Thursday, July 05, 2012

Bug Poetry

In my ongoing quest to feature topical poetry (and showcase excerpts from my new book, The Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists), here's a list of poetry books that feature insects and bugs-- just right for summer.

Poetry Books about Insects and Bugs

To make a science connection, or enliven a summer book activity, consider sharing poetry about bugs and insects. Here are a few examples of poems focused on the insect world.
  1. Bulion, Leslie. 2006. Hey There, Stink Bug! Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.
  2. Cyrus, Kurt. 2001. Oddhopper Opera: A Bug’s Garden of Verses. San Diego: Harcourt Brace.
  3. Fleishman, Paul. 1988. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. New York: Harper & Row.
  4. Florian, Douglas. 1998. Insectlopedia. San Diego: Harcourt Brace.
  5. Florian, Douglas. 2012. Unbeelievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings. New York: Beach Lane.
  6. Frost, Helen. 2012. Step Gently Out. Ill. by Rick Lieder. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
  7. Greenberg, David T. 2002. Bugs! Ill. by Lynn Munsinger. New York: Little, Brown.
  8. Harley, Avis. 2008. The Monarch’s Progress: Poems with Wings. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
  9. Harrison, David. L. 2007. Bugs, Poems about Creeping Things. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills.
  10. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Ed. 1992. Flit, Flutter, Fly! Poems about Bugs and Other Crawly Creatures. New York: Doubleday.
  11. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. Ed. 2012. Nasty Bugs. Ill. by Will Terry. New York: Dial.
  12. Katz, Alan. 2011. Mosquitoes Are Ruining My Summer! And Other Silly Dilly Camp Songs. New York: McElderry.
  13. Lewis, J. Patrick. 1998. The Little Buggers: Insect & Spider Poems. New York: Dial.
  14. Mortensen, Lori. 2009. In the Trees, Honey Bees! Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publishing.
  15. Nye, Naomi Shihab. 2008. Honeybee. New York: Greenwillow.
  16. Rosen, Michael. 1992. Itsy Bitsy Beasties: Poems from Around the World. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books.
  17. Rosen, Michael. 1993. Mini Beasties. London: Puffin.
  18. Ross, Michael Elsohn. 2004. Snug as a Bug. San Francisco: Chronicle.
  19. Sidman, Joyce. 2005. Song of the Water Boatman: & other Pond Poems. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
  20. Sidman, Joyce. 2006. Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow. Ill. by Beth Krommes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
  21. Singer, Marilyn. 2003. Fireflies at Midnight. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.
  22. Walton, Rick. 1995. What to Do When a Bug Climbs in Your Mouth and Other Poems to Drive You Buggy. New York: Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard.
  23. Yolen, Jane. 2012. Bug Off! Creepy Crawly Poems. Ill. by Jason Stemple. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.

Please let me know if I've left off any of your favorite "bug" poetry books so I can add them to the list!

And for more on The Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists, go here.


Image credit: 

ehow.com


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

7 comments:

Renee LaTulippe said...

What a creepy list, Sylvia - love it! Especially since I just got back from a walk with one of the boys, who had obliviously been running his little car over a family reunion of some unidentified bugs. Shuuuuuder. Happy PF!

Laura S. said...

Thanks for your compilation of bug poetry books. I have bug book to add, one of my favorites, BUGS by David Greenberg.

Sylvia Vardell said...

Thanks for stopping by, Renee, and for the tip, Laura. I love Greenberg's SLUGS, but didn't know about BUGS-- which I have now added. Happy buggy summer to you both! Sylvia

Robyn Hood Black said...

So many great buggy books! Thanks for sharing, Sylvia. I'm still enjoying your new book of lists.

(And I like most bugs - but I'd love it if the yellow jackets in our back yard this summer could find different digs....)

Sylvia Vardell said...

Hi, Robyn-- thanks for chiming in-- and for your kind words about my LIST book!

Cathie said...

Hi. Just ran across your blog. What a great list of bug books. I love books. Thanks for the great list. Come visit me at toddlersthroughpreschool.com sometime.
Cathie

Sylvia Vardell said...

Hi, Cathie, glad you stopped by for a poetry break. Come back any time! Looks like you're doing interesting things for preschoolers, too. Sylvia