For David Harrison’s blog
Hi everyone,
I asked Sylvia Vardell to share information about her wonderful new book, THE POETRY TEACHER’S BOOK OF LISTS. I ordered a copy right away and can tell you that it’s going to be an invaluable resource that I’ll be using for a long time to come and one that I recommend to all who are interested in poets and poetry. Sylvia responded to my request so I’ll turn the floor over to her.
Thank you, David, for this opportunity to toot my own horn for a moment. I created The Poetry Teacher’s Book of Lists as a comprehensive resource for teachers, librarians, and parents as a tool for promoting poetry with young people. It’s packed with poetry bibliographies and research-based strategies for selecting and sharing poetry with young people. Need help finding the perfect poem for a holiday celebration or a science unit? A funny riddle poem or a bilingual poetry book? The Poetry Teacher’s Book of Lists contains 155 different poetry bibliographies and lists of research-based strategies featuring 1500 poetry books for children and teens (ages 0-18).
Since you focus very effectively on teaching the WRITING of poetry, I thought I would share an excerpt with this focus. In fact, my book includes 15 different lists related to writing:
TEACHING POETRY WRITING
1. The Benefits of Writing Poetry with Young People
2. Books for Kids about Writing Poetry
3. Poetry Books with Commentary by Poets
4. Poet Artists
5. Poetry Books that Feature Fine Art
6. Poetry Books with Poetry Written by Children
7. Poetry Books with Poetry Written by Teens
8. Glossary of Poetry Terminology
9. Phonograms, Rimes and Rhymes
10. Survival Vocabulary
11. Possible Poetic Forms
12. The Biopoem Formula
13. Poetry Writing Checklist and Guidelines
14. Places to Publish Children’s Poetry Writing
15. Resource Books for Teaching Poetry Writing to Children
One of my favorite parts is the list of poetry books that include a bit of commentary by the poet about the writing of the poem. Here’s a look.
Poetry Books with Commentary by Poets
In the following books the poets provide a few lines of explanations about where the ideas for the poem comes from—fascinating and insightful, especially for aspiring poets.
Brenner, Barbara. 2000. Voices: Poetry and Art From Around the World. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society.
Clinton, Catherine. 1998. I, Too, Sing America: Three Centuries of African-American Poetry. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Cullinan, Bernice E. 1996. A Jar of Tiny Stars: Poems By NCTE Award Winning Poets. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong, Boyds Mills.
Fisher, Aileen and Bruce E. Cullinan, ed. 2002. I Heard a Bluebird Sing: Children Select Their Favorite Poems. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills.
Janeczko, Paul B. 1983. Poetspeak: In Their Work, About Their Work: A Selection. New York: Bradbury.
Janeczko, Paul B., selector. 1990. The Place My Words Are Looking For: What Poets Say About and Through Their Work. New York: Bradbury.
Janeczko, Paul. 2002. Seeing The Blue Between: Advice and Inspiration For Young Poets. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
Kennedy, X.J. and Kennedy, D. 1982. Knock At a Star. New York: Little Brown.
Kuskin, Karla. 1980. Dogs & Dragons, Trees & Dreams: A Collection of Poems. New York: Harper & Row.
Lawson, JonArno. 2008. Inside Out: Children’s Poets Discuss Their Work. London: Walker.
Lyon, George Ella. 1999. Where I’m From: Where Poems Come From. New York: Absey & Co.
Soto, Gary. 1990. A Fire in My Hands: A Book of Poems. New York: Scholastic.
Vardell, Sylvia and Wong, Janet. Eds. 2011. P*TAG: Poetry for Teens. PoetryTagTime.com.
Vardell, Sylvia and Wong, Janet. Eds. 2011. PoetryTagTime: Poetry for Children. PoetryTagTime.com.
Vardell, Sylvia and Wong, Janet. Eds. 2011. Gift Tag: Holiday Poetry for Young People. PoetryTagTime.com.
Wong, Janet S. 1996. A Suitcase of Seaweed, and Other Poems. New York: McElderry.
I also created a blog exclusively for the book that features an excerpt of EACH of the 155 lists in the book. Look here: http://poetryteachersbookoflists.blogspot.com
You’ll find recommended lists of poetry books tied to calendar events throughout the year, poetry that targets the needs of students acquiring English as a new language, poetry to help children through worries, adjustments or difficult times, 20 lists of poetry to support the study of science, social studies, and language arts, lists organized by different poetic forms, question prompts to guide meaningful discussions, preparation and presentation pointers, display ideas, poetry quotes, lesson plan tips, poet birthdays, and a poetry scavenger hunt and treasure hunt for kids—all tools to help jumpstart a poetry program and keep it energized and fresh all year long. Here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/83wezt2
Thanks for your help in spreading the word.
Sylvia
