The next Children's Poet Laureate was announced today by the Poetry Foundation.
It's Kenn Nesbitt.
Kenn's recent works include:
Nesbitt, Kenn. 2009. My Hippo Has the Hiccups with CD: And Other Poems I Totally Made Up. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
Nesbitt, Kenn. 2010. The Tighty Whitey Spider: And More Wacky Animal Poems I Totally Made Up. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
Nesbitt, Kenn. 2007. Revenge of the Lunch Ladies: The Hilarious Book of School Poetry. New York: Meadowbrook Press.
His web site, Poetry4Kids has been a go-to site for poems, activities, and fun for kids.
FYI
The Children’s Poet Laureate was established by the Poetry Foundation in 2006 to raise awareness of the fact that children have a natural receptivity to poetry and are its most appreciative audience, especially when poems are written specifically for them. The Children’s Poet Laureate receives a $25,000 cash prize and a medallion that includes the inscription “Permit a child to join,” taken from an Emily Dickinson poem. The Children’s Poet Laureate serves as a consultant to the Foundation for a two-year period and gives at least two major public readings for children and their families, teachers, and librarians during his/her term. He/She will also serve as an advisor to the Poetry Foundation on children’s literature, and may engage in a variety of projects and events to help instill a love of poetry among the nation’s youngest readers.
Previous Laureates
2011 J. Patrick Lewis
2008 Mary Ann Hoberman
2006 Jack Prelutsky
Thanks, Sylvia--I've only found this info on a couple of blogs, even though I was waiting for the announcement! Excited to see what Kenn does with his time in the position.
ReplyDeleteKenn's poetry has lots of kd-appeal. It will be exciting to see all the new ways he discovers/creates to get poetry into the hands of children!
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