Today on OOM we’re celebrating Poet’s Day! In addition to sharing some of our favorite poetry books for children, we would also like to celebrate young poets who aspire to or have been accepted to the National Students Poets Program, which is the country’s highest honor for youth poets presenting original work.
Five distinguished teen poets are annually appointed as literary ambassadors to spend one year sharing their work and engaging audiences across the country of all ages in the art of poetry. The National Student Poets Program is a signature initiative of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.
Whether you’re someone who writes poetry for a school assignment, dreams of being published someday, or enjoys reading and feeling inspired by poetry, we have some books that will celebrate the beauty of poetry for readers of all ages and interests.
Super Silly School Poems
By David Greenberg, Liza Woodruff
It really weird’ s you out/But you’re completely sure/You saw your teacher shopping/At the grocery store/Teachers live at school/Of this there is no doubt/Who unlocked the door/And let your teacher out? This school-themed collection contains wacky, wonderful poems about a recess secret, a show-and-tell mystery, a handful of homework excuses, and a sneaky, slithering, escaped class pet. These poems are sure to tickle the funny bone of any kid who's ever endured a gross cafeteria lunch or a teacher with eyes in the back of her head.
Hi, Koo!: A Year of Seasons
By Jon J Muth
A fresh take and exciting new look at the four seasons written and illustrated by New York Times bestselling author and Caldecott Honoree Jon J Muth, Hi, Koo! is a stunning companion to the beloved and bestselling picture books Zen Shorts, Zen Ties, and Zen Ghosts.Jon J Muth was inspired by his young twin son and daughter as he wrote and illustrated Hi, Koo! With a featherlight touch and disarming charm, Muth—and his delightful little panda bear, Koo—challenges readers to stretch their minds and imaginations with twenty-six haikus about the four seasons. In a starred review, Kirkus praised Hi, Koo!, “…in a word, magical.”
The Dreamer
By Pam Muñoz Ryan
In The Dreamer, award-winning author Pam Muñoz Ryan narrates the childhood of the painfully shy, awkward, imaginative boy Neftali Reyes, who, despite the opposition of his cruel, authoritarian father, eventually became one of the most widely read poets in the world, Pablo Neruda. Ryan weaves sound poems and thought-provoking questions into her exquisitely crafted prose to create a narrative tapestry of color, rhythm, and emotion, while celebrated artist Peter Sís’s delicate, mesmerizing drawings transport readers to the lushness of the rainforest, the vastness of the sea, and the whimsy of Neftalí’s imagination. Much to his father’s disappointment, Neftalí is not like other children. Frail and desperately shy, he spends most of his time alone: collecting treasures, reading, writing, and daydreaming. Neftali finds beauty and wonder everywhere: in the oily colors of mud puddles; a lost glove, sailing on the wind; the music of birds and language. While his father plans to build him into a robust doctor, Neftalí has other longings stirring inside him. The natural world in his native Chile and the painful injustices he witnesses there move him equally. Against all odds, Neftali prevails against his father's cruelty and his own crippling shyness to win the Nobel prize for Poetry, writing under the name Pablo Neruda. How Neftalí reconciles his own dreams with his father’s is at the heart of this inspiring, radiant, and profoundly moving story of self-discovery.
