Celebrate National Poetry Month during the month of April! Poetry ‘s emphasis on sound, rhythm, rhyme,
repetition and imagery can help create a rich early language environment that
can enhance a child’s future reading skills and pleasure. And poems and poetic books are naturally
interactive, making for a delightful read-aloud experience.
To model the interaction, you might first read a page or two
of the book, practice the refrain, rhyming words, or movement with your listeners,
and then do an expressive, interactive read of the whole book.
babies/toddlers
I Love You as Much by Laura Krauss Melmed, illustrated by Henri
Sorensen. Encourage little ones to repeat
the soothing refrain and find the animal mother and baby on every page.
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox, illustrated
by Helen Oxenbury. Stop reading and ask
youngsters to wiggle their fingers and toes whenever those body parts are
mentioned. The babies pictured are from
all over the globe, widening the young listener’s world and modeling inclusion.
ages 3 to 8
King of the Zoo by Erica Perl, illustrated by Jackie Urbanovic. This giggle-worthy walk on the wild side gives kids a chance to repeat rhymes
and a lively refrain. At the end, ask
about their favorite animal in the book and brainstorm missing animals. Have them choose an animal king (or queen)
for their own zoo and draw a picture of that animal.
A Leaf Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas, illustrated by Violeta
Dabija. Encourage youngsters to point
out how leaves are used in the pictures and name some other ways that leaves
might be used. Bring different kinds of
leaves and let kids each choose one to touch, smell, and learn about. Why are leaves important?
Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill
McElmurry. Ask kids to chime in with the
animal and truck sounds. At the end,
talk about how Little Blue Truck and the animals worked together. Why did they work together?
Over in the Forest by Marianne Berkes, illustrated by Jill Dubin. Count the animals, find their tracks, and repeat the rhyming words. Have children act out the repeated movement of each animal (build, graze, rap).
age 9 and up
In the Spin of Things by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, illustrations by Karen Dugan. Read a poem or two and ask kids to name the sounds and motions. As a group, choose something (fire truck, cake mixer, toaster, etc.) not in this collection and have each child name a sound or action associated with that thing to create a group poem.
In the Spin of Things by Rebecca Kai Dotlich, illustrations by Karen Dugan. Read a poem or two and ask kids to name the sounds and motions. As a group, choose something (fire truck, cake mixer, toaster, etc.) not in this collection and have each child name a sound or action associated with that thing to create a group poem.
This post was written for TRC by Mary Quattlebaum. Mary has written numerous picture books, novels and collections of poetry for children. She also teaches creative writing and writes frequently for the Washington Post and other publications.
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