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Today is National Poetry Day in Britain. On WOW! Women On Writing’s blog, “The Muffin,” I wrote a little about how Britain celebrates this day and included a really cool picture of a refrigerator door with a poem painted on it! Check this post out here if you are interested in celebrating poetry.

One of the greatest poets is children’s poet, Jack Prelutsky, and he is definitely Timeless Thursday material. Like Shel Silverstein, he makes poetry less scary for children. He makes poetry fun for children. He makes children want to write poetry, and I would bet a million dollars (if I had it) that he has the same affect on adults.

Share some of these Jack Prelutsky books with your students–no matter what grade you teach from preschool to college:

In 2006, Jack Prelutsky was named the first Children’s Poet Laureate in the United States. I love this paragraph from the Poetry Foundation’s press release about Jack Prelutsky and the Children’s Poet Laureate honor. This paragraph below speaks nothing but the truth! I hope it is something that all of us writers, parents, and teachers take to heart–and remember every day, not just on National Poetry Day:

“The new award aims to raise awareness that children have a natural receptivity to poetry and are its most appreciative audience, especially when poems are written specifically for them. Findings from the Poetry Foundation’s recent research study—Poetry in America—demonstrate that a lifelong love for poetry is most likely to result if cultivated early in childhood and reinforced thereafter.”

So tomorrow, pick up a poetry book–Jack Prelutsky’s, Shel Silverstein’s, or your favorite–and start cultivating that love of poetry in your children and students.

I love the picture book, Make Way for Ducklings, written in 1941 by Robert McCloskey because he “noticed the traffic problem of the ducks” in Boston when he returned there to work. He had heard stories about them, and so he wrote and illustrated this timeless picture book.

Why should you still use this book with preschoolers, kindergarteners, and first graders? Because they will love it. First, the illustrations are priceless. My favorite is when the ducks want to cross the street, and they are all quacking at the cars. Which one is your favorite? What about your students? What do they think of Robert McCloskey’s style? What about the brown and white pictures in Make Way for Ducklings?

If you teach or live in Boston, you have to share this book with your students or your children. Do they recognize the places drawn or mentioned in the book? You can even talk about rhyming words and make up silly names with this book. Just look at the names of the ducklings–they all end in -ack. That’s pretty appropriate, don’t you think?

Have fun with Make Way for Ducklings! Show your students this Caldecott Winner, and then a Caldecott Winner from recent years. Ask them to compare and contrast the books.

The thing I love about Timeless Thursdays is that I get to revisit all these old books and realize why I still remember them.

photo by carrera911e www.flickr.com

Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor is a Newberry Medal winner and the beginning of a series about a beloved dog and a young boy, Marty Preston. I chose it for today’s “Timeless Thursday” because animal stories, especially well-written ones, are always a big hit with kids. This book, which I taught in a fifth-grade classroom, was a big hit with boys. Many of them were very upset at the treatment of Shiloh. Many of them can’t help talking and journaling about their own pets while reading Phyllis Reynolds Naylor’s classic.

Don’t worry about Shiloh being outdated or not relating to today’s generation. It does. You can read this book out loud to students or use it in literature circles. While reading, discuss the themes of love, loyalty, friendship, honesty, and integrity. Discuss the characters of Marty and Judd Travers, and compare and contrast them. Let students make personal connections between the ideas in the story and in their own lives. You can do these same skills at home if you homeschool.

If your students love Shiloh, then they might want to check out Shiloh’s Season, too.

I loved, loved, loved Trixie Belden mysteries when I was in elementary/middle school in the late 1970s/early 1980s. I wanted to solve the mysteries right along with Trixie, and I wanted to have brothers and a best friend, Honey. The reviews on Amazon are written by people around my age, who loved Trixie Belden as a child and are giving these books to their own children.

Random Books for Young Readers republished Trixie Belden books in 2003 (with new covers, of course). If your child likes mysteries or your students enjoy following clues and trying to figure out whodunnit, then why not try giving Trixie Belden a read? She would be great for a whole class read-aloud, a literature circle group, or even a bedtime story for a few weeks.

Who do you like better–Trixie Belden or Nancy Drew?

Two weeks ago, I talked about Judy Blume’s classic Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret and about the recent controversy over book covers. As you can see, today’s Timeless Thursday book Ramona Quimby, Age 8 also has a new, modern book cover, but that’s not what I’m here to blog about today.

Beverly Cleary has created some of the most endearing child characters ever, and my favorite is Ramona. Some more modern writers have written stories about strong,funny, independent girls such as Sara Pennypacker’s Clementine series or Susan Patron’s award-winning character, Lucky. I love these new girl characters, but my heart still belongs to Ramona. I am an only child, and as much as Beezus and Ramona might have driven each other crazy, I wanted my Beezus. I also remember learning to write cursive and being as proud as Ramona was when she wrote Ramona Quimby, Age 8 carefully in cursive. I could relate to Ramona, and that is why she will forever remain timeless in my heart.

Why would kids today want to read a book written by Beverly Cleary in 1981? Why wouldn’t they? The answer is as clear as day on the front cover of the latest version of Ramona Quimby, Age 8–”Life as a third grader is tough!” Don’t all elementary kids think they have it the toughest? Don’t they want to read something written by an author who truly understands them? Yes and yes!

So, although there are new, wonderful books out, don’t forget to share the old classics with your children and your students, too. If they haven’t heard of Ramona Quimby yet, give them this first book and let them decide for themselves.

What’s your favorite Beverly Cleary book?