Poetry Friday

Don’t Bump the Glump! and Other Fantasies by Shel Silverstein
Shel Silverstein has been a favorite among kids of all ages since his first book, Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back, was published in 1963. Shel Silverstein is known for his silliness, both in illustrations and in verse.
This new collection of poems is actually a reissue. [...]

POETRY FRIDAY

HA HA HA HA HA — POEMS TO MAKE YOU LAUGH!
Most kids are familiar with Shel Silverstein’s silly poems. His books have been making kids laugh for years. But have you ever heard of Jack Prelutsky? Move over, Shel Silverstein — you’ve got competition!
IT’S RAINING PIGS AND NOODLES by Jack Prelutsky
Prelusky’s poems are about [...]

Poetry Friday

POEMS AND RHYMES FOR THE LITTLEST ONES
Why read poems to babies? Babies are born with billions of nerve cells (neurons) in the brain that are all unconnected. It’s by positive, repeated sensory experience that the neurons are connected (by synapses). The richer and denser the synapses, the more developed the brain, and that leads to [...]

Poetry Friday

POETRY ABOUT NATURE
Nature has always inspired great poems. Here are a couple of favorite poetry books that focus on the natural world.
Shape Me A Rhyme, written by Jane Yolen with photographs by Jason Stemple. A gem of a book, it’s greatness is in it’s simplicity. Through each poem and the perfectly complementary pictures, shapes in [...]

Poetry Friday

COLLECTED POEMS FOR CHILDREN  by Ted Hughes
This magnificent volume came out just last year. Ted Hughes was Poet Laureate of England, writing for adults and children alike. His poems describe the the natural world, mostly animals, and are arranged in this book by age level, with poetry for youngest readers first.
His poems can be silly [...]

Poetry Friday

Eletelephony
Once there was an elephant,
Who tried to use the telephant–
No! no! I mean an elephone
Who tried to use the telephone–
(Dear me! I am not certain quite
That even now I’ve got it right.)

Howe’er it was, he got his trunk
Entangled in the telephunk;
The more he tried to get it free,
The louder buzzed the telephee–
I fear I’d [...]

Poetry Friday

“WHAT IF…”
What if…
You opened a book
About dinosaurs
And one stumbled out
And another and another
And more and more pour
Until the whole place
Is bumbling and rumbling
And groaning and moaning
And snoring and roaring
And dinosauring?
What if…
You tried to push them
Back inside
But they kept tromping
Off the pages instead?
Would you close the covers?
–Isabel Joshlin Glaser