Friday, July 30, 2021

82. Unsettled by Reem Faruqi

read book, then read on Kindle and liked it less?
2021
352 pgs.
Genre/Level MidGr CRF Verse
Finished  7/30 & 12/23/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.30
My rating: 5 & 3.5
Setting: mostly contemporary Peachtree, GA

My comments: Oh my, written in gorgeous verse.  I found myself reading and rereading beautiful pages of descriptive words.  All the emotions of a 13-year-old girl uprooted from her home, country, family, and life to come to America.  Se speaks gret English, so that's a big help, and for the most part kids aren't super mean - although they tend to ignore her.  She finds a place for herself in the swimming pool which she has always loved, in her art classes, and in her home with her family.  Wonderful story with even more wonderful writing.  I always enjoy reading about and learning more about any middle eastern culture.  (Read in Kindle format a second time five months laterand didn't even remember it, so weird....)
     Cool paragraph/verse from the book:
"My hair is always smooth and silky,
it makes friends easily
with my fingers
and the comb.
If I choose to cover my hair,
like my mother,
what will my face envy?"

Goodreads synopsis:  A stirring, hopeful immigration story of Nurah and her family, who move from Karachi, Pakistan, to Peachtree City, Georgia, from Reem Faruqi, ALA Notable author of the award-winning picture book Lailah’s Lunchbox. Powerful and charming, Other Words for Home meets Front Desk in this debut middle grade novel in verse about finding your footing in a new world.

From Pakistan to Peachtree City—Nurah’s stirring story of finding your place.

When Nurah’s family moves from Karachi, Pakistan, to Peachtree City, Georgia, all she really wants is to blend in, but she stands out for all the wrong reasons. Nurah’s accent, floral-print kurtas, and tea-colored skin make her feel excluded, and she’s left to eat lunch alone under the stairwell, until she meets Stahr at swimming tryouts. Stahr covers her body when in the water, just like Nurah, but for very different reasons.

But in the water Nurah doesn’t want to blend in: She wants to stand out. She wants to win medals like her star athlete brother, Owais—who is going through struggles of his own in America—yet when sibling rivalry gets in the way, she makes a split-second decision of betrayal that changes their fates.

As Nurah slowly begins to sprout wings in the form of strong swimming arms, she gradually gains the courage to stand up to bullies, fight for what she believes in, and find her place.

Wednesday, July 28, 2021

81. The Pants Project by Cat Clark

listened on Audible
2017
272 pgs.
MidGr CRF
Finished  7/28/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.09 - 2106 ratings
My rating: 4.5

My comments: Another story about a trans middle schooler.  Live is starting a brand new middle school where she has to wear a uniform and for girlss that means a skirt every day.  She hates this.  nd of course there are two (female) bully sidekicks that treat her horribly, especially when they discover she has two moms.  Her best friend abandons her completely to be popular, but she meets a terrific young man, Jacob, who becomes her best friend.  Her mom and mama are terrific, as is her little brother Enzo.  It's a great story of a loving family in contemporary times and a young person who begins to trust herselfand the choices she makes.  

Goodreads synopsis:  Whoever wrote the uniform policy decided (whyyy?) that girls had to wear skirts, while boys were allowed to wear pants.

Sexist. Dumb. Unfair.

“Girls must wear a black, pleated, knee-length skirt.”

I bet I read those words a hundred times during summer vacation. The problem wasn’t the last word in that sentence. Skirt wasn’t really the issue, not for me.
The issue was the first word. Girls.

Here’s the thing:
I may seem like a girl, but on the inside, I’m a boy.

Tuesday, July 27, 2021

80. 365 Days to Alaska by Cathy Carr

read the book, borrowed from the library
2021
272 pgs.
Mid Grade CRF
Finished  7/27/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.29 - 243 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary CT, with a small part at the beginning in the wilderness/boonies of AK

First line/s:  "Rigel put the tip of the hunting knife into the hare's belly and made a careful slit." 

My comments: After spending her entire life in the middle-of-nowhere "bush" in Alaska, 11 year-old Rigel - pronounced RYE/JILL, is forced to move to Connecticut with her mom and two sister, five and 14 years old, leaving her dad, Bear, in Alaska.  She doesn't want to go, she's never left her home in the middle of nowhere and really, really loves it there.  So this story is the story of the following year in Connecticut, all the changes she has to adapt to, bullies and no friends and not enough nature and coming to love a crow she names Blueberry.  And of course she ends up making wonderful friends, finding the nature she needs, and adapting.  We get to know the diverse personalities of her  wonderful family member, too.  This is a wonderful story with lots and lots to sink your teeth into.

Goodreads synopsis:  A thoughtful middle-grade debut about a girl from off-the-grid Alaska adjusting to suburban life
        Eleven-year-old Rigel Harman loves her life in off-the-grid Alaska. She hunts rabbits, takes correspondence classes through the mail, and plays dominoes with her family in their two-room cabin. She doesn’t mind not having electricity or running water—instead, she’s got tall trees, fresh streams, and endless sky.
        But then her parents divorce, and Rigel and her sisters have to move with their mom to the Connecticut suburbs to live with a grandmother they’ve never met. Rigel hates it in Connecticut. It’s noisy, and crowded, and there’s no real nature. Her only hope is a secret pact that she made with her father: If she can stick it out in Connecticut for one year, he’ll bring her back home.
        At first, surviving the year feels impossible. Middle school is nothing like the wilderness, and she doesn’t connect with anyone . . . until she befriends a crow living behind her school. And if this wild creature has made a life for itself in the suburbs, then, just maybe, Rigel can too.
365 Days to Alaska is a wise and funny debut novel about finding beauty, hope, and connection in the world no matter where you are—even Connecticut.

Sunday, July 25, 2021

79. The Lion of Mars by Jennifer L. Holm

Read the book, from SPS library
2021
235 pgs.
Mid Grade SciFi
Finished  7/25/21
Goodreads rating: 4.15 - 1010 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Mars

First line/s: "The trip to Mars was the hardest thing they'd ever experienced.  That's what the grown-ups said."

My comments: I was so sad when this book came to an end.  It was exceptional.  Five kids and six adults live in the American compound inside a lava tunnel on Mars.  There are four other similar colonies close by:  France, Finland, Russia, and China, but for years they have been alienated.  Then all the American adults get deathly ill.  The kids don't, and after some bravery on the part of the protagonis, Bell, things begin to change.  A really wonderful story.

Goodreads synopsis:  A kid raised on Mars learns that he can't be held back by the fears of the grown-ups around him.
          Bell has spent his whole life - all eleven years of it - on Mars. But he's still just a regular kid - he loves cats, any kind of cake, and is curious about the secrets the adults in the US colony are keeping. Like, why don't have contact with anyone on the other Mars colonies? Why are they so isolated? When a virus breaks out and the grown-ups all fall ill, Bell and the other children are the only ones who can help. It's up to Bell - a regular kid in a very different world - to uncover the truth and save his family ... and possibly unite an entire planet.

Saturday, July 24, 2021

78. Too Bright to See by Kyle Lukoff

Book borrowed from CCLS
2021, Dial Book for Young Readers
188 pgs.
Mid Gr CRF
Finished 7/24/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.30 - 371 ratings
My rating: 4.5
Setting: contemporary rural Vermont

First line/s: "It's strange living in our old house now that Uncle Roderick is dead."

My comments: It's very difficult to review this book without spoilers, but I feel it's very important to read it without knowing exactly what is going to happen.  It's written beautifully. From the beginning I knew I wouldn't be able to put it into my new school's library, being a Catholic School and all the problems that Catholics seem to have with anything LGBTQ.  I need this job, so I won't fight that externally, only internally.  And now, spoilers are coming, so if you have not read this book and even have the tiniest notion you might, do not read further.  Bug, the protagonist, goes through an incredible transformation of identity in the summer s/he turns 13 and is getting ready for middle school.  Bug has been born with female "parts," and has been raised as a girl.  He discovers the reason that he never really sees himself when he looks in the mirror, just a copy of himself.  He discovers so much more than that as well...that he is transgender and immediately begins referring to himself as HE instead of she.  Everyone in his life is so understanding, no one bullies him or makes him feel in any way awkward or uncomfortable, neither kids he's grown up with or administrators in the new-to-him middle school.  How I would like to very much believe this would be the reality for kids like him!  In one of the reviews I read about this book, Betsy Bird says that she thinks that some kids are just getting tired of books and movies full of bullying and meanness (my words/translation).  I sure hope she's right!  The afterword by the author is very enlightening, I'm guessing this story - or a big part of it - is autobiographical.  

Goodreads synopsis:  A haunting ghost story about navigating grief, growing up, and growing into a new gender identity
          It's the summer before middle school and eleven-year-old Bug's best friend Moira has decided the two of them need to use the next few months to prepare. For Moira, this means figuring out the right clothes to wear, learning how to put on makeup, and deciding which boys are cuter in their yearbook photos than in real life. But none of this is all that appealing to Bug, who doesn't particularly want to spend more time trying to understand how to be a girl. Besides, there's something more important to worry about: A ghost is haunting Bug's eerie old house in rural Vermont...and maybe haunting Bug in particular. As Bug begins to untangle the mystery of who this ghost is and what they're trying to say, an altogether different truth comes to light--Bug is transgender.

Friday, July 23, 2021

Picture Book - Watercress by Andrea Wang

Illustrated by Jason Chin
Endpapers:  Dark Aqua
found at Bosler
2021 Neal Porter Books, Holiday House
32 pgs.
Goodreads rating:   4.61 - 1131 ratings
My rating:  4.5
1st line/s:  "We are all in the old Pontiac, the red paint faded by years of glinting Ohio sun, pelting rain, and biting snow."

My comments:  Being a child of immigrants, and poor, the little girl protagonist of this story  doesn't want to stop by the side of the road to forage in the muck for watercress that remind her parents of their growing up in China.  And later she doesn't want to eat it.  But in a simple though perfectly worded story, Andrea Wang, shows the little girl a huge amount of history, memories, and sorrow from the mom's life in China.  A gentle story with a whopping take-away.


Goodreads:  Gathering watercress by the side of the road brings a girl closer to her family's Chinese Heritage.
          Driving through Ohio in an old Pontiac, a young girl's parents stop suddenly when they spot watercress growing wild in a ditch by the side of the road. Grabbing an old paper bag and some rusty scissors, the whole family wades into the muck to collect as much of the muddy, snail covered watercress as they can.
          At first, she's embarrassed. Why can't her family get food from the grocery store? But when her mother shares a story of her family's time in China, the girl learns to appreciate the fresh food they foraged. Together, they make a new memory of watercress.
          Andrea Wang tells a moving autobiographical story of a child of immigrants discovering and connecting with her heritage, illustrated by award winning author and artist Jason Chin, working in an entirely new style, inspired by Chinese painting techniques. An author's note in the back shares Andrea's childhood experience with her parents.

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

77. I Temporarily Do by Ellie Cahill

listened on Chirp
narrated by Stacey Glemboski - great job
Unabridged audio (6:11
2017
220 pgs.
Adult RomCom
Finished  7/21/21
Goodreads rating: 4.0 - 2817 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary Irvine, CA, eastern small-town IA, and Phoenix

First line/s: "The guys were all in the living room."

My comments:  Great narrator, I love the way she is able to do a male voice without changing her natural voice very much, but making it work perfectly.  I loved the story.  It was a feel good, very cute, fun-feeling story.  Not high steam at all.  It had plenty of meat and was actually somewhat believable...maybe because I wanted it to be that way, lol.  Two great protagonists with lots of other interesting characters.  Very much enjoyed it.

GoodReads Synopsis:   A little white lie. A little white wedding. A pair of roommates in over their heads.
        Days before she's set to move across the country and start a prestigious graduate program, a con artist leaves Emmy with no where to live and less than zero dollars in her bank account. But her day doesn't seem quite so bad compared to Beckett's--his fiancĂ©e called off their wedding just days before they tie the knot. Now he's single and ineligible for his place in married student housing.
        So what are a girl without a home and a guy without a wife supposed to do? A quickie wedding in Vegas will solve both their problems. It's a business arrangement, and no one even needs to know. They'll just get an annulment in a few months. What could go wrong?
        Only Beckett forgot to mention his new apartment is a one-bedroom. And neither of them counted on their new friends at Middlesex University thinking they're a great couple.
        The platonic newlywed game might be harder to play than Emmy thought. Especially when it starts to feel less than platonic.
        I Temporarily Do is a Stand-Alone Romantic Comedy.

Monday, July 19, 2021

Picture Book - Laxmi's Mooch by Shelly Anand

Illustrated by Nabi H. Ali
Endpapers:  Pale simple drawings on solid orange that explain nine Hindi words used in the story
found at Ellsworth Public Library
2021, Kokila/Penguin Random House
32 pgs.
Goodreads rating:   4.42 - 820 ratings
My rating:  4.5
Illustrations:  big, bold, brightly colored
Text:  Just 1 -2 sentences per page.
1st line/s:  "Hi!  I'm Laxmi.  Come here.  Closer.  You see that?  That's my mooch."

My comments:  After a young Indian-American gets noticed for the tiny dark hairs on her upper lips (mustache = mooch), she has a talk with her parents and is made to realize that this is a normal - and good - thing.  References are made to Frida Kahlo.  Then she returns to school and has kids examine their own upper lips - and on those that are completely hairless she draws on a mooch for them.
    Acceptance for all!  Everyone's different!

Goodreads:  A joyful, body-positive picture book about a young Indian American girl's journey to accept her body hair and celebrate her heritage after being teased about her mustache.
          Laxmi never paid much attention to the tiny hairs above her lip. But one day while playing farm animals at recess, her friends point out that her whiskers would make her the perfect cat. She starts to notice body hair all over--on her arms, legs, and even between her eyebrows.
        With her parents' help, Laxmi learns that hair isn't just for heads, but that it grows everywhere, regardless of gender. Featuring affirming text by Shelly Anand and exuberant, endearing illustrations by Nabi H. Ali, Laxmi's Mooch is a celebration of our bodies and our body hair, in whichever way they grow.

Thursday, July 15, 2021

76. Debris Line by Matthew FitzSimmons

#4 Gibson Vaughn
listened on KindUnlAUDIO
narrated by James Patrick Cronin
Unabridged audio (9:44)
2018
320 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished  7/15/21 (returning from Maine, in CT, in the car)
Goodreads rating: 4.22 - 3384 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting:  contemporary coast of Portugal

First line/s: "Joao Luna steered the Alexandria south and west into open waters."

My comments: Adventure and edge-of-your-seat kind of wondering wht will happen next....though a little slow in places.  Set entirely in Portugal.  You get to know Gibson Vaughn's three cohorts a bit better.  I'm getting to like Hendrix more and more, he has a weird sense of humor that's fun.  Jenn, I'm not so sure about.  She's left Sergio, the soccer player, because she knows their relationship won't last.  I really do think that Gibson has a crush on her, but I'm not sure that she reciprocates it even in the slightest.  There's at least one more story written about them at this time, so will definitely see what might happen there.

Goodreads synopsis:   The stakes are higher than ever as the Wall Street Journal bestselling series continues.
        Lying low on the sun-kissed coast of Portugal is a far cry from twenty-four-hour lockdown in a CIA black-site prison. But even in paradise, Gibson Vaughn is a long way from being home free. With the feds hot on his heels, he and his crew of fellow fugitives know they can’t hide in a sunny beach town forever. And before they go on the run again, their generous host—a wealthy drug smuggler—expects to be paid for his hospitality. And paid double.
His price? A nearly impossible operation that Gibson and his gang must pull off to retrieve a king’s ransom in hijacked narcotics. Even if they make it out alive, they’ll have to face the wrath of a ruthless Mexican cartel that plays dirty…and is used to winning. But when Gibson discovers there’s far more than drugs at stake, the heist becomes a daring mission of rescue and mercy—and righteous vengeance.

Wednesday, July 14, 2021

Picture Book - Kamala and Maya's Big Idea by Meena Harris

Illustrated by Ana Ramirez Gonzalez
found at Ellsworth Public Library
read on 7/14/2021
2020, Balzer & Bray
32 pgs.
Endpapers:  solid royal blue
illustrations:  bold colors, edge to edge, not too much text
Goodreads rating:   4.03 - 1011 ratings
My rating:  4
Afterward/explanation with photos

1st line/s:  " 'You know what should be out there?' Kamala asked her sister, Maya."

My comments:  Two sisters (Kamala Harris and her sister Maya) create, plan and organize a way to make a playground in the empty apartment courtyard where they live, even after gettin several "no"s .  Working together, almost anything can be accomplished. 

Goodreads:  One day, Kamala and Maya had an idea. A big idea: they would turn their empty apartment courtyard into a playground!
          This is the uplifting tale of how the author’s aunt and mother first learned to persevere in the face of disappointment and turned a dream into reality. This is a story of children’s ability to make a difference and of a community coming together to transform their neighborhood.

Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Poetry Book: Maine: The Way Life Should Be: A Wicked Good Book of Verse by Robert Pottle

Illustrated by Holly Hardwick
paperback
found at Ellsworth Library
2005, Blue Lobster Press, Eastbrook, Maine
64 pgs.
wonderful "pencil" drawings
Goodreads rating:   3.67 - 3 ratings
My rating:  5/Loved it! 

My comments:  The poetr, Robert Pottle, was born in Eastport and now lives in Eastbrook (or at least he did when this book was published.)
Loved the poems and line drawings.  There's also information on each page.  Many are song to familiar tunes:
    "There's  a Racoon in the Trash Can" (Battle Humn of the Republic)
    "Have You Ever Seen a Puffin?" (The More We Get Together)
    "I'm a Little Lobster " Part I - catching; Part II - cooking; Part III - eating
    "Itsy Bitsy Black Flies" (Itsy Bitsy Spider, of course!)
    "Nine Painted Turtles " (One little, two little, three little ...)
    "Busy Beaver's Song" (I've Been Working on the Railroad)


Loons
 Whether hauntingly howling one night on a lake
or laughing one morning in June,
they’re known for the numerous sounds they can make;
a primitive bird is the loon.
 
The common loon’s plumage is all black and whte,
The newborns are brownish and black.
If you’re lucky you may see a marvelous sight;
a loon with a chick on its back.
 
At diving and swimming, they cannot be beat.
At aquatics, they’re simply the best,
but it takes them an hour of flapping their feet
to get from the short to their nest.

Goodreads:  Funny poems, and songs set to familiar tunes, about Maine's abundant wildlife. Interesting animal facts about all of the animals covered are included.

Sunday, July 11, 2021

Muddy Puddle Blog Poem INDEX

Poetry Index

A
ABECEDARIAN - "Wintering Over" -  The Monarch's Progress
"Abuelita is My Grandma" (Wolff) - I Call My Grandma Nana
ACROSTIC - "BUTTERFLY" - Silver Seeds
ACROSTIC - "CLOUDS" - Silver Seeds
ACROSTIC - "DAWN" - Silver Seeds
ACROSTIC - "Empathy" - Dictionary for a Better World
ACROSTIC - "Monarch Beginnings" - The Monarch's Progress
ACROSTIC - Necessary Gardens -  Please Bury Me in the Library
ACROSTIC - "SUN" - Silver Seeds
ACROSTIC - "Top Secret" Book Speak!
ACROSTIC - "TREES" - Silver Seeds
activity - star inside apples - "Discovery" - Swing Around the Sun
Ada, Alma Flor - "Orgullo = Pride" - Gathering the Sun
Ada, Alma Flor - "Tomates = Tomatoes" - Gathering the Sun
Alexander, Kwame - "How to Write a Poem " (abt. Naomi Shihab Nye) Out of Wonder
aliens - "The Aliens Have Landed" - website
aliens - "I'm Gazing Through My Telescope" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Allen, Kathryn Madeline - "If I Were the Equator" - Got Geography 
ALLITERATION - "April Waking" - Forest Has a Song
ALLITERATION - "Lichens" - Forest Has a Song
America welcomes immigrants - "Heah Y'all Come" - We Trouble the Waters
animals (see below) beavers, birds, camels, dinosaurs, dogs, fish, frogs, giraffes, horses, lizards, moles, otters, penguins, pigeons, sloths,, snakes, toads, zebras
animal sounds - "Barnyard Chat" - The Read Aloud Treasury
animals/barnyard - "Barnyard Chat" - The Read Aloud Treasury
animals/general - "Hurt No Living Thing" -  Blooming Beneath the Sun
animals/imaginary - "The Jackslope" - The Poetry of US
animals/night - "Welcome the the Night" - Dark Emperor
animals/oysters - "Oyster" (haiku) -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
animals/pets - "The Animal Store" - Forget-Me-Nots
anthropomorphism - "Moose on the Bus" - Outside the Box
appearances can be deceiving - "Things Are Different" - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
apples (star inside) - "Discovery" - Swing Around the Sun
"April (The Frog Moon)" (Pollock) - When the Moon is Full
April Fool's Day - "April Fool's Day" - Holiday Stew
"April Rain Song" (Hughes) - Forget-Me-Nots
"April Waking" (Vanderwater) - Forest Has a Song
Arizona/Sonoran Desert/Tucson - "Legends of the Sonoran Desert" - The Poetry of US
Arizona/Sonoran Desert - "Storms in Oaxaca" - The Ancestors Are Singing
"Art Class" (Park) - Tap Dancing on the Roof
art/bad drawing - "The Secret of My Art" - website
art/clay - "A Lump of Clay" - Outside the Box
art/museum - "Field Trip" - First Food Fight This Fall
art/weird - "Art Class" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
Autumn - "Awe-tumn" - Autumnblings
Autumn - "Birds of Autumn" - Autumnblings
Autumn - "October" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
Autumn - "Scarecrow's Epitaph" - Hallowilloween
Autumn - "What I Hate About Autumn" - Autumnblings
Autumn - "What I Love About Autumn" - Autumnblings
Autumn/leaves turning - "october 15" - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
Autumn/leaves - "Leaves" - website
Autumn/leaves - "The Leaves Fall Down" - website
Autumn/leaves - "What To Do with Autumn Leaves" - Autumnblings
Aztec/Maya - "Museum of Anthropology" - The Ancestors Are Singing
Aztec/Maya - "Old Palaces" - The Ancestors Are Singing

B
"Barnyard Chat" (Calmenson) - The Read Aloud Treasury
bathroom antics  (flushing toilet, etc.) - "My Secret Karate" - No More Poems!
beaver - "November (The Beaver Moon) - When the Moon is Full
bedtime - "Bedtime Snacks" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
being alone - "Sometimes" - Forget-Me-Nots
being happy - "Dust of Snow"- Forget-Me-Nots
being happy - "The Sun" - Forget-Me-Nots
being nice - "The Secret of My Art" - website
being outdoors - "(Loving) The World and Everything In It" - Out of Wonder
bicycle - "Bob's Bicycle Helmet" - Button Up!  Wrinkled Rhymes
bicycle safety - "Bob's Bicyle Helmet" - Button Up!  Wrinkled Rhymes
BIOGRAPHY poem - "No Idle Days" (about Wm. Carlos Wms.) - Out of Wonder
birds - "Frustrations" - The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound
birds - "I Heard a Bird Sing" - Forget-Me-Nots
birds - on a high wire - "Skywriting" on website
birds - "Winter Wren" - The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound
birds/blue jay - "Blue Jay Blues" - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
birds/crow - "Crow" - Flutter & Hum
birds/grouse - "Puffing up her feathers" - Sweet Dreamers
birds/house - "A household tucked inside a hole" - Nest, Nook & Cranny
birds/hummingbird - "Hummingbird" - Peacock and Other Poems
birds /loons - "The Loon's Laugh - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
birds/loons - "Loons" - Maine: The Way Life Should Be
birds/many - "Birds of Autumn" - Autumnblings
birds/peacock (haiku) "Peacock" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
birds/ravens - "This Big Sky" - This Big Sky
birds/ravens - "Old Napolean" - Hallowilloween
birds/what they eat - "Today at the Bluebird Cafe" - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
birds/woodpecker - "Woodpecker" - Forest Has a Song
birds/woodpecker - "The Woodpecker" - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
Blackaby, Susan - "A household tucked inside a hole" - Nest, Nook & Cranny
Blackaby, Susan - "Otters loll like whiskered boats" - Nest, Nook & Cranny
"Bob's Bicycle Helmet" (Schertle) - Button Up!  Wrinkled Rhymes
books - "Acknowledgments" -  Please Bury Me in the Library
books - "Book Plate" - Book Speak!
books - "Books" - website
books - "Calling All Readers" - websiteBook Speak!
books - "Giant Bookmobile of Tomorrow" - websitePoem-Mobiles
bridges - "Golden Gate Bridge" - websiteThe Poetry of US
Brown, Calef - "Lone Star Witches" - Hallowilloween
Brown, Calef - "Old Napolean" - Hallowilloween
Brown, Calef - "Scarecrow's Epitaph" - Hallowilloween
Brown, Margaret Wise - "The Leaves Fall Down" - website
Brown, Skila - "Steam Engine: - Clackety Track
Bryan, Ashley/ABOUT - "The Greater Sum of Parts" - website
bubblegum - "Bubble Trouble" - Outside the Box
Bulion, Leslie - "The Flying Leap" - Superlative Birds
butterflies/monarch - "Monarch Beginnings" - The Monarch's Progress
butterflies/monarch - "Wintering Over" - The Monarch's Progress

C
Calmenson, Stephanie - "Barnyard Chat" - The Read Aloud Treasury
Calmenson, Stephanie - "The Popcorn Hop" - The Read Aloud Treasury
camels - "Camel" (haiku) -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Carroll, Abigail - "The Jackslope" - The Poetry of US
chant - "Barnyard Chat" - The Read Aloud Treasury
chant - "The Popcorn Hop" - The Read Aloud Treasury
Chavez, Cesar/ABOUT - "The Organizer" - Heroes and She-roes
CHERITA - "Kindness" - Dictionary for a Better World
Chinese New Year - "Celebrating Chinese New Year" - Holiday Stew
Chinese New Year - "Prayer for the Lunar New Year" - Days to Celebrate
"Chocolate" (Mora) - Yum! MmMm! Que Rico!
Cinderella - "Cinderella's Double Life" - Mirror, Mirror
CINQUAIN (2-4-6-8-2) "Courage" - Dictionary for a Better World
CINQUAIN (2-4-6-8-2) three by Tristan Kilko
city - "Mother's Plea" - City I Love
Civil War - "Silent Sentinel" - The Poetry of US
classics/older - "April Rain Song" (Hughes) Forget-Me-Nots
classics/older - "Dust of Snow" - Forget-Me-Nots
classics/older - "Fog" (Sandburg) Forget-Me-Nots
classics/older - "Hurt No Living Thing" (Rossetti) Blooming Beneath the Sun
classics/older - "I Heard a Bird Sing" (Herford) Forget-Me-Nots
classics/older - "My Shadow" (Stevenson) - website
classics/older - "Night" (Teasdale) - Forget-Me-Nots
classics/older - "Who Has Seen the Wind" (Rossetti) - Blooming Beneath the SunForget-Me-Nots
"Cleanin Gal" (Shange) We Trouble the Waters
clothing/sweatshirt - "Hand-Me-Down Sweatshirt" - Button Up!  Wrinkled Rhymes
"Clouds" (Worth) - Peacock and Other Poems
coffee-drinking parents - "They're Full of Beans" - Too Much Kissing
cold/weather - "A Cold October Night" - A Chill in the Air
cold/weather - "Words" - A Chill in the Air
Colderly, Chris - "No Idle Days" (abt. W. Carlos Wms) - Out of Wonder
Coleridge, Sarah - "Trees" - website
Collins, Billy/ABOUT - "How Billy Collins Writes a Poem" - Out of Wonder
colors - "If I Could Paint a Springtime Day" - Holiday Stew
colors/black & gray - "What Happens to the Colors? - website
colors/gray - Shades of Gray" - Outside the Box
color/brown - "Sienna" - Tan to Tamarind
colors/green & blue - "Green Fog" - Yellow Elephant
colors/orange - "By the Sea" - Delicious!
color/orange - "Orange Giraffe" - Yellow Elephant
colors/yellow - "In Amarillo, Texas" - In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden
comparisons/old & young - "In Between" - What Are You Glad About?  What Are You Mad About?
CONCRETE - "The Flying Leap" (penguin) - Superlative Birds
CONCRETE - "QuartzQuartzQuartz" - Earthshake
Corman, Avery - 7 short dog poems - Bark in the Park!
COUPLETS - "Groundhognostication" - The Poetry of US
COUPLETS - "Poet" - The Underwear Salesman
courage - "courage" - Dictionary for a Better World
Coville, Bruce - "Ripples" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
cupcakes - "Cupcakes" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus

D
Davies, Nicola - "Emperor Penguins" - website
dawn - "In the Almost Light" - Butterfly Eyes
de Regniers, Beatrice Schenk - "Keep a Poem in Your Pocket" - Sing a Song of Seasons
desert - "Sienna" - Tan to Tamarind
desert - "Turquoise Lizard" - Yellow Elephant
dialect/southern slave - "Cleanin Gal" - We Trouble the Waters
diary - "Top Secret" - Book Speak!
Dickinson, Emily - "The Moon was but a Chin of Gold" - website
differences - "Kids Who Are Different" - website
dinosaurs - "Stegosaurus" - website
dinosaurs - "Trilobite," "Brachytrachelopan," "Quetzalcoatlus", Titanoboa annd Carbonemys" - In the Past
disabilities - "Kids Who Are Different" - website
"Discovery" (Esbensen) - Swing Around the Sun
Dotlich, Rebecca Kai - "Treasure Words" - Days to Celebrate
dogs (pug, bassett hound, chihuahua, dachshund, german shepherd, poodle, greyhound) Bark in the Park!
dogs - "The Poodles Ate Oodles of Noodles" - In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden
Dreams - "This Big Sky" - This Big Sky
Drinkwater, John - "The Sun" - Forget-Me-Nots
Durango, Julia - "The Greater Sum of Parts" (Ashley Bryan) website
"Dust of Snow" (Frost) - Forget-Me-Nots

E
earth's formation - "Recipe for Granite" - Earthshake
Elliott, David - several dinosaur poems - In the Past
Elliott, David - "Stegosaurus" - website
epitaphs - "Scarecrow's Epitaph" - Hallowilloween
Esbensen, Barbara Juster - "Discovery" - Swing Around the Sun
Esbensen, Barbara Juster - "Fireworks" - Swing Around the Sun
Esbensen, Barbara Juster - "Storm" - Swing Around the Sun
everything & anything - "Prayer in My Boot" - website
explorers - "Latitude Longitude Dreams" - Got Geography 

F
fairy tale/Cinderella - "Cinderella's Double Life" - Mirror, Mirror
favorite things - "Bedtime Snacks" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
Field, Rachel - "The Animal Store" - Forget-Me-Nots
"Field Trip" (Singer) - First Food Fight This Fall
figurative language/imagery - "A household tucked inside a hole" - Nest, Nook & Cranny
figurative language/imagery - "Otters loll like whiskered boats" - Nest, Nook & Cranny
Fineman, Kelly - "Silent Sentinel" - The Poetry of US
"Fireworks" (Esbensen) - Swing Around the Sun
fish - "Art Class" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
Fleming, Maria - "groundhog" - Days to Celebrate
Fletcher, Ralph - "Poetry" - website
Florian, Douglas - "Awe-tumn" - Autumnblings
Florian, Douglas - "Birds of Autumn" - Autumnblings
Florian, Douglas - "What I Hate About Autumn" - Autumnblings
Florian, Douglas - "What I Love About Autumn" - Autumnblings
Florian, Douglas - "What To Do With Autumn Leaves" - Autumnblings
flowers/daisies - "Where Innocent Bright-Eyed Daisies Are" - Blooming Beneath the Sun
"Flying Leap, The" (Bulion) - Superlative Birds
"Fog" (Sandburg) - Forget-Me-Nots
Fogliano, Julie - "april 3" (gray day) - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
Fogliano, Julie - "august 3" (ocean,size) - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
Fogliano, Julie - "december 29" (first snow) - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
Fogliano, Julie - "february 3" (snowy trees) - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
Fogliano, Julie - "march 20" (early spring) - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
Fogliano, Julie - "october 15" (leaves turning) - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
Fogliano, Julie - "september 10" (stars) - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
food (oranges/orange juice) "By the Sea" - Delicious!
food (tomatoes) "Tomates = Tomatoes" - Gathering the Sun
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Acknowledgments" - Please Bury Me in the Library
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Bob's Bicycle Helmet" - Button Up!  Wrinkled Rhymes
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Butterfly" - Silver Seeds
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Calling All Readers" - Book Speak!
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY -  "A Centipede Was Thirsty" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "The Flying Leap" - Superlative Birds
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Golden Gate Bridge" - websiteThe Poetry of US
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Hand-Me-Down Sweatshirt" - Button Up!  Wrinkled Rhymes
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Kids Who Are Different" - website
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Hurt No Living Thing" - Blooming Beneath the Sun
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - ""In the Almost Light" - Butterfly Eyes
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY -  "Man in the Moon" - Outside the Box
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY -  "march 20" (early spring) - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Moose on the Bus" - Outside the Box
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Mother's Plea" - City I Love
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Mud" - The Read Aloud Treasury
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "My Snake Can Do Arithmetic" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Old Napolean" - Hallowilloween
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Snake" - Flutter & Hum
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Sometimes" - Forget-Me-Nots
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Song" - Forest Has a Song
FOR NEXR POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Spring Me" - First Food Fight This Fall
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Storms in Oaxaca" - The Ancestors Are Singing
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "There's a Lady in Galoshes" - In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Things" - Forget-Me-Nots
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Toad by the Road" - websiteForget-Me-Nots
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©" Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Treasure Words" - Days to Celebrate
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Weather" - Days to Celebrate
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Welcome to the Night" - Dark Emperor
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "What To Do with Autumn Leaves" - Autumnblings
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Winter in the South (by a kid from the north)" - Holiday Stew
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOOGY - "The Woodpecker" - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Words" - A Chill in the Air
forest/woods - "Lichens" - Forest Has a Song
forest/woods - "Song" - Forest Has a Song
fossil hunting - "Fossil" - Forest Has a Song
Foster, John, "January" - Sing a Song of Seasons
FOUR-LINE RHYME (aaaa) - "Steam Engine" - Clackety Track
Frank, Anne/ABOUT - "Faith of a Mustard Seed" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
Frank, Anne/ABOUT - "This Moment" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
Frank, John - "A Cold October Night" - A Chill in the Air
Frank, John - "Footprints" - A Chill in the Air
Frank, John - "A Sprinkling of Snow" - A Chill in the Air
Frank, John - "Words" - A Chill in the Air
free verse/no rhyming - "Stone Wall" - website
freedom - "Heah Y'all Come" - We Trouble the Waters
frogs - "Frog" (haiku) -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
frogs - "Green Frogs" - Yellow Elephant
frogs - "April (The Frog Moon)" - When the Moon is Full
Frost, Robert - "Dust of Snow" - Forget-Me-Nots
Frost, Robert - "In Hardwood Groves" - website
funny - "Balloon Car" - Poem-Mobiles
funny - "A Centipede was Thirsty" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
funny - "I Played a Game of Golf Today" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
funny - "Moose on the Bus" - Outside the Box
funny - "My Secret Karate" - No More Poems!
funny -  "My Snake Can Do Arithmetic" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
funny - "The Secret of My Art" - website
funny - "The Woodpecker" - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
"Fuzzy Wuzzy" (traditional) - The Read Aloud Treasury

G
garden - "Scarecrow's Epitaph" - Hallowilloween
geography/equator - Latitude Longitude Dreams" - Got Geography 
geography/horizon - "Horizon" - Got Geography 
geography/latitude & longitude - "Latitude Longitude Dreams" - Got Geography 
Gerstein, Mordecai - "Books" - website
Gerstein, Mordecai - "Ice-Cream Cone" -Dear Hot Dog
Gerstein, Mordecai - "Leaves - website
Gerstein, Mordecai - "Socks" - Dear Hot Dog
Gerstein, Mordecai - "Toothbrush" - Dear Hot Dog
Gettysburg - "Silent Sentinel" - The Poetry of US
giraffe - "Orange Giraffe" - Yellow Elephant
going wrong - "My Pencil will Not Write" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
"Golden Gate Bridge" - websiteThe Poetry of US
Graham, Joan Bransfield - "Golden Gate Bridge" - websiteThe Poetry of US
grandmothers - "Abuelita Is My Grandma" - I Call My Grandma Nana
grandmothers - "My Mamie Likes Hummingbirds" I Call My Grandma Nana
gratitude - "Send Up Some Gratitude" - Holiday Stew
greenery/ferns - "April Waking" - Forest Has a Song
Greenfield, Eloise - "In the Land of Words" - website
Greenfield, Eloise - "Things" - Forget-Me-Nots
Groundhog Day - "groundhog" - Days to Celebrate
Groundhog Day - "Groundhognostiation" - The Poetry of US

H
HAIKU - "Vhovolsyr" - Yum! MmMm! Que Rico!
HAIKU - "Camel" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
HAIKU -  "Frog" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
HAIKU - "Mole" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
HAIKU - "Oyster" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
HAIKU - "Peacock" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
HAIKY - "Spring" - V
HAIKU - "Zebra" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Halloween - "A Cold October Night" - A Chill in the Air
Halloween - "Lone Star Witches" - Hallowilloween
Halloween - "Old Napolean" - Hallowilloween
"Hand-Me-Down Sweatshirt" (Schertle) - Button Up!  Wrinkled Rhymes
Harley, Avis - "Monarch Beginnings" - The Monarch's Progress
Harley, Avis - "Wintering Over" - The Monarch's Progress
Harris, Chris - "The Secret of My Art" - website
Harrison, David L. - "Nicholas Cobb" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
Heard, Georgia - "This Moment" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
helping others - "Nicholas Cobb" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
helping others - "Ripples" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
Herford, Oliver - "I Heard a Bird Sing" - Forget-Me-Nots
heroes - "Heroes and She-roes" (Lewis) Heroes and She-roes
history/Mexico/Maya - "Old Palaces" - The Ancestors Are Singing
Hoberman, Mary Ann - "A House is a House for Me" - The Read Aloud Treasury
Hoberman, Mary Ann - "A Poem for the Reader" - website
Hoberman, Mary Ann - "Sometimes" - Forget-Me-Nots
Holbrook, Sara - "The Library" - website
Hopkins, Lee Bennett - "Painter" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
Hopkins, Lee Bennett - "Mother's Plea" - City I Love
"Horizon" (Yolen) - Got Geography 
horse - "The horse dreams standing up" - Sweet Dreamers
"A House is a House for Me" (Hoberman) - The Read Aloud Treasury
Hughes, Langston - "April Rain Song" - Forget-Me-Nots

I
"I" POEMS - "Bob's Bicycle Helmet" - Button Up!  Wrinkled Rhymes
"I" POEMS - "Faith of a Mustard Seed" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
"I" POEMS - "Ice-Cream Cone" - Dear Hot Dog
"I" POEMS - "(Loving) The World and Everything In It" - Out of Wonder
"I" POEMS - "Painter" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
"I Played a Game of Golf Today" (Prelutsky)  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
"I'm Gazing Through My Telescope" (Prelutsky)  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
"If I Could Paint a Springtime Day" (Whitehead) - Holiday Stew
immigration - "Heah Y'all Come" - We Trouble the Waters
"In the Almost Light" (Sidman) - Butterfly Eyes
Iyengar, Malathi Michelle - "Sienna" - Tan to Tamarind

J
jackalopes - "The Jackalope" - The Poetry of US
"January" (Foster) Sing a Song of Seasons
Jim Crow - "Cleanin Gal" - We Trouble the Waters
Johnston, Tony - "Museum of Anthropology" - The Ancestors Are Singing
Johnston, Tony - "Old Palaces" - The Ancestors Are Singing
Johnston, Tony - "Rabbit in the Moon" - The Ancestors Are Singing
Johnston, Tony - "Storms in Oaxaca" - The Ancestors Are Singing
journal writing - "Top Secret" - Book Speak!
Judaic/Rosh Hashanah - "Casting Away Sins" - Every Month Is a New Year

K
Katz, Alan - "They're Full of Beans" - Too Much Kissing
Katz, Bobbi - "Freedom!" - Days to Celebrate
"Keep a Poem in Your Pocket" (DeRegniers) - Sing a Song of Seasons
"Kids Who Are Different" (Digby Wolfe) - website
Kilko, Tristan - three cinquains
kindness - "Kindness" - Dictionary for a Better World
kindness/empathy - "Empathy" - Dictionary for a Better World
Koertge, Ron - "Legends of the Sonoran Desert" - The Poetry of US

L
Labor Day - "It's Labor Day" - Holiday Stew
Labor Day - "Labor Day" - Days to Celebrate
Lamm, Drew & James Hildreth - "Latitude Longitude Dreams" - Got Geography 
Larios, Julie - "By the Sea" - Delicious!
Larios, Julie - "Green Frog" - Yellow Elephant
Larios, Julie - Orange Giraffe" - Yellow Elephant
Larios, Julie - "Turquoise Lizard" - Yellow Elephant
Latham, Irene - "Kindness" - Dictionary for a Better World
leaves - "Leaves" (Gerstein) - website
leaves - "The Leaves Fall Down" - website
leaves - "October" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
leaves turning - "october 15" - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
Lee, F. J. - "Groundhognostication" - The Poetry of US
legend/Mexican - "Rabbit in the Moon" - The Ancestors Are Singing
Lewis, J. Patrick - "Acknowledgments" -  Please Bury Me in the Library
Lewis, J. Patrick - "Balloon Car" - Poem-Mobiles
Lewis, J. Patrick - "The Elementary School Teacher" - Heroes and She-roes
Lewis, J. Patrick - "Giant Bookmobile of Tomorrow" - websitePoem-Mobiles
Lewis, J. Patrick - "Heroes and She-roes" - Heroes and She-roes
Lewis, J. Patrick - "Marathon Runner" - The Underwear Salesman
Lewis, J. Patrick - "Necessary Gardens" -  Please Bury Me in the Library
Lewis, J. Patrick - "The Organizer" Heroes and She-roes
Lewis, J. Patrick - "Poet" - The Underwear Salesman
libraries - "The Library" - website
libraries - "Necessary Gardens" -  Please Bury Me in the Library
life cycles/butterflies - "The Monarch Beginnings" - The Monarch's Progress
LIST POEM - "birds of Autumn" - Autumnblings
LIST POEM - "The Greater Sum of Parts" - website
LIST POEM - "Orgullo = Pride" - Gathering the Sun
LIST POEM - "Prayer in My Boot" - website
LIST POEM - "Take a Number" - website
LIST POEM - "Tomates = Toatoes" - Gathering the Sun
LIST POEM - "Tree Song" - website
LIST POEM - "What I Hate About Autumn" - Autumnblings
LIST POEM - "What I Love About Autumn"  Autumnblings
LIST POEM - "What To Do About Autumn" - Autumnblings
lizard - "Turquoise Lizard" - Yellow Elephant
lobsters - "There's a Lady in Galoshes" - In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden
Lyons, George Ella - "Tree Song" - website

M
Maine - "There's a Lady in Galoshes" - In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden
making a difference - "Heroes and She-roes" - Heroes and She-roes
making a difference - "Nicholas Cobb" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
making a difference - "Ripples" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
"Marathon Runner" (Lewis) - The Underwear Salesman
math/money - "The Animal Store" - Forget-Me-Nots
mathematics - "Horizon" - Got Geography 
mathematics - "My Snake Can Do Arithmetic" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
mathematics - "Take a Number" - website
Maya/Aztec - "Museum of Anthropology" - The Ancestors Are Singing
Maya/Aztec - "Old Palaces" - The Ancestors Are Singing
McLoughland, Beverly - "Earth, What Will You Give Me?" - Days to Celebrate
McLoughland, Beverly - "Pencils" - Days to Celebrate
melting pot - "Heah Y'all Come" - We Trouble the Waters
Merriam, Eve - "Evergreen" - website
metamorphosis - "Monarch Beginnings" - The Monarch's Progress
METAPHOR - "Awe-tumn" - Autumnblings
METAPHOR - "Clouds" - Peacock and Other Poems
METAPHOR - "CLOUDS" - Silver Seeds
METAPHOR - "Fireworks" - Swing Around the Sun
METAPHOR - "In the Land of Words" - website
METAPHOR - "January" - Sing a Song of Seasons
METAPHOR - "Kindness" - Dictionary for a Better World
METAPHOR - "Owl" - Flutter & Hum
METAPHOR- "Pencils" - Days to Celebrate
Mexican/Hispanic - "Orgullo = Pride" - Gathering the Sun
Mexican/Hispanic - "Tomates = Tomatoes" - Gathering the Sun
migrant workers - "The Organizer" - Heroes and She-roes
moles - "Mole" (haiku) -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
"Monarch Beginnings" (Harley) - The Monarch's Progress
monarch butterfly - "Wintering Over" - The Monarch's Progress
moon - "Man in the Moon" - Outside the Box
moon - "The Moon was but a Chin of Gold" - website
moon - "Rabbit in the Moon" - The Ancestors Are Singing
moon/full - "April (The Frog Moon)" - When the Moon is Full
moon/full - "November (The Beaver Moon) - When the Moon is Full
Moore, Lilian - "The Tree on the Corner" - website
moose - "Moose on the Bus" - Outside the Box
Mora, Pat - "Chocolate" - Yum! MmMm! Que Rico!
Mora, Pat - "This Big Sky" - This Big Sky
moral - "Scarecrow's Epitaph" - Hallowilloween
"Mother's Plea" (Hopkins) - City I Love
muddy puddles - "Ode to Muddy Puddles" - website
museums - "Museum of Anthropology" - The Ancestors Are Singing
museums/art - "Field Trip" - First Food Fight This Fall
"My Pencil Will Not Write" (everything's going wrong)  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
"My Secret Karate" (bathroom antics) - No More Poems!
"My Shadow" (Stevenson) - website

N
"Necessary Gardens (Lewis) -  Please Bury Me in the Library
Nesbitt, Kenn - "The Aliens Have Landed" - website
new year -  "The Year Turns" - Every Month Is a New Year
Nicholls, Judith - "Windsong" - Sing a Song of Seasons
nighttime - "Night" - Forget-Me-Nots
nighttime - "Owl" - Flutter & Hum
nighttime - "Welcome to the Night" - Dark Emperor
numbers - "Take a Number" - website
Nye, Naomi Shihab/ABOUT - "How to Write a Poem" - Out of Wonder
Nye, Naomi Shihab - "Prayer in My Boot" - website

O
observations - "Prayer in My Boot" - website
ocean - "august 3" - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
"October" (Park) - Tap Dancing on the Roof
O'Keeffe, Georgia/ABOUT - "Painter" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
"Old Palaces" (Johnston) - The Ancestors Are Singing
Oliver, Mary/ABOUT - "(Loving) The World and Everything In It" - Out of Wonder
O'Neill, Mary - "Take a Number" - website
otters - "Otters loll like whiskered boats" - Nest, Nook & Cranny

P
PA - Gettysburg - "Silent Sentinel" - The Poetry of US
PA -Gobbler's Knob -  "Groundhognostication" - The Poetry of US
paint-a-picture - "Balloon Car" - Poem-Mobiles
paint-a-picture - "february 3" - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
paint-a-picture - "Where Innocent Bright-Eyed Daisies Are - Blooming Beneath the Sun
painting-a-poem- "If I Could Paint a Springtime Day" - Holiday Stew
Paoliti, Paul & Dan Brewer - "Butterfly" - Silver Seeds
Paoliti, Paul & Dan Brewer - "Clouds" - Silver Seeds
Paoliti, Paul & Dan Brewer - "Dawn" - Silver Seeds
Paoliti, Paul & Dan Brewer - "Sun" - Silver Seeds
Paoliti, Paul & Dan Brewer - "Trees" - Silver Seeds
parents - "They're Full of Beans" - Too Much Kissing
Park, Linda Sue - "Art Class" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
Park Linda Sue - "Bedtime Snacks" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
Park Linda Sue - "October" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
Pashkis, Julie - "Crow" - Flutter & Hum
Pashkis, Julie - "Owl" - Flutter & Hum
Pashkis, Julie - "Snake" - Flutter & Hum
pencils - "Pencils" - Days to Celebrate
penguins - "Diary of a Very Short Winter Day" - website
penguins/emperor - "Emperor Penguins" - website
penguins/emperor - "The Flying Leap" - Superlative Birds
PERSONIFICATION- "april 3" - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
PERSONIFICATION - "Fog" - Forget-Me-Nots
PERSONIFICATION - "Man in the Moon" - Outside the Box
PERSONIFICATION - "Stone Wall" - website
PERSONIFICATION - "SUN" - Silver Seeds
PERSONIFICATION - "Woodpecker" - Forest Has a Song
Peters, Lisa Westberg - "QuartzQuartzQuartz" - Earthshake
Peters, Lisa Westberg - "Recipe for Granite" - Earthshake
pigeons - "Mother's Plea" - City I Love
play on another poem/Frost - "Acknowledgments" -  Please Bury Me in the Library
poetry - "Poetry" - website
poetry/loving - "Keep a Poem in Your Pocket" ' Sing a Song of Seasons
poetry/memorizing - "A Poem for the Reader" - website
poetry/writing - "Poet" - The Underwear Salesman
poetry/writing - "How Billy Collins Writes a Poem" - Out of Wonder
poetry/writing - "How to Write a Poem" (abt. Naomi Shihab Nye) - Out of Wonder
poetry/writing - "Poetry" - website
poetry/writing - "Things" - Forget-Me-Nots
poetry/writing - "Windsong" - Sing a Song of Seasons
poets/many mentioned - "Acknowledgments" -  Please Bury Me in the Library
Pollock, Penny - "April (The Frog Moon)" - When the Moon is Full
Pollock, Penny - "November (The Beaver Moon)" - When the Moon is Full
pond - "November (The Beaver Moon) - When the Moon is Full
popcorn - "The Popcorn Hop" - The Read Aloud Treasury
Pottle, Robert - "Loons" - Maine: The Way Life Should Be
Prelutsky, Jack - "Camel"  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - "A Centipede Was Thirsty" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - "Cupcakes" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - "Frog"-  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - "I Played a Game of Golf Today" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - "I'm Gazing Through My Telescope". -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - "In Amarillo, Texas" - In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden
Prelutsky, Jack - "Mole" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - "My Pencil Will Not Write" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - "My Snake Can Do Arithmetic" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - "Oyster" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - "Peacock" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - The Poodles Ate Oodles of Noodles" - In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden
Prelutsky, Jack - "There's a Lady in Galoshes" - In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden
Prelutsky, Jack - "Zebra" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
Prelutsky, Jack - "What Happens to the Colors? - website
PREPOSITION POEM - "In the Almost Light" - Butterfly Eyes
pride - "Orgullo = Pride" - Gathering the Sun
Punxsutawney Phil - "Groundhognostication" - The Poetry of US

Q
"QuartzQuartzQuartz" (Peters) - Earthshake
QUATRAIN - "Abuelita Is My Graqndma" - I Call My Grandma Nana
QUATRAIN - "My amie Likes Hummingbirds" - I Call My Grandma Nana
QUESTION poems - "Man in the Moon" - Outside the Box
QUESTION poems - "What Happens to the Colors?" - website

R
rain - "April Rain Song" - Forget-Me-Nots
rain - "Crow" - Flutter & Hum
rain - "Rain" - The Read Aloud Treasury
reading - "Calling All Readers" - website
reading - "Giant Bookmobile of Tomorrow" - website
repetition - "Earth, What Will You Give Me?" - Days to Celebrate
repetition - "Things" - Forget-Me-Nots
repetition - "Welcome to the Night" - Dark Emperor
repetition, rhyme, & rhythm - "A House is a House for Me - The Read Aloud Treasury
REVERSO Poem - "Chiderella's Double Life" - Mirror, Mirror
rhythm - "Today at the Bluebird Cafe" - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
Ridlon, Marci - "Labor Day" - Days to Celebrate
rocks & minerals - "QuartzQuartzQuartz" - Earthshake
rocks & minerals - "Recipe for Granite" - Earthshake
Rogers, Fred - "Doing Song" - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Rogers, Fred - "It's an Ugly Day" - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Rogers, Fred  Things Are Different" - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
Rosh Hashanah - "Casting Away Sins" - Every Month Is a New Year
Rossetti, Christina - "Hurt No Living Thing" - Blooming Beneath the Sun
Rossetti, Christina - "Who Has Seen the Wind?" - Blooming Beneath the SunForget-Me-Nots
Rossetti, Christina - Where Innocent Bright-Eyed Daisies Are - Blooming Beneath the Sun
Ruddell, Deborah - "Blue Jay Blues" - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
Ruddell, Deborah - The Loon's Laugh" - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
Ruddell, Deborah - "Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©" - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
Ruddell, Deborah - "The Woodpecker" - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
Ryder, Joanne - "Toad by the Road" - websiteForget-Me-Nots

S
safety/bicycle - 'Bob's Bicycle Helmet"  Button Up!  Wrinkled Rhymes
saguaro - "Storms in Oaxaca" - v
Salas, Laura Purdie - "Book Plate" - Book Speak!
Salas, Laura Purdie - "Calling All Readers" - websiteBook Speak!
Salas, Laura Purdie - "Skywriting" - website
Salas, Laura Purdie - "Top Secret" -  Book Speak!
"Scarecrow's Epitaph" - Hallowilloween
Schertle, Alice - "Bob's Bicycle Helmet" - Button Up!  Wrinkled Rhymes
Schertle, Alice - Hand-Me-Down Sweatshirt" - Button Up!  Wrinkled Rhymes
seasons/all - "Earth, What Will You Give Me?" - Days to Celebrate
"Secret of My Art, The" (Harris) - website
"Send Up Some Gratitude" (Whitehead) - Holiday Stew
senses - "Welcome to the Night" - Dark Emperor
shadows - "My Shadow" - website
Shange, Ntozake, - "Cleanin Gal" - We Trouble the Waters
Shange, Ntozake - "Heah Y'all Come" - We Trouble the Waters
Sidman, Joyce, - In the Almost Light" - Butterfly Eyes
Sidman, Joyce, - "Welcome to the Night" - Dark Emperor
Sidman, Joyce - "What Do the Trees Know?" - Winter Bees
Sierra, Judy - "Diary of a Very Short Winter Day" - website
SIJO - "Art Class" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
SIJO - "Bedtime Snacks" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
SIJO - "October" - Tap Dancing on the Roof
"Silent Sentinel" (Gettysburg memorial) - The Poetry of US
silly - "Balloon Car" - Poem-Mobiles
silly - "The Poodles Ate Oodles of Noodles"- In Aunt Giraffe's Green Garden
Silverstein, Shel - "Bear in There" - website
SIMILE - "Ice-Cream Cone" - Dear Hot Dog
SIMILE - "Leaves" - website
SIMILE - "Otters loll like whiskered boats" - Nest, Nook & Cranny
SIMILE - "Poetry" - website
SIMILE - "Where Innocent Bright-Eyed Daisies Are" - Blooming Beneath the Sun
Singer, Marilyn - "Casting Away Sins" - Every Month Is a New Year
Singer, Marilyn - "Cinderella's Double Life" - Mirror, Mirror
Singer, Marilyn - "Field Trip" - First Food Fight This Fall
Singer, Marilyn - "Spring Me!" - First Food Fight This Fall
Singer, Marilyn - "The Year Turns" - Every Month Is a New Year
size comparison - "august 3" - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
skywatching - "I'm Gazing Through My Telescope" -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus
"Skywriting" - Laura Purdie Salas on website
slavery - "Cleanin Gal" - We Trouble the Waters
slavery/escaping - "Freedom!" - Days to Celebrate
sleeping (sloth, horse, grouse) - Sweet Dreamers
sloth - "Slung like a hammock..." - Sweet Dreamers
Smith, Hope Anita - "Faith of A Mustard Seed" - Dare to Dream...Change the World
Smith, John - "Mud" - The Read Aloud Treasury
snakes - "Snake" (Pashkis) - Flutter & Hum
snakes - "Titanoboand Carbonemys" - In the Past
Snyder, Gary - "Pine Tree Tops" - website
snow - "Footprints" - A Chill in the Air
snow/first snow - "White Sound" - website from Sing a Song of Seasons
snow/first snow - "december 29" - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
snow/not enough - "A Sprinkling of Snow" - A Chill in the Air
snowmen - "A Sprinkling of Snow" - A Chill in the Air
"Socks"(Gerstein) - Dear Hot Dog
song/chant - "Doing Song" - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
song tune (Take Me Out to the Ballgame) They're Full of Beans" - Too Much Kissing
Sonoran Desert - "Legends of the Sonoran Desert" - The Poetry of US
Sonoran Desert - "Storms in Oaxaca" - The Ancestors Are Singing
Sonoran Desert - "This Big Sky" - This Big Sky
Sonoran Desert - "Turquoise Lizard" - Yellow Elephant
sounds - "Song" - Forest Has a Song
sounds - "Mother's Plea" - City I Love
sounds/nature - "Frustrations" - The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound
sounds/nature - "The Loon's Laugh" - Today at the Bluebird CafĂ©
Spanish to English - "Orgullo = Pride" - Gathering the Sun
Spanish to English - Tomates = Tomatoes" - Gathering the Sun
sports/running - "Marathon Runner" - The Underwear Salesman
spring - "(A haiku)" - The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound
spring - "If I could Paint a Springtime Day" - Holiday Stew
spring - "Toad by the Road" - website
spring/first signs - "march 20" - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
spring fever - "Spring Me!" - First Food Fight This Fall
star inside apple - "Discovery" - Swing Around the Sun
stars - "september 10" - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
Stevenson, James - "Stone Wall" - website
Stevenson, Robert Louis - "My Shadow" - website
Stevenson, Robert Louis - "Rain" - The Read Aloud Treasury
"Stone Wall" - website
"Storm" (Esbensen) - Swing Around the Sun
"Storms in Oacaca" (Johnston) - The Ancestors Are Singing
summer storm - "Storm" - Swing Around the Sun
sun - "The Sun" - Forget-Me-Nots
sunrise - "In the Almost Light" - Butterfly Eyes

T
teachers/heroes - "The Elementary School Teacher - Heroes and She-roes
teachers/funny - "The Aliens Have Landed" - website
Teasdale, Sara - "Night" - Forget-Me-Nots
Texas - Lone Star Witches" - Hallowilloween
thankfulness - "Send Up Some Gratitude" - Holiday Stew
Thanksgiving - "Send Up Some Gratitude" - Holiday Stew
"They're Full of Beans" (tune of Take Me Out to the BallgameToo Much Kissing
"Things" (Greenwood) - Forget-Me-Nots
"This Big Sky" (Mora) This Big Sky
toad - "Toad by the Road" - websiteForget-Me-Nots
tomatoes - "Tomates = Tomatoes" - Gathering the Sun
tongue-twister - "April Waking" - Forest Has a Song
"Toothbrush" (Gerstein) - Dear Hot Dog
traditional - "Fuzzy Wuzzy" - The Read Aloud Treasury
trains - "Steam Engine" - Clackety Track
"Trees" (Coleridge) - website
"Trees" (Kilmer) - website
trees - "Evergreen" - website
trees - "In Hardwood Groves" - website
trees - "The Tree on the Corner" - website
trees - "Tree Song" (Lyon) - website
trees/spruce - "february 3"- When Green Becomes Tomatoes
trees/survival - "What Do the Trees Know?" - Winter Bees
trilobites - "Fossil" - Forest Has a Song
trilobites - "Trilobite" - In the Past
TRIPLETS - "What Do the Trees Know?" - Winter Bees
Tubman, Harriet - "Freedom!" - Days to Celebrate
TWO VOICES - "Skywriting" - Laura Purdie Salas on website
TWO VOICES - "Voice" - Dictionary for a Better World

U
Underground Railroad - "Freedom!" - Days to Celebrate

V
Vanderwater, Amy Ludwig - "April Waking" - Forest Has a Song
Vanderwater, Amy Ludwig - "Fossil" - Forest Has a Song
Vanderwater, Amy Ludwig - "Lichen" - Forest Has a Song
Vanderwater, Amy Ludwig - "Song" - Forest Has a Song
Vanderwater, Amy Ludwig - "Woodpecker" - Forest Has a Song
verbs/snazzy  - "Otters loll like whiskered boats" - Nest, Nook & Cranny

W
war/Gettysburg/Civil War - "Silent Sentinel" - The Poetry of US
Waters, Charles, - "Courage" - Dictionary for a Better World
Waters, Charles - "Empathy" - Dictionary for a Better World
weather/cold - "Words" - A Chill in the Air
weather/general - "Weather" - Days to Celebrate
weather/gray day - "april 3" - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
weather/gray day - "It's an Ugly Day" - A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
weather/rain - "April Rain Song" - Forget-Me-Nots
weather/rain - "Rain" (Stevenson) - The Read Aloud Treasury
weather/rain - "Storm" - Swing Around the Sun
weather/snow - "Footprints" - A Chill in the Air
weather/snow - "A Sprinkling of Snow" - A Chill in the Air
weather/summer storm - "Storm" - Swing Around the Sun
weather/wind - "Who Has Seen the Wind?" - Blooming Beneath the SunForget-Me-Nots
"Welcome to the Night" (Sidman) - Dark Emperor
Wentworth, Marjory - "How Billy Collins Writes a Poem" - Out of Wonder
Wentworth, Marjory - "(Loving) The World and Everything In It" - Out of Wonder
Whitehead, Jenny - "April Fool's Day" - Holiday Stew
Whitehead, Jenny - "Celebrating Chinese New Year" - Holiday Stew
Whitehead, Jenny - "If I Could Paint a Springtime Day" - Holiday Stew
Whitehead, Jenny - "It's Labor Day" - Holiday Stew
Whitehead, Jenny - "Send Up Some Gratitude" - Holiday Stew
Whitehead, Jenny - "Winter in the South (by a kid from the north)" - Holiday Stew
Williams, Willaim Carlos/ABOUT - "No Idle Days" - Out of Wonder
Wilson, Karma - "Bubble Trouble" - Outside the Box
Wilson, Karma - "A Lump of Clay" - Outside the Box
Wilson, Karma - "Man in the Moon" - Outside the Box
Wilson, Karma - "Moose on the Bus" - Outside the Box
Wilson, Karma - "Shades of Gray" - Outside the Box
winter - "Dust of Snow" - Forget-Me-Nots
winter - "february 3" - When Green Becomes Tomatoes
winter night - "Night" - Forget-Me-Nots
winter night - "Pine Tree Tops" - website
winter/in the south - "Winter in the South (by a kid from the north)" - Holiday Stew        
"Wintering Over" (Harley) - The Monarch's Progress    
witches - "A Cold October Night" - A Chill in the Air
witches - "Lone Str Witches" - Hallowilloween
Wolf, Sallie - "(A haiku)" - The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound
Wolf, Sallie - "Frustrations" - The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound
Wolf, Sallie - "Winter Wren" - The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound
Wolfe, Digby - "Kids Who Are Different" - website
Wolff, Ashley - "Abuelita Is My Grandma" - I Call My Grandma Nana
Wolff, Ashley - "My Mamie Likes Hummingbirds" - I Call My Grandma Nana
Wong, Janet S. - "Prayer for the Lunar New Year" - Days to Celebrate
"Words" (Frank) - A Chill in the Air
words - "Books" - website
words - "In the Land of Words" - website
words - "Treasure Words" - Days to Celebrate
Worth, Valerie - "Clouds" - Peacock and Other Poems
Worth, Valerie - "Hummingbird" - Peacock and Other Poems
writing in a diary - "Top Secret" - Book Speak!
writing poems - "Things" - Forget-Me-Nots

XYZ
YA - "Prayer in My Boot" (Nye) - website
Yolen, Jane - "Horizon" - Got Geography 
zebra - "Zebra" (haiku) -  I've Lost My Hippopotamus