George R. Hanaford School Library: Module 1: Poets, Poetry, and Becoming Writers

In this diverse collection, #1 New York Times best-selling author and editor Caroline Kennedy has chosen more than a hundred poems that speak to all of us: the young and young at heart, and poetry-lovers new and old. There's a poem to celebrate every moment in life, whether it's hitting a home run, watching a sunset, or laughing with your best friend. A poem is a gift of the heart that can inspire, reassure, or challenge us. These lovingly selected poems explore deep emotions, as well as ordinary experiences. They cover the range of human experience and imagination.   Divided into sections about nature, family, friendship, sports, school, magic, and more, the book includes thoughtful introductions from Caroline reflecting on her own family's engagement with and enjoyment of poetry. Illustrated with striking watercolor paintings by award-winning artist Jon J. Muth, this is truly a book for all ages and interests, and one that families will want to share for years to come.

When you learn a poem by heart, it becomes a part of you. You know it in your mind, in your mouth, in your ears, in your whole body. And best of all, you know it forever. From the creators of the bestselling You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series comes this new collection of poems especially suitable for learning by heart and saying aloud. With personal introductions by former Children's Poet Laureate Mary Ann Hoberman -- as well as her own time-tested tips and tools for memorization and recitation -- and vivid illustrations by Michael Emberley featuring his trademark wit and lively characters, Forget-Me-Nots includes more than 120 works from both classic and contemporary poets, from childhood favorites to lesser-known treasures. This anthology will inspire a love of learning poetry!

Best Children's Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education Notable Books in the Language Arts, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Notable Poetry List, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Award-winning poet Nikki Grimes presents a tender poetry collection where a young girl learns about her mother, the child of an Air Force serviceman. During a visit to her grandma's house, a young girl discovers a box of poems in the attic, poems written by her mother when she was growing up. Her mother's family often moved around the United States and the world because her mother's father was in the Air Force. Over the years, her mother used poetry to record everything she saw and did in the many places their family lived. Reading the poems and sharing those experiences through her mother's eyes, the young girl feels closer to her mother than ever before. To let her mother know this, she creates a gift: a book with her own poems and copies of her mother's. And when she returns her mother's poems to the box in the attic, she leaves her own poems too, for someone else to find, someday. Using free verse for the young girl's poems and tanka for her mother's, master poet Nikki Grimes creates a tender intergenerational story that speaks to every child's need to hold onto special memories of home, no matter where that place might be.

LEARN HOW TO WRITE LIKE THE EXPERTS, FROM THE EXPERTS. In Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook, you'll find practical advice in a perfect package for young aspiring writers. After receiving letters from fans asking for writing advice,accomplished authors Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter joined together to create this guidebook for young writers. The authors mix inspirational anecdotes with practical guidance on how to find a voice, develop characters and plot, make revisions, and overcome writer's block. Fun writing prompts will help young writers jump-start their own projects, and encouragement throughout will keep them at work.

Musician, botanist, baseball player, pilot--the Latinos featured in Bravo!, by author Margarita Engle and illustrator Rafael López, come from many different countries and from many different backgrounds. Celebrate their accomplishments and their contributions to a collective history and a community that continues to evolve and thrive today! Biographical poems include: Aida de Acosta, Arnold Rojas, Baruj Benacerraf, César Chávez, Fabiola Cabeza de Baca, Félix Varela, George Meléndez, José Martí, Juan de Miralles, Juana Briones, Julia de Burgos, Louis Agassiz Fuertes, Paulina Pedroso, Pura Belpré, Roberto Clemente, Tito Puente, Ynes Mexia, Tomás Rivera. Bravo! también está disponible en edición en español.

A little girl discovers the beauty in herself--and the beauty of the world around her--not by looking in the mirror but by looking in her Nana's eyes. Synthia Saint James's gloriously bright illustrations in this paperback edition show young readers how to see the beauty, and the accompanying CD of Sweet Honey In The Rock singing the song lets them hear it.

In this Parents' Choice Gold Award-winning book, Selig collects words, ones that stir his heart (Mama!) and ones that make him laugh (giggle). But what to do with so many luscious words? After helping a poet find the perfect words for his poem (lozenge, lemon, and licorice), he figures it out: His purpose is to spread the word to others. And so he begins to sprinkle, disburse, and broadcast them to people in need.

Thirteen classic poems by poets such as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, and David McCord are paired with parodies that honor and play off of the original poems in a range of ways. For example, "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is paired with "Stopping by Fridge on a Hungry Evening" to hilarious effect, whereas the combination of Emily Dickinson's "'Hope' is the thing with feathers" with Lewis's "'Grief' is the thing with tissues" is profound, and both David McCord's "This Is My Rock" and Lewis's "This Is My Tree" hum with a sense of wonder. This playful introduction to classics will inspire imagination and wonder even as it tickles funny bones.

A buoyant, breathtaking poem from Juan Felipe Herrera -- brilliantly illustrated by Caldecott Honoree Lauren Castillo -- speaks to every dreaming heart. Have you ever imagined what you might be when you grow up? When he was very young, Juan Felipe Herrera picked chamomile flowers in windy fields and let tadpoles swim across his hands in a creek. He slept outside and learned to say good-bye to his amiguitos each time his family moved to a new town. He went to school and taught himself to read and write English and filled paper pads with rivers of ink as he walked down the street after school. And when he grew up, he became the United States Poet Laureate and read his poems aloud on the steps of the Library of Congress. If he could do all of that . . . what could you do? With this illustrated poem of endless possibility, Juan Felipe Herrera and Lauren Castillo breathe magic into the hopes and dreams of readers searching for their place in life.

The 2018 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Winner A Newbery Medalist and a Caldecott Honoree's New York Times best-selling ode to poets who have sparked a sense of wonder. Out of gratitude for the poet's art form, Newbery Award-winning author and poet Kwame Alexander, along with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, present original poems that pay homage to twenty famed poets who have made the authors' hearts sing and their minds wonder. Stunning mixed-media images by Ekua Holmes, winner of a Caldecott Honor and a John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award, complete the celebration and invite the reader to listen, wonder, and perhaps even pick up a pen.

Every school day feels the same for fourth graders Lucy and Henry and Evie and Russell and May. Then Ms. Mirabel comes to their class--bringing magical words and a whole new way of seeing and understanding. From beloved author Patricia MacLachlan comes an honest, inspiring story about what is real and what is unreal, and about the ways that writing can change our lives and connect us to our own stories--word after word after word.

Discover the breadth and depth of Paul Laurence Dunbar's poetry--and learn how it reflects his singular life as a late-nineteenth-century black man. Did you know that Paul Laurence Dunbar originated such famous lines as "I know why the caged bird sings" and "We wear the mask that grins and lies"? From his childhood in poverty and his early promise as a poet to his immense fame and his untimely death, Dunbar's story is one of triumph and tragedy. But his legacy remains in his much-beloved poetry--told in both Standard English and in dialect--which continues to delight and inspire readers today. More than two dozen of Dunbar's poems are woven throughout this volume, illuminating the phases of his life and serving as examples of dialect, imagery, and tone. Narrating in a voice full of admiration and respect, Sally Derby introduces Paul Laurence Dunbar's life and poetry to readers young and old, aided by Sean Qualls's striking black-and-white illustrations.

I Carry Your Heart With Me is a children's adaptation of the beloved E. E. Cummings poem, beautifully illustrated by Mati Rose McDonough. Showing the strong bond of love between mother and child, within nature and throughout life, Cummings' heartfelt words expressed through McDonough's lovely illustrations combine to create a fresh, yet classic, portrayal of love. First published by Liveright Publishing in 1952 in Complete Poems: 1904-1962 by E. E. Cummings, as [i carry your heart with me (i carry it in], "I Carry Your Heart With Me" has become a classic and very popular poem over the years. McDonough's illustrations provide a new artistic interpretation on this familiar poem.

George loved words. Enslaved and forced to work long hours, he was unable to attend school or learn how to read. But he was determined_x2015_he listened to the white children's lessons and learned the alphabet. Then he taught himself to read. Soon, he began composing poetry in his head and reciting it aloud as he sold fruits and vegetables on a nearby college campus. News of the enslaved poet traveled quickly among the students, and before long, George had customers for his poems. But George was still enslaved. Would he ever be free? Award-winning author-illustrator Don Tate tells an inspiring and moving story of talent and determination in thispowerful picture book biography of George Moses Horton, the first southern Black writer to have his work published.

Slam poetry is meant to be heard! Read about how the style started and how people are using it to say what they think and feel. Will you try to write a slam poem? This nonfiction book includes important text features such as a glossary, index, and table of contents to engage students in reading as they develop their comprehension, vocabulary, and literacy skills. The Reader's Guide and culminating activity direct students back to the text as they develop their higher-order thinking skills. Check It Out! provides resources for additional reading and learning. With TIME For Kids content, this book aligns with national and state standards and will keep grade 4 students engaged in learning.

A wonderful picture book introduction to a legendary American writer It's a special day when a little girl and her father go to visit the house where the great poet Langston Hughes lived--especially when the little girl is a poet herself! This rhythmic tale is a wonderful introduction to the work and world of Langston Hughes, who was a central figure of the Harlem Renaissance and an American cultural hero.

"I guess it does look like a poem when you see it typed up like that." Jack hate poetry. Only girls write it and every time he tries to, his brain feels empty. But his teacher, Ms. Stretchberry, won't stop giving her class poetry assignments -- and Jack can't avoid them. But then something amazing happens. The more he writes, the more he learns he does have something to say. With a fresh and deceptively simple style, acclaimed author Sharon Creech tells a story with enormous heart. Written as a series of free-verse poems from Jack's point of view, Love That Dog shows how one boy finds his own voice with the help of a teacher, a writer, a pencil, some yellow paper, and of course, a dog.

A Newbery Honor Book A beautiful and moving novel from a three-time Newbery Honor-winning author "Hope is the thing with feathers" starts the poem Frannie is reading in school. Frannie hasn't thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more "holy." There is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy. And although the new boy looks like a white kid, he says he's not white. Who is he? During a winter full of surprises, good and bad, Frannie starts seeing a lot of things in a new light--her brother Sean's deafness, her mother's fear, the class bully's anger, her best friend's faith and her own desire for "the thing with feathers." Jacqueline Woodson once again takes readers on a journey into a young girl's heart and reveals the pain and the joy of learning to look beneath the surface. "[Frannie] is a wonderful role model for coming of age in a thoughtful way, and the book offers to teach us all about holding on to hope."--Children's Literature "A wonderful and necessary purchase for public and school libraries alike."--VOYA  

Look carefully! The wild animals of Africa spring to life in clever, lighthearted poems and compelling, evocative photographs.Inside every acrostic is a secret message, often lurking in the first letter of each line (read top to bottom). But look out! These acrostics not only follow their subjects to Africa, but they also take the form to a whole new level. Here you'll find the elusive double acrostic (in which the first and last letters of each line spell a message), the cross acrostic (in which the message is read diagonally), and the multiple acrostic (see it to believe it) - not to mention lions, zebras, crocodiles, hippos, leopards, and elephants. Oh, my! Illustrated with gorgeous full-color photographs, this collection is sure to send poetry buffs and animal lovers on an armchair safari they'll never forget. Back matter includes information about acrostics, nature notes, and a photographer's note.

Meet Genny Glubber, who’s fat like blubber, and Mr. Giles, who has seven smiles. And Little-Naughty-Nasty Ned, who glued his brother to a bed. Come along and join the fun--this book has a poem for everyone! “From the sunlit yellow of its jacket to the humorous tone of its verse, this should prove a popular choice for poetry shelves.”--Booklist

In 1761, a young African girl was sold to the Wheatley family in Boston. The family named her Phillis after the schooner that transported her to slavery. Kidnapped from her home in Africa, she had everything taken away from her, but Phillis Wheatley was no ordinary young girl.

An award-winning, big-hearted time capsule of one class's poems during a transformative school year. A great pick for fans of Margarita Engle and Eileen Spinelli.   Eighteen kids, one year of poems, one school set to close. Two yellow bulldozers crouched outside, ready to eat the building in one greedy gulp.   But look out, bulldozers. Ms. Hill's fifth-grade class has plans for you. They're going to speak up and work together to save their school.   Families change and new friendships form as these terrific kids grow up and move on in this whimsical novel-in-verse about finding your voice and making sure others hear it. Honors and Praise: Winner of a Cybils Award in Poetry Winner of an Arnold Adoff Poetry Honor Award for New Voices An NCTE Notable Verse Novel A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of the Year An ILA-CBC Children's Choice Nominated for the Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award, the Wisconsin State Reading Association Children's Book Award, the Rhode Island Children's Book Award, and the Great Stone Face Award (New Hampshire), Lectio Book Award Master List  "This gently evocative study of change in all its glory and terror would make a terrific read-aloud or introduction to a poetry unit. A most impressive debut." --School Library Journal "Sure to inspire the poet in all of us, young and old." --Mark Goldblatt, author of Twerp

With 6 starred reviews, 8 best of the year lists, and over 20 state award nominations, everyone is raving about Mirror Mirror! "Remarkable."-The Washington Post "This mind-bending poetry is accompanied by Masse's equally intelligent, equally amusing art."-Time Out New York for Kids What's brewing when two favorites-poetry and fairy tales-are turned (literally) on their heads? It's a revolutionary recipe- an infectious new genre of poetry and a lovably modern take on classic stories.First, read the poems forward (how old-fashioned!), then reverse the lines and read again to give familiar tales, from Sleeping Beauty to that Charming Prince, a delicious new spin. Witty, irreverent, and warm, this gorgeously illustrated and utterly unique offering holds a mirror up to language and fairy tales, and renews the fun and magic of both.