ncte poetry notables 2020

What a terrifically fun and serious responsibility it has been this year to begin a 3-year term on the NCTE Children's Poetry Awards Committee!  We read all summer and into the fall, wrassled through our deliberations at the NCTE Convention in Baltimore in November, and at the start of this month released our longer-than-ever list of notable poetry books and novels-in-verse.

The good news is that there were so many outstanding titles that we couldn't fit our list onto two sides of paper, so I invite you to wallow and revel in the glorious abundance, with something for every taste!  After the list, I'll highlight a few that were my particular favorites.

Fabulous, amiright?!  Among these many wonders, a few stood out for me (time now only for the briefest of descriptions, but you can trust me on these!), and over the next weeks I'll share little reviews of six others that I'm charged with writing for School Library Journal.

two middle school girls figure themselves
out through a surprising friendship: true characters

Emmy discovers her particular genius
and we learn some Javascript: wow format!

Ari struggles with the burden of weight
and survives crises with wry humor

wildly successful anthology of "other" voices;
for older readers and all adults

how do I love thee? a modern, metaphorically
challenging RUNAWAY BUNNY 

sweet-gorgeous, book-length poem
honoring that reading feeling we can't resist

poems at the edgy imaginations of
very young children: "cute" need not apply

ancient Antiguan tree narrates the challenging
life cycle of hawksbill turtles

Our host today is none other than my dear friend and CP Catherine at Reading to the Core.  I'm sorry to hear that she's under the weather, but her #haikuforhope are very healthy indeed!  See you there!

EXTRA EXTRA for later arrivals: don't forget that Wednesday, April 22 is the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day and our next opportunity to build a very big voice for #ClimateAction.  Go here to learn more.

celebrating ***Poems Are Teachers*** and a giveaway!

We all enjoy getting a party invitation. Knowing that we have been thought of, that we are considered fun to have around, is a good feeling.  This is how I felt when Amy Ludwig VanDerwater asked if I would provide a poem for her new book about using poetry as a model for writing across the genres.  I didn't realize what a work of depth and breadth I would become one small part of!

Poems Are Teachers: How Studying Poetry Strengthens Writing in All Genres (Heinemann, born yesterday!) is both comprehensive and compact, a highly accessible, digestible guidebook for busy teachers.  Its six chapters, ranging from "Writers Find Ideas" to "Writers Select Titles" (and I love that this is the last section, for how do you know what you've written until after you've written it?) consist of 4-page sections that follow a predictable and highly useful structure:

i. a  model poem written for this very book by a currently practicing and publishing children's writer;
ii. words from the poet, tips for considering the technique, and ways to TRY IT;
iii. student poems which show the technique in action, which are infinitely encouraging to young writers!

Most striking (and, I admit, unexpected) is the way that Amy lightly weaves in references to many, many other models and mentors.  For example, in the section Form a List in the "Writers Structure Texts" chapter, Amy follows up the model poem by Kwame Alexander with information that draws on everything from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to picture books by Judi K. Beach and Todd Parr, from dissertations to poetry classics like Falling Down the Page (Georgia Heard) and the newer Things to Do (Elaine Magliaro).

Other sections help teachers and students link writing work to genres outside writing, with references to movies and music, like the song "Summer Nights" from the musical Grease, mentioned in the section Weave Back and Forth to Compare and Contrast.  This approach makes Poems Are Teachers reach up and down the age range, supporting teachers in using the intense, time-wise power of poetry to show students engaging, relevant ways to improve their writing from beginning to end, from surface to depth and from top to bottom.

I'm delighted, of course, to have been invited to this party, but I'm even more delighted to see what kind of event it has turned out to be--a rich practical resource for teachers who know what the particular qualities of poetry are and want to apply them effectively in the classroom. Congratulations to Amy on this achievement!  And now, here's my little contribution--the model poem for the section mentioned above about comparing and contrasting.

To celebrate the publication of this book, I'm offering a copy (provided by the publisher, Heinemann--thank you!) to one winner from the staff of my excellent Montgomery County Public School here in Maryland.  To enter, teachers should comment on this post, mentioning any poem they have used in their classroom in the last year.  Bonus points for including how it strengthened a student's writing! A name will be drawn Monday the 23rd at 12 noon.

The Poetry Friday Round-Up is with Leigh Ann at A Day in the Life.  Enjoy the celebration!