Poetry for the 4th of July

Celebrating the 4^th of July evokes thoughts of summer vacation, family time, fireflies and fireworks, etc. Here is a sampling of poetry books on these topics and more (taken from my book, The Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists).

Poetry Books for the Fourth of July

Ada, Alma Flor. 1997. Gathering the Sun. New York: Lothrop, Lee, & Shepard.

Alarcón, Francisco X. 1998. From the Bellybutton of the Moon and Other Summer Poems/Del Ombligo de la Luna y Otros Poemas de Verano. San Francisco: Children’s Book Press.

Appelt, Kathi. 2004. My Father’s Summers: A Daughter’s Memoirs. New York: Henry Holt.

Argueta, Jorge. 2012. Guacamole; Un poema para cocinar/ A Cooking Poem. Ill. by Margarita Sada. Toronto: Groundwood.

Bates, Katharine Lee. 2003. America the Beautiful. Ill. by Wendell Minor. New York: Putnam.

Borden, Louise. 2002. America Is—New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books.

Bryan, Ashley. 1992. Sing to the Sun. New York: HarperCollins.

Bulion, Leslie. 2006. Hey There, Stink Bug! Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

Carlson, Lori M. Ed. 1998. Sol a Sol: Bilingual Poems. New York: Henry Holt.

Coombs, Kate. 2012. Water Sings Blue: Ocean Poems. Ill. by Meilo So. San Francisco: Chronicle.

Dotlich, Rebecca Kai. 1998. Lemonade Sun and Other Summer Poems. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.

Esbensen, Barbara Juster. 1984. Cold Stars and Fireflies:  Poems of the Four Seasons. New York: Crowell.

New in 2014!

Florian, Douglas. 2002. Summersaults: Poems and Paintings. New York: Greenwillow.

Frank, John. 2007. How to Catch a Fish. New Milford, CT: Roaring Brook.

George, Kristine O’Connell. 2001. Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems. New York: Clarion.

Giovanni, Nikki. 1981. Vacation Time: Poems for Children. New York: Morrow.

Graham, Joan Bransfield. 1994. Splish Splash. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Graham, Joan Bransfield. 1999. Flicker Flash. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Greenfield, Eloise. 1988. Under the Sunday Tree. New York: Harper & Row.

Harrison, David. 2009. Vacation, We’re Going to the Ocean! Ill. by Rob Shepperson. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills 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. 2012. Nasty Bugs. Ill. by Will Terry. New York: Dial.

Holub, Joan. 2003. Fourth of July Sparkly Sky. New York: Little Simon.

Janeczko, Paul. Ed. 2014. Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems. Ill. by Melissa Sweet. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.

Katz, Alan. 2011. Mosquitoes Are Ruining My Summer! And Other Silly Dilly Camp Songs. New York: McElderry.

Knowlton, Laurie Lazzaro. 2002. Red, White, and Blue. Grenta, LA: Pelican Publishing.

Lessac, Frane. Ed. 2003. Camp Granada: Sing-Along Camp Songs. New York: Henry Holt.

Lewis, J. Patrick. 1994. July is a Mad Mosquito. New York: Atheneum.

New in 2014!

Michelson, Richard. 2014. S is for Sea Glass: A Beach Alphabet. Ill. by Doris Ettlinger. Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press. 

Moore, Lilian. Ed. 1992. Sunflakes: Poems for Children. New York: Clarion.

Mora, Pat. 1998. This Big Sky. New York: Scholastic.

Nicholls, Judith. 2003. The Sun in Me: Poems about the Planet. Somerville, MA:  Barefoot Books.

Schnur, Steven. 2001. Summer: An Alphabet Acrostic. New York: Clarion.

Siebert, Diane. 2006. Tour America: A Journey through Poems and Art. San Francisco: Chronicle.

Singer, Marilyn. 1989. Turtle in July. New York: Macmillan.

Singer, Marilyn. 1994. Family Reunion. New York: Atheneum.

Singer, Marilyn. 2003. Fireflies at Midnight. New York: Atheneum.

Spinelli, Eileen. 2007. Summerhouse Time. New York: Knopf.

Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2001. Sidewalk Chalk; Poems of the City. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.

Wong, Janet. 2008. Minn and Jake’s Almost Terrible Summer. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn. 2005. Sketches from a Spy Tree. New York: Clarion.