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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

1^st 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.

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 fiancée 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.

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.

1^st 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.

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.

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

1^st 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.

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.

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 - "Winter Wren" - The Robin Makes a Laughing Sound

birds/blue jay - "Blue Jay Blues" - Today at the Bluebird Café

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 Café

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 Café

birds/woodpecker - "Woodpecker" - Forest Has a Song

birds/woodpecker - "The Woodpecker" - Today at the Bluebird Café

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" - website, Book Speak!

books - "Giant Bookmobile of Tomorrow" - website, Poem-Mobiles

bridges - "Golden Gate Bridge" - website, The 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 Sun, Forget-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" - website, The 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" - website, Forget-Me-Nots

FOR NEXT POETRY ANTHOLOGY - "Today at the Bluebird Café" Today at the Bluebird Café

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 Café

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 Café

"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" - website, The Poetry of US

Graham, Joan Bransfield - "Golden Gate Bridge" - website, The 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" - website, Poem-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 - "Loons" - Maine: The Way Life Should Be

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

mud - "Mud" - The Read Aloud Treasury

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 Café

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 Sun, Forget-Me-Nots

Rossetti, Christina - Where Innocent Bright-Eyed Daisies Are - Blooming Beneath the Sun

Ruddell, Deborah - "Blue Jay Blues" - Today at the Bluebird Café

Ruddell, Deborah - The Loon's Laugh" - Today at the Bluebird Café

Ruddell, Deborah - "Today at the Bluebird Café" - Today at the Bluebird Café

Ruddell, Deborah - "The Woodpecker" - Today at the Bluebird Café

Ryder, Joanne - "Toad by the Road" - website, Forget-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" - website, Book Speak!

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

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 Café

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 Ballgame) Too Much Kissing

"Things" (Greenwood) - Forget-Me-Nots

"This Big Sky" (Mora) This Big Sky

toad - "Toad by the Road" - website, Forget-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 - "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

Viorst, Judith - "In Between" - What Are You Glad About?  What Are You Mad About?

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 Sun, Forget-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

words - "Voice" - Dictionary for a Better World

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