Poetry for Children

When it comes to poetry in the classroom there seems to be two types of teachers, those who love it and incorporate it into their curriculum and those who don’t use it at all. Poetry has many benefits for children of all ages.  Poetry helps students with listening skills, self-expression, and auditory discrimination, to become sensitive to rhyming words and to ending sounds in words which is key to reading and writing.  

        Muth, J. J. (2008). Zen ties. Scholastic Press.

        Zen Ties by Jon J Muth is a picture book that could fall into many literary genres fantasy, contemporary realistic fiction as well as Poetry and verse. It is a lovely picture book. The story is about a giant panda named Stillwater and his haiku speaking nephew Koo. Stillwater helps his three friends (human children) get to know the grumpy, elderly woman in their neighborhood. 

        This story not only showcases fun haikus but has a wonderful message about compassion and friendship. Muth uses watercolor to create soft and calm illusions that match the calm and peaceful tone of the book. The larger-than-life giant panda is a fun contrast to the realism in of the children and settings of the picture. 

        Zen Ties is the follow up story to Zen Shorts, a collection of short stories told by Stillwater the panda. Muth is an American writer and illustrator of children's books as well as graphic novels and comic books. He has also illustrated many other books and received a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators in 1999 for his illustrations in Come On, Rain! by Karen Hesse.

        I love this story not only for the message but also the idea of the huge panda in everyday life is so cute and instantly grabs the children’s attention. This is a great story to introduce haikus to young children. The contrast between the way the other characters speak and the verse in which Koo speaks is very apparent which makes it easy for the children to identify it.  

 

          Muth, J. J. (2008). Zen ties. Scholastic Press.  

         My next selection for poetry is Falling up is a children's poetry collection written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. These Poems are whimsical, humorous, and sometimes slightly macabre. He uses great figurative language and numerous poetic devices, such as rhyme, repetition, symbolism and word choice.  

        His choice to use black and white, simple line work cartoon illustrations makes the book appealing and understandable for children. They offer a unique way to explain the essence of each poem, sometimes even changing your presentive of what the poem is about. 

        Shel Silverstein is a celebrated American writer, cartoonist, poet, and musician. He has written many books including The Giving Tree, A Light in the Attic, and Where the Sidewalk Ends. Fun Fact, he also wrote the Jonny Cash song “A Boy Named Sue” and has two Grammy Awards.

        This book is great for children in 2nd grade – 5th grade, however some poems can be taught to younger children as a poem of the month.  This collection of poems was one of my favorite books as a child. 

Ways to expand on the books

• Count the words in each haiku and check to see if it follows the rule.

• Have children memorize a poem and have a “poetry night” where they share it with the group. 

• Have the children create a poetry notebook and write a poem each week.

Questions to ask your students

• What could another title for this poem/book be?

• What do you think                  symbolizes in the poem?

• What things do you do to help others?

• How did this poem make you feel?