Jennifer Knight, Youth Services Librarian

Celebrate National Poetry Month with Children

Publication Date: April, 2019
Sequim Gazette
Columnist: Jennifer Knight, Youth Services Librarian

Every day is a good day for sharing poetry with children. Poetry is a powerful tool to use with children of all ages, bolstering vocabulary and developing critical thinking skills. Poetry encourages the reader to stop and reflect – two skills that are often missing in today’s fast-paced world, but which are important to a child’s academic success. Poems can be a wonderful springboard into conversation about the world.

Here are a few favorite poetry collections available at the North Olympic Library System:

The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems (2019) Edited by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Richard Jones
A diverse array of poets offers instructions on “how to” do everything from meeting a hedgehog to writing a poem.

Daniel Finds a Poem (2016) by Micha Archer
When a young boy sees a sign for a poetry competition, he asks different animals throughout a park about what poetry “is” and derives his own definition from their response.

Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets (2017) by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth; illustrated by Ekua Holmes
Remarkable, stunning collage illustrations by Coretta Scott King Award winning artist Ekua Holmes accompany fresh poems written in the style of famous poets and offer a jumping off point for future exploration.

A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems (2009) by Deborah Ruddell; illustrated by Joan Rankin
If ever there was a collection of poems that reflected the outdoors, this is it. From badger to salamander, each wildlife poem invites the reader outside.

Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems (2014) selected by Paul B. Janeczko and Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Simple, sweet poems and bright illustrations for every season make this collection a winner for young audiences.

The Poetry of US (2018) Edited by J. Patrick Lewis
Over 200 thought-provoking poems are paired with National Geographic photographs that reflect the cultural and geographic diversity of the United States.

I’m Just No Good at Rhyming: and Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups (2017) by Chris Harris and Illustrated by Lane Smith
Fans of Shel Silverstein will love Chris Harris and Lane Smith’s hilarious collaboration that covers everything from avocados to giraffes.

In the Past by David Elliott, illustrated by Matthew Trueman
Dinosaur poetry?! Need I say more? Gorgeous illustrations accompany poems about dinosaurs from the Brachytrachelopan to the Megalodon separated into geologic time periods.

Need more poetry titles? Contact library staff at BookMatch by emailing BookMatch@nols.org for information.

The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-To Poems
Daniel Finds a Poem
Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets
A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems
Firefly July: A Year of Very Short Poems
The Poetry of Us
I’m Just No Good at Rhyming: and Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups
In the Past