Last Minute Poetry

A third grade colleague waited for my attention as I finished the picture walk through Charlie Cook's Favorite Book this afternoon with second graders. "Could you pull some poetry books to share with my class at 2:45 when they come to the library?" Absolutely, I told him.

The 811 section has been quite popular this week. We are fortunate to have several hundred poetry books in our collection, and they reside under a Very Hungry Caterpillar mobile. Choosing books to share with students is always a pleasure. My selections, however, are things they probably would not choose on their own. In other words, Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, Falling Up, It's Raining Pigs and Noodles, and The New Kid on the Block are not in my pile.

As the third grade children gathered on the story steps, I told them a bit about National Poetry Month, launched into descriptions of the books I had selected, and read a poem or two from each. They laughed at Mrs. Cole on an Onion Roll by Kalli Dakos, gasped at Thomas's jelly doughnut theft in Joyce Sidman's This is Just to Say (and Mrs. Garcia's acceptance of his apology), smiled to see Tomie dePaola's illustration for "The Secret Place", and attempted to guess the creatures described in Butterfly Eyes. When I finished, I asked if anyone would like to check out the titles I shared. Every hand shot in the air! In seconds, the books were cradled in the arms of eager readers.

I love the success