LIST POETRY
At this table, students can read poems from Georgia Heard's book FALLING DOWN THE PAGE
. I have also included skinny strips of paper and pencils at this table so kids can try their own list poetry writing.
I love the POETRY TAG TIME
kindle book that Mary Lee told me about. Several children's poets got together to play poetry tag and write poetry. One poet began and tagged another. The next poet writes a poem that is connected in some way and tags someone else. Most of our kids don't have any experience with ebook readers so just putting this out to play with has been good.POETRY ON THE IPODS
I have several song and poetry apps on the ipods. TALES2GO has a poem that kids can listen to. DUCK DUCK MOOSE has several songs, and I just discovered POET KIDS which is like magnetic poetry on the ipod.
POETRY PLACE MATSI gathered many food poems and food poetry books. At this table, kids can read poems about food and make a place mat. After weaving the place mat, kids then add some food poems to the place mat. Some books at this table are WHAT'S ON THE MENU?
, EATS
and FRANKENSTEIN MAKES A SANDWICH
.ORIGAMI POETRY
FOLD ME A POEM
by Kristine O'Connell George has always been popular in our library. I found directions for making the dog in the book on George's website. At this table, kids can read the poems and make the dog or other items from the book.SHAPE POEMS
Many kids have never taken the time to look at the great shape poems in books such as DOODLE DANDIES
. This table is full of those. I may introduce TAGXEDO this week so that kids can create their own shape poems with this tool.SONGS
This table includes many song books. A new favorite is IF YOU'RE HOPPY AND YOU KNOW IT
. Alan Katz's books such as TAKE ME OUT OF THE BATHTUB
are also popular. Kids are having a ball finding the accompanying songs on the Internet and playing clapping games with others (such as MISS MARY MACK
).
FUN WITH WORDS
One table celebrates playing with words. Included are games such as Bananagrams
and Hinky Pinky 
and books. The books invite kids to play with words in a variety of ways. Some of the favorites are ANIMAL SOUP
, MOM AND DAD ARE PALINDROMES
and 13 WORDS
.POETRY SPLATTER ON THE SMARTBOARD
I found POETRY SPLATTER on RIF's website. (Thanks, Carol!) I put this up on the Smartboard and kids are having fun dragging over words to create their own poems.
POETRY WITH FRIENDS
This table has lots of fun poetry books to read with friends. The YOU READ TO ME
series as well as JOYFUL NOISE
are part of this table for kids to read together.POETRY WEBSITES
Computers are set up for students to explore websites such as GIGGLE POETRY, POETRY4KIDS, and Shel Silverstein's website.
LEMONADE
This table only houses the new poetry book LEMONADE
, some magnetic letters, pencils and paper. Students can read and enjoy the poems and also try some of their own scrambled poetry here.Other spaces include pillows for reading poems by favorite poets, a table with Acrostic and Haiku and a space to try Poetry Riddles.
We are all looking forward to a fun week of poetry!
, due out September 2011).
While in San Antonio this weekend. we visited the local independent children's bookstore, Twig. I always like to visit bookstores in different cities. Even though we have the best children's bookstore here in Columbus (Cover to Cover), I know that other stores might have books by local authors and other things I may have missed. I always find a few little surprises when I go to bookstores while traveling.
S is a poetry book that I picked up in San Antonio. I was so excited to see this book. I don't know the author so I think it was the idea of peace that drew me in. This book is amazing. It gives readers to much to think about. The book is filled with poems around the idea of peace. And the author, 
I loved Andrew Clements' book DOGKU and so did my students. 
is a story about a dog who finds a new home. Each page is told in Haiku and the Haiku work together to tell a story. So, I was thrilled to see a new book that is similar called 
by Lee Wardlaw. This is the story of a cat--told from the cat's perspective. He starts the story from a shelter and is quickly adopted by a young boy. The story shares the joys and stresses of moving in with a new family and the relationships between the cat and his new family. There are parts in the story that are more serious and others that are humorous. The shape of the book and the colorful illustrations add to story. A fun addition to any poetry collection and a great companion to Dogku.
A LAND OF BIG DREAMS: VOICES OF COURAGE IN AMERICA
is a picture book that celebrated 13 Americans. Each page features the words as well as a bit of information about one of these Americans. Included in the book are Thomas Jefferson, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and others. The pages are organized in chronological order--beginning with Thomas Jefferson and ending with Barack Obama. A quote by the famous American starts each page and a bit of information connected to the quote is explained following the quote. The back of the book includes a short piece with biographical information on each of the 13. This book is organized in a way that can really help children see the influence of others and the words that made a difference. 
by Cynthia Pratt Nicolson is 
this month's Junior Library Guild Selection for the category we receive. I was excited to see it as it was new to me and I am sure kids will love it. This book shares the reasons we, as humans, do many of the things we do (hiccup, throw up, listen to music and love pets to name a few). Each two-page spread focuses on one of these questions and each question is followed by a pretty detailed explanation. I like this book because it brings together difficult scientific concepts with fun illustrations to engage readers. The text is written in a way that helps readers understand the basics of genetics and inherited features. It does so in a very fun way, with topics that are interesting to children. This book is pretty packed and can be read cover to cover or in short pieces. 
I learned about 
by Catherine Rondina at the last Twitter #titletalk that was focused on nonfiction books. 
