New BOOK LINKS Poem Feature

Please allow me to plug my “Everyday Poetry” column once again, since the May issue of Book Links just came out this week. This time, I’ve focused on “Blue Ribbon” poetry, looking at the many poetry books that won major awards this year including the Newbery, Printz honor, Coretta Scott King honors, Pura Belpre and Schneider awards, and of course, the brand new Odyssey Award. (And just last week, Pat Mora’s lovely book, Yum! ¡Mmmm! ¡Qué Rico! Americas’ Sproutings, Lee & Low, 2007, won the Americás award.) I’ve written about this before, but I don’t think I mentioned all the poetry titles that also appeared on some of the ALA “best” lists this year. Another dozen poetry books and novels-in-verse made the lists of 2008 Notable Children’s Books, Best Books for Young Adults, and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, including:

• Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems by John Grandits (Clarion, 2007)
• Chess Rumble by G. Neri (Lee & Low, 2007)
• Frida: ¡Viva la vida! Long Live Life! by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand (Marshall Cavendish, 2007)
• Glass by Ellen Hopkins (Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry, 2007)
• Good Sports: Rhymes about Running, Jumping, Throwing, and More by Jack Prelutsky (Knopf, 2007)
• Here’s a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry edited by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters (Candlewick, 2007)
• Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color by Elizabeth Alexander and Marilyn Nelson (Boyds Mills/Wordsong, 2007)
• Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (Poems) by Linda Sue Park (Clarion, 2007)
• Today and Today by Issa Kobayashi (Scholastic, 2007)
• Tough Boy Sonatas by Curtis L. Crisler (Boyds Mills/Wordsong, 2007)
• What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones (Simon & Schuster, 2007)
• Yum! ¡Mmmm! ¡Qué Rico! Americas’ Sproutings by Pat Mora (Lee & Low, 2007)

Isn't it exciting to see so many poetry books get this recognition? Finally, beginning this month, my “Everyday Poetry” column will also feature an original poem by a children’s poet alongside my short article. This month, it’s “Keep a Pocket in Your Poem” by J. Patrick Lewis, inspired by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers’ poem “Keep a Poem in Your Pocket.” Thanks, Pat! Readers may reproduce this poem for noncommercial educational purposes, as long as the author and Book Links are credited. The downloadable poem is available here. Enjoy!

Join the rest of the Poetry Friday Round Up at Wrter2b.

Picture credit: ALA Book Links