Librarians’ Choices 2011: POETRY

In my quest to keep you posted on all the poetry titles that are garnering special recognition, please allow me to “toot my own horn” about my Librarians’ Choices book review project, now in its 8th year.

The Librarians’ Choices project involves volunteer teachers, librarians, and library professionals in the Dallas/Fort Worth (Texas) area who spend the calendar year reading and discussing hundreds of new books for children and young adults provided by major publishers. Participants determine which titles are most outstanding based on literary quality, appeal to children and young adults, the typical needs of a school or community library, and a comparative study of other professional review sources.

In the end, we focus on developing a list of 100 titles, with approximately half of the list being designated for picture books or books for children and half of the list designated for novels or works for young adults. Poetry and nonfiction titles are also incorporated as appropriate and we also actively seek out works with multicultural content. Then each participant reviews a subset of books including compiling a complete bibliography of each title with a description and analysis of the book, as well as connections for sharing the book with child/teen audiences and recommendations for related books to combine or compare with the featured title. You’ll find all seven years of our recommendations and guides here.

The goals of the proposed session are twofold, to develop knowledge about current books for children and young adults and to think critically about these books and to share a professional resource for anyone interested in keeping up with the outstanding and intriguing books being published for the young people they serve. I’m pleased to showcase our recent 2011 selections and especially proud that our list includes these 17 poetry books.

1. Frost, Helen. 2011. HIDDEN. New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux. ISBN 9780374382216 [Suggested Grade Levels 6-12]
2. George, Kristine O’Connell. EMMA DILEMMA: BIG SISTER POEMS. Ill. by Nancy Carpenter. New York: Clarion. ISBN 978-0618428427 [Suggested Grade Levels K-5]
3. Henderson, Kathy. HUSH, BABY, HUSH!: LULLABIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD. New York: Frances Lincoln. ISBN 978-1845079673 [Suggested Grade Levels PreK-2]
4. Hopkins, Lee Bennett (Ed.) I AM THE BOOK. Ill. by Yayo. New York: Holiday House. ISBN 978-0823421190 [Suggested Grade Levels 1-5]
5. Janeczko, Paul B. 2011. REQUIEM: POEMS OF THE TEREZIN GHETTO. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. ISBN 9780763647278 [Suggested Grade Levels 7-10]
6. Lai, Thanhha. 2011. INSIDE OUT AND BACK AGAIN. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0061962783 [Suggested Grade Levels 4-8]
7. Marcus, Kimberly. 2011. EXPOSED. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780375966934 [Suggested Grade Levels 9-12]
8. McCall, Guadalupe Garcia. 2011. UNDER THE MESQUITE. New York: Lee & Low. ISBN 978-1600604294 [Suggested Grade Levels 6-12]
9. McKissack, Patricia C. 2011. NEVER FORGOTTEN. Ill. by Leo & Diane Dillon. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780375843846 [Suggested Grade Levels K-8]
10. Myers, Walter Dean. 2011. WE ARE AMERICA: A TRIBUTE FROM THE HEART. New York: Collins. ISBN 978-0060523084 [Suggested Grade Levels 2-10]
11. Ostlere, Cathy. 2011. KARMA. New York: Penguin. ISBN 9781595143389 [Suggested Grade Levels 8-11]
12. Raczka, Bob. 2011. LEMONADE AND OTHER POEMS SQUEEZED FROM A SINGLE WORD. Ill. by Nancy Doniger. New York: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 9721596435414 [Suggested Grade Levels 3-10]
13. Salas, Laura Purdie. 2011. BOOKSPEAK!: POEMS ABOUT BOOKS. Ill. by Josee Bisaillon. New York: Clarion. ISBN 978-0547223001 [Suggested Grade Levels K-6]
14. Thompson, Holly. 2011. ORCHARDS. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780385739771 [Suggested Grade Levels 7-12]
15. Wardlaw, Lee. 2011. WON TON: A CAT TALE TOLD IN HAIKU. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 978-0805089950 [Suggested Grade Levels K-5]
16. Wolf, Allan. 2011.THE WATCH THAT ENDS THE NIGHT: VOICES FROM THE TITANIC. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. ISBN 978-0763637033 [Suggested Grade Levels 6-12]
17. Zimmer, Tracy Vaughn. 2011. COUSINS OF CLOUDS: ELEPHANT POEMS. Ill. by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy. New York: Clarion. ISBN 978-0618903498 [Suggested Grade Levels K-7]


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SV

Posting by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2012. All rights reserved.