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I recently got word that a list of "Top 100 Poetry Blogs" had been compiled. And of course I was thrilled to be on it. (Check out #85-- which claims that I am a "published poet" which I am not, nor do I aspire to be. I'm just a big fan!) Lists like these are almost as interesting for what they leave OFF, as for what they INCLUDE, so please share your thoughts and opinions. Here's the overview.

Top 100 Poetry Blogs
By L. Fabry
No longer relegated to textbooks, libraries, and anthologies, poets now have an array of options for reading poetry, posting, the latest in news, and more, thanks to the internet. Below are 100 blogs and sites for every poet, from a seasoned professional to a child reading their first poem. The 100 blogs are divided up into the following interesting categories:

Collected Works
Visit the below sites for works of various authors, the latest in poetry news, interviews, and more.

Original Work
These poets use their blogs to display their work, post appearance dates, along with advice, tips, and musings.

For Children
Kids and their parents will enjoy visiting the below sites for original work, writing help, along with loads of fun.

Video and Audio Poetry
Sometimes poetry is just better when read by a professional. Visit the below sites for hundreds of poems with sound, and occasionally pictures and video.

So, check it out: Top 100 Poetry Blogs

Posting (not poem) by Sylvia M. Vardell © 2009. All rights reserved.

Image credit: babynamegames.wordpress.com

Just last month I started off the year by posting a list of the brand new poetry books I knew were coming out in 2009 (on Jan. 2). But more publisher’s catalogs are now available, I combed their booths at ALA Midwinter, and I’ve heard from a variety of people since then, so I have list of ANOTHER 25+ titles to share. That’s a combined total of over 50 books of poetry for young people we can anticipate—and it’s only February! In the months to come, I hope to get my hands on each of these and post my thoughts about as many as possible, but in the meantime, here’s the list:

MORE POETRY IN 2009
1. Andrews, Julie and Hamilton, Emma Watson. 2009. Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies. Ill. by James McMullan. New York: Little Brown.
2. Franco, Betsy. 2009. Curious Collection of Cats. Ill. by Michael Wertz. San Francisco, CA: Tricycle Press.
3. Franco, Betsy. 2009. Messing Around the Monkey Bars and other School Poems for Two Voices. Ill. by Jessie Hartland. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
4. Frost, Helen. 2009. Crossing Stones. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
5. George, Kristine O’Connell. 2009. Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems. Illus. by Nancy Carpenter. New York: Clarion.
6. Harley, Avis. 2009. African Acrostics; A Word in Edgeways. Ill. by Deborah Noyes. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
7. Harrison, David. 2009. Vacation, We’re Going to the Ocean! Ill. by Rob Shepperson. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
8. Hughes, Ted. 2009. My Brother Bert. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
9. Janeczko, Paul. 2009. A Foot in the Mouth; Poems to Speak, Sing, and Shout. Ill. by Chris Raschka. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
10. Katz, Bobbi. 2009. More Pocket Poems. Ill. by Deborah Zemke. New York: Dutton.
11. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2009. The House. Illus. by Roberto Innocenti. Minneapolis, MN: Creative Editions.
12. Maddox, Marjorie. 2009. Rules of the Game. Ill. by John Sandford. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
13. Mora, Pat. 2009. Dizzy in My Eyes. New York: Knopf.
14. Prelutsky, Jack. 2009. The Swamps of Sleethe; Poems From Beyond the Solar System. Ill. by Jimmy Pickering. New York: Knopf.
15. Roemer, Heidi. 2009. Whose Nest is This? NorthWord.
16. Rosen, Michael J. 2009. The Cuckoo’s Haiku and Other Birding Poems. Ill. by Stan Fellows. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
17. Salas, Laura. 2009. Stampede! Poems to Celebrate the Wild Side of School. New York: Clarion.
18. Salinger, Michael. 2009. Well Defined; Vocabulary in Rhyme. Ill. by Sam Henderson. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
19. San Jose, Christine and Johnson, Bill. 2009. Every Second Something Happens: Poems for the Mind and Senses. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
20. Schertle, Alice. 2009. Button Up! Wrinkled Rhymes. Ill. by Petra Mathers. New York: Harcourt.
21. Schmidt, Amy. 2009. Loose Leashes. Ill. by Ron Schmidt. New York: Random House.
22. Sidman, Joyce. 2009. Red Sings From Treetops; A Year in Colors. Ill. by Pamela Zagarenski. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
23. Walker, Rob D. 2009. Mama Says: A Book of Love For Mothers and Sons. Ill. by Leo and Diane Dillon. New York: Scholastic.
24. Yolen, Jane. 2009. A Mirror to Nature. Ill. by Jason Stemple. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
25. Yolen, Jane. 2009. An Egret’s Day. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
26. Yolen, Jane. 2009. How Do Dinosaurs Say I Love You? New York: Scholastic.

NOVELS IN VERSE
1. Bryant, Jen. 2009. Kaleidoscope Eyes. New York: Knopf.
2. Chaltas, Thalia. 2009. Because I Am Furniture. New York: Viking.
3. Herrick, Steven. 2009. Cold Skin. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
4. Myers, Walter Dean. 2009. Amiri and Odette: A Love Story. Ill. by Javaka Steptoe. New York: Scholastic.

ABOUT POETS AND POETRY
Yolen, Jane. 2009. My Uncle Emily. Ill. by Nancy Carpenter. New York: Philomel.

We can look forward to more poetry from Jane Yolen, Alice Schertle, Joyce Sidman, Jack Prelutsky, Bobbi Katz, Pat Mora, J. Pat Lewis, Helen Frost, Betsy Franco, and others. Plus newer names and new topics of all kinds. Just getting a look at some ARCs and galleys at the Midwinter conference whetted my appetite! Nature poems, wordplay, school-friendly verse, concrete poetry, verse novels, and more. Stay tuned for closer looks, coming soon…

And just for fun, I’m trying a stanza-by-stanza embedded PowerPoint as a visual way to share a fun poem that Charles Ghigna gifted me on one of my favorite topics: what is poetry? Enjoy!





Join the whole Poetry Friday crew at: Wild Rose Reader hosted by the fabulous Elaine Magliaro.

Image credit: www.urbanfusion.org

When the big ALA book awards are announced, I like to check them for the inclusion of poetry. Last year, there was a jackpot of poetry. This year—not so much. However, there were some notable standouts. First, the Coretta Scott King award choices were especially exciting this year. Did you notice that nearly all these books were POETRY? I was so tickled about that!

Coretta Scott King Author HONORS (outstanding writing by an African
American author) went to THREE books of poetry:
*Keeping the Night Watch by Hope Anita Smith. Illustrated by E.B. Lewis. Henry Holt, 2008.
*The Blacker the Berry by Joyce Carol Thomas. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Amistad/HarperCollins, 2008.
*Becoming Billie Holiday by Carole Boston Weatherford. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Wordsong, 2008.

THE Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award (outstanding illustrations by an African American artist) went to:
*The Blacker the Berry illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Written by Joyce Carol Thomas. Amistad/HarperCollins, 2008.

And one CSK Illustrator Honor distinction went to a book by poet Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Sean Qualls, Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane. Henry Holt, 2008.

The Coretta Scott King John Steptoe/New Talent Award went to:
*Shadra Strickland (illustrator) for Bird by Zetta Elliott. Lee & Low, 2008.

In addition, the Pura Belpré Author Award (cosponsored by REFORMA) (outstanding writing by a Latino author) went to The Surrender Tree: Poems of Cuba’s Struggle for Freedom by Margarita Engle. Henry Holt, 2008, which was also a NEWBERY HONOR BOOK! Did you catch that? Newbery!

ALL of these books (listed above) are also on the list of 2009 Notables selected by ALSC and/or the YALSA list of Best Books for Young Adults (BBYA).

The YALSA list of Quick Picks included these works of poetry:
*High, Linda Oatman. Planet Pregnancy. 2008. Boyds Mills Press.
*Hopkins, Ellen. Identical. 2008. McElderry.
*Neri, G. Chess Rumble. 2007. Lee and Low Books.

What do you notice about this? MULTICULTURAL POETRY is really getting some attention. In fact, some of the best of the best books of any genre, and of poetry in particular, are by poets of color! Very exciting!

Image credit: blogs.theage.com.au

My “Everyday Poetry” column in the January issue of Book Links looked at last year’s major multicultural awards and paired each winner with a book of poetry, including the Coretta Scott King award, Pura Belpre award, American Indian Youth Literature award and Asian/Pacific American award. There wasn’t room for everything I wanted to include, so I’ll share the rest with you here.

Batchelder Award (for a book first published outside the U.S.)
Brave Story, a big, fat fantasy novel for older kids written by Miyuki Miyabe and translated from the Japanese by Alexander O. Smith, blends dark realism with a fantastical quest as the protagonist strives to mend family relationships. Match with the deceptively simple, Today and Today, in which illustrator Brian Karas arranges 22 haiku by the Japanese poet Issa to form a family story across a year’s span. [This year's winner is also a work of fantasy from Japan!]

John Steptoe New Talent Award (for a new African American author or illustrator)
Brendan is grappling with many things in first-time author Sundee T. Frazier’s smart, contemporary novel, Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It. As we look for poetry connections, we can focus on Brendan’s struggle to understand the perception of others toward his biracial identity with the poetry of Black is Brown is Tan by Arnold Adoff. [This year's "New Talent" winner is illustrator, Shonda Strickland, for her illustrations for the poetry book, Bird, by Zetta Elliott.]

The Américas Award (for books that portray Latin America, the Caribbean, or Latinos in the U.S.)
Young Adult Literature
Laura Resau’s Red Glass, weaves a shy girl’s inward journey for self-understanding through her trip from Tucson to Guatemala and back. References to specific poems by Pablo Neruda and e e cummings are woven throughout the narrative, offering a perfect opportunity to seek out the full text of each poem and read it out loud as Sophie does. Or look for more works by Neruda and cummings in A Family of Poems; My Favorite Poetry for Children collected by Caroline Kennedy.

Children’s Literature
Pat Mora’s picture book, Yum! ¡Mmmm! ¡Que Rico!: America’s Sproutings, is full of pungent haiku (along with fun facts) introducing the origins of foods from across the Americas. Match this with Alma Flor Ada’s alphabet book, Gathering the Sun, a bilingual collection of poems about migrant farm life with selections like "Arboles/Trees" and "Betabel/Beet."

I love the rich writing coming from parallel cultures—don’t you?


Image credit: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/hqops/publishing/booklinks/index.cfm

For this first posting of the new year, I thought I’d play “Janus” and look forward to the new poetry we can anticipate in 2009, since my last posting was a look back at all the poetry of 2008. I’ve been seeing several glimpses, with advance copies, publisher catalogs, emails, etc., and I’m very excited about what’s coming: a new Florian creation (on dinosaurs!), several Langston Hughes poem celebrations, something from Children’s Poet Laureate, Mary Ann Hoberman, a poem-a-day book by J. Pat Lewis, some poetry about work, animals, nature, and plenty of humor! Here’s the first list of the year! MUCH more to come…

Poetry Books Coming in 2009
1. Agee, Jon. 2009. Orangutan Tongs; Poems to Tangle Your Tongue. New York: Disney-Hyperion.
2. Florian, Douglas. 2009. Dinothesaurus. New York: Simon & Schuster.
3. Foxworthy, Jeff. 2009. Silly Street. Illus. by Steve Bjorkman. New York: HarperCollins.
4. Heard, Georgia. 2009. Falling Down the Page; A Book of List Poems. New York: Roaring Brook Press.
5. Hoberman, Mary Ann. 2009. All Kinds of Families. New York: Little, Brown.
6. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2009. City I Love. Ill. by Marcellus Hall. New York: Abrams.
7. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2009. Incredible Inventions. Illus. by Julia Sarcone-Roach. New York: HarperCollins.
8. Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2009. Sky Magic. Ill. by Mariusz Stawarski. New York: Dutton.
9. Hughes, Langston. 2009. My People. Ill. by Charles R Smith Jr. New York: Simon & Schuster.
10. Hughes, Langston. 2009. The Negro Speaks of Rivers. Ill. by E. B. Lewis. New York: Disney-Hyperion.
11. Iyengar, Malathi Michelle. 2009. Tan to Tamarind: Poems About the Color Brown. Illus. by Jamel Akib. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
12. Katz, Alan. 2009. Going, Going, Gone!: And Other Silly Dilly Sports Songs. New York: Simon & Schuster.
13. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2009. Countdown to Summer: A Poem for Every Day of the School Year. Ill. by Ethan Long. New York: Little Brown.
14. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2009. Skywriting: Poems in Flight. Ill. by Laszlo Kubinui. Minneapolis, MN: Creative Editions.
15. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2009. Spot the Plot! A Riddle Book of Book Riddles. Ill. by Lynn Munsinger. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
16. Lewis, J. Patrick. 2009. The Underwear Salesman: And Other Jobs for Better or Verse. Ill. by Serge Bloch. New York: Simon & Schuster/Atheneum.
17. Nesbitt, Kenn. 2009. My Hippo Has the Hiccups with CD: And Other Poems I Totally Made Up. Naperville, IL: Sourcebooks.
18. Paul, Ann Whitford. 2009. Word Builder. New York: Simon & Schuster.
19. Ruddell, Deborah. 2009. A Whiff of Pine, A Hint of Skunk. New York: Simon & Schuster.
20. Sidman, Joyce. 2009. Red Sings from Treetops; A Year in Colors. Illus. by Pamela Zagarenski. New York: Harcourt Houghton Mifflin.
21. Weinstock, Robert. 2009. Food Hates You, Too. New York: Disney-Hyperion.
22. Wilson, Karma. 2009. What's the Weather Inside? New York: Simon & Schuster.
23. Wolff, Virginia Euwer. 2009. This Full House. Harper Teen/The Bowen Press.
24. Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn. 2009. Steady Hands: Poems About Work. New York: Clarion.

ABOUT POETS AND POETRY
Dana, Barbara. 2009. A Voice of Her Own; Becoming Emily Dickinson. New York: HarperCollins.
Dotlich, Rebecca Kai. Bella & Bean. New York: Simon & Schuster.

+ Poet Birthday Today! Today is also Canadian author and poet Jean Little’s birthday. Blind from birth, many of her works focus on characters with disabilities. I remember reading her first book, Mine for Keeps (1962) about a girl who had cerebral palsy, when I was a little girl and I just loved it! Jean Little is known primarily for writing fiction, but has one book, in particular, that blends fictional vignettes and poetry from the point of view of a spunky ‘tween that is wonderful-- It’s Hey World, Here I Am! One of my favorite poems about poetry is from this book. It’s cranky and hilarious and captures a moment that many of us may have experienced!

After English Class
By Jean Little

I used to like “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.”
I liked the coming darkness,
The jingle of harness bells,
Breaking—and adding to—the stillness,
The gentle drift of the snow . . .

But today, the teacher told us what everything stood for.
The woods, the horse, the miles to go, the sleep—
They all have “hidden meanings.”

It’s grown so complicated now that,
Next time I drive by,
I don’t think I’ll bother to stop.

From: Little, Jean. 1989. Hey World, Here I Am! New York: Harper & Row.

Start the year off right with Poetry Friday, hosted this week by A Year of Reading.

Image credits: childrensbooks.about.com;www.minervaclassics.com

For my final entry this year, I'd like to offer my short list of favorite poetry books published for young audiences in 2008. This year, I tried to track ALL the poetry produced for young people and tallied about 75 titles! Impressive, I think, considering 50 titles per year has been closer to the norm, IMO. And there is an interesting variety, with picture book collections dominating, and new trends in poetry morphed with biography growing strong. I'm also seeing more experimentation with poetic form/topic and book layout which is fun for those of us who like to provide diverse models for aspiring writers and artists.

We also have new poet distinctions to celebrate this year with the announcement of the second Children's Poet Laureate (Mary Ann Hoberman) and the 15th recipient of the NCTE Excellence in Poetry Award (Lee Bennett Hopkins). So, all in all, I call it a good year for poetry and hope you will join me in building on this momentum by pushing poetry even further in 2009. Seek out these wonderful titles and more, buy multiple copies, and donate them to your local public and/or school library. Then read your favorites aloud to the kids you know (or don't know!).

Although I didn't get my hands on every single one of the books published this year, I did my best, and chose these two dozen to highlight, in particular. I also thought it would be fun to showcase a variety of categories, including poetry written by kids, novels in verse, and even nonfiction works about poets and poetry. My list is personal and idiosyncratic, I grant you, but I offer it for your consideration. And note: I did a bit of research and found that you could purchase hard cover copies of this whole list for only $382-- and have a wonderful mini-library of 2008 poetry for young people that runs the gamut from the hilarious (Frankenstein monster parodies) to the transcendent (Billie Holiday's literally lyrical life). What a bargain! Here's my list with the briefest of annotations. Best wishes to all for a health, happy, poetry-filled 2009!
Sylvia

MY FAVORITE POETRY BOOKS OF 2008

Alarcón, Francisco X. 2008. Animals Poems of the Iguazú / Animalario del Iguazú. San Francisco, CA: Children’s Book Press.
*Animal spirits, Spanish/English, vivid, energetic art

Ashman, Linda. 2008. Stella, Unleashed. New York: Sterling.
*Fun and frolicking, frisky rescue dog, dog point of view

Beck, Carolyn. Buttercup’s Lovely Day. Custer, WA: Orca Books.
*Dawn to dusk day in the life of a contented cow, with lyrical illustrations

Giovanni, Nikki. Ed. 2008. Hip Hop Speaks to Children. Sourcebooks.
*Amazing range, African American voices, fabulous audio CD

Greenberg, Jan. 2008. Side by Side: New Poems Inspired by Art from Around the World. New York: Abrams.
*Poetry inspired by art from all around the world, multilingual

Holbrook, Sara and Wolf, Allan. 2008. More Than Friends; Poems from Him and Her. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
*Teen boy and girl perspectives, fun sidebars on poetic form and experimentation

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. 2008. America at War. New York: McElderry.
*Poets on war, historical perspective, mural-like art, poignant and powerful

Lawson, Jonarno. 2008. Black Stars in a White Night Sky. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
*From silly to serious, playful to absurd, poignant to wry

Lewis, J. Patrick. 2008. The World’s Greatest: Poems. San Francisco: Chronicle.
*Fun facts and factoids become focus of clever poems in varied formats

Nye, Naomi Shihab. 2008. Honeybee. New York: Greenwillow.
*Poem gems, vignettes and observations are political, personal, and powerful

Rex, Adam. 2008. Frankenstein Takes the Cake. New York: Harcourt.
*Hysterically funny riffs on monsters in poems, parodies, and amazing art

Soto, Gary. 2008. Partly Cloudy; Poems of Love and Longing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
*Half and half, he said, she said, young love poems, with crossover character connections


+ FAVORITE POETRY BY KIDS

Franco, Betsy. 2008. Comp. Falling Hard: 100 Love Poems by Teenagers. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.
*More teen love from teen perspectives, VERY varied and compelling

Michael, Pamela, Ed. 2008. River of Words. Minneapolis, MN: Milkweed.
*Eco-themed poems by kids, international writing contest, inspiring and challenging


+ FAVORITE VERSE NOVELS

Engle, Margarita. 2008. The Surrender Tree. New York: Holt.
*Cuban history, true story, heroic woman, multiple viewpoints

Frost, Helen. 2008. Diamond Willow. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
*Alaskan setting, girl growing up, mystical ancestors, great dogs, new form

Herrick, Steven. 2008. Naked Bunyip Dancing. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills/Wordsong.
*Classroom characters, inspiring teacher, hilarious talent show

Nelson, Marilyn. 2008. The Freedom Business. Asheville, NC: Front Street.
*True story, primary source, slave narrative, evocative art

Smith, Hope Anita. 2008. Keeping the Night Watch. New York: Henry Holt.
*Absent father returns, son rebels, family dynamics shift

Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2008. Becoming Billie Holiday. Honesdale, PA: Wordsong/Boyds Mills Press.
*Poems channel music and music history, biography through poetry, spunky girl

Zimmer, Tracie Vaughn. 2008. 42 Miles. New York: Clarion.
*Divorce and division, dual identities, girl growing up, quirky art


+ FAVORITE NONFICTION ABOUT POETRY

Bryant, Jen. 2008. A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams. New York: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers.
*Biographical picture book, doctor + poet, poetic illustrations

Lawson, JonArno. 2008. Inside Out: Children's Poets Discuss Their Work. London: Walker.
*Poems plus creation commentary from two dozen international poets

Prelutsky, Jack. 2008. Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry; How to Write a Poem. New York: Greenwillow.
*How to, helpful tips, behind the scenes glimpses, hilarious and outrageous

Find more Poetry Friday fun at the Miss Rumphius Effect.
Picture credit: profile.myspace.com

I’d like to post one last time about the recent NCTE conference in San Antonio. I was pleased and surprised how many sessions were focused on poetry. Here’s the scoop—

*As you know, the NCTE Poetry Award committee decided on the 15th recipient of the award: Lee Bennett Hopkins. That was the highlight of the weekend! That same committee also led a session discussing some of their favorite poetry books of 07 and 08. Their “poetry notables” list for 07 was published in Language Arts in July. The committee talked about why they selected the books they chose, read aloud favorite poems from each, and discussed ways to share the books with kids and even sample responses from young people.

Committee chair (and author) Ralph Fletcher reminded us that poetry should not be “immune from discussion” and cited the need for two kinds of poetry for kids: poetry that is fun, playful, and comforting (he shared examples from Good Sports by Jack Prelutsky, and poetry that will haunt and stretch kids (sharing examples from John Franks’ How to Catch a Fish). Committee member and poet Janet Wong read poems from two of her favorites: Linda Sue Park’s Tap Dancing on the Roof and this year’s America at War compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins (with a generous nod to my review on my blog here).

Barbara Ward enjoyed the nonfiction connection and environmental theme of Polar Bear, Arctic Hare by Eileen Spinelli, the archival photos and powerful poems of The Brothers’ War by J. Patrick Lewis, and the concrete poem collection, Blue Lipstick by John Grandits, noting its particular appeal to middle school kids. Gail Wesson Spivey admitted her reluctant, but enthusiastic, conversion to appreciating Joanne Ryder’s Toad by the Road and the poems and paintings of Carmen Bernier-Grand’s Frida: ¡Viva la vida! Long Live Life!. She pointed to Nikki Giovanni’s Hip Hop Speaks to Kids as a favorite of the current 08 crop. Kathleen Armstrong shared Bugs by David Harrison with its science connection and appealing trim size. She also loved Joyce Sidman’s This is Just to Say (who didn’t?!) and shared response poems that kids—and their MOMS!-- had written. They were lovely!

Jonda McNair enjoyed the multiple functions of Yum! Mmmm! Que Rico! by Pat Mora—its poetry, its facts, its food theme. She also celebrated the facts-plus-humor of Douglas Florian’s comets, stars, the moon, and mars. Georgia Heard, herself a poet (with a new collection of list poems coming in 09, Falling Down the Page), talked about the three criteria she considers when selecting poetry: authenticity-- a true, real, point of view, language that is beautiful, skillful, playful and engaging, and coherence—does the collection hang together, like a house—is there a front door, rooms you can walk through, from room to room, and out the back. She cited two examples she felt were outstanding, Lee Bennett Hopkins’ anthology full of mystery, information and many poets, Behind the Museum Door and Jane Yolen’s collection, Here’s a Little Poem, a gem for the very young child.

When pressed for their favorites of THIS year (2008), they cited:
Planet Pregnancy
On the Farm
Side by Side
Becoming Billie Holiday
The Freedom Business
Voices from Afar
America at War
Hip Hop Speaks to Kids
Official list to come later next year…

I also chaired an “Author Strand” session featuring Jane Yolen, Brod Bagert, and John Grandits. Brod began with an energetic and rousing performance of many of his poems from several different collections, including his newest 2008 title, School Fever. He talked about his poetry beliefs including his notion of the “fundamental communication of beauty and truth” whether writing for children or adults. He also advocated for the importance of HEARING poetry aloud (a cause dear to my heart) and argued that children should hear 10,000 poems in their growing up years. Love that number!

John Grandits included the visuals of his concrete poems (from Technically, It’s Not My Fault and Blue Lipstick) as he dryly read them aloud. He endorsed the necessity for “shape and motion” in poetry—“not just the object of the poem, but the movement of the object.” What a fun and meaningful way to envision the chemistry of language, image, shape, and motion in synch with the words on the page.

Jane Yolen closed the session reading from some of her 70+ (!) poetry collections, endorsing the importance of range in poetry for young people, saying “children’s poetry is not only about children.” Good reminder! She mentioned some new upcoming collections she’s written or edited that we can look forward to soon:

Animal Epitaphs with J. Patrick Lewis
Switching on the Moon, a companion to Here’s a Little Poem
The Girl’s Bible, with poems about Old Testament women

Weren’t those two fantastic sessions? Each had a packed room and eager audience and I was pleased to be a part of them. There were also a few other sessions on poetry at the conference, but I had scheduling conflicts and couldn’t attend them all. If any of you did, please share the highlights! I love it when professional conferences include this important topic—and it seems to be popping up more and more.

For more Poetry Friday entries, go to Mommy's Favorite Children's Books.

Picture credit: http://www.ncte.org/annual