Pocketful of Poems

Grimes, N. (2001). Pocketful of Poems. Illus. Javaka Steptoe. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Annotation: This is a poetry book that uses a lot of one verse and Haiku in it. The illustrator uses a lot of cut outs and objects we would find as "junk" so to speak to create the illustrations. The illustrations almost seem 3D to me.

Genre: Children's poetry

Grade Level: K-5

Readers who would like this: This would be a nice book for a teacher to keep for a poetry unit. It gives the student a different view of what poetry can look like besides typed plain text in a book.

Ratings/Response: I give this book a 3. I think the illustrations are unique and I like that the author uses real-life things to create poetry out of.

Question: Have you ever written a poem before?

Reading Strategy:
a) Tompkins #21 (interactive writing)
b) This is a classroom activity where students and take turns writing text onto large paper that the teacher has at the front of the class. They add punctuation and correct errors as each student takes turns adding what they know about punctuation and word choice.
c) This would match very well with this book, because the students can create a classroom poem of their own. Each student gets the opportunity to add their creativity to the poem and help students out with grammatical and punctuation errors. The class can decide as a group what the topic of the poem is going to be and the teacher can start the poem off for the class.

Popcorn: Poems

Bibliographic Information: Stevenson, J. (1998) Popcorn: Poems. New York: Greenwillow Books

Annotation: This is a book composed of short poems. There is a variety of poems to read. Many are fun and interesting. Some are sad, while others are funny. The poetry is simple and perfect for primary students.

Genre: Poetry

Grade Level: K-5 (read aloud for younger grades)

Readers who will like this book: I think most primary students would enjoy this book of poetry. There are many different topics, most students would be able to connect with at least 2 or 3.

Response/Rating: I haven't read poetry in years and this was a fun way to get back into poetry. The poems are fun and the illustrations are simple. This book made me smile. 4

Classroom questions: Do you know what poetry is? Do you have a favorite poem? Are all poems the same? What were some differences in the poems we read?

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Bibliographic Info: Silverstein, S. (2004). Where the Sidewalk Ends. Illus. Shel Silverstein. New York, New York: Harper Collins.

Annotation: This book holds over 180 pages of poems and drawings by Shel Silverstein. Most of the poems are extremely short but so cute and funny. Some make absolutely no sense at all and that just adds to the silliness of them. The drawings that accompany the poems are some of my all time favorites.

Genre: Comical/Children's Poetry

Grade Level: 3-6+

Readers who will like this book: Children of all ages will like the poems in this book. I think many emerging readers will enjoy the simplicity of some of the poems. It is a big book, but I think they would feel comfortable taking it just one or two poems at a time until confidence is built. Kids with a good sense of humor will love to read this or be read to.

Personal response: I really like all of Shel Silverstein's books. I own quite a few and I can still go back after years and laugh at the poems and pictures. The whole book has an upbeat tempo that keeps readers wanting to read another poem. I rate this book at a 4... I am not one to get wrapped up in poetry, but I can manage this. :)

A question you would ask before reading: It depends on the poem or poems being read. You can ask a goofy question "What would you do if you were an inch tall"... (for One Inch Tall) or even ask a question regarding a child's knowledge of poetry. Have you ever read a poem? Written a poem?

Reading Strategies Connection:
a). Poetic responses
b). A poetic response encourages children to write poetry in response to the literature read. Students are able to explore and express their understandings and feelings about a reading selection.
c.) This would be a great strategy for children of any age to create their own silly poem in response to those read in Where the Sidewalk Ends. Silverstein has such a huge array of poetry that it would be exciting for a child to make one poem (or several) of their own to share. They could write a response to a chosen poem or make one up entirely from scratch. It would get their artistic juices flowing.