More poetry to come in 2009 + what's a poem?

Just last month I started off the year by posting a list of the brand new poetry books I knew were coming out in 2009 (on Jan. 2). But more publisher’s catalogs are now available, I combed their booths at ALA Midwinter, and I’ve heard from a variety of people since then, so I have list of ANOTHER 25+ titles to share. That’s a combined total of over 50 books of poetry for young people we can anticipate—and it’s only February! In the months to come, I hope to get my hands on each of these and post my thoughts about as many as possible, but in the meantime, here’s the list:

MORE POETRY IN 2009
1. Andrews, Julie and Hamilton, Emma Watson. 2009. Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies. Ill. by James McMullan. New York: Little Brown.
2. Franco, Betsy. 2009. Curious Collection of Cats. Ill. by Michael Wertz. San Francisco, CA: Tricycle Press.
3. Franco, Betsy. 2009. Messing Around the Monkey Bars and other School Poems for Two Voices. Ill. by Jessie Hartland. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
4. Frost, Helen. 2009. Crossing Stones. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
5. George, Kristine O’Connell. 2009. Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems. Illus. by Nancy Carpenter. New York: Clarion.
6. Harley, Avis. 2009. African Acrostics; A Word in Edgeways. Ill. by Deborah Noyes. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
7. Harrison, David. 2009. Vacation, We’re Going to the Ocean! Ill. by Rob Shepperson. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
8. Hughes, Ted. 2009. My Brother Bert. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
9. Janeczko, Paul. 2009. A Foot in the Mouth; Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout. Ill. by Chris Raschka. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
10. Katz, Bobbi. 2009. More Pocket Poems. Ill. by Deborah Zemke. New York: Dutton.
11. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2009. The House. Illus. by Roberto Innocenti. Minneapolis, MN: Creative Editions.
12. Maddox, Marjorie. 2009. Rules of the Game. Ill. by John Sandford. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
13. Mora, Pat. 2009. Dizzy in My Eyes. New York: Knopf.
14. Prelutsky, Jack. 2009. The Swamps of Sleethe; Poems From Beyond the Solar System. Ill. by Jimmy Pickering. New York: Knopf.
15. Roemer, Heidi. 2009. Whose Nest is This? NorthWord.
16. Rosen, Michael J. 2009. The Cuckoo’s Haiku and Other Birding Poems. Ill. by Stan Fellows. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
17. Salas, Laura. 2009. Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School. New York: Clarion.
18. Salinger, Michael. 2009. Well Defined; Vocabulary in Rhyme. Ill. by Sam Henderson. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
19. San Jose, Christine and Johnson, Bill. 2009. Every Second Something Happens: Poems for the Mind and Senses. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
20. Schertle, Alice. 2009. Button Up! Wrinkled Rhymes. Ill. by Petra Mathers. New York: Harcourt.
21. Schmidt, Amy. 2009. Loose Leashes. Ill. by Ron Schmidt. New York: Random House.
22. Sidman, Joyce. 2009. Red Sings From Treetops; A Year in Colors. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
23. Walker, Rob D. 2009. Mama Says: A Book of Love For Mothers and Sons. Ill. by Leo and Diane Dillon. New York: Scholastic.
24. Yolen, Jane. 2009. A Mirror to Nature. Ill. by Jason Stemple. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
25. Yolen, Jane. 2009. An Egret’s Day. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
26. Yolen, Jane. 2009. How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? New York: Scholastic.

NOVELS IN VERSE
1. Bryant, Jen. 2009. Kaleidoscope Eyes. New York: Knopf.
2. Chaltas, Thalia. 2009. Because I Am Furniture. New York: Viking.
3. Herrick, Steven. 2009. Cold Skin. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
4. Myers, Walter Dean. 2009. Amiri and Odette: A Love Story. Ill. by Javaka Steptoe. New York: Scholastic.

ABOUT POETS AND POETRY
Yolen, Jane. 2009. My Uncle Emily. Ill. by Nancy Carpenter. New York: Philomel.

We can look forward to more poetry from Jane Yolen, Alice Schertle, Joyce Sidman, Jack Prelutsky, Bobbi Katz, Pat Mora, J. Pat Lewis, Helen Frost, Betsy Franco, and others. Plus newer names and new topics of all kinds. Just getting a look at some ARCs and galleys at the Midwinter conference whetted my appetite! Nature poems, wordplay, school-friendly verse, concrete poetry, verse novels, and more. Stay tuned for closer looks, coming soon…

And just for fun, I’m trying a stanza-by-stanza embedded PowerPoint as a visual way to share a fun poem that Charles Ghigna gifted me on one of my favorite topics: what is poetry? Enjoy!





Join the whole Poetry Friday crew at: Wild Rose Reader hosted by the fabulous Elaine Magliaro.

Image credit: www.urbanfusion.org