April is National Poetry Month

Welcome to National Poetry Month!  I have decided to focus on reading children's poetry this month with Z and we invite you to join us on your own blog or here in comments.  If you read a children's poem or book of poetry, stop by and tell us about it or leave a link on any of our poetry-related posts!

My favorite poetry related day is Poem In Your Pocket Day.  Don't forget on Thursday April 29 to write down a poem and put it in your pocket -- ready for the right moment to share it with a friend or family member.  I am going to put one in Z's pocket to share at school!  We'll share our poems with you on that day too.

If you need some ideas for the month, some of the books we will be pulling off of our shelves or getting from the library are --
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
The Original Mother Goose
The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry by Bill Martin Jr.
Messing Around on the Monkey Bars by Betsy Franco (courtesy of Candlewick Press)
African Acrostics: A Word In Edgeways by Deborah Noyes (also courtesy of Candlewick Press)
Poetry for Young People by Edward Lear
William Carlos Williams: Poetry for Young People by William Carlos Williams
Sea Watch: A Book of Poetry by Jane Yolen
In the Eyes of the Cat: Japanese Poetry for All Seasons selected by Demi
Be Glad Your Nose is On Your Face and Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky
and, of course, a bit of Dr. Seuss!

I also just found an amazing site, The Children's Poetry Archive, where you can hear poets reading their own works!  It's amazing to hear Langston Hughes reading "I, Too", recorded in 1955.

Signing off
but not in verse --
My prose is bad,
my poetry worse,
K and Z