Quiet rumbling

                    traffic roars.

Please
city

                    have
                    some
                    pity.

Promise me

                    not
                    one
                    more
                    beep?

My newborn

                    pigeons
                    need
                    their
                    sleep.

Poem ©Lee Bennett Hopkins. All rights reserved.

Two more books I like to use for capturing the spirit of the city are Mural on Second Avenue and Other City Poems, written by Lilian Moore and illustrated by Roma Karas and Sky Scrape/City Scape: Poems of City Life, with poems selected by Jane Yolen and illustrated by Ken Condon.

Mural on Second Avenue is a collection of 17 poems that celebrates the city through the seasons and at different times of day. Accompanied by vibrant oil illustrations, the city, as seen through the eyes of a young boy, comes to life. Whether it's looking out the window, walking through the neighborhood, or playing in the park, the poems in this book exude the energy of the city and its inhabitants. There are poems here about building skyscrapers, going around corners, window reflections, pigeons, a mural (lending itself to the title of the book), bridges and more. One of my favorites is this poem about the skyline.

Roofscape
The lines are
straight
and
many-cornered--
plunging,
rising high.

From my window
I can see
how roofs
design a sky.

Poem ©Lillian Moore. All rights reserved.

Sky Scrape/City Scape is an anthology of poems selected by Jane Yolen. The 25 poems contained inside come from notables like Langston Hughes, Myra Cohn Livingston, Jane Yolen, Carl Sandburg, Lee Bennett Hopkins and many others. The illustrations show crowded streets, fire escapes, graffiitied walls, buildings tall, a garbage dump, and much more. This collection of poems is full of life and almost as energetic as the city itself. Many of the poems on a double-page spread are connected thematically, like the series of poems on skyscrapers or those on street cleaning. Here is an excerpt from a poem by Norma Farber.

Manhattan Lullaby
Lulled by rumble, babble, beep,
let these little children sleep;
let these city girls and boys
dream a music in the noise,
hear a tune their city plucks
up from buses, up from trucks
up from engines wailing fire!
up ten stories high, and higher,

Poem ©Norma Farber. All rights reserved.

One more book I recommend including in this set is the updated classic by Gwendolyn Brooks, Bronzeville Boys and Girls. Originally published in 1956, this new version is beautifully illustrated by Faith Ringgold. Each poem in this collection of 34 contains the name of a child. This child is either the subject of the poem or the person delivering it. Set in a Chicago neighborhood, these short poems highlight the highs and lows of life in the city, particularly big cities where many are poor. Even though most of the poems are light-hearted, a few are sad. An element of social consciousness is also evident in this collection. Here are a few examples.

Robert, Who is Often a Stranger to Himself
Do you ever look in the looking-glass
And see a stranger there?
A child you know and do not know,
Wearing what you wear?


Michael Is Afraid of the Storm
Lightning is angry in the night,
Thunder spanks our house.
Rain is hating our old elm—
It punishes the boughs.
Now, I am next to nine years old,
And crying’s not for me.
But if I touch my mother’s hand,
Perhaps no one will see.

Poems ©Gwendolyn Brooks. All rights reserved.

Altogether, these books provide varied glimpses of life in the city and what children living there may experience.

If you want to do some poetry writing about the city but can't get there, here are some resources to inspire you.

• Carefree Cities has an online catalog of city photographs from all over the world.
• NYCfoto has photos of New York City from every angle.
• The world city photo archive contains more than 12,000 photos of cities worldwide.
• National Geographic's Ultimate Cities Guide contains many city photos.

Poetry in the Classroom - Concrete Poetry

What is a concrete poem? On his web site John Grandits says that "Concrete poems are poems that use fonts, and shape, and texture, and color, and sometimes motion."

In the last few years, many new concrete poetry books have been added to my list of favorites. I'm going to share a few here. Keep in mind that concrete poetry is about the marriage of words and form. Therefore, you need to SEE them to truly appreciate them. That means this post will have lots of links to sites where you can see the art in these poems.

A Curious Collection of Cats (2009) and its follow-up, A Dazzling Display of Dogs (2011), both written by Betsy Franco and illustrated by Michael Wertz, are collections that explore the peculiarities and absurdities of cats and dogs in wildly energetic ways. First, just look at those covers! If the use of animals in forming the letters of the titles doesn't immediately suck you in, then hopefully a few of these interior shots will. Michael Wertz has generously posted images from the books on his Flickr stream. Take a look at these images from CATS and these from DOGS.

Technically, It's Not My Fault (2004) and Blue Lipstick (2007), both written and designed by John Grandits, are two collections designed for older readers. The first book is written from the point of view of a young boy named Robert. The poems reveal Robert's concerns with all things adolescent. He is at turns smart then immature. Poems topics include his older sister, the school bus (dubbed TyrannosaurBus Rex), ordering pizza for dinner, mowing the lawn and more. The second book is written from the point of view of Robert's older sister, Jessie. Her concerns are those of a typical teen, but Jessie is anything but typical. She is funny, sarcastic, and totally her own person. Poem topics include a bad hair day, a pep rally, volleyball practice, Advanced English, her mother's birthday and more. Both books use graphic design in unusual and surprising ways. You can see a few of the poems from TECHNICALLY and LIPSTICK on Grandits' web site. You can see a few more images using Google Book Preview for both TECHNICALLY AND LIPSTICK. Finally, be sure to visit Grandits' concrete poetry page often, as a new concrete poem is posted each month. Right now the poem being shared is "My Stupid Day."

Two books written by Joan Bransfield Graham, Splish Splash (2001) illustrated by Steve Scott, and Flicker Flash (2003) illustrated by Nancy Davis, are collections of concrete poems about the physical world. SPLISH SPLASH is a collection of 21 poems about water in a myriad of forms, including crocodile tears, ice cube, popsicle, snow, hail, dew and more. FLICKER FLASH is a collection of 23 poems that explores natural and man-made light sources, including the sun, birthday candles, an incubator bulb, lightning, a firefly, and more. At Google Books you can see examples from both SPLISH SPLASH and FLICKER FLASH.

Doodle Dandies, written by J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Lisa Desimini, uses wordplay and surprising "movement" to make the topics come alive. The 19 poems in this book cover a variety of subjects, including giraffe, weeping willow, skyscraper, baseball, basketball, the oyster family, and more. Synchronized Swim Team uses the legs of upside-down swimmers to make its point, while Creep and Slither appears in the shape of a snake, until midpoint when the bulging word bull frog announces what's been eaten. You can view some poems/images from the book at Lisa Desimini's web site.

A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems, selected by Paul Janeczko and illustrated by Chris Raschka, includes a wide range of poems that are cleverly shaped and written. Eskimo Pie and Popsicle are both poems in the shape of ice cream. Swan and Shadow looks exactly like its title and is a lovely piece of work. You can view an inside spread from the book and download an activity page from the Candlewick web site. You can also get a brief preview from Google Books. Notice that the table of contents is in the form of a table!
Poetry Basics: Concrete Poetry, written by Valerie Bodden, is an analysis of the concrete poetry form, beginning with its origins and history while providing a range of examples through the present day. Here are some of the things Bodden says about this form.

The goal of the type of poetry known as concrete is to have the shape or appearance of a poem reflect what the words express (p.3).

While most traditional poems are meant to be read, concrete poems are meant to be seen. Looking at a concrete poem can be almost like looking at a painting. In fact, if you try to read a concrete poem out loud, much of its meaning may be lost (p.12).

The book ends with a section entitled "Think Like a Poet," which provides steps and encouragement for readers to write their own concrete poems. Also included are a list of books for further reading, a glossary, and bibliography.
Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry, written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Michelle Berg, is the story of a dog and cat trapped under a picnic table in a rainstorm. Since much of the verse forms the images on the page, readers will enjoy searching for the buried verses while reading the story. You can find a reader's guide at Joyce Sidman's site for MEOW RUFF.

Concrete poems are fun to write and challenge children to think in different ways about the objects and events they see in their world. For additional ideas on writing concrete poetry, here are some resources you may find useful.

• At the readwritewiki you can find a lesson for using A POKE IN THE I to help students write their own concrete poems.
  
• You can write concrete poetry online with the tools at Shape Poems or Concrete Poetry.
  
• This site has ideas for writing concrete Poetry related to the Wright Brothers historic flight.
• Learn more about graphic poetry from Brad Burg.
• The BBC Visual Poetry site includes a page of visual poetry.
  
• At ReadWriteThink you can find a lesson plan entitled Discovering Poetic Form and Structure Using Concrete Poems.
• Poets.org has a guide to concrete poetry.
• Laura Shovan of Author Amok has a nice lesson for teaching students to write concrete poetry.
  
• Wordle is an interesting site for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide.
• Encourage students to write their own poems using these shape patterns as a guide.
  

Have I missed a favorite book of concrete poetry? If so, please let me know. I'd love to add it to the list.

Poetry Friday - A Shower

I'm still reading the poetry of Amy Lowell. This piece was published in 1919 in a volume entitled Pictures of the Floating World.

A Shower
by Amy Lowell

That sputter of rain, flipping the hedge-rows
And making the highways hiss,
How I love it!
And the touch of you upon my arm
As you press against me that my umbrella
May cover you.

Tinkle of drops on stretched silk.
We murmur though green branches.

This poem and the book it was published in are in the public domain and have been digitized and made available by Google. You can read the entire volume simply by downloading a copy.

Week 3 of National Poetry Month continued with the following poetry in the classroom posts.

15 - Family Poems
16 - Feline Felicity
17 - In the Garden
18 - Snakes
19 - Small Things
20 - Notable Women
21 - On Your Feet

The round up is being hosted by Kate Coombs of Book Aunt. Do take some time to enjoy all the terrific posts this week. Before you go, be sure to check out this week's poetry stretch results. Happy poetry Friday all!

Poetry in the Classroom - On Your Feet

I am not a shoe fanatic by any stretch of the imagination (I wear the same few pairs over and over and repair them so I can keep them!), but as a poetry lover it appears that I have a fondness for shoes.

Shoe Bop!, written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Hiroe Nakata, is a story told in a collection of 29 poems connected by prose pieces. Here's how it begins.

Purple Sneakers

You purple sneakers, eight months old,
I've loved with all my heart.
We walked, we danced, we ran for miles.
Too bad you fell apart.

Now Mama says, "Aww, don't feel sad.
I've got exciting news.
We'll take the bus, we'll head downtown,
and you can choose new shoes!"

Poem ©Marilyn Singer. All rights reserved.

And shop they do, but how is a girl to choose? There are high heels, moccasins, galoshes, sneakers, light-up shoes, noisy shoes and oh so many other styles. Different shoes are tried on and the features of each are considered. It's the examination of these styles that Singer serves up in a variety of poetic forms.

High Heels

I like how it feels
to wear high heels,
platforms or wedges.
I can peek over hedges.
I can reach a tall shelf.
I am so proud of myself.
Mama says, "No,
wait till you grow."
But isn't it true
that's what heels
make you do?

Poem ©Marilyn Singer. All rights reserved.

So what does she choose? You can't possibly believe I'd tell you now, can you? You'll have to read this one for yourself!
Shoe Magic, written by Nikki Grimes and illustrated by Terry Widener, is a collection of 16 poems that uses shoes as a means to explore the lives of children and their hopes and dreams. Just imagine what putting on a special pair of shoes can do! The nice thing about this collection is that these just aren't any old shoes. You'll find flippers, tap shoes, cleats, skates, sandals, golf shoes, work boots, and more. Here are the opening and closing poems.

The Shoe Rack

The shoe rack
Is stacked
With promise,

With dreams
Waiting
To wake.

What you do,
Where you go,
Who you grow

Up to be
Depends on
The steps you take.


Slippers

Rest your soles.
Spread your toes.
Curl, breath deep.
There now, Dreamer,
Hush. . . .
            Sleep.

Poems ©Nikki Grimes. All rights reserved.

Button Up!: Wrinkled Rhymes, written by Alice Schertle and illustrated by Petra Mathers, is a collection of poems about clothing, but there are poems in here about shoes! You'll find "The Song of Harvey's Galoshes" and "Jennifer's Shoes." I am, however, partial to this shoe-related poem.

Bertie's Shoelaces

Good old Bertie,
he lets us hang around.
It doesn't bother Bertie
when we drag along the ground.
We're not up tight
as our Bertie Buddy knows.
We're hang loose laces and
we don't do bows!

Poem ©Alice Schertle. All rights reserved.

Now that you've read a bit of shoe poetry for children, check out the article at Poets.org entitled Favorite Fit: A Shoe Expert Tries on Poetry. In it you'll find some adult shoe poetry by the likes of Amy Lowell and Charles Simic.

Poetry in the Classroom - Notable Women

While growing up I liked to pretend to be famous women--Amelia Earhart, Diane Fossey, Marie Curie (apparently all dead women!), and others. I never had any aspirations to be famous, but certainly wanted to emulate some of their personal qualities. I have several books of poetry dedicated to notable women that capture some of these traits.

All by Herself: 14 Girls Who Made a Difference, written by Ann Whitford Paul and illustrated by Michael Steirnagle, is a book of biographical poems about girls who grew into women of note. The poems focus on the experiences in their early lives that helped shape who they became. You'll find verses here about Amelia Earhart, Mary Jane McLeod, Violet Sheehy, Rachel Carson, Sacajawea, Ida Lewis, Harriet Hanson, Wilma Rudolph, Wanda Gág, Kate Shelley, Pocahontas, Maria Mitchell, Golda Mabovitch (Meir), and Frances Ward. Here is an excerpt from one of the poems.

Rachel Carson

When Rachel was a child,
she hiked alone around her farm
and learned the names of flowers growing wild
and bugs and birds and trees.

When Rachel was a child,
after chores of milking cows
and making cheese, collecting eggs
she read.
Her fondness was for nature books.
Sometimes she made up stories in her head
and wrote them down.

Poem ©Ann Whitford Paul. All rights reserved.

At the beginning of the back matter you'll find this poem.

Afterword
Each by herself has acted strong.
This book is short,
but could be long.
Many girls have done the same,
but there's not room
for every name.

How true. When you reach the end of this collection you'll want more poems, more stories, more information about the amazing women that have helped to shape our history. The end notes describe a bit about each girl and the experience described in the verse, as well as what the girl went on to do in adulthood. A biography for further reading is included.
Borrowed Names: Poems About Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C.J. Walker, Marie Curie, and Their Daughters, written by Jeannine Atkins, tells the story of three daughters moving from childhood to adulthood. Each of the three sections of the book begins with a bit of backstory about the mother and daughter and where their story in poems begins. The poems convey a real sense of person, and after reading them you feel you really know these women in an intimate way.

Irene Curie's story begins with birth of her younger sister and follows with the untimely death of her father, living with grief, her mother's second Nobel medal, war, Irene's studies at the Sorbonne, working side-by-side with her mother, and more. Here' are excerpts from two of the Curie poems.

from Without School Bells (p. 160-161)

Irene can't worry about yawns or crushes.
She needs to comprehend
the laws of radiance, reflection, refraction.
Every question and answer binds her
to the one world her mother loves.


from Paris (p. 185)

Irene and Mé now work side by side, though Irene
can't forget one of them
keeps two Nobel Prizes in her bureau.

Poems ©Jeannine Atkins. All rights reserved.

As with the other stories in the book, Irene's ends with a section entitled Legacies, that tells of her life after her mother's death. The book ends with a timeline marking important events in the lives of the three mothers and daughters. A selected bibliography is also included.
VHERSES: A Celebration of Outstanding Women, written by J. Patrick Lewis and illustrated by Mark Summer, is a collection of 13 poems celebrating some remarkable women, including Emily Dickinson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Georgia O'Keefe, Martha Graham, Amelia Earhart, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Rachel Carson, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Fitzgerald, Gertrude Ederle, Anne Frank, Jane Goodall, and the Williams sisters (Venus and Serena). Here is the poem about Georgia O'Keefe.

Unstill Life

Master of the shifting shape,
Botanical and desertscape,

Her orchid still lifes might have meant
To call to mind a continent

Of love. The space of Western skies
Is fixed win the longhorn's empty eyes.

Romantic vistas hum out loud
Beneath the mesa's patterned cloud.

She gave bleached bones and ancient skulls
More life than living animals

That haunt the still and soft light show
Of her beloved New Mexico.

What is it if it is not art
That turns the handle of the heart?

Poem ©J. Patrick Lewis. All rights reserved.

Each of the poems is accompanied by a gorgeous portrait and a bit of interesting information about the subject.

I hope some of these poems have inspired you as much as they inspire me. If you want to learn more about notable women, visit some of these sites.

• Women in History: Living Vignettes of Women From the Past
• National Women's Hall of Fame
• Distinguished Women of Past and Present
• EDSITEment: Exploring Women's History
• Famous Women Inventors
• Women's History Month Resources from the Library of Congress
  

Have I missed a book of poetry about important women past or present? If so, please let me know.

Poetry in the Classroom - Small Things

Today I'm thinking small, and for me that immediately brings to mind Valerie Worth.

All the Small Poems and Fourteen More, written by Valerie Worth with pictures by Natalie Babbitt, is a compilation of all four of Worth's Small Poems books in one volume. There are fourteen new poems that extend Worth's meditations on the world around us. All of these poems are written in free verse and make extraordinary the very ordinary things we see.

In Pass the Poetry, Please!, an introduction to children's poets by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Worth said, "Written poetry is simply a way of revealing and celebrating the essentially poetic nature of the world itself." Here are two poems that celebrate and reveal things we often see, but don't really think much of.

grass

Grass on the lawn
Says nothing:
Clipped, empty,
Quiet.

Grass in the fields
Whistles, slides,
Casts up a foam
Of seeds,

Tangles itself
With leaves: hides
Whole rustling schools
Of mice.


lawnmower

The lawnmower
Grinds its teeth
Over the grass,
Spitting out a thick
Green spray;

Its head is too full
Of iron and oil
To know
What it throws
Away:

The lawn’s whole
Crop of chopped
Soft,
Delicious
Green hay.

Poems ©Valerie Worth. All rights reserved.

I posted this picture with the Gone to the Dogs post, but it's worth posting again, since it is a Valerie Worth poem.

Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Poems About Small Things, selected by Myra Cohn Livingston, is a collection of poems about the little things in life. There are poems here by Karla Kuskin, Langston Hughes, Charlotte Zolotow, David McCord, J. Patrick Lewis, X.J. Kennedy, Shakespeare, and more. Here is a poem from each of the three sections of the book.

The chicken scratching
for food in the dirt stirs up
tiny tornadoes.

Poem ©Kristine O'Connell George. All rights reserved.


Milkweed

In the soft summer air
a piece of fluff from some milkweed
drifts by
like a little floating cloud
full of seeds

Poem ©Charlotte Zolotow. All rights reserved.


Time Piece

Take the back off the watch
and see that universe of small parts,
bobbing and turning,
each doing what it should be doing,
and ignoring you completely.

Poem ©William Cole. All rights reserved.

I'd like to leave you with these words about poetry. They can be found in the book The Place My Words Are Looking For: What Poets Say About and Through Their Work, a book edited by Paul Janeczko that contains the poems, advice, anecdotes, and recollections of 39 poets. Here's what Worth had to say.

"One of poetry’s most wonderful features is that it can get beneath the surface of things and explore them not as mere objects but as remarkable phenomena with lively personalities of their own. Articles as coat hangers can take on unexpected dimensions within the realm of a poem; and if this can happen with coat hangers, then the world must be filled with other ‘ordinary’ subjects just waiting for poetry to come along and reveal their extraordinary selves."

I hope you'll take some time to explore ordinary things made extraordinary in these poems.

Poetry in the Classroom - Snakes!

After writing a thematic list for dog poetry and one for cat poetry, I was encouraged (thanks, Tanita!) to give snakes equal time. Since I could not find a single book of snake poetry out there (though there are plenty of poetry books with snake in the title), I decided to focus on books that included poems about snakes. There are many animal poetry books that include snakes among the topics. These are some of my favorites.
Lizards, Frogs, and Polliwogs by Douglas Florian - In 21 poems, brilliantly illustrated, Florian introduces readers to all manner of amphibians and reptiles. You'll find poems about the python, cobra, and diamondback rattlesnake. Here is my favorite of the three.

The Diamondback Rattlesnake

Fork in front,
Rattle behind.
The lump in the middle?
Don't pay any mind.

Scales up high,
Scales down low.
The lump in the middle?
You don't want to know.

Diamonds above,
Diamonds below.
The lump in the middle?
A rabbit too slow.

Poem ©Douglas Florian. All rights reserved.

Turtle in July written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney - This collection of nature poems includes poems that pair animals with the months of the year as well as four seasonal poems focused on the bullhead (a type of catfish). The pairing of the animals with the months is nicely made. For example, October is the Canada goose, January the white-tailed deer, and March the brown bear. My favorite poem is the book is for the month of September.

Timber Rattlesnake

Summer it still is
    Yes
September stones
Warm bones
Warm blood
Strike I still can
    Yes
Snare and swallow the harvesting mouse
                            the shuffling rat
But slant they do the sun's rays
Shorter grow the days
    Yes
Soon September stones
Chill bones
Chill blood
Stiff shall I grow
And so below I'll slide
Beneath stones
Beneath soil
Coil I still can
    Yes
Sleep safe
Sleep sound
Snake underground

Poem ©Marilyn Singer. All rights reserved.

Bees, Snails, & Peacock Tails, written by Betsy Franco and illustrated by Steve Jenkins - This one isn't a book of poems, but rather a poetic text that explores surprising and hidden shapes and patterns in nature. Here is an excerpts on snakes.

On diamondback snakes
and on copperhead snakes
you'll recognize diamond and triangle shapes.

The snake rubs its nose on a branch or a rock,
then takes off its skin like a knee-high sock.

Off comes the old skin and waiting below,
repeating designs appear in a row.

Text ©Betsy Franco. All rights reserved.

Creatures of Earth, Sea, and Sky , written by Georgia Heard and illustrated by Jennifer Owings Dewey - This is a collection of 17 poems about a range of animals from hummingbirds to elephants. There is one snake poem in this book.

DRESSING LIKE A SNAKE

A snake changes it clothes
only twice a year.
Beginning with its nose,
peeling down to its toes:
new clothes suddenly appear.
Wouldn't it be nice
to dress only twice
instead of each day of the year?

Poem ©Georgia Heard. All rights reserved.

Desert Voices, written by Byrd Baylor and illustrated by Peter Parnall - In this collection of free verse poems, the rattlesnake, buzzard, coyote, cactus wren, jackrabbit, lizard, and other animals tell why they like living in the desert. Here's an excerpt from the rattlesnake poem.

Rattlesnake

I move so flat against
the earth
that I know all
its mysteries.

I understand
the way sun
clings to rocks
after the sun is gone.

I understand
the long cold shadows
that wrap themselves
around me
and slow my blood
and call me back
into the earth.

On the south side of
a rocky slope
where sun can warm
my hiding place,
I wait for the cold
that draws me into
sleep.

Poem ©Byrd Baylor. All rights reserved.

This Big Sky, written by Pat Mora and illustrated by Steve Jenkins - The 14 poems in this collection bring the sights and sounds of the desert southwest to life. Poems about the sky, an old snake, a horned lizard, an urban raccoon, jays, coyotes, and more are included.

Old Snake

Old Snake knows.
Sometimes you feel
you just can't breath
in your own tight skin.
Old Vibora says, "Leave
those doubts and hurts
buzzing like flies in your ears.
When you feel your frowns,
like me wriggle free
from I can't, I can't.
Leave those gray words
to dry in the sand
and dare to show
your brave self,
your bright true colors.

Poem ©Pat Mora. All rights reserved.

Now that you are in a decidedly reptilian frame of mind, here are some additional resources for thinking about snakes.

• The Highlights web site has a poetry player that includes artwork and audio for poems. They have a poem entitled S is for Snake.
  
• Kidzone has a page devoted to snake activities.
  
• The San Diego Zoo has an Animal Bytes page with lots of information about snakes.
  
• The National Zoo has an interesting article entitled Why Ireland Has No Snakes.
  
• Take a virtual tour of the Reptile Discovery Center at the National Zoo. Click on the squares to learn about animals on exhibit, and click on the question marks to learn about a topic. I was drawn in by the page entitled How to Swallow Something Bigger Than Your Head!
  
• Learn about the snakes at the Saint Louis Zoo. Here you'll find pictures and basic information about each species living at the zoo.
  

I know I've left off Valerie Worth's book Animal Poems, Wade Zahares' book Big, Bad, and a Little Bit Scary: Poems that Bite Back, and many other good selections. Won't you share your favorite snake poetry with me?

Monday Poetry Stretch - Cat vs. Dog

In the last two weeks I've posted thematic lists on both dog poetry and cat poetry. I shouldn't be surprised, but folks are passionate about whether they're team dog or team cat. Which camp are you in? Write your poem this week about a cat or a dog, or if you're sitting on the fence, write about both.

Leave me a note about your poem and I'll post the results here later this week.

Poetry in the Classroom - In the Garden

The plant sale at our local botanical garden is 12 days away. While I am not a gardener, I love to go to see what's blooming and what interesting varieties folks will be planting. This seems like a good time to share some favorite poetry books that touch on gardens.
Farmer's Garden: Rhymes for Two Voices, written by David Harrison and illustrated by Arden Johnson-Petrov - In this book, Farmer's dog converses with some of the animals and plants he meets in the garden. The 15 poems are short, generally two-to-four lines per stanza, and are printed in two fonts that clearly show where the lines alternate between the two speakers. Here's an example.

Beetle

Beetle, Beetle,
why so fast?

                              Out of my way!
                              I must get past!

Beetle, Beetle,
where do you run?

                              Away from the lizard
                              and out of the sun.

Beetle, Beetle
what will you do?

                              I'll drink a drop
                              of morning dew.

Poem © David Harrison. All rights reserved.

I Heard it From Alice Zucchini: Poems About the Garden, written by Juanita Havill and illustrated by Christine Davenier, is a collection of poems by turns both whimsical and scientific, Juanita's first poetry book (though far from her first published work!) is a magical collection about growing things. Here's the poem that opens the book.

When I Grow Up

In the still chill of a winter night
seeds on the gardener's bench
rattle their packets
with chattering.

"When I grow up,
I'm going to be . . . "

"The biggest watermelon."
"Greenest spinach."
"Toughest kale."
"A rutabaga round as the world."
"An everywhere zucchini vine."
"Cornstalk so tall I touch the sky."

Little seeds
with big plans,
chittering, chattering,
except for one,
not a murmur from his packet.

Hey, little seed,
what about you?
What will you be
when you grow up?

In the still chill of the winter night:
"I'm going to be FIRST!"

And the radish is right.

Poem © Juanita Havill. All rights reserved.

Given that seeds and plants "talk" in this collection, readers will find all manner of garden gossip, and what fun it is! However, I'm still quite fond of this very simple poem.

Instructions

Plant seeds early in the spring
when the ground is warm,
two inches deep in well-tilled soil
where they'll be safe from harm.

Let the sun and rain pour down.
Be careful where you hoe.
A miracle is taking place:
Seeds split and start to grow.

Poem © Juanita Havill. All rights reserved.

Juanita followed this book of poetry with Grow: A Novel in Verse. It is the story of Kate Sibley, a twelve-year old girl and Berneetha, a teacher who decides to plant a community garden on a vacant lot that has long been neglected and is strewn with trash. While folks at first just watch Kate and Berneetha work in the garden, soon they join in to help. Just as the garden begins to take shape, Randall Conn, the owner of the lot dies, and troubles ensue when his son decides to turn the lot into a parking garage. Will the garden survive?

The story is deftly told in a series of poems that allows readers to watch both the characters and the garden grow. But more importantly, readers really get to know these characters inside and out. They are well drawn and utterly human. Here's an excerpt from the poem "About Berneetha."

She does things:
sizzling, stirring,
zapping, rocking,
purring, jumping,
dancing things.
With Berneetha
everything happens
big time
even the quiet things
like sitting still
and staring at frost
on the window in winter
or counting cricket chirps
when the summer sun sets (p. 13)

Here's another excerpt, this time from the poem "Harlan's Favorite Flower."

Once he asked Berneetha
how a whole plant
can sprout and grow and flower
all from a sliver of seed.
What was it
in that seed
that made it grow
in the dirt
and bloom yellow, white,
purple, orange, maroon,
like a conjure man had spoken
a spell over it?

Berneetha said
we all start as seeds--
each of us different,
each of us beautiful. (pp. 58-59)

Poems © Juanita Havill. All rights reserved.

In Our Backyard Garden, written by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Marcy Ramsey - Set in the garden and around garden events, this is a collection of poems all about family that is filled with love and laughs.

Perfect

September's sun
falls golden
on the garden.
A butterfly
wings past
my baby brother.
Grandad picks
the last of
the zucchini.
Grandmother cuts
a last bouquet
of mint.
Aunt Sissy and I
take one last
hammock ride
to places we have
read about
in books.

Poem © Eileen Spinelli. All rights reserved.

Here are some terrific resources for thinking about gardening with kids.

• Here is a thematic book list on seeds and growing things.
• The garden preschool pack has a wealth of resources for teaching with a gardening theme. Most of these materials can be used in K and 1.
• KidsGardening has FAQs, lesson plans, a school greenhouse guide, newsletter, and more!
• The School Gardens web site answers many questions and provides ideas for starting and maintaining a school garden.
  

Have I missed a favorite book of garden poetry or a good gardening web site for kids? If so, please let me know. I'd love the add them to the list.

Poetry in the Classroom - Feline Felicity

Okay, I may be "Team Dog," but I can appreciate a cat. I'm crazy about the Rev, the tuxedo cat that lives in the rectory at my church. I have a thing for Siamese cats (I think it's the eyes), and I love the neighborhood tabby, even when he's chasing squirrels and going after the birds in my yard. I promised after last week's list on dogs that I'd give equal time to pets of the feline variety. So here are some of my favorite books of cat poetry, beginning with one of the first poetry books I ever read.

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, written by T.S. Eliot and illustrated by Edward Gorey - Forget everything you've heard about the musical and read the book! Eliot included these poems in letters to his godchildren. Though written in the 1930s, they ever get old.

I Am the Cat, written by Alice Schertle and illustrated by Mark Buehner - Alternating between haiku and longer poems, this collection captures the essence of the cat in all it's complexity.

Cat, What Is That?, written by Tony Johnston and illustrated by Wendell Minor - The poet answers the question posed in the title, never using the word cat, but by describing their antics and behaviors.

Cat Poems, written by Dave Crawley and illustrated by Tamara Petrosino - This collection contains 24 rhyming poems that describe cats and their often hilarious behaviors.

So, What's It Like to Be a Cat?, written by Karla Kuskin and illustrated by Betsy Lewin - The poems in the book make up a "conversation" (perhaps interview is a better word) between a young boy and his cat.

A Curious Collection of Cats, written by Betsy Franco and illustrated by Michael Wertz - This collection of 34 concrete poems describes in words and form a variety of cats, including fat cats, princess cats, kissy cats, and more. I particularly like the poems focused on cat anatomy, like their tails and tongues.

Cats Vanish Slowly, written by Ruth Tiller and illustrated by Laura Seeley - This collection of 12 poems introduces readers to the cats at grandmother's farm, each one with a personality of its own. Be sure to check out some of the illustrations at Seeley's web site.
Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku, written by Lee Wardlaw and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin - This is the story of a shelter cat and how he acclimates in his new home, told entirely in senryu, a form focused on “the foibles of human nature--or in this case, cat nature.” Whether you call it haiku or senryu, the short verses are entirely fitting for the tale Wardlaw tells.

The following titles are repeated from the Gone to the Dogs post, but since they include both dogs and cats, they are worth repeating!

Raining Cats and Dogs, written by Jane Yolen and illustrated by, is a collection of poems that can be read from both directions. Tired of poems about dogs? Flip the book over and read about cats. (This one's out of print, so check your local library for a copy.)

Bow Wow Meow Meow: It's Rhyming Cats and Dogs, written and illustrated by Douglas Florian - In this collection, Florian presents a series of 21 poems about domesticated and wild dogs and cats.

I Am the Dog I Am the Cat by Donald Hall - This free verse poem alternates between the voice of a rottweiler and the voice of a tabby cat.

Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry by Joyce Sidman - A dog and cat are trapped under a picnic table in a rainstorm. Since much of the verse forms the images on the page, readers will enjoy searching for the buried verses while reading the story.

Now that you are in a feline frame of mind, here are some additional resources you may find helpful.

• You can find a teacher's guide for WON TON at the Macmillan site, as well as one at Wild Geese Guides.
  
• You can find a reader's guide at Joyce Sidman's site for MEOW RUFF.
• CFA for Kids has all kinds of information about cats.
• Cats! Wild to Mild was an exhibit at the San Diego Natural History Museum. the online component is still active and contains a wealth of information.
• Cartooning Basics has a page on how to draw a cat.
• The Purina web site (UK) has an all about cats page.
  

I'm going to close with two acrostic poems from the book A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms, selected by Paul Janeczko and illustrated by Chris Raschka.

Can't Avoid Trouble Paul Janeczko

Does Only Good Anonymous

Team dog, remember?

Poetry in the Classroom - Family Poems

Family has been much on my mind lately. I feel the distance and time that separates us acutely sometimes. These days I just feel too far away. Until we're together again, I'm reading poems about mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers. Here are a few books that I find particularly appealing.

In Daddy's Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers is a collection put together by Lee & Low Books and illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. It opens with an Ashanti proverb that says "When you follow in the path of your father you learn to walk like him." The poems in this book are a moving tribute to fathers and grandfathers and the ways in which they shape our lives. One of my favorite poems was contributed by the illustrator.

Seeds

You drew pictures of life
with your words.
I listened and ate these words you said
to grow up strong.
Like the trees, I grew,
branches, leaves, flowers, and then the fruit.

I became the words I ate in you.
For better or worse
the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Poem ©Javaka Steptoe. All rights reserved.

At the Lee & Low site for the book you'll find book talks, a video interview with the illustrator, an activity idea, and a teacher's guide.
Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: A Collection of Family Poems, written by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Marylin Hafner, contains 30 poems about any relative you can imagine, from the traditional nuclear family members to step-parents and siblings, cousins, and more. Here's one I love. (I don't have a little sister, but a big sister. I'm sure she probably had thoughts like these!)

The Little Sister Store

When my silly little sister
Knocks my blocks down on the floor,
I tell her I will sell her
At the little sister store.

She knows I'm only joking,
That there isn't such a shop;
But even though she knows it--
As least it makes her stop!

Poem ©Mary Ann Hoberman. All rights reserved.

Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems, written by Kristine O'Connell George and illustrated by Nancy Carpenter, highlights the relationship between big sister Jessica and Emma, her little dilemma (sister!). Their relationship is funny, annoying, caring and oh so complex. Just what a relationship between sisters should be. Here's the poem that gives the book its title.

Emma Dilemma

Sometimes Dad
calls my little sister
Emma Dilemma.

Dad says
a dilemma is
an interesting problem.

I know Dad's joking
but sometimes
Emma is my dilemma.

Poem ©Kristine O'Connell George. All rights reserved.

Relatively Speaking: Poems About Family, written by Ralph Fletcher with drawings by Walter Lyon Krudop, is a collection of 42 poems that together provide a loving picture of a family as they move through the year waiting on the arrival of a new baby. Told by a young boy, they are funny and poignant. Here are two that express the range of emotions in the collection.

My Brother's Girlfriend

She's amazingly cute but
what could she possible see
in a kid like my brother?

They stop over the house
on the coldest winter day,
two hickeys on her neck.

Mosquitos are awful bad
this time of year, I tell her
and she makes a face at me.


The Scar

I'm playing war
with six of my friends,
using sticks for guns

arguing over who's dead
who's only wounded
who can die the best

when the door opens
and Grandpa walks out
wearing no shirt.

We see the scar
on his back. He got it
in a real war.

Nobody says anything
but after he passes by
we start a different game.

Poems ©Ralph Fletcher. All rights reserved.

Mother Poems, written and illustrated by Hope Anita Smith, is a book that packs an emotional punch, introducing readers to a young girl who clearly adores her mother, and then loses her much too soon. What follows is the story of her journey through the stages of grief and healing. The sense of loss and longing in this collection is overwhelming. Here's an example.

Q and A

I never thought to ask my mother
what I was like when I was a baby.
Did I laugh a lot?
Was I fussy?
Did I have a favorite toy?
What was my first word?
When did I roll over? Crawl? Walk?
Did I ever like carrots?
Mothers give us our stories,
at least the beginning.
My mother left before she got a chance to
give me mine,
and I forgot to ask.
God should have made me smarter.
I am remembering less and less about my mother
and wanting to know more and more about me.

Poem ©Hope Anita Smith. All rights reserved.

You can read a few more poems from the book and hear Hope talk about in this NPR interview.

Here are some additional resources for thinking and teaching about family.

• This 6-Traits writing lesson uses the Hoberman book.
• For younger students you may find you'll like this lesson on family traditions.
• PBS Teachers has a site with ideas for studying family traditions.
• The Wisconsin Historical Society has a lesson for helping students discover family history.
• The teacher's guide to adoption has a number of great lessons, including one on many ways to make a family (which includes every form of family you can imagine), and some good information on how to fix biased class assignments.
• The Incredible @rt Department has a terrific lesson on family and commitment.
• Teaching Tolerance has a lesson entitled Talking About Our Families that looks at different types of family structures.

Do you have a favorite book of poetry about family? Or a lesson you love to teach? Please let me know so I can include it here.