Novels in Verse

Since it is still National Poetry Month is about to come to an end and I've already blogged about my favorite recently published poetry books for children, I thought I should also include books that I have really enjoyed that have been written in verse.  Never heard of novels written in verse?  They are a type of narrative in which a novel-length narrative is told through poetry rather than through prose.  These books can be simply written or have complex stanzas.  Some books will have just one narrator and some will have multiple voices with dialogue and narration.

If you have a elementary or middle school student at home who struggles with reading, these books are perfect choices to give them as they will feel like accomplished readers going through lengthily paged books just like their peers.  The extra white space on each page and the spacing between lines will reward the reader with a positive reading experience.  I especially like to recommend these books to readers who have a short turn-around time to get a reading assignment and book report done for school as these books still carry a lot of punch.

Bat 6 by Virginia Euwer Wolf
In small town, post-World War Oregon, twenty-one 6th grade girls recount the story of an annual softball game, during which one girl's prejudices comes to the surface.  I highly recommend listening to this on audio as listeners can pick up on the multiple voices, views of point, and the personalities of each character.







Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson (Juvenile Biography & Young Adult Biography)
Raised in South Carolina and New York, Jacqueline Woodson always felt halfway home in each place. In vivid poems, she shares what it was like to grow up as an African American in the 1960's and 1970's, living with the remnants of Jim Crow laws and her growing awareness of the Civil Rights movement. Touching and powerful, each poem is both accessible and emotionally charged, each line is a glimpse into her own soul as as a child as she searches for her place in the world.  Plus it is a 2015 Newbery Honor Book and a National Book Award Winner for young people.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
This is the story about fourteen-year-old African-American twin basketball stars Josh and Jordan.  They wrestle with highs and lows on and off the court as their retired professional basketball player father ignores his declining health.  I just LOVE this book and very pleased that it won the 2015 Newbery Medal.  It makes for an entertaining, yet emotional read.  I highly recommend this one!!!





Gone Fishing: A Novel in Verse by Tamara Wissinger
Nine-year-old Sam loves fishing with his dad. But when his pesky little sister horns in on their fishing trip, he is none too pleased. This book is told in many different types of poems from Sam and his sister's point of view, making it a fun read, especially for transitional readers.  It also includes a primer at the back of the book on rhyme, poetry techniques, rhythm, stanzas, and poetic forms.

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
A young Vietnamese girl chronicles her life-changing year of 1975, when she, her mother, and her brothers leave Vietnam, travel to the United States, and start a new life in Alabama.  A Newbery Honor Book and National Book Award Winner for Young People.

Like Pickle Juice on a Burger by Julie Sternberg
When nine-year-old Eleanor's beloved babysitter Bibi moves away to care for her ailing father, Eleanor must spend the summer adjusting to a new babysitter while mourning the loss of her old one. This book will serve as a good title to share with children who must say good-bye to a favorite babysitter.

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech
Jack DOES NOT like poetry.  In fact, he doesn't want to write a poem for his class assignment.  But then he comes to love poetry through a personal understanding of what different famous poems mean to him.  Then he surprises himself by writing his own inspired poem.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Billie Jo relates the hardships of living on her family's wheat farm in Oklahoma during the dust bowl years of The Great Depression.  This won the 1998 Newbery Award.

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom: My Story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March 
by Lynda Blackman Lowery (Young Adult Non-Fiction)
This 50th-anniversary tribute shares the story of the youngest person to complete the momentous Selma to Montgomery March, describing her frequent imprisonments for her participation in nonviolent demonstrations and how she felt about her involvement in historic Civil Rights events, all while she turned 15 years old during the march.

Witness by Karen Hesse
A series of poems express the views of various people in a small Vermont town, including a young black girl and a young Jewish girl, during the early 1920's when the Ku Klux Klan is trying to infiltrate the town.  I also highly recommend listening to this on audio as listeners can pick up on the multiple voices, views of point, and the personalities of each character during this haunting time in U.S. history.

Inspired By Poetry

In this a month of poetry
We celebrate many an honoree
....

OK. I was planning to write this whole post in verse, but it turns out I'm not that talented. Poetry is hard, y'all! Though certainly inspirational. We've all opened books to find chapter headings that quote the lines of poets both well known and obscure. There's also a few gems in which poetic threads run throughout, thematically tying novels together. I've put up a display in the Young Adult Room with a few fabulous teen books and the poems that shape and inspire them. One of my faves is Lips Touch by Laini Taylor. This National Book Award honoree features three short stories, one of which was inspired by Christina Rossetti's amazing "Goblin Market," in which two sisters are tempted by goblin men selling irresistibly delicious fruit that will cause the consumer to waste away. Why? Who knows. Goblins are like that. Here's an excerpt of the poem:

Evening by evening

Among the brookside rushes,

Laura bow’d her head to hear,

Lizzie veil’d her blushes:

Crouching close together

In the cooling weather,

With clasping arms and cautioning lips,

With tingling cheeks and finger tips.

“Lie close,” Laura said,

Pricking up her golden head:

“We must not look at goblin men,

We must not buy their fruits:

Who knows upon what soil they fed

Their hungry thirsty roots?”

“Come buy,” call the goblins

Hobbling down the glen.

Isn't that saucy?

This is Just to Say...

This is Just to Say

Here is a book of poetry
each poem mean and nasty
using the perpsective of nursery rhyme characters
mostly

it might make you feel poorly about poetry
then again it might be right up your alley
so as a librarian
I recommend this book

Forgive me
I don't usually like writing that tends toward meanness
but it's so funny
and it's inspired by the famous poet William Carlos Williams
so how can you argue with that?

National Poetry Monty: Fresh Poetry Picks

Check out these fresh new poetry books during National Poetry month!

When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons
by Julie Fogliano

Starting and ending with a bird "poking / a tiny hole / through the edge of winter" on the vernal equinox, readers can feel the taste, sights, sounds and smells of the four seasons through experiences of a small girl interacting with nature.

Fresh Delicious: Poems from the Farmer's Market 
by Irene Latham

Cucumber submarines, blueberry fireworks, potatoes as "Crooked as / a "come here" / finger.",  and mouse-sized okra swords. A bountiful farmers market feast awaits readers.

Amazing Places: Poems 
Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Travel to some amazing American landmarks and meet some talented American poets all without leaving your favorite reading spot. You may come away with an idea for a new family vacation destination or a new favorite writer!

A Great Big Cuddle: Poems for the Very Young 
by Michael Rosen

Nonsense words, silly sounds, and bouncy rhymes that beg to be read aloud and danced to, are what makes this new poetry book for the preschool set so fun.

What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? 
by Judith Viorst

Daily joys, annoyances, hopes, and fears are brought to life through witty poems and the humorous illustrations of Lee White. My favorite, "Places I'd Like If..." explores the places a kid would like to visit if it weren't for all the scary stuff that can happen.  "How soft and rainy woodland feels, /  If bears did not eat kids for meals, /  I'd like forests."

April is National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month.  This year it is celebrating its 20th anniversary!  National Poetry Month has evolved into the largest literary celebration in the world with schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets celebrating poetry's vital place in our culture.  I will be the first to admit that I got really bored with poetry when I was in school...all that breaking down of lines and figuring out meaning...it just didn't capture my interest.  But as an adult, I have learned to enjoy children's poetry books as they are colorful and so much more easier to read and understand!

Here's a list of children's poetry books that I have been published within the past couple of years that I have enjoyed.  I hope you and your child will be charmed by their beauty too!

Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night 
by Joyce Sidman
A collection of poems that celebrates the wonder, mystery, and danger of the night and describes the many things that hide in the dark.  This beautifully illustrated book won a 2011 Newbery Honor.







Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings
by Douglas Florian
Here's a fun illustrated collection of poems and collages about dinosaurs.  And of course its perfect for dinosaur fans.  They'll really devour this one!

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems
Selected by Paul B. Janeczko
A selection of short American poems dealing with the four seasons and the different weather events and animal patterns that can occur within each.  Also, I'm a big fan of Melissa Sweet's artwork too.

Flutter and Hum: Animal Poems = Aleteo y Zumbido: Poemas de Animales 
by Julie Paschkis
All sorts of animals flutter and hum, dance and stretch, and slither and leap their way through this joyful collection of poems in English and Spanish. Julie Paschkis's words and art sing in both languages, bringing out the beauty and playfulness of the animal world.





Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse 
by Marilyn Singer
Here's a collection of short poems called "reversos" which, when reversed, provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature.  So you can read it forwards and backwards and still read the same poem!  This is such a fun and creative way to read poetry!

Orangutan Tongs: Poems to Tangle Your Tongue 
by Jon Agee
Have you ever gotten tripped up trying to say a silly succession of similar syllables? Try out these hilarious tongue twisters for yourself for lots of silly fun!






Santa Clauses: Short Poems from the North Pole 
by Bob Raczka
25 haiku give readers a fresh, humorous perspective on Santa's December preparations. And rich illustrations pull readers into every wintry scene.  Read now, or save to read later during the winter holidays.

Stardines Swim High Across the Sky And Other Poems 
by Jack Prelutsky
Here's a collection of 16 humorous poems about imaginary strange creatures such as the stardine, slobster, and magpipe.  Plus, the illustrations really make those make-believe critters seem awfully real too!

Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold 
by Joyce Sidman
When winter comes, how will the animals brave the long and cold season of the north?  Read poems of the Tundra Swan, the Big Brown Moose, and the Beaver, among other animals.  There's also poems about snowflakes and ice.  Each poem is accompanied by facts and background matter related to the subject at hand.  I just love the linoleum block art illustrations in this book.

World Rat Day: Poems About Real Holidays You've Never Heard Of by Patrick J. Lewis
Here's a collection of wild and wacky holidays that should be worth celebrating such as: Dragon Appreciation Day, Frog Jumping Day, Ohio Sheep Day, Worm Day, and National Sloth Day.  Don't let these days go by without a small celebration of your own!  Plus, this book is perfect for transitional readers to read on their very own thanks to the large font size and easier vocabulary.