Patriotic Poetry

Have you noticed it’s an election year? Who could miss it, right? It got me thinking about what “patriotic” poetry I could find to recommend for young people. My friend and collaborator, the amazing Janet Wong has a new book of poetry out this year that’s particularly appropriate and available in both e-book and print form, entitled Declaration of Interdependence: Poems for an Election Year. It’s a great addition to works that consider what it means to live in the USA, with a particular focus on our civic responsibilities and the democratic process. It contains one of my favorite poems, “Liberty,” an inspiring and clever riff on the “Pledge of Allegiance,” for a total of 20 poems on topics as timely as caucuses, political ads, ballots, and the Bill of Rights. The book even includes a “Voter’s Journal and Discussion Guide.”

I have a free copy to share (along with an autographed copy of her autobiography for kids, Before It Wriggles Away) to a commenter on today’s post (chosen at random).

Meanwhile, here’s my current list of patriotic poetry for kids. Please let me know any book titles I can add to my list. Thanks!

Patriotic Poetry for Young People

Poets have written about pride in homeland, about the search for a national identity, the value of one’s cultural heritage, and finding a place in an adopted country, among other patriotic topics, for many generations. How has this been expressed in poetry for young people? Here are a few outstanding examples.

• Burg, Ann. 2009. All the Broken Pieces. New York: Scholastic.
• Clinton, Catherine. 1998. I, Too, Sing America: Three Centuries of African American Poetry. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
• Cohn, Amy L., comp. 1993. From Sea to Shining Sea: A Treasury of American Folklore and Folk Songs. New York: Scholastic.
• Greenberg, Jan. 2001. Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art. New York: Abrams.
• Gunning, Monica. 2004. America, My New Home. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
• Hopkins, Lee Bennett, Ed. 1993. Beat the Drum, Independence Day has Come: Poems for the Fourth of July. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
• Hopkins, Lee Bennett, Ed. 1994. Hand in Hand: An American History through Poetry. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Hopkins, Lee Bennett, Ed. 1999. Lives: Poems about Famous Americans. New York: HarperCollins.
• Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Ed. 2000. My America: A Poetry Atlas of the U.S. New York: Simon & Schuster.
• Hopkins, Lee Bennett, Ed. 2002. Home to Me: Poems Across America. New York: Orchard.
• Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Ed. 2008. America at War. New York: McElderry.
• Izuki, Steven. 1994. Believers in America: Poems about Americans of Asian and Pacific Islander Descent. Chicago, IL: Children’s Press.
• Lai, Thanhha. 2011. Inside Out and Back Again. New York: HarperCollins.
• Lewis, J. Patrick. 2005. Good Mornin’, Miss America: The U.S.A. in Verse. School Specialty Publishing.
• Lewis, J. Patrick. 2007. The Brothers' War: Civil War Voices in Verse. Washington, DC: National Geographic.
• Littlechild, George. 1993. This Land Is My Land. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
• Meltzer, Milton. 2003. Hour of Freedom: American History in Poetry. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
  
• Myers, Walter Dean. 2011. We are America: A Tribute from the Heart. Ill. by Christopher Myers. New York: HarperCollins.
• Panzer, Nora, Ed. 1994. Celebrate America in Poetry and Art. New York: Hyperion.
• Philip, Neil. (Ed). 1995. Singing America. New York: Viking.
• Siebert, Diane. 2006. Tour America: A Journey through Poems and Art. San Francisco: Chronicle.
• Smith, Charles R. Jr. 2003. I am America. New York: Scholastic.
• Swamp, Chief Jake. 1995. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message. New York: Lee & Low.
• Testa, Maria. 2005. Something about America. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
• Whipple, Laura, comp. 1994. Celebrating America: A Collection of Poems and Images of the American Spirit. New York: Philomel Books.
• Wong, Janet. 2012. Declaration of Interdependence. Poems for an Election Year. PoetrySuitcase.

*****By the way, this is one of several hundred lists of poetry books organized around popular themes and topics that I have compiled for my upcoming book, The Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists. More info to come very soon...

Join the rest of the gathering at Poetry Friday hosted by Greg at Gottabook. See you there!

Image credit: 

Janet Wong, Richard C Owen, http://khopper.blogspot.com/2009_07_01_archive.html

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