Celebrating Snow, Kindness & Poetry

It’s Poetry Friday and the perfect day to share another poem from The POETRY FRIDAY Anthology for Celebrations—named after this fabulous tradition. Today’s poem actually features a holiday from February. It’s Random Acts of Kindness Week, the second week of every February. For more info on this celebration, click HERE. In The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations, we feature DAYS, WEEKS, and whole MONTHS of celebration, too. You'll see examples of each throughout this month's postings.

Elna R. has recruited several kids to perform Eileen Spinelli’s poem, “How to Love Your Little Corner of the World” all set in their snow-filled neighborhood!

And just for fun, Elna shares the “blooper reel” showing their mistakes and giggles which is almost as much fun as the poem performance! Enjoy them both.

For this poem and 155 more (all in English AND Spanish), order your own copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations HERE and for more Poetry Celebrations fun, click HERE. And for more on National Poetry Month, click HERE.

And don’t miss the Poetry Friday fun over at Amy LV’s Poem Farm. See you there!

Celebrating International Children's Book Day

It’s April 2 and it’s officially International Children’s Book Day. Since 1967, on or around Hans Christian Andersen's birthday on April 2, International Children's Book Day (ICBD) is celebrated to inspire a love of reading and to call attention to children's books all around the world.

Each year a different National Section of International Board on Books for Young People sponsors the day. They pick a theme and create a special poster to celebrate the day. A prominent author from the host country writes a message to the children of the world and a well-known illustrator designs the poster. Many countries have nation-wide celebrations. This year’s poster is created by the IBBY section of the United Arab Emirates. 

The video for today was created by Ashley W. and showcases the poem, “Books” by Nancy White Carlstrom from The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. Here’s the "poemovie" featuring two young readers reciting "Books" against a background of library shelves FULL of books-- first in English and then in Spanish-- complete with proud smiles at the end!

For this poem and 155 more (all in English AND Spanish), order your own copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations HERE and for more Poetry Celebrations fun, click HERE. And for more on National Poetry Month, click HERE.

Celebrating National Poetry Month in April AND December

April is National Poetry Month and I have big plans for daily posts for you! This year, I'm featuring short videos that my students created of children reading poems (and posted with their permission). All of these poems come from my new book with Janet Wong and 100+ other poets: The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations: Holiday Poems for the Whole Year in English & Spanish. Many of the poems and videos feature holidays from April and I'll post those examples on the actual dates during April. But some of these poems showcase holidays from other days and months of the year (like this one from December) and I'll include many of those too-- and make it clear which poem is for which holiday on which date. 

First up, is this poem for December 10: Dewey Decimal Day!

Elizabeth Steinglass wrote the poem, "Looking for a Book" to celebrate Dewey Decimal Day (and books and libraries year-round) and Donna W. created this video featuring two adorable girls acting out and reciting the poem. Here it is:

For this poem and 155 more, order your own copy of The Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations HERE and for more Poetry Celebrations fun, click HERE. And for more on National Poetry Month, click HERE.

Share a poem, read a book, and visit the library-- with kids you care about!