A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk A forest of poems by Deborah Ruddell

This lighthearted poetry book takes the reader through the seasons in the forest. Using animals like a beaver, snail, and squirrel the reader feels like they are being sucked inside this magical forest. The poems are fun and great for anyone who is an animal lover. The rhymes fit perfectly in the poem and do not feel forced like some poems do. The perfect mix of poetry and illustrations to create a lovely poetry book for kids.

The book has a nice collection of poems about animals during the different seasons. A book I would consider using in my classroom library. It could be beneficial during a lesson on poetry, a just a fun book to include for the kids to free read. The rhyming words and the pace of the poems could also be helpful for kids working on their fluency skills. When kids are learning to read, using short poems like these could be helpful.

This book should be used with students in 2nd and 3rd grade because some of the words are a little more difficult to read for beginning readers. A fun book that has light beautiful art work that really compliment the poems. For animal and poetry lovers, this book will for a sure winner.

Button Up! by Alice Schertle

Button Up! is a picture book filled with short poems told from the perspective of the clothes in our closets. With creative and funny poems told from the perspective of undies, hats, shoes, jammies, swim suits, and other various articles of clothing. These poems are unique and fun for kids to read who are learning about poetry.

When writing poetry, children usually get stuck on what to write about. This book had poems that are all about an article of clothing. Children can read this book and get ideas for things to write about. They can write about a favorite thing of theirs. I really enjoyed the poems in this book. I think they had a creative idea and clever rhyming. I can see a book like this being used in my classroom for students who are struggling with ideas.

A great book for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. Reading some of these poems out loud to the class can stir up ideas for writing of their own. The students can also draw pictures of their own based on the poems they hear. I wish I had a book like this when I was in grade school because poetry was so hard for me. When reading a few poems I could already think of a few ideas of what I could write about for my own poem. I think kids will find the poems funny and will want to write ones of their own.

Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry by Joyce Sidman

This unique poetry book follows a lost dog and a cat who gets abandoned on the the side of the road. The two find each other, and although sworn enemies, they team up during a thunderstorm and find shelter. They sleep underneath a picnic bench and snuggle up together to find warmth. In the morning, the puppies owner finds him with the cat, and decides to cat the cat home with them because the two have become friends.

I have never read a poetry children's book like this one before. The trees, street, clouds, and rain were all made of descriptive words instead of just a picture. I found this to be very creative. You could spend a long time reading every word on every page of this book. Ir was a unique way to use poetry in a childrens book. I liked that it did not rhyme like most childrens books do. It used many description words that are good in poems. I think children could learn a lot from this book during a poetry unit.

For 2nd-4th graders, this book uses story, art, and concrete poetry to bring the book to life. The pictures filled with words catch your eye and are a different way to use poetry in a story. For the cold, it uses white font to say "plump, bright dome of sugary white sky muffin". This is just one of many great examples of how descriptive words are used. The overall message of the story of the cat and the dog was fun as well and with the added poetry, it made for a fun story that I think kids will enjoy.

The Everything Book by Denise Fleming

The Everything Book is just that, a book of EVERYTHING. It has colors, counting, shapes, letters, rhymes, ect. This book is filled with fun poems and fun rhymes.

Kids will fall in love with this book. The poems are fun and easy to learn. They all have some educational value to them and could easily be used in a lesson. The letters, numbers, and shapes could also be used. With poems including five little chickens, traffic lights, choo choo, two little black birds, and tippy toes, kids will for sure find one that they love. All of these rhythmic poems can be used to help fluency. The pictures in the book are fun and engaging. This book can be used during a lesson on beginners poetry. The poems could also be used as songs. You can create a melody for them poems and have the students sing a long.

This book is great for Kindergartners and first graders. It is a book with many things that students can use to help them learn. When using it with second graders, they really enjoyed the many different kinds of poems and learning tools that are easy for kids to follow and read. I would include this book in my classroom library because it is a fun, educational book that kids will enjoy.

Welcome, Baby! Baby Rhymes for Baby Times by Stephanie Calmenson

This book of poems and rhymes is fun for pre K-Kindergarten students. It is a book filled with poems about babies. It celebrates their daily lives from birth up to toddlerhood. The catchy poems will make you smile, and show babies learning about themselves, their families, and the world around them. From diaper changes to playing horsey, and from splashing in the tub to giving mommy a good morning kiss, the love, happiness, and fun that babies bring to our lives are captured by the poems in this book

This book of poems and rhymes are fun for young readers. It will not only help with fluency and other reading strategies, but it will teach readers about basic poetry. All of the poems in the book rhyme, which is a good thing for children learning to read. It can be helpful when learning lessons about the onset and rime of a word. This book seems to be for "babies" or really young children, but I can see these poems being used in an elementary school. Everyone knows about babies and was a baby at one point. They can relate to the poems in the book. I would include this book in my classroom library because it is a great way to teach beginners poetry to your students. The poems are cute and fun. All will enjoy them.

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech

Love That Dog is a book in poetry form about a boy named Jack. The book is notebook entries that Jack writes to his teacher along with poetry. In the beginning of the book, Jack was very shy about his writing. He was not share whether his work was considered real poetry. He enjoyed reading many of the poems that his teacher read to them. As the book goes on, Jack begins to get more comfortable with his poetry, telling his teacher she can put it up on the board, but without a name. He became a fan of them poems of Walter Dean Meyers. He really wanted Walter to come in and speak to his class so he wrote him a letter. Jack did not expect a response, but to his surprise, Walter Dean Meyers came to his class. By the end of the story, Jack was very open about his poetry and was pleased to have it shown for people to see.

I thought this book was a quick and easy read. In poetry form, kids will be sure to love it because it does not look long like a regular book. It also challenges what people consider "poetry". Many students can relate to Jack. Everyone is a little self conscious about their writing, especially poetry. I still get worried that a poem I write is actually poetry or not. Jack's personality through out the story was very fun and relatable. I can see many kids out there like Jack. The progression that Jack went through throughout the book seemed very organic. He slowly became more comfortable with his writing abilities.

This book would be great for 5th and 6th graders. When doing a poetry lesson, it would be a good idea to include this book. I think students will enjoy it and it will open up poetry to them in a new and fun way. It will show them that poetry is more then what they are made to believe. It does not need to look a certain way or need to rhyme. There are many different forms, and that is something that Love That Dog really shows. I would definitely want to include this in my classroom.

So Far From the Bamboo Grove by Yoko Kawashima Watkins

Yoko Kawashima, her mother, and her sister are living in Nanam, a city in northern Korea. When Korea becomes dangerous, Yoko and her family must return to Japan, hiding from both the Japanese military and the Koreans. Her brother, Hideyo, also tries to flee but he is separated from his family as he is employed at an ammunition factory because he can't join the army. The family experiences a difficult journey as they make their way to Seoul and to Pusan to take a ferry to Japan. When Yoko, her sister Ko, and her mother reach Fukuoka, they travel to Kyoto, as the mother had been educated there. She then leaves for Aomori to seek help from their grandparents. She returns to Yoko and her sister bringing sad news that both of their grandparents are dead. The mother dies on the same day, leaving Yoko and Ko waiting for the eventual return of their brother, Hideyo. Yoko's essay is later published in a newspaper, which helps Hideyo find them. A few months later, Yoko, Ko, and Hideyo are eventually reunited at Maizuru, and Hideyo tells his tale of how he escaped North Korea and made it to Japan.

This story could be used in a classroom along with Year of Impossible Goodbyes because the two stories are different perspective on a part of the war that very little know about. I think this story is a compelling one, but also has some controversy to it. There were some parts of the story that may be difficult for students to read, but I believe the best place to read about these things is in the safety of a classroom. I think it is important for these stories to be read together, rather then one or the other because then the class can get two perspectives.

This book can be read with 6th-8th graders. I think students may find some of it difficult to read, but will ultimately learn a lot from it. Controversial books like this are often the most exciting for kids to read. They can learn a little bit more about a time in our history that they are probably unfamiliar with. I think it is important for students to get different perspectives from books like these and know that they are not entirely factual. I am not sure if I would use this text in my classroom, but if I do, I will definitely use it with Year of Impossible Goodbyes