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.

ALA Poetry Blast 2014

The next Poetry Blast will be held at the annual conference of the American Library Association in Las Vegas on Sunday, June 29 (3:00-4:30pm) in the PopTop Stage of the Convention Center. It's a fantastic event hosted by Barbara Genco and Marilyn Singer and I have never missed it-- until now. :-(  Unfortunately/fortunately, I have a conflict this year (and am receiving an award at the same time), so I won't be able to report on it as I usually do. But I thought I might post a little plug here anyway featuring the names and works of the poets who will be presenting there. 

Poets:
Joan Bransfield Graham
Nikki Grimes
Kenn Nesbitt
Kari Anne Holt
Marilyn Nelson
Emily Jiang
Jacqueline Woodson
Alan Katz
Margarita Engle
Marilyn Singer 

Selected books by the 2014 Poetry Blast poets
As I pulled together a list of poetry books by these ten poets, it totaled nearly 100 books! So, this list is just a partial listing of their works.

1. Alexander, Elizabeth and Nelson, Marilyn. 2007. Miss Crandall’s School for Young Ladies and Little Misses of Color. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong.
2. Engle, Margaret. 2006. The Poet Slave of Cuba: A Biography of Juan Francisco Manzano. New York: Holt.
3. Engle, Margarita. 2008. The Surrender Tree. New York: Holt.
4. Engle, Margarita. 2009. Tropical Secrets: Holocaust Refugees in Cuba. New York: Holt.
5. Engle, Margarita. 2010. The Firefly Letters; A Suffragette's Journey to Cuba. New York: Henry Holt.
6. Engle, Margarita. 2011. Hurricane Dancers; The First Caribbean Pirate Shipwreck. New York: Henry Holt. 
7. Engle, Margarita. 2012. The Wild Book. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

8. Engle, Margarita. 2014. Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

9. Engle, Margarita. 2014. Tiny Rabbit's Big Wish. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

10. Graham, Joan B. 2014. The Poem That Will Not End: Fun With Poetic Forms and Voices. Two Lions.

11. Graham, Joan Bransfield. 1994. Splish Splash. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
12. Graham, Joan Bransfield. 1999. Flicker Flash. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
13. Grimes, Nikki. 2000. Shoe Magic. New York: Orchard.
14. Grimes, Nikki. 2000. Stepping out with Grandma Mac. New York: Simon & Schuster.
15. Grimes, Nikki. 2001. A Pocketful of Poems. New York: Clarion.
16. Grimes, Nikki. 2002. Bronx Masquerade. New York: Dial.
17. Grimes, Nikki. 2002. Danitra Brown Leaves Town. New York: HarperCollins.
18. Grimes, Nikki. 2004. What is Goodbye? New York: Jump at the Sun/Hyperion.
19. Grimes, Nikki. 2005. Danitra Brown, Class Clown. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard.
20. Grimes, Nikki. 2005. Dark Sons. New York: Hyperion. 
21. Grimes, Nikki. 2006. Thanks a Million. New York: Amistad.
22. Grimes, Nikki. 2007. When Gorilla Goes Walking. New York: Orchard.
23. Grimes, Nikki. 2011. Planet Middle School. New York: Bloomsbury.

24. Grimes, Nikki. 2014. Poems in the Attic. New York: Lee & Low. 

25. Holt, K. A. 2014. Rhyme Schemer. San Francisco: Chronicle.

26. Jiang, Emily. 2014. Summoning the Phoenix: Poems and Prose About Chinese Musical Instruments. Ill. by April Chu. New York: Shen's Books/Lee & Low.

27. Katz, Alan. 2001. Take Me Out of the Bathtub and Other Silly Dilly Songs. New York: McElderry.
28. Katz, Alan. 2008. Oops. New York: McElderry.
29. Katz, Alan. 2008. Smelly Locker; Silly Dilly School Songs. New York: Simon & Schuster.
30. Katz, Alan. 2011. Mosquitoes Are Ruining My Summer! And Other Silly Dilly Camp Songs. New York: McElderry.
31. Katz, Alan. 2011. Poems I Wrote When No One Was Looking. Ill. by Ed Koren. New York: Simon & Schuster.
32. Nelson, Marilyn. 2001. Carver: A Life in Poems. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
33. Nelson, Marilyn. 2004. Fortune's Bones: The Manumission Requiem. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
34. Nelson, Marilyn. 2005. A Wreath for Emmett Till. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
35. Nelson, Marilyn. 2008. The Freedom Business. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
36. Nelson, Marilyn. 2009. Sweethearts of Rhythm; The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World. Ill. by Jerry Pinkney. NY: Dial. 

37. Nelson, Marilyn. 2014. How I Discovered Poetry. Ill. by Hadley Hooper. New York: Dial.

38. Nesbitt, Kenn. 2004. When the Teacher Isn't Looking. Minnetonka, MN: Meadowbrook Press.
39. Nesbitt, Kenn. 2007.  Revenge of the Lunch Ladies. Minnetonka, MN: Meadowbrook Press.
40. Nesbitt, Kenn. 2009. My Hippo Has the Hiccups with CD: And Other Poems I Totally Made Up. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
41. Nesbitt, Kenn. 2010. The Tighty Whitey Spider: And More Wacky Animal Poems I Totally Made Up. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
42. Singer, Marilyn, 2012. Every Day's a Dog's Day: A Year in Poems. New York: Dial.
43. Singer, Marilyn. 2001. Monster Museum. New York: Hyperion.
44. Singer, Marilyn. 2002. Footprints on the Roof: Poems about the Earth. New York: Knopf. 
45. Singer, Marilyn. 2003. Fireflies at Midnight. New York: Atheneum. 
46. Singer, Marilyn. 2003. How to Cross a Pond: Poems about Water. New York: Knopf. 
47. Singer, Marilyn. 2004. Creature Carnival. New York: Hyperion.
48. Singer, Marilyn. 2005. Central Heating: Poems about Fire and Warmth. New York: Knopf. 
49. Singer, Marilyn. 2005. Monday on the Mississippi. New York: Henry Holt.
50. Singer, Marilyn. 2008. First Food Fight This Fall. New York: Sterling.
51. Singer, Marilyn. 2010. Mirror, Mirror. New York: Dutton.
52. Singer, Marilyn. 2011. A Full Moon is Rising. Lee & Low.
53. Singer, Marilyn. 2011. A Stick Is an Excellent Thing. Ill. by LeUyen Pham. New York: Clarion. 
54. Singer, Marilyn. 2011. Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom. New York: Knopf.
55. Singer, Marilyn. 2012. A Strange Place to Call Home: The World’s Most Dangerous Habitats and the Animals That Call Them Home. San Francisco: Chronicle.
56. Singer, Marilyn. 2012. The Boy Who Cried Alien. Ill. by Brian Biggs. New York: Hyperion.
57. Singer, Marilyn. 2012. The Superheroes Employment Agency. Ill. by Noah Z. Jones. New York: Clarion.
58. Singer, Marilyn. 2013. Follow, Follow. New York: Dial.
59. Woodson, Jacqueline. 2003. Locomotion. New York: Putnam.
60. Woodson, Jacqueline. 2014. Brown Girl Dreaming. New York: Penguin.

Now let's join the group celebrating Poetry Friday over at Buffy's Blog!

First Day of Summer

Tomorrow, Saturday, June 21, is officially the first day of summer! 
Here's a poem to celebrate from The Poetry Friday Anthology.

Family Vacation
   by Allan Wolf

I started packing Monday
when I gathered up my shirts.
My sister packed away a blouse,
a hairbrush, and three skirts.

Daddy packed his razor
and his woolen dress-up slacks.
Mother packed her flowered dress
and a box of crunchy snacks.
  
We gathered up a couple lamps
and a box of dictionaries,
we even took Sir William
and Bernice, our pet canaries,

the sofa and the kitchen sink,
my old, stuffed Teddy Bear,
the television, bicycles,
Great Grandma’s rocking chair!

By Friday we had taken
all the things we had to take.
We even took some things
we really needed by mistake.

We’re ready for vacation now,
with all the stuff we’re towing.
The only problem is that we’ve 
forgotten where we’re going!

Take 5

(Here are the activities in The Poetry Friday Anthology that accompany this poem.)

1. As a poetry prop for sharing this poem, have a suitcase or backpack handy while you read the poem aloud.

2. Share the poem again and invite students to chime in on the last two lines of the poem (The only problem is that we’ve / forgotten where we’re going!). Read the rest of the poem aloud, starting slowly, accelerating speed as you go, and then pausing before the final stanza. 

The Texas Edition

3. For discussion: What is the one item you feel like you can’t leave behind when packing for a trip?

4. Poets give their poems shape in many ways. Here the poem is made up of four-line stanzas, or quatrains. Talk with students about each stanza and what it adds to the poem. What details tell you the poem is humorous?

5. Match this poem with the acrostic poem “Family Vacation” by Kathi Appelt (4th Grade, Week 35, page 221), the packing poem “By the Sea” by Lesléa Newman (1st Grade, Week 35, page 101), or selections from Vacation: We’re Going to the Ocean! by David L. Harrison.

Now head on over to Check it Out where Jone is hosting our Poetry Friday gathering!

Image credit: Middle-state.com