Celebrate National Poetry Month With A Kick in the Head
Thursday April 2, 2009
Celebrate National Poetry Month by sharing a variety of poetic forms with your children. To get you started, I recommend the children's book A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms. In his book, poet and teacher Paul B. Janeczko provides an introduction to 29 poetic forms. Some of the poetic forms, like the couplet, haiku, sonnet, and limerick, may be familiar to you and your children. I was surprised by how many poetic forms I was not familiar with, including the tanka, clerihew, and aubade. The exuberant mixed media illustrations by Chris Raschka, done in watercolor, ink and torn paper, are a wonderful accompaniment to the poetry by a variety of poets. Older children, teens, and adults will enjoy this book.
More National Poetry Month Resources
Five Classic Poems to Share With Grandchildren (About.com: Grandparents)
Poetry for Children (Poetry for Children Blog)
(Cover art courtesy of Candlewick Press)
Comments
A fine example of approaching a complex subject through the media of children’s literature. As an adult I found the book marvelously informative and colorful. Younger children just love the sound of the words rolling off your toungue. Older children will be interested in the many kinds of poetic form. The illustrations are icing on the already delicious cake.
Well done!