April is National Poetry Month

April (opens in a new window)is filled with lots of special days – including D.E.A.R. Day in honor of Beverly Cleary’s (opens in a new window) birthday. It’s also National Poetry Month. (opens in a new window) And poetry is great grist for reading, especially for regular Drop Everything And Read activities.

But the very mention of poetry – at least in my experience – can cause apoplexy in adults (notice I said adults; younger children respond especially warmly to poetry). I think that’s because adults are insecure about identifying quality poetry and ways to share it with children.

And that’s where Conversations with a Poet (opens in a new window) by Betsy Franco (Richard C. Owens Publishers) comes in! The subtitle says a lot: Inviting Poetry into K-12 Classrooms, by the respected poet who wrote this conversational, informative and thoughtful book. In an inviting way, it introduces ideas for using poetry with kids and provides solid lists of poetry collections. This is a must-read not only for teachers and librarians, but for parents who want to introduce their children to poetry beyond nursery rhymes.

So, let us hear from you if you’ve dropped everything to read a visual poem, an ode, a sonnet, maybe a sestina or even a multi-voice poem!