Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems, written by Kristine O'Connell George

Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems, written by Kristine O'Connell George and illustrated by Kate Kiesler is a wonderful collection of poems about camping.  It includes many different kinds of poems and great illustrations.

I really liked this book because it gave me a chance to introduce Anna to some different kinds of poems in a topic that was interesting to her.

On Kristine O'Connell George's website there is a Teacher's Guide for her book Toasting Marshmallow.  She gives some great ideas on how to use the book as a jumping off point for some fun learning.  Also on the page featuring the Toasting Marshmallows book you will find links to audio files of the author reading some of the poems from the book and a section talking about the writing of the book.

This is a great book to include in the gear you take on a camping trip or a hike, or even to use in a backyard or living room camping experience.  It's sure to help you create great memories.

Fancy Nancy: Poet Extraordinaire! by Jane O'Connor

In Fancy Nancy: Poet Extraordinaire!, written by Jane O'Connor and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser, Fancy Nancy learns about poetry, thanks to her wonderful teacher.  Her teacher reads poems to the children everyday and she also encourages the children to write their own poems on leaf shaped paper, which they then post on the Poet-Tree on the wall in their classroom.

I am truly not a big fan of Nancy Fancy, and it has nothing to do with the quality of the books, it's just that I'm more of a Plain Jane than a Fancy Nancy so a lot of what's in the Fancy Nancy books is silly in my mind, even if it is kind of funny.  I do like how the books introduce children to a broader vocabulary but I hate that it seems like you have to be all fancy to use the vocabulary.  Anyway, this book I like.

Anna loves all things Fancy Nancy, so, of course, she loved this book too.  I loved it because it gave us a chance to talk about poetry and explore some of the different kinds of poetry.  I'm going to try to follow Fancy Nancy's teacher's example and attempt to include a reading of at least one poem together every day.  We're also going to follow Fancy Nancy's example and start copying some of our favorite poems and writing some of our own poems to create our own anthology of poetry.

Under the Party Kit section in the Party Central Section of the Parents section of the Fancy Nancy World website I found a Fancy Nancy Poetry Journal pdf (but be forewarned that it prints very small), and a Poet Extraordinaire Event Guide and Activity Suggestions pdf which has some great learning info and activity suggestions that would be make wonderful additions to a unit on poetry.



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Pudding and Pie: Favorite Nursery Rhymes chosen by Sarah Williams

The nursery rhymes in Pudding and Pie: Favorite Nursery Rhymes were chosen to be included in the book by Sarah Williams and they were illustrated by Ian Beck.  There are many different nursery rhymes in the book but there is just one rhyme per page.  Some of the nursery rhymes we had heard many times before and some we had never heard before but we enjoyed all of them.  The illustrations are wonderful!

Though I could find lots of information about other Sarah Williams on the web, I couldn't find any about this particular Sarah Williams.  The jacket cover of the book says that she is from England.

The illustrator, Ian Beck, is also from England.  Along with having illustrated many books by other authors is also an author himself and has written and illustrated his own books.

Join the April Reading Challenge for a chance to win one of 5 books donated as prizes!
Check out the Newsletter blog to read the April Newsletter.

My Very First Mother Goose, edited by Iona Opie

My Very First Mother Goose, edited by Iona Opie and illustrated by Rosemary Wells, is a big book of mother goose rhymes, many that I had never heard before.  Anna and I read it over a number of days and really enjoyed it.

I loved the little write up, which is for the parents, in the front of the book.  Iona Opie talks about how Mother Goose rhymes "help people along the bumpy road of life".  She says "They give us the suggestion that "mishaps might be funny rather than tragic, that tantrums can be comical as well as frightening, and that laughter is the cure for practically everything."

Anna enjoyed the rhymes, but she also enjoyed the illustrations.  I hadn't noticed, but she immediately noticed that many of the characters in the book looked like Max and Ruby, the bunnies of book and TV fame.  It is no wonder, since the illustrator of the book is the author and illustrator of the Max and Ruby books.

Join the April Reading Challenge for a chance to win one of 5 books donated as prizes!
Check out the Newsletter blog to read the April Newsletter.

Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young selected by Jack Prelutsky

The over 200 poems featured in Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young were written by a number of different authors and were selected for inclusion in the book by Jack Prelutsky.  The illustrations in the book are the work of Marc Brown.

Anna and I took many days to go through the book and had great fun with it.  We borrowed a copy from our local library but this is one of those books that I'd love to have in our own library.

In the grownups section of Jack Prelutsky's website he provides a link to a PDF of Tips For Reading with the Very Young.  In it he talks about his book Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young and says "The poems are on themes that very young children can relate to, such as nature, bedtime, animals, weather, food, the world of make-believe, and of course, children’s own thoughts and feelings. Many of the poems mimic the experiences children have as they discover the world around them."

If you're wanting to make a special effort to share some poems with your child during Poetry Month, Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young is a book you should check out.

Join the April Reading Challenge for a chance to win one of 5 books donated as prizes! Check out the Newsletter blog to read the April Newsletter.

On a Wing and a Wish: Salt Water Bird Rhymes by Al Pittman

As April is Poetry month I figured this is a good time to feature On a Wing and a Wish: Salt Water Bird Rhymes, written by Al Pittman and illustrated by Veselina Tomova.  This book contains wonderfully silly rhymes featuring salt water birds of all kinds!  Anna and I got a kick out of some of the rhymes and pictures in this book, even if some of the poems didn't make a lot of sense to us.  At the back of the book is a list of the names of the different birds featured in the poems.

This would be a great resource to use to add some fun to a science study of salt water birds.

Join the April Reading Challenge for a chance to win one of 5 books donated as prizes!
Check out the Newsletter blog to read the April Newsletter.