April Poetry

"If of worldly goods thou art bereft..." so starts one of my fvorite poems, written in the thirteenth century by the Persian poet Muslihuddin Sadi. He finishes the poem, "buy hyacinths to feed thy soul." As the flowers (including hyacinths) bloom, our thoughts turn to the poetry of life, and April is National Poetry month. Poetry is a wonderful way for young readers to gain fluency and confidence in themselves and their memories as they reread and begin to memorise the poetry they are reading. Start a family tradition of poetry reading around the kitchen table. If Shel Silverstein or Emily Dickenson seem too funny or flowery, try Casey at the Bat or the Cremation of Sam McGee. If Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses is not your speed, try Requiem or or Kipling's Gunga Din. There is a poem for every mood and every age. Try Poetry in April......I bet you'll still be reading it in September!

Spring Stories

In Wisconsin, even after the mildest winter, we look forward to "Spring At Last." As our thought turn to Spring, I look forward to introducing and reading some of my favorite Springtime stories both aloud and silently. Of course, 'Miss Rumphius' by Barbara Cooney tops my list. This story of a young girl who is challenged as a child to make the world a better place is one of my favorites, perhaps because the first thing the child does is become a librarian.
I always read "Make way for Ducklings' by Robert McClosky because this gentle Caldecott winner from 1941 puts me back on my mother's lap as we read about Jack, Kack, Lack , Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack and laughing about what our family of eight children would be like if our names were all the same except for the first letter. The Thompson's Little Quack stories and the Duck and Goose series by Hills are favorites of mine and the youngest children enjoy these. And as St Patrick's day approaches, we add a little magic to our reading in the form of "Shannon and the World's tallest leprechaun" by Sean Callahan.
As April comes closer, we will be reading Easter stories and talking Poetry--April is National Poetry month--but that is another blog down the road.