Until this century, most children's poetry was either syrupy sweet or overblown and didactic, and tended to talk down to its readers. Contemporary children's poets have thrown all that condescension and moralizing out the window, and write with today's real child in mind.
- from the Introduction by Jack Prelutsky
Get up close and personal with alligators in all their tooth-filled glory in this collection of poems by New York Times bestselling author Jane Yolen. Rhymes and rhythms reflect on how alligators hunt, keep warm, and care for young.
Stunning, large-scale photographs zoom in on these mighty hunters, while fun fact boxes accompany the poetry, providing details that are sure to pique young readers' curiosity.
In this ever-timely collection of more than fifty poems and paintings divided into eight sections, one of America's most distinguished poets and anthologists, Lee Bennett Hopkins, and internationally acclaimed painter and printmaker Stephen Alcorn trace emotions of warfare from the American Revolution to the Iraq War.
Warfare has taken -- continues to take -- a tremendous toll on every man, woman, and child in our society as war weaves itself into the fabric of our shared past, present, and future. Raw emotions and results of warfare are expressed here through voices of beloved poets such as Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman, Denise Levertov, and e. e. cummings -- and are movingly combined with voices of newer poets, including several soldiers who had courage to write poetry from front lines. America at War exposes effects of war through hearts of poets and eyes of the artist, paying fitting tribute to those who have served, those now serving, and those who have given their lives so we all may live in peace.
An award-winning author and poet joins the illustrator of
"Ms. Worth brilliantly employs all aspects of the poet's craft." - The New York Times Book Review
Each of the exquisite twenty-three poems in this posthumous collection by Valerie Worth carefully distinguishes one animal from all other creatures and captures it in all of its wonderful singularity - from wasp to snake to wren. The way Worth perfectly illuminates the uniqueness of each animal in her precise and elegant free verse will delight both fans of her celebrated Small Poems and readers encountering her poetry for the first time.
Breathtakingly rich cut-paper illustrations by Steve Jenkins provide a perfect counterpoint to Worth's spare style, and together poetry and picture bring every animal vividly to life.
Animal Poems is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
"A stapler with its tiny fangs
Cannot outwit orangutangs.
Rocks are very good at sitting,
but never walk or take up knitting.
Living things all feel and sense
their way through every happenstance. . . . "
In this delightfully witty collection of poems, bestselling author Diane Ackerman shows how the senses shape and enrich
the experiences of all living beings. With enchanting illustrations by Peter Sis, "Animal Sense" is sure to capture the imagination of readers young and old.
The must-have book of jump rope rhymes
How many times can you jump rope? Can you hop, skip, and double-dutch? With these rhymes and rhythms, jump rope is even more fun. There are red-hot pepper rhymes for jumping very fast, counting rhymes to keep the beat, and rhymes for jumping in and out. There are even fortune-telling rhymes that answer questions and help you predict the future
Jumping rope is not only great exercise, it's also great entertainent. With Anna Banana, you'll never run out of chants to use while swinging the ropes. Learn over one hundred traditional rhymes that will make rope jumping challenging and, best of all, fun
A Jar of Tiny Stars is one of the most popular poetry books from WordSong. This new edition is now expanded and includes the work of the latest five winners of the National Council of Teachers of English Award for Poetry for Children. By turns silly and wise, playful and thought-provoking, the poems in this collection were chosen by young readers as their favorites among those written by NCTE Award winners. New to this collection are works from Eloise Greenfield, Nikki Grimes, Mary Ann Hoberman, Lee Bennett Hopkins, and X. J. Kennedy. Rounding out the collection are poems by Arnold Adoff, John Ciardi, Barbara Esbensen, Aileen Fisher, Karla Kuskin, Myra Cohn Livingston, David McCord, Eve Merriam, Lilian Moore, and Valerie Worth.
2017 NCTE Notable Poetry Book
Freeman Book Awards, honorable mention
Washington State Book Awards, finalist
Booklist Editors' Choice, Books for Youth 2016
Booklist Top 10 Biographies for Youth and Top 10 Translated Books for Youth: 2017
Favorite Diverse Children's Books of 2016, Smithsonian Book Dragon
In early-1900s Japan, Misuzu Kaneko grows from precocious bookworm to instantly-beloved children's poet. But her life ends prematurely, and Misuzu's work is forgotten. Decades later her poems are rediscovered--just in time to touch a new generation devastated by the tsunami of 2011. This picture book features Misuzu's life story plus a trove of her poetry in English and the original Japanese.
Big Catch:
At sunrise, glorious sunrise
it's a big catch
A big catch of sardines
On the beach, it's like a festival
but in the sea, they will hold funerals
for the tens of thousands dead.
It's pouring. The wind is blowing down trees. Awful Ogre's rattlesnake wakes him. He tickles his piranha, scatters his rats, and disengages his leeches. Another wonderful day is about to begin.
Awful Ogre, huge, hungry, horrible--and totally lovable, will steal the heart of every reader. Larger than life--larger, in fact, than all other ogres, Awful Ogre packs into one day enough excitement, imagination, emotion, and sheer ebullience to last most of us a lifetime
Jack Prelutsky and Paul O. Zelinsky have created a tour de force of epic proportions and infinite appeal.
