Feed Me Books Friday: April is National Poetry Month

A Poem is More than a Rhyme

Lots of children’s books are full of rhymes, but that doesn’t really mean they are all poetry. From where I stand, a book written in rhyme may or may not be a poem, and a poem may or may not be a rhyme. I adore poetry – reading it, writing it, sharing it – so how do I define it? I really like this definition:

Poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices so as to evoke an emotional response. […] The very nature of poetry as an authentic and individual mode of expression makes it nearly impossible to define. (From about.com)

If poetry is an imaginative awareness of experience, then exposure to that awareness could certainly promote growth in any of the developmental domains, depending on the experience! I keep a section on B’s book shelf reserved for poetry books, and I’ve been trying to give them a little extra attention this month, but unfortunately haven’t gotten any up to post yet – hopefully this will be only the first of at least a few special features.


Couplets on Common Characters

One poetry book that B has enjoyed enough to request repeat performances is Douglas Florian’s Beast Feast. Florian is known for his accessible and often humorous children’s poetry, but he refrains from downright slapstick jokes and imbues his poems with a quietly curious quality. I especially like this excerpt from “The Ants,”

While down below

Beneath the mound
They’re building tunnels
Underground.
And so it’s been –
And it will be –
Since greatest
Ant antiquity.

Simple and yet profound. Also love that much of Florian’s work includes really meaty language that is just the ticket to passively building vocabulary. Florian also illustrates his poetry with very kid-friendly paintings. They are colorful and attractive without being cartoonish or immature. Beast Feast, as you might guess, is a collection of animal poems. Besides “The Ants,” you’ll also find “The Walrus,” “The Armadillo,” “The Camel,” and “The Sloth,” among others. Florian has several other themed poetry collections, many of which are living on my wish list right now!
Appropriate for: everyone!

Kids’ Poetry Challenge


Janelle at Brimful Curiosities is hosting a Kids’ Poetry Challenge for the Month of April. The first two weeks got away from me, but I’m excited to be able to join in this week. Even if you don’t have a poem to share (try next week!) you should check out her explanation post – she’s got a ton of great poetry resources and links listed there! Janelle’s post also reminded me that there’s more great poetry to be found (some kids some not) each week at the Poetry Friday Round-up, hosted this week at Random Noodling.

Do you have a favorite poem book to read with kids? Even if you don’t have a post about it for this week, I’d love to hear suggestions in the comments! Don’t forget: There are a couple days left in library appreciation week – check out our activity if you haven’t already!





[*Poetry Month Logo from poets.org*]

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March Read Along: Anybody Hungry?

For a Story, a Craft, or a Snack?

Helping Little Hands is hosting a smorgasbord of reading this month. Have you checked out all the great books and activities yet? I’m pleased to be joining in the fun and sharing a entertaining books and easy craft.


A Mouth Full of Surprises

Lift-the-flap books are popular with the youngest babies (as long as they’re sturdy) but bigger kids enjoy the interactive aspect too. What’s for Dinner, by Ann Garrett and Gene-Michael Higney engages young listeners with rhymes, bright animal illustrations, and large flaps representing the mouth of each animal. The poem on each page identifies the animal as well as a snack the animal enjoys, which is revealed in the illustration by opening the mouth flap. Animals include a cat, a walrus, a frog, a bat, and a shark. Both the poems and the illustrations are full of humor, such as the cat “playing with her food,” which is a rat who is munching some cheese of his own. The final page is features a kid, whose snack has a funny reference of its own: a hot dog is not a dog at all! B enjoys repeated readings of this one, and he’s learned to contribute some of the under-the-flap sound effect words, like gulp, slurp, and crunch. The flaps and pages are both heavy cardstock, but I wouldn’t leave this one in the unsupervised hands of an inquisitive toddler (like T).


Feeding Your Face

http://officeimg.vo.msecnd.net/en-us/images/MH900323268.jpg

The giggles that ensued from the silly snacking in the story prompted me to put together a simple munching craft with a free printable, a paper lunch bag, and some clip art. Visit DLTK’s Growing Together for a long list of printable paper bag puppet parts. We started with a frog, but you can also find a cat and a bat, and the hippo could be pretty easily adapted to a walrus. Haven’t found a shark, but we could probably design our own. (Unless anybody wants to suggest a place to find one?) While B colored and cut out the puppet pieces, I found a clip-art fly from Microsoft and printed it out as well. When we assembled the puppet, we could “feed” it the fly! You could also use other animals to create new snackers; perhaps a bird munching a worm or a pig crunching some corn? Kids learn about animal behaviors while getting some fine motor practice in the assembly process. You could even extend this craft to a nutrition lesson by printing out some examples of food and discussing which are healthy choices to “feed” your puppet.

Appropriate for: some toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades.


Thanks, Polly, for including me in the read-along. If you’re a new visitor to Little Sprout Books, welcome! Visit this week’s Feed Me Books Friday post for a spring garden book and activity, and link up your own book recommendation while you’re there!

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Feed Me Books Friday: The Book I Can’t Believe I Don’t Own

(Yet)
 

not duck feet, but a boy can wish...

As I looked through Dr. Seuss titles for my Read Across America post Wednesday, I realized that a title that we don’t own definitely needs to be added to our shelf. I know I owned it as a child, and I’m a little surprised I gave it up, but perhaps it went to one of th cousins? It will be arriving Tuesday thanks to my AmazonMom free Prime membership. (That’s less of a plug for Amazon than a confession of my great challenge to limit my book purchases.) What, you may ask, is this desired book?


A Comical Lesson in Critical Thinking


Dr. Seuss also went by Theo LeSeig when he authored books he did not illustrate. I Wish That I Had Duck Feet is one of these books and thus is not one of the first thought of or found when searching for Dr. Seuss. In my opinion, it’s a hidden gem. The narrator of the story begins by wishing he had duck feet for the fun he could have in the water, but after some consideration realizes there may be some not-so-desirable effects as well (in particular, a not-so-pleased mom). So continues the pattern of the book, as he considers the pros and cons of various animal features: deer horns, a long trunk, a whale spout, a tail, and even a combination of several features. While each seems enticing at first, he soon realizes that he is better off being himself. Children will love the humorous pictures and the imagined scenarios of each animal option. The “be proud of who you are” lesson and cognitive model of critical thinking are the icing on the cake. The value of being yourself is implied similarly in another book we enjoyed, You Look Ridiculous, but I Wish That I Had Duck Feet focuses on the function and value of the physical features, rather than just the appearance. I’m excited for the arrival of this one on my doorstep – both because of the connection to my childhood and also because I’m looking forward to using it to help B understand pros and cons.

Appropriate for preschoolers, primary grades.


Did you get a chance to see my Read Across America post and the Cat in the Hat cupcakes?  Did you celebrate? Do you have a favorite Dr. Seuss (or Theo LeSeig) book? Got another book to share? Comment away and link up!

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Feed Me Books Friday: Grown-ups Get Sick, Too?

And We Keep Plugging Along…

It was during a conversation about why kids nap and grown-ups don’t that B had this revelation about adults and illness. I told him grown-ups nap sometimes when they are sick to help them get better faster, and he responded incredulously. B is a pretty observant kid, so I think the fact that it had never occurred to him that Mommy and Daddy get coughs and runny noses was less due to inattention than our habit of trying to keep up the pace. As parents, many of us feel compelled to make sure our kids don’t suffer for our infirmities, so we have some hot tea with a day-quil chaser and try to go on with our normal day. Last couple days, I’ve been fighting some virus that B has been battling all week. My throat is sore, I’m achy and tired, but he’s feeling worse than me, so I’m putting aside my complaints to try to make him feel better.


If Laughter is the Best Medicine…

Bring out the silly books! We are entertained by Farm Flu, by Teresa Bateman, anytime, but it’s especially good to coax out the grins when we’re under the weather. In this playful rhyming story, the young narrator is left in charge of the farm while his mother is gone. He finds a cow has come down with the flu, so he takes her inside to care for her. As time passes, other animals all over the farm begin to exhibit symptoms, and each is dutifully cared for by our sympathetic narrator who continues to base his treatment on the refrain, “I knew what Mom would do, If it were me that had the flu.” He also gets a taste of any mom’s frustration when her coddling has been taken advantage of. When he sets some limits for the “sick” animals and cuts out their unlimited TV, games, and popcorn, they quickly decide they aren’t so sick after all! They do, however, show their appreciation for the treatment they received when the boy comes down with the flu himself and they attend to him. I like both messages in this book, first (and funniest) that while being babied might feel nice when we’re sick, there is a limit to the “have-it-your-way” treatement; and second, sometimes the caretaker in the family needs some care too. Makes a nice springboard for discussion of caring for others and not taking advantage of others – both social emotional skills to cultivate.
Appropriate for: toddlers, preschoolers, primary grades.
How do you take care of yourself when you’re under the weather without letting your kids down? After another cup of herbal tea, I’ll be visiting all the links you leave as well as those over at Read.Explore.Learn.

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