A Gathering of Flowers
By Lisa Von Drasek

Online Extra: Listen Up to Audiobooks March 2006

One of my favorite poets, Kristine O'Connell George, suggests on her website (www.kristinegeorge.com) that teachers include anthologizing in their language arts curriculum. She states that the original definition of anthology is "a gathering of flowers," and she recommends that students compile either classroom or individual anthologies of favorite poems. "This project will be even more meaningful if students write a personal introduction explaining their theme and why they chose particular poems," she says.

Pick a poem
Poetry is meant to be heard. You can establish a daily poetry break or begin each day with a reading. Students can comb through anthologies in the classroom or ask the librarian for help.

There should be no rules on length or difficulty. Selecting a poem with one stanza, like "A Purple Cow" by Gelett Burgess and reading it aloud is as valid a choice as the seven-stanza "Disobedience" by A.A. Milne. Both of these classic poems can be found in Talking Like the Rain: A Read-to-Me Book of Poems by X.J. Kennedy and Dorothy M. Kennedy (Little, Brown, 1992, ISBN: 0-316-48889-5). This delightful compendium includes classics by the superstars of children's poetry like Karla Kuskin and Myra Cohen Livingston.

Getting silly
Teachers of preschoolers will enjoy the new Mary Engelbreit's Mother Goose: One Hundred Best-Loved Verses (Harper Collins, 2005, 0-060-08171-6). "Fun to say and fun to hear, Mother Goose rhymes provide grown-ups with a welcome chance to set aside the day's cares and get silly with their children," states children's literature expert Leonard Marcus in his introduction.

Pair this title with Poems for the Very Young selected by Michael Rosen (Kingfisher, 2004, ISBN: 0-753-45816-0). Bob Graham's humorous illustrations support a variety of street rhymes and poetry by favorites like Eleanor Farjeon and Eve Merriam. Over 100 poems ad- dress common topics for young children like getting dressed, pets, friends and going to bed. And let's not forget the value of general silliness.

Speaking of silliness, kids will really enjoy Schoolyard Rhymes: Kid's Own Rhymes for Rope-Skipping, Hand Clapping, Ball Bouncing, and Just Plain Fun selected by Judy Sierra (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005, ISBN: 0-375-82516-9). These rhymes are passed orally from generation to generation of school children, spawning new variations along the way. The clapping game "Miss Susie" is written here as, "Miss Susie had a baby, his name was Tiny Tim. She put him in the bathtub to see if he could swim." I remember this rhyme as, "Miss Susie had a steamboat, the steamboat had a bell. Miss Susie went to heaven, the steamboat went to hello operator..." What schoolyard rhymes do your students know? Perhaps they can interview family members about rhymes they remember from their own childhoods and document these responses.

A year's worth of verse
Last year brought us three very different anthologies. A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children selected by Caroline Kennedy (Hyperion, 2005, ISBN: 0-786-85111-2) is a rich compilation of classic and contemporary poems varying in tone from the silly to sublime. This collection includes classic verse like Blake's "The Tyger" and the work of contemporary poets Sandra Cisneros and Naomi Shihab Nye. With lush watercolor paintings by Jon J. Muth, one can lose oneself page after page.

Poetry Speaks to Children edited by Elise Paschen (Sourcebooks Media Fusion, 2005, ISBN: 1-402-20329-2) is a superb compilation of 98 poems illustrated as an oversized picture book. It comes with a cd of 52 of the poems read aloud, the majority by the poets themselves. What a treat it is to hear former Poet Laureate Billy Collins read "Wolf":

The wolf is reading a book of fairy tales.
The moon hangs over the forest.
A lamp.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not include the work of the renowned poet and anthologist Jack Prelutsky. No elementary classroom should be without his The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (Random House Books for Young Readers, 2000, ISBN: 0-394-85010-6), a collection of over 550 poems. His latest anthology, Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005, ISBN: 0-375-82286-0) is joyously illustrated by Meilo So. Each sumptuous spread presents poems of child-friendly themes like bugs, dogs, rain, snow and food, like "Mutterly" by Tony Johnston:

My dog's name is Mutterly.
He makes my hear melt, butterly.
I love the mongrel utterly.

Jack Prelutsky provides what he calls "poemstarts" for each theme – a few rhyming lines with suggestions on how budding poets can complete it including possible rhyming words.

Online Extra: Listen Up to Audiobooks March 2006

Lisa Von Drasek is Children's Librarian at the Bank Street College of Education in New York, NY.