Friday, May 07, 2021

Poetry for Mother's Day





Poetry Books about Mothers

What better tribute for a mother, aunt or grandmother than a well-chosen poem? Poets have given us words with which to honor the women in our lives with the following selected books for young readers.

Alarcón, Francisco X. 2016. Family Poems/ Poemas familiares. Ill. by Maya Christina Gonzalez. Lee & Low.

Atkins, Jeannine. 2010. Borrowed Names: Poems About Laura Ingalls Wilder, Madam C. J. Walker, Marie Curie, and Their Daughters. Henry Holt.

Bagert, Brod. 2018. Perfect Children. Ill. by Mike Artell. New Orleans, LA: Juliahouse Publishing.

Castillo, Ana. 2000. My Daughter, My Son, the Eagle, the Dove: An Aztec Chant. New York: Dutton.

Clinton, Catherine. Ed. 2003. A Poem of Her Own; Voices of American Women Yesterday and Today. New York: Abrams.

Coyne, Rachel. 1998. Daughter Have I Told You? New York: Henry Holt.

Dotlich, Rebecca Kai. 2004. Mama Loves. New York: HarperCollins.

Dotlich, Rebecca Kai. 2019. You and Me. Ill. by Susan Reagan. Minneapolis: Creative Editions.

Fogliano, Julie. 2019. If I Was the Sunshine. Ill. by Loren Long. New York: Atheneum.

Fletcher, Ralph. 1999. Relatively Speaking: Poems about Family. New York: Orchard.

Giovanni, Nikki. 2018. I Am Loved. Ill. by Ashley Bryan. New York: Atheneum.

Grimes, Nikki. 1999. Hopscotch Love: A Family Treasury of Love Poems. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard.

Grimes, Nikki. 2000. Stepping out with Grandma Mac. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Henderson, Kathy. 2011. Hush, Baby, Hush! Lullabies from Around the World. Ill. by Pam Smy. Seattle: Frances Lincoln.

Hoberman, Mary Ann. 1993. Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers: A Collection of Family Poems. New York: Puffin Books.

Hoberman, Mary Ann. 2009. All Kinds of Families. New York: Little, Brown.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 1995. Been to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills.

Hollyer, Belinda. 2003. Ed. The Kingfisher Book of Family Poems. New York: Kingfisher.

Hughes, Langston. 2013. Lullaby (for a Black Mother). Ill. by Sean Qualls. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Lewis, J. Patrick. 2005. Vherses: A Celebration of Outstanding Women. Mankato, MN: Creative Editions.

Livingston, Myra Cohn. Ed. 1988. Poems for Mothers. New York: Holiday House.

McCall, Guadalupe Garcia. 2011. Under the Mesquite. New York: Lee & Low.

Micklos, John Jr. 2001. Mommy Poems. Honesdale, PA : Wordsong/Boyds Mills.

Mora, Pat. 2001. Ed. Love to Mamá: a Tribute to Mothers. New York: Lee & Low Books.

Myers, Walter Dean. 1998. Angel to Angel: a Mother’s Gift of Love. New York: HarperCollins.

Pearson, Carol Lynn. 2021. Day-Old Child. Ill. by Corey Egbert. Gibbs Smith.

Rosenberg, Liz. 2001. Ed. Roots & Flowers: Poets and Poems on Family. New York: Henry Holt.

Smith, Hope Anita. 2009. Mother: Poems. New York: Henry Holt.

Strickland, Dorothy S. and Michael R. Strickland. Ed. 1994. Families: Poems Celebrating the African-American Experience. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills.

Sze, Gillian. 2021. My Love for You is Always. Ill. by Michelle Lee. New York: Philomel.

Thomas, Joyce Carol. 2001. A Mother's Heart, A Daughter's Love: Poems for Us to Share. New York: Joanna Cotler.

Walker, Rob D. 2009. Mama Says: A Book of Love For Mothers and Sons. Ill. by Leo and Diane Dillon. New York: Scholastic.

Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2021. Dreams for a Daughter. Ill. by Brian Pinkney. New York: Atheneum.

Wong. Janet S. 1999. The Rainbow Hand: Poems about Mothers and Children. New York: McElderry.

Yolen, Jane and Heidi E.Y. Stemple. 2001. Dear Mother, Dear Daughter: Poems for Young People. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds.

2 Poems for Mother's Day (and ANY day!)
And here are two special poems from Hop to It: Poems to Get You Moving that feature a special tribute to mothers. 


Now head on over to wee words for wee ones where Bridget is hosting our Poetry Friday fun this Mother's Day weekend!








9 comments:

Janet Wong said...

My mother and I became very close during the last several years of her life, as I traveled once or even twice a month from Princeton to Seattle to take her to her many doctor appointments (and our favorite restaurants and Korean spa — incidental benefits of those necessary trips). One thing she always did was to save the first ripe strawberry for me (and the first ripe tomato, too). I wrote this tanka poem thinking of those memories. Do your favorite home gardeners do this for you? Do they give you "the first" of the things that they grow? (If not, maybe YOU can start gardening so you can do that for someone special in your life!!)

jama said...

Another wonderful roundup, Sylvia. Thanks so much, and have a very Happy Mother's Day!

Linda Mitchell said...

Ahhhhh. Such a lovely list of books. Thank you for giving us the perfect poems for Sunday.

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Bridget Magee said...

Thank you for sharing this list of poetry books about Mother's, Sylvia. It is a terrific resource. And I have to say I got goosebumps reading both of the poems you featured. They resonated with me from the perspective of being both a mother and a daughter. Happy Mother's Day to you! :)

Linda B said...

I read Janet's poem on FB, a beautiful memory, and the other poem certainly captures our time in the past year. Thanks for all the titles, some I know, some new to me, Sylvia. Happy Mother's Day to you!

Ruth said...

So lovely! You don't disappoint, List Queen! <3

Linda said...

Janet's poem brought back of a special memory of my own mother. A few years before my mother passed, she gave me two poems written in blue ink on faded notebook paper. They were the only poems she ever wrote. It meant a lot to know she trusted me with her most treasured possession.
Rebecca's beautiful poem brought back memories or walking my sons to school. I miss those walks.
Thank you, Sylvia for this lovely tribute to mothers. Happy Mother's Day!

Elisabeth said...

Thanks for curating this extensive list of books! That's a tremendous resource. I really enjoyed the poems you shared - both of them are perfect for Mother's Day.