From John Updike's "Player Piano" to Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing," from Lucille Clifton's "the earth is a living thing" to Gelett Burgess's "The Purple Cow," these poems tumble from children's tongues and dance with their tapping toes. Whether joyous, rhythmic, solemn, or simple silly fun, poetry learned by heart has a lasting claim on children's affections and a permanent home in their hearts. The introduction includes tips for teaching kids how to memorize poems. Vecchione presents a selection of verses with rhythms, themes, and wordplay that especially appeal to middle graders.
i felt great about giving this book as a birthday gift to my 13 year old niece. right away she started to read the poems aloud and i could see the pleasure and excitement in her voice and eyes while she heard the words of the poems.. i always feel much better giving an educational gift. this book combines education and enjoyment!
How to entice children with poetry
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
I'm a librarian in an elementary school. I showed this book to a third grader (a bright one) who had no previous interest in poetry -- it was April, and National Poetry month. We browsed through it together; we discussed how some people like to memorize poetry. I started to recite, from memory, Macbeth's soliloquy: "Tomorrow and tomorow creeps in this petty pace..." She stood enthralled, started to read it herself, and said, "I can borrow this book, can't I?" She had it checked out immediately and left the room with a grin from ear to ear. Now, if that's not recommendation enough, I don't know what is.
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