Books and Magazines for the Youngest Readers

A Few Books for Youngest Readers:

WHO’S THAT BABY? NEW BABY SONGS by Sharon Creech, pictures by David Diaz (HarperCollins, 2005).

THE RUNAWAY BUNNY by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd (HarperCollins, 1942).

LET’S GO HOME LITTLE BEAR BY Martin Waddell, pictures by Barbara Firth (Walker Books, 2001).

ALL THE WORLD by Liz Garton Scanlon, pictures by Marla Frazee (Simon & Schuster, 2009).

IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN by Maurice Sendak ( Harper & Row, 1970).

WHEN COWS COME HOME by David L. Harrison, pictures by Chris L. Demarest (Boyds Mills, 1994).

A GOOD DAY by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, 2007).

 

BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO YOU SEE? by Bill Martin, Jr., pictures by Eric Carle (Henry Holt, 1967).

NOCTURNE by Jane Yolen, pictures by Anne Hunter (Harcourt Brace, 1997).

WHEN EVERYONE WAS FAST ASLEEP by Tomie de Poala (Holiday house, 1976).

FIONA LOVES THE NIGHT by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest, pictures by Amanda Shepard (HarperCollins, 2007).

COUNTING CROWS by Kathi Appelt, pictures by Rob Dunlavey (Atheneum Books, 2015).

 

Magazines for Youngest Readers:
 

HIGHLIGHTS HELLO

BABY BUG

HIGHLIGHTS HIGH FIVE

LADYBUG

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LITTLE KIDS

CLICK

RANGER RICK JR.

 

I read Nancy Drew

. . . and Hardy Boys.

 

Book lists for more summer reading: 

GUYS READ

http://www.guysread.com/books/

FREQUENTLY CHALLENGED BOOKS

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/frequentlychallenged

SIBERT MEDAL BOOKS

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/sibertmedal

NEWBERY MEDAL BOOKS

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/newberymedal/newberymedal

CALDECOTT MEDAL BOOKS

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/caldecottmedal/caldecottmedal

CARNEGIE MEDAL

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/carnegie/

KATE GREENAWAY MEDAL

http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/greenaway/

CLOUD KEY & Milne Essay on Cupboards

Which Way?
2012 Linnea Heaney

Click on post labels for archives.

about children's literature: illuminating children’s books

 

authors: author Q&A 

essays: Linnea’s notes 

for early literacy: informing literacy activities

illustrators: illustrator Q&A

LIN little corners: children’s activity ideas 

Linnea's reading corner: on Linnea’s publications 

on art: art and literature 

on poetry: poetry focus

on writing: about writing, the writing life 

reading corner: book titles to look up 

story map: on crafting a manuscript

words: words to contemplate



Guest essay from A.A. Milne (in public domain):

http://essays.quotidiana.org/milne/cupboard/

Linnea's Website

https://www.linneaheaney.com/

Linnea's Illuminated Notes

https://linneaheaney.blogspot.com/

Linnea's Illustrated Stories

https://writerlinnea.blogspot.com/

All About Picture Books

PICTURE BOOK MONTH is November
http://picturebookmonth.com/

What is a PB?
Sendak on “rhythmic syncopation of words and images” in his book Caldecott & Co.: Words are left out—but the picture says it. Pictures are left out—but the word says it . . . it is the invention of the picture book.

 

PB Illustrations to Study

Examples of illustration through time to today: 

MILLIONS OF CATS, story and pictures by Wanda Gag.

THE LITTLE ISLAND by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Leonard Weisgard.

GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd.

THE SNOWY DAY, story and pictures by Ezra Jack Keats.

THE RABBITS’ WEDDING, story and pictures by Garth Williams.

LITTLE BLUE AND LITTLE YELLOW, story and pictures by Leo Lionni.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak.

THE TREASURE, story and pictures by Uri Shulevitz.

THE ARTIST WHO PAINTED A BLUE HORSE, story and pictures by Eric Carle.

THE SNOWMAN, story and pictures by Raymond Briggs.

STREGA NONA, story and pictures by Tomie dePaola.

FORTUNATELY, story and pictures by Remy Charlip.

JUMANJI, story and pictures by Chris Van Allsburg.

BLACK AND WHITE, story and pictures by David Macaulay.

THE STINKY CHEESE MAN AND OTHER FAIRLY STUPID TALES by Jon Scieszka, pictures by Lane Smith.

VOICES IN THE PARK, story and pictures by Anthony Browne.

KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY TALE by Mo Willems.

FLOTSAM, story and pictures by David Wiesner.

KITTEN’S FIRST FULL MOON, story and pictures by Kevin Henkes.

GARMANN’S SUMMER, story and pictures by Stian Hole.

THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, story and pictures by Brian Selznick.

THE RED TREE, story and pictures by Shaun Tan.

MINE! by Shutta Crum, pictures by Patrice Barton.

A BALL FOR DAISY, story and pictures by Chris Raschka.

 

PB Stories to Study

Examples of PB story through time to today: 

BABAR, story and pictures by Jean de Brunhoff.

THE STORY OF FERDINAND by Munro Leaf, pictures by Robert Lawson.

ANGUS LOST, story and pictures by Marjorie Flack.

CAPS FOR SALE, story and pictures by Esphyr Slobodkina.

MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS, story and pictures by Robert McCloskey.

CURIOUS GEORGE, story and pictures by H.A. and Margret Rey.

MADELINE’S RESCUE, story and pictures by Ludwig Bemelmans.

THE CARROT SEED by Ruth Krauss, pictures by Crockett Johnson.

GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd.

HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON, story and pictures by Crockett Johnson.

A TREE IS NICE by Janice May Udry, pictures by Marc Simont.

GREEN EGGS AND HAM, story and pictures by Dr. Seuss.

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak.

HIDE AND SEEK FOG by Alvin Tresselt, pictures by Roger Duvoisin.

A POCKET FOR CORDUROY, story and pictures by Don Freeman.

THERE’S A NIGHTMARE IN MY CLOSET, story and pictures by Mercer Mayer.

JAMBERRY, story and pictures by Bruce Degen.

OWL MOON by Jane Yolen, pictures byJohn Schoenherr.

THE POLAR EXPRESS, story and pictures by Chris Van Allsburg.

JESSE BEAR, WHAT WILL YOU WEAR? by Nancy White Carlstrom, pictures by Bruce Degen.

ALL THE WORLD by Liz Garton Scanlon, pictures by Marla Frazee.

THE QUIET STORY by Deborah Underwood, Renata Liwska.

HIP HOP DOG by Chris Raschka, pictures by Vladimir Radunsky.

OH, NO! by Candace Fleming, pictures by Eric Rohmann.

 
 

Why Picture Books?

See Linnea’s Illuminated Notes, A Picture Book, January 2011

 

Significant Illustrators in PB Development

See Linnea’s Illuminated Notes, Illustrators of Children’s Literature, December 2011 

Resources

CALDECOTT & CO.: NOTES ON BOOKS & PICTURES by Maurice Sendak (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1988). 

CHILDREN’S PICTUREBOOKS: THE ART OF VISUAL STORYTELLING by Martin Salisbury and Morag Styles (Laurence King Publishers, 2012). 

SHOW ME A STORY: WHY PICTURE BOOKS MATTER by Leonard Marcus (Candlwick, 2012). 

WRITING WITH PICTURES: HOW TO WRITE AND ILLUSTRATE CHILDREN’S BOOKS by Uri Shulevitz (Watson-Guptill, 1985).

 

Melville's Bookcase

This past spring I walked into the Rosenbach Museum & Library for the first time. The Rosenbach houses many works of literature, including illustrator-author Maurice Sendak’s papers. Others attending a workshop were arriving at the same time and I wandered through the crowd to an impressive bookcase. When the workshop began, it was announced that Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) had died earlier that week. Since I had been on the road, I hadn’t heard the news. The rest of the day took on a feeling of serendipity as I walked through the Sendak exhibit and talked to a curator about the books in the museum’s library.

Later in the day, I learned that the bookcase in the entry had been Herman Melville’s bookcase and a favorite of Maurice Sendak. I stood by the bookcase, just feet from Maurice Sendak’s only mural, and studied the old volumes.

 

Today I was reminded of the book, Dear Genius, and looked up the letter from Ursula Nordstrom to Sendak in 1961. Apparently Sendak had mentioned that he felt Melville had “a lot of furniture” in his books, meaning facts. And, at the time, Sendak felt that his world was “furniture-less.” Nordstrom, the great editor, replied in a prophetic and supportive way.
 

August 21, 1961

To Maurice Sendak 

. . . I loved your long letter and hope it clarified some things for you to write it. Sure, Tolstoy and Melville have a lot of furniture in their books . . .
 

You wrote “my world is furniture-less. It is all feeling” . . . You also wrote “Knowledge is the driving force that puts creative passion to work”—a true statement, and also very well put. But it would include self knowledge for some as well as knowledge of facts for others . . . 
 

You wrote "It would be wonderful to want to believe in God. The aimlessness of living is too insane." That is the creative artist—a penalty of the creative artist—wanting to make order out of chaos. The rest of us plain people just accept disorder (if we even recognize it) and get a bang out of our five beautiful senses, if we're lucky. Well, not making any sense but will send this anyhow . . . . 

From Ursula Nordstrom
 

I remember standing in front of Melville’s bookcase again and again that day last spring. Sendak spent a lifetime finding lost, abandoned furniture to place in the rooms of his illustrations. Self-knowledge and making order out of chaos seems to me to have been the passionate story revealed through his art. He made the world more understandable and orderly, sometimes for children, sometimes for adults. Melville’s bookcase is at home among Sendak’s stories and illustrations.

 

Letter excerpt (page 145) from:

DEAR GENIUS: THE LETTERS OF URSULA NORDSTROM collected and edited by Leonard S. Marcus (HarperCollins, 1998).

Selected books:

NUTSHELL LIBRARY, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1962). 

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1963). 

IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1970). 

OUTSIDE OVER THERE, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1981). 

BRUNDIBAR, retold by Tony Kushner, pictures by Maurice Sendak (Hyperion, 2003). 

HIGGLETY PIGGLETY POP! OR THERE MUST BE MORE TO LIFE, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1967). 

THE SIGN ON ROSIE’S DOOR, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1960).

LITTLE CORNER ACTIVITY:

1.    Read The Sign on Rosie’s Door.

2.    Find markers or crayons and construction paper plus string and tape.

3.    Help children make a sign for a door at home using words and/or drawings.

4.    Assist children in making a group sign for a school door.

5.    Encourage dress-up and putting together a musical show.

6.    Invite an audience to enter the door with the sign to see the musical show.

 

Random Acts of Publicity

The Annual Random Acts of Publicity event is the first week in September. I’m reading a couple of books by new authors and two by well-published authors to mention for RAP. I’ll make a comment about what I feel is a strong point or two for each book. Not exactly a review, but definitely talking points to start a conversation about the books. That is the theme for the 2012 Random Acts of Publicity: “Conversations about Books.” My reading list reveals a theme of loss from four very different perspectives.

Darcy Pattison's Random Acts of Publicity

ONE FOR THE MURPHYS by Lynda Mullaly Hunt (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2012). 

One For The Murphys is Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s first novel. The main character, Carley, is twelve years old and finds herself unexpectedly placed with a foster family. All of the story’s characters are carefully revealed through strong, honest dialogue. Carley meets and resolves challenges in her own unique way. She touches the reader and leaves one wondering and feeling her loss. 

A BALL FOR DAISY by Chris Raschka (Schwartz & Wade Books, 2011).

This Caldecott Medal Award winner is the work of illustrator/author Chris Raschka, who has published over 40 books. I’m mentioning the book in this list because of the universal theme of loss is touching and the feeling comes only through story and wordless illustrations. The illustrations must be seen and studied. One illustration to look for is where the reader finally sees Daisy’s young companion. Oh, and Daisy is a dog. 

MISSING MAY by Cynthia Rylant (Orchard Books, 1992).

Missing May won the 1993 Newbery Award. Cynthia Rylant is a well-known author, so why is this book on the list? It is a story that sticks with you, hauntingly simple and deeply touching. Isn’t that how all great books leave you? The story is about loss. It is so worth rereading at whatever age you are.

ILLEGAL by Bettina Restrepo (Katherine Tegan Books, 2011).

Illegal is a debut novel written by Bettina Restrepo. Teenage Nora and her mother follow Nora’s father from Mexico to Texas after they don’t hear from him. The trip as illegals to Houston and their life there are difficult. Nora desperately feels the loss of her home and family. She grabbles with growing up. Many vibrant characters shape her journey. The reader must consider how Nora's journey will affect her.

Poetry Q & A With David L. Harrison

Learning about poetry informs all of my writing. I’ve asked poet David L. Harrison to answer three questions for writers entering the world of poetry for children. Thank you for the thoughtful answers and resources, David.


What are a few of the key elements that mark the good poetry being written for children today?

What a puzzle that is! Two poems side by side could conceivably have the same number of words, equal lengths of line, identical rhyme schemes and metric patterns. They might have the same number of stanzas, be on the same subject, even be written by the same poet. Yet one poem turns out brilliantly and the other fails. Jean Karl, a highly respected children’s editor, used to say that picture books were like soap bubbles. They either floated or they didn’t. You couldn’t fix one; you simply went on to another. I think the same can be said of a poem. No matter how hard you try to perfect them, some pop with disappointment while others seem to float on their own with little conscious effort by the poet.

 Nevertheless, the poet remains aware of the basic elements of poetry. What is the point of what’s being said? It isn’t enough to begin laying out rhymes or painting imagery willy-nilly. If meter is to be used, it must be applied evenly and consistently throughout the established pattern. The techniques are there and the poet learns how to use them. But they are tools in a tool box. The vision, the plan, the architect’s sketches, come from the poet and cannot be found among the tools.

What guides your choices when writing lyrical lines?

Lyrics sing. Or they aren’t lyrics. Lyrical lines hum in my head as I write. I smile, sometimes, at how good they sound. I frown, often, at a rough edge that stops me in mid-hum to wonder what I could possibly have been thinking when I wrote the line that way. When I walk down the hall from my office to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, I nearly always whistle. It’s an old habit that probably irritates others, but I can’t seem to stop. I almost never whistle the same tune. Some are old chestnuts from high school days; some are from musicals; some move as quickly as the cadence of my steps on productive mornings; some drag like funeral dirges on slow beginnings.

In other words, lyrical lines fit the mood, the time, the place, the tone of the poem. If my writing is excited by a child running through it, my lines will be peppy and short. If I’m inspired by the doves in our maple tree, my lyrical lines will coo gently and take their time revealing their meaning. My sense of purpose guides my selection of words and how they form the lines of my message.

Which children’s literature poets do you read today for inspiration?

First, a reader prospecting for good poetry should know that poetry is hard to sell in large printings and most publishers won’t deal with it. The amount of space allocated to poetry in a typical store is minimal and often represents collections by the best known names in our business. There’s certainly nothing wrong with reading the works of the most recognized writers of children’s poetry except that the menu, when limited only to the works of a dozen people or so, is limited to a small ensemble of voices out of the full choir out there singing their hearts out.

Anthologies give us an excellent opportunity to read samples of poems by poets whose names might be less widely known. The internet is providing wonderful opportunities to meet many poets simply by looking at their blogs and websites.

Renee La Tulippe is building a fine online collection of poems on video.

No Water River

Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell are creating a growing number of e-book anthologies.

Poetry Tag Time

Falling Down the Page and other good collections of poems have been edited by Georgia Heard.

Falling Down the Page

J. Patrick Lewis, our current Poet Laureate of Children’s Literature, introduces 200 poems about animals by poets all over the world for National Geographic.

Book of Animal Poetry

Lee Bennett Hopkins has set a record with 113 anthologies on a wide variety of subjects that feature numerous poets.

Sara Holbrook has recorded some of her excellent work.

YouTube

Thank you very much for inviting me to your blog!

David

Cowboys (Wordsong, 2012) is David L. Harrison’s latest book. Readers of all ages will find the poems about cowboys engaging and fun to read aloud. The illustrations by Dan Burr are filled with the movement of horses, cattle, and personable characters. Connecting the Dots is David’s blog. And I see that David posted a wonderful poem and comment yesterday at Poetry At Play.
Connecting the Dots
Poetry At Play

Teddy Bear Stories

On a November day in 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear in Mississippi. A cartoon about the incident appeared in The Washington Post. Brooklyn, New York shop owners made a handmade bear and put it in their storefront window with the sign: “Teddy’s bear.” And, as they say, history was made.

Bear Books:

FAMOUS BEARS & FRIENDS, WRITTEN AND COLLECTED by Janet Wyman Coleman (Dutton, 2002).

WINNIE-THE-POOH (80^th Anniversary Ed.) by A. A. Milne, pictures by Ernest Shepard (Dutton, 2006).

CORDUROY, story and pictures by Don Freeman (Viking Press, 1968).

A BEAR CALLED PADDINGTON (50^th Anniversary Ed.), story and pictures by Michael Bond (Houghton Mifflin, 2008).

BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR, WHAT DO YOU SEE? by Bill Martin Jr., pictures by Eric Carle (Henry Holt, 1967).

OLD BEAR, story and pictures by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, 2008).

THE TEDDY BEAR, story and pictures by David McPhail (Henry Holt, 2002).

WHAT ABOUT BEAR?, story and pictures by Suzanne Bloom (Boyds Mills press, 2010).

HUMPHREY’S BEAR by Jan Wahl, pictures by William Joyce (Henry Holt, 1987).

JESSE BEAR, WHAT WILL YOU WEAR? by Nancy White Carlstrom, pictures by Bruce Degen (Aladdin, 1996).

JAMBERRY, story and pictures by Bruce Degen (HarperCollins, 1983).

THE TEDDY BEARS’ PICNIC by Jimmy Kennedy, pictures by Alexandra Day (Green Tiger Press, 1983).

Educator Corner:

THE WILDERNESS WARRIOR: THEODORE ROOSEVELT AND THE CRUSADE FOR AMERICA by Douglas Brinkley (HarperCollins, 2009).

LITTLE CORNER ACTIVITY:

1. Read Teddy Bears’ Picnic.
2. Learn to sing “Teddy Bears’ Picnic.”
3. Assist children in planning a “teddy bears picnic day” and hold an elaborate or simple picnic day.
4. Children can make teddy bear masks to wear to the picnic.
5. A huge, newsprint-size map to the picnic area can be drawn by everyone on the floor.
6. Select games to play and gather needed balls or other equipment.
7. Children can make small sandwiches and cupcakes.
8. Each child can bring a favorite teddy bear and/or stuffed animal to school for the day and/or to the outdoor picnic site.
9. Children can serve sandwiches and pour drinks to share with their teddy bears.
10. Sing “Teddy Bears’ Picnic” while having a teddy bear parade around the picnic grounds.
11. Illustrate the teddy bears picnic day in artwork.
12. All can have a teddy bear nap time.

Banned Books

BANNED BOOKS WEEK during last week of September

http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/

Recent examples of banned books:

THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie, art by Ellen Forney (Little, Brown, 2007).

CRANK by Ellen Hopkins (Simon Pulse, 2004).

More Picture Books

THE  CARROT SEED ( 60^th Anniversary Ed.) by Ruth Krauss, pictures by Crockett Johnson (HarperCollins, 2004).

TEN LITTLE FINGERS AND TEN LITTLE TOES by Mem Fox, pictures by Helen Oxenbury (Harcourt, 2008).

KITTEN’S FIRST FULL MOON, story and pictures by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, 2004).

DOG HEAVEN, story and pictures Cynthia Rylant (Blue Sky Press, 1995).

THE POLAR EXPRESS, story and pictures by Chris Van Allsburg (Houghton Mifflin, 1985).

BEFORE YOU CAME by Patricia MacLachlan & Emily MacLachlan Charest, pictures by David Diaz (Katherine Tegen Books, 2011).

THE NOISY BOOK by Deborah Underwood, pictures by Renata Liwska (Houghton Mifflin, 2011).

TREASURE, story and pictures by Suzanne Bloom (Boyds Mills, 2007).

OWEN, story and pictures by Kevin Henkes (Greenwillow, 1993).

THE LONGEST NIGHT by Marion Dane Bauer, pictures by Ted Lewin (Holiday House, 2009).

Summer Curriculum

Children’s literature and, especially, picture/story books expand a teacher’s curriculum and a parent and child’s world. Books, and the teachers and parents using the books, are a tremendous influence in the lives of children. Stories are the backbone of culture and in today’s times, present the most compelling way of anchoring children and families in society. Summer is a great time to visit the library and be role models for children in reading books. It is also a great time to make new family memories.

Picture book stories can spring from an author’s own memories, fictional stories woven together with pictures that connect with young children. Family Pictures can be used to show a parent a way to talk about family history. The book is excellent for teachers working with young children and with families in family literacy settings and efforts. Literacy activities for the child in a classroom setting and for the whole family in the home setting can expand into a whole summer curriculum. All the World presents another view of our place in the world for children and families to share. Liz Scanlon’s book is a Caldecott (Randolph Caldecott Medal) Honor Book.

FAMILY PICTURES CUADROS DE FAMILIA, story and pictures by Carmen Lomas Garza (Children’s Book Press, 1990).

ALL THE WORLD by Liz Garton Scanlon, pictures by Marla Frazee (Beach Lane Books, 2009).

In learning about nonfiction stories, children’s books are strong in focusing on the less well-known, intriguing facts of history and the stories that make people and events come alive. For example, if one wants to learn more about the Apollo 11 landing on the moon, two recent books come to mind. The first book was written by Buzz Aldrin, one of the astronauts on the initial moon-landing flight. The Brian Floca’s book, Moonshot, is a Sibert Medal (Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award) Honor Book.

REACHING FOR THE MOON by Buzz Aldrin, pictures by Wendell Minor (HarperCollins, 2005).

MOONSHOT: THE FLIGHT OF APOLLO 11, story and pictures by Brian Floca (Atheneum Books, 2009).

Fictional middle grade and young adult books often use a real setting or a period in history to create a story around.  The Gary Schmidt’s book is a Newbery (John Newbery Medal) Honor Book. The following two books represent only a couple of small windows of a huge library of wonderful books.

LIZZIE BRIGHT AND THE BUCKMINSTER BOY by Gary D. Schmidt (Yearling, 2004).

ESPERANZA RISING by Pam Muñoz Ryan (Scholastic, 2002).

Books show the way for teachers and parents to ask open-ended questions for discussions about characters and conflicts in the stories.

LITTLE CORNER ACTIVITY:

1.    Ask children and family members to draw pictures about their family memories, events and world.

2.    Create scrapbooks with family photographs, drawings, and written versions of family stories.

3.    Share the creations at home and in classrooms.

4.    How do the stories read relate to our lives today?

Summer Reading

Well-Known and Not So Well-Known Books:

THE OWL AND THE PUSSYCAT by Edward Lear, pictures by James Marshall (HarperCollins, 1998).

THE GIFT, story and pictures by John Prater (Puffin Books, 1985).

HAROLD AND THE PURPLE CRAYON, story and pictures by Crockett Johnson (HarperCollins, 1955).

A POCKET FOR CORDUROY, story and pictures by Don Freeman (Scholastic, 1978).

THE BOXCAR CHILDREN by Gertrude Chandler Warner (A. Whitman, 1942).

THE TREASURE, story and pictures by Uri Shulevitz (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1978).

LITTLE BLUE AND LITTLE YELLOW, story and pictures by Leo Lionni (Scholastic, 1959).

BLACK AND WHITE, story and pictures by David Macaulay (Houghton Mifflin, 1990).

FORTUNATELY, story and pictures by Remy Charlip (Aladdin Paperbacks, 1964).

HOW TO PAINT THE PORTRAIT OF A BIRD by Jacques Prevert, translation and pictures by Mordicai Gerstein (Roaring Brook Press, 2007).

WALK WHEN THE MOON IS FULL by Frances Hamerstrom (The Crossing Press,1975).

VOICES IN THE PARK, story and pictures by Anthony Browne (DK Publishing, 1998).

Poetry Notes

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41

YOUNG PEOPLE’S POETRY WEEK

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5625

A good basic reference for teachers and poets:

THE TEACHERS & WRITERS: HANDBOOK OF POETIC FORMS, edited by Ron Padgett (Teachers & Writers Collaborative, 2cd ed. 2000).

LITTLE CORNER ACTIVITY:

1.    Look into your own backyard or nearby park. What do you see?

2.    Put pencil to paper and write or draw the things that you saw without stopping.

3.    Try to arrange a few words and feelings into short lines.

4.    Think about fitting the ideas into a fun poetry form—an alphabet poem or a list poem. A haiku is short. A prose poem is longer. A couplet is just two lines that usually rhyme.

Here is my couplet poem:

In my garden, lives a green anole. He turns brown

when I chase him into the primroses that grow all ‘round.

Will I write another two lines? What else do I want to say?

5.    So keep writing—the secret to finding success is to never give up. If you write and read, you will be a better writer and reader.

Poetry books for reading aloud:

YOU COME TOO: FAVORITE POEMS FOR YOUNG READERS by Robert Frost (Henry Holt, 1959).

A FAMILY OF POEMS: MY FAVORITE POETRY FOR CHILDREN, edited by Caroline Kennedy (Hyperion, 2005).

SHARING THE SEASONS: A BOOK OF POEMS, edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins (Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2010).

More books for poetry study:

A POETRY HANDBOOK by Mary Oliver (Harcourt Brace, 1994).

RULES FOR THE DANCE by Mary Oliver (Houghton Mifflin, 1998).

A POET’S GUIDE TO POETRY by Mary Kinzie (University of Chicago Press, 1999).

Classic Books

NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK on April 10-16

http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/pio/mediarelationsa/factsheets/nationallibraryweek.cfm

SUPPORT TEEN LITERATURE DAY on April 14

http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Support_Teen_Literature_Day

Classic Books to Read or Read Aloud:

ALICE’S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND by Lewis Carroll 1866).

LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott (1868-9).

HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain (1884).

THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ by L. Frank Baum (1900).

THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT, story and pictures by Beatrix Potter(1902).

POEMS OF CHILDHOOD by Eugene Field (1904).

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES by L. M. Montgomery 1908).

NOW WE ARE SIX by A. A. Milne (1927).

LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE by Laura Ingalls Wilder (1935).

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE by C. S. Lewis (1950).

CHARLOTTE’S WEB by E. B. White (1952).

A WRINKLE IN TIME by Madeleine L’Engle (1962).

Favorite Picture Books

GOODNIGHT MOON by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd (Harper & Row, 1947). The perfect bedtime picture book for the very young child.

  

THE RUNAWAY BUNNY by Margaret Wise Brown, pictures by Clement Hurd (Harper & Row, 1942).

  

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1963). The classic picture book for all times and Caldecott Medal winner.

  

IN THE NIGHT KITCHEN, story and pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1970).

  

THE SNOWY DAY, story and pictures by Ezra Jack Keats (Viking Press, 1962).

  

THE TRIP, story and pictures by Ezra Jack Keats (Greenwillow Books, 1978).

  

THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, story and pictures by Eric Carle (World Publishing Co., 1969).

  

OWL MOON by Jane Yolen, pictures by John Schoenherr (Philomel Books, 1987).

  

MOONLIGHT, story and pictures by Jan Ormerod (Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books, 1982).

  

A TREE IS NICE by Janice May Udry, pictures by Marc Simont (Harper & Row, 1956).

  

CAPS FOR SALE, story and pictures by Esphyr Slobodkina (HarperCollins, 1940).

  

THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF by P. C. Asbjørnsen and J. E. Moe, pictures by Marcia Brown (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1957).