SPORTS POEMS
With the warm weather come outdoor sports — basketball in the driveway or an outdoor court, Little League baseball, soccer games, swimming!
Poems about sports make some good rainy day or evening reading for kids. Or, try them for family read-alouds after an evening at the ball park. Here are a few suggestions.
EXTRA INNINGS: BASEBALL POEMS selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Mr. Hopkins has compiled many popular poetry collections. In this collection, there are 19 poems by different poets, each one complemented by a bright and lively realistic painting. Some are well-known poems like Ernest Lawrence’s “Casey at the Bat”. Others are more contemporary, like Sandra Liatsos’ “The Baseball”
I see it rise
to conquer space
like a rocket
in a race.
It hovers at
the peak of flight
almost past
my range of sight –
Then
down it dives
by air’s command
to make a landing
in my hand.
HOOPS by Robert Burleigh
This book will surely be appreciated by basketball enthusiasts. One poem moves like a smooth play on the court, across the softly illustrated pages of this book. To read it is to feel the game!
Check out the poetry section for more great books!
