School Library Media Month

In addition to being National Poetry Month, April is also a time for celebrating School Library Media Month. Take a moment to think back about the library at your school when you were growing up. What role did it play in your reading? What about your neighborhood school today? Libraries can be pivotal in the school environment and are known to boost children’s achievement by providing greater access to print and media resources, particularly under the guidance of a knowledgeable librarian or library media specialist. It’s all about that person at the hub. Here’s one of my favorite poems about a school librarian from Kristine O’Connell George’s poetry collection for middle school.

School Librarian
By Kristine O’Connell George

Mrs. Thompson knows I love sad stories.
The books she lends me
come with
hidden bookmarks—


folded tissues tucked into
the sad parts.

From: George, Kristine O’Connell. 2002. “School Librarian” from Swimming Upstream: Middle School Poems. New York: Clarion Books, p. 35


Here are a few more poem gems about school librarians/library media specialists:

For the elementary grades:
“When the Librarian Reads to Us” by Kalli Dakos
From Put Your Eyes Up Here and Other School Poems. Simon & Schuster, 2003.

For high school:
“See, the Library” by Ellen Hopkins
From burned. McElderry, 2006.

And a cautionary poem:
“The Library Card” by Jane Medina
From My Name is Jorge on Both Sides of the River; Poems in English and Spanish. Boyds Mills Press, 1999.

You’ll find more lists of poems about libraries in my books Poetry Aloud Here and Poetry People, as well as in my 2006 article: “A place for poetry: Celebrating the library in poetry.” Children and Libraries. 4, (2), 35-41. As you can see, I love this topic! ☺

Picture credit: TWU SLIS

International Children's Book day

This date, April 2, has been established as International Children’s Book Day to commemorate Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday and “to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books” around the world. The International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY.org) is the sponsoring group and each year a different national section creates a promotional poster for this day. This year, it’s Thailand, with the theme of “Books enlighten; knowledge delights.” For a poetry tie-in look for Minfong Ho’s collection Maples in the Mist: Children's Poems from the Tang Dynasty (Lothrop, 1996) which she compiled and translated from the Chinese. Ho was born in Burma and grew up in Singapore and Thailand. She has authored several picture books and novels for young people set in each of these countries including: Rice Without Rain, Hush!: A Thai Lullaby, The Clay Marble, The Stone Goddess, Sing to the Dawn, among others. Here’s one of my favorite poems from Maples in the Mist.

Traveler’s Song
by Meng Jia

My loving mother, thread in hand,
Mended the coat I have on now,
Stitch by stitch, just before I left home,
Thinking that I might be gone a long time.
How can a blade of young grass
Ever repay the warmth of the spring sun?

From Maples in the Mist: Children's Poems from the Tang Dynasty (Lothrop, 1996) collected and translated by Minfong Ho

Tuck this one away and save it for Mother’s Day, too.

P.S. I’m excited to announce that Dr. Cathy Kurkjian (in Connecticut) and I will be serving as the next editorial team for Bookbird, the international journal of children’s literature, the quarterly publication of IBBY, beginning in January, 2009.

Picture credit: http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=317

National Poetry Month

Happy poetry month! It’s lovely to have a time when we try to focus EVERYONE’S attention on poetry (although many of us do that all year long, of course). I’m hoping to post every day this month with a variety of poems, poets, and topics. First off, I’m lifting some details from my book, Poetry People, A Practical Guide to Children’s Poets. If you’re looking for help in selecting and sharing poetry by 62 major poets writing for children, I hope you’ll check it out. I also have a few “extras” in the backmatter of the book, including a calendar of poet birthdays-- here's the April list:

April
7 Alice Schertle
12 Gary Soto
13 Lee Bennett Hopkins
20 April Halprin Wayland
22 William Jay Smith; Ron Koertge
25 George Ella Lyon
26 Marilyn Nelson
28 Barbara Juster Esbensen

and lists of:
Awards for Poetry for Young People
Poet Promotion Activities
How to Share Poetry
Poet Biographies, Autobiographies and Memoirs
Popular Poetry Web Sites
Poetry Anthologies
Poems About Libraries and Reading
Poetry Practices Checklist

In addition, I have gathered lists of:
Poets to Watch
People Who Write Other Things Plus Poetry
Verse Novelists
Anthologists
Classic Poets
Poets Who Write for Adults, Plus Children

I’d like to kick off the month with an eye on our poets to watch, which includes new names all the time. Here are individuals who are emerging as notable poets writing for children. Can you suggest others?
Adoff, Jaime
Burg, Brad
Cyrus, Kurt
Grandits, John
Greenberg, David
Johnson, Lindsay Lee
Katz, Alan
Kay, Verla
Lawson, JonArno
Lisa, Nicola W.
Medina, Jane
Mitton, Tony
Mordhorst, Heidi
Moss, Jeff
Nesbitt, Kenn
Paul, Ann Whitford
Pomerantz, Charlotte
Rex, Adam
Roemer, Heidi
Smith, Hope Anita
Van Meter, Gretchen
Wayland, April Halprin
Wolf, Alan
Zimmer, Tracy Vaughn

Here’s one fun poem by a new voice with a great metaphor that kids will love:

POETRY IS MY UNDERWEAR
by April Halprin Wayland

My sister found them.

Read them out loud.
She’s so proud,

she’s running to our parents
waving my poems in the air.
Doesn’t she know
she’s waving my underwear?

from Girl Coming in for a Landing by April Halprin Wayland (Knopf 2002)
Happy birthday, April on April 20!
Happy national poetry month, one and all.

Picture credit: daddytypes.com