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National Poetry Month
April 1, 2023 - April 30, 2023
From the Toronto Public Library:
April is National Poetry Month, and what better way to celebrate with your child than by exploring some of the poetry books available at the library! Reading poetry aloud can be a wonderful experience for children, exposing them to the patterns and rhythms of language. Poetry can take unexpected twists and turns, and the novel language of poems can be great conversation starters for curious children.
A New York Times article affirms this idea, reminding us that “the beauty of poetry for small children is that the sounds of words can be appealing long before their meanings are fully understood.”
Here are some poetry books you may enjoy reading with your child:
A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood: The Poetry of Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers
Cast Away: Poems for Our Time by Naomi Shihab Nye
I Am Loved by Nikki Giovanni
Lion of the Sky by Laura Purdie Salas
Rhyme Stew by Roald Dahl
Boom! Bellow! Bleat! : Animal Poems for Two or More Voices by Georgia Heard
The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How-to Poems by Paul B. Janeczko
Poetree by Caroline Pignat
No More Poems! : A Book in Verse that Just Gets Worse by Rhett Miller
Want to try an easy poetry activity at home? Write your child’s name vertically down a blank piece of paper and encourage them to write a poem using the letters in their name. This is called an acrostic poem. You could also try this with different words. This activity can be a lot of fun and result in silly poems.
Try reading or writing a poem with your child today. Happy National Poetry Month!
Other websites for educators to visit for ideas:
Scholastic and Scholastic Archives
Videos to watch:
5-Minute Film Festival Celebrating Poetry Month
Believe in the Beauty of Your Dreams
The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
Dear Future Generations: Sorry by Prince Ea
Other poetry websites: