Episode 2 — Playful Poetry Books to Share

Book Chat

Cookies and Milk

Expert Chat

 

Book Chat

• You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Stories to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman; illustrated by Michael Emberley (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2001)
  
  This book is a collection of 13 short stories in rhyme/verse form that are meant to be read aloud by two voices. The fun thing about this book is that each poem is color-coded with three different colors to signal whose turn it is to read and when readers should read together.
  
  Other books for two voices by Mary Ann Hoberman include  
  
  • You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2004)
  • You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tales to Read Together (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2005)
  • You Read to Me, I’ll Read to You: Very Short Scary Tales to Read Together (Little, Brown Young Readers, 2007)
  
  
• From the Bellybutton of the Moon and Other Summer Poems/Del ombligo de la luna y otros poemas de verano by Francisco X. Alarcόn; illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez (Children’s Book Press, 2005)
  
  This is a collection of summer poems that are written in both English and Spanish.  Alarcόn masterfully captures the spirit and playfulness of summer in his poems that are both succinct and full of vivid imagery.
  
  
• Love That Dog by Sharon Creech (Harper Trophy, 2001)
  
  Jack, the narrator of the story, is not impressed that his teacher is asking the class to learn about and write poetry. But, as Jack reads more poetry and begins to experiment with writing his own poetry, he finds his voice and learns that poems aren’t just for girls. Love That Dog is a short and simple narrative with a strong voice and a character that kids will relate to.

Cookies and Milk

Veronica, Terriza, Timmy, and Fabien enjoy chocolaty cookies while chatting with Emily about the books above. Like Jack in Love That Dog, the kids were initially a little hesitant about reading poetry but the books listed above quickly won them over. The family plans to read more poetry books together in the future.

Expert Chat

Dr. Sylvia Vardell is a professor at Texas Woman’s University and the author of many articles and books about poetry for children, including Poetry Aloud Here! Sharing Poetry With Children in the Library (American Library Association, 2006) and Poetry People: A Practical Guide to Children's Poets (Libraries Unlimited, 2007). On this episode of Chatting About Books, Dr. Vardell shares some ideas on how to approach poetry books with children. Check out Sylvia's Poetry for Children blog for even more ideas about engaging children with poetry.