National Poetry Month

April 21 – Poem in Your Pocket Day

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Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems by Bob Raczka picture book review

About the Holiday

Poem in Your Pocket Day has become one of the favorite events of National Poetry Month. Requiring nothing but a pocket and a treasured poem, the day is a perfect way for poets, non-poets, and poetry lovers of all types to interact with this beloved art form. Originally enacted in 2002 by the Office of the Mayor in conjunction with the New York City Departments of Cultural Affairs and Education, the holiday was embraced as a national observance by the Academy of American Poets in 2008.

Here are some suggestions from the Academy of American Poets on how to spend the day. So clean the lint, coupons, old receipts, tissues, and loose change out of your pockets and replace them with a poem! Those crumpled bits may even inspire your own poem—try it!

  • Post pocket-sized verses in public places
  • Create and distribute bookmarks with your favorite lines of poetry
  • Start a “poems for pockets” giveaway at school or work
  • Add a poem to your email footer
  • Post lines from your favorite poem on your Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, Facebook, or Snapchat
  • Send a poem to a friend

Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems

By Bob Raczka

 

When you envision a poem in your head, what do you see? A block of lines? A square or a rectangle? Well, sweep that image from your mind because in Bob Raczka’s Wet Cement: A Mix of Concrete Poems, verses become actions, objects, puzzles, and natural phenomena. Not only are the poems shaped to illustrate their theme, the titles use clever imagery as well.

As you encounter the poem hanger you’ll see that “han” has broken away and is dangling from the hook of g in “ger.” The words of the poem itself are shaped like a hanger and contain a giggle-invoking twist: “I hang out in blue jeans and comfy old shirts. I hang out in blouses and long frilly skirts. I hang out in sport coats and sweaters and shawls. I even hang out with no clothes on at all!”

You might want to get your baseball mitt out before you read homer, in which the first line zooms straight as a pitch and the second—written backwards and at an upward angle—soars like a homerun hit: “The pitcher hurls his hummer toward the slugger squeezing lumber CRA / CK! The slugger slams the hummer toward the bleachers for a homer.”

But don’t put that mitt away just yet! You may need to catch the o, which has escaped from the title p p-up. And if you’ve ever played t-ball, baseball, softball, or even wiffleball, you’ll cringe in recognition of this short but pointed poem.

The sky darkened by night in Dipper and by clouds in Lightning holds two poems expressing very different thoughts. In the title Dipper, the second p has floated to the top of the page where it hangs like a miniature reflection of the dipper-shaped poem, which reads: “Way down there on earth you hold firefly jars, filled up to their lids with light. Up here in the sky, I’m a vessel of stars, my brim overflowing with night.” In the title LIGHTNING, the L strikes the I to create the familiar jagged crack echoed in the shape of the verse: “from a bad mood sky, / tears, / then a jag- / ged slash- / ing flash of anger, / ear- / splitting, / obnoxious, / a cloud tantrum”

Any writer will love poeTRY which is such a clever take on the word as well as the revision and editing process:

“poetry is about taking away the words you don’t need

poetry is taking away words you don’t need

poetry is words you need

poetry is words

try”

Put simply, Bob Raczka’s concrete poems will make you smile. Even more than that, you’ll find yourself wanting to carry this book around, saying “Look at this!” to everyone you meet. Raczka calls these poems “word paintings”—because a poet “uses words like colors to paint pictures inside your head.” If creativity is the talent to present the world in new and surprising ways, making connections that enhance life, then Wet Cement is artistry at its best!

Ages 5 – 9 and up (adults will enjoy these poems as much as kids)

Roaring Brook Press, 2016 | ISBN 978-1626722361

Poem in Your Pocket Day Activity

CPB - Pocket Poem Craft

Pocket Poem Carrier

 

Sometimes you just need a little more inspiration in your day. Here’s a cute way to carry your favorite poem—today and every day!

Supplies

  • An old pair of pants or shorts with back pockets
  • A decorative shoelace
  • Thread or fabric glue
  • Needle
  • Paper
  • Your favorite poem or a poem you write yourself
  • Pen

Directions

  1. Cut one back pocket off an old pair of pants or shorts
  2. Use the shoelace at its full length or cut to desired length
  3. Inside each edge of the pocket sew or glue the ends of the shoelace to make a strap
  4. Print your favorite poem on the paper
  5. Insert the poem into the pocket poem carrier
  6. Take your poem with you and share it with your friends!

April 12 – National Big Wind Day

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When the Wind Blows by Linda Booth Sweeney and Jana Christy picture book review

About the Holiday

Hold onto your hats—maybe even your hair! On April 12, 1934 three weather surveyors at the Mount Washington Observatory registered the highest wind gusts ever recorded—231 miles per hour! Mount Washington is located in New Hampshire and at 6,288 feet is the highest peak in the Northeast United States and east of the Mississippi River. Since that blustery event, big wind day has been celebrated on this day.

When the Wind Blows

Written by Linda Booth Sweeney | Illustrated by Jana Christy

 

A little boy peeks out his rattling window as the wind sends chimes ringing and doors creeaaaking. Jumbled into their jackets the boy’s mom, baby sister, and grandmother go out to enjoy the day. They fly a kite while nearby bells clang and walkers stroll hand in hand. In the sweeping wind “Trees dance. / Spiders curl. / Mice shiver. / Leaves swirl.”

When the wind snatches the kite, the boy and his grandma chase after it amid clouds racing across the sky and seeds scattering to and fro. Running after the kite through waving beach grass, the family sees “Sails puff. / Boats wobble. / Gulls float. / buoys bobble.” Their pursuit takes them into town where they track down their kite lying on a sidewalk. When the wind blows on these narrow seaside village lanes, “Signs shake. / Lights jiggle. / Puddles splosh. / We giggle.”

With the kite safely in hand the foursome ventures to the park for some rolling, swaying, whirling play. But the day is graying—“Skies darken. / Thunder BOOMS. / Rain falls. / We zoom!” Back at home all is cozy as the family dries off and the little boy takes a bath. Tucked into bed the little boy and his mom cuddle while their pets curl up on the blankets. As they sleep, “Skies clear. / Stars gleam. / Earth sleeps. / We dream.”

Linda Booth Sweeney’s charming tale of a day spent in the midst of a windy day perfectly captures the sights and sounds of such a gusty natural event. Sweeney’s eye for detail and talent for evocative verbs elevate the two-word lines in these short verses, letting readers fully experience the effects of a wild squall. Kids will appreciate the original imagery and love repeating the lyrical lines.

The blustery wind is evident in Jana Christy’s vibrant pastel illustrations, where clouds swirl in scribbles, flowers bow, and buffeted grasses protect small creatures. Everywhere, the wind flutters head scarves and clothing, bends signs, and tears hats and kites from unsuspecting hands. As rain approaches Christy’s skies acquire a gray, gauzy texture, and when the family again reaches home, the colors turn warm and bright, as comforting as a cup of tea or hot chocolate. Readers will be rewarded for lingering over the beautiful pages by seeing details and people carried over from page to page, uniting the story.

Ages 3 – 6

G. P. Putnam’s Sons, Penguin Group, 2015 | ISBN 978-0399160158

National Big Wind Day Activity

CPB - Windsock

Catch the Wind! Windsock

 

You can feel the wind in your hair and see it blowing through the trees, but can you actually catch it? You can with this easy-to-make windsock!

Supplies

  • 1 large yogurt container (32 oz) or 1-pound deli salad container
  • 1 long-sleeve T-shirt
  • Strong glue
  • Dowel, 5/8 diameter x 48-inches long or longer
  • String
  • Rubber band
  • sewing seam ripper or cuticle scissors
  • X-acto knife
  • Scissors

Directions

  1. Remove the sleeve from a long-sleeve t-shirt with the seam ripper or cuticle scissors
  2. Cut the shoulder off the sleeve by cutting straight across from the underarm seam
  3. Cut 2 inches from the bottom of the yogurt container OR cut the bottom out of the deli container with the x-acto knife or scissors
  4. With the x-acto knife or scissors, make a hole a little smaller than the diameter of the dowel about 1 inch from the rim of the container
  5. Slide the container into the large opening of the sleeve
  6. Fold about a ¾ -inch edge over the rim of the container and attach all along the rim with strong glue
  7. Put the rubber band around the outside edge of the opening
  8. Tie the bottom of the sleeve’s cuff together with the string
  9. To attach the dowel: Option 1: leaving the t-shirt in place, push the dowel and material through the hole in the container. The t-shirt material will hold the dowel in place (I used this option).  Option 2: cut a small hole in the t-shirt at the location of the hole in the container. Push the dowel through this hole and the hole in the container. Secure with strong glue
  10. Stick your windsock in the ground in an open area where it can catch the wind. As the wind changes direction, you can turn your windsock so the opening faces the wind.

April 6 – April is National Poetry Month

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When Green Becomes Tomatoes by Julie Fogliano and Julie Morstad

About the Holiday

The Academy of American Poets established National Poetry Month in 1996 to promote the enjoyment and awareness of poetry. Over the 20 years since its beginning, National Poetry Month has become the largest literary event in the world. Schools, poets, booksellers, and publishers all hold special events to honor the vital place of this well-loved art form in our culture.

Celebrate the month by attending poetry readings, reading poems by your favorite author or discovering a new poet, and creating your own poetry!

When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons

Written by Julie Fogliano | Illustrated by Julie Morstad

 

Sometimes you wish for just the right words to express a moment in time, a skip of the heart, or a glimpse of color that truly captures the elation, sadness, or awe you feel. Those words live on every page of When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons. Each season omonth of the year is represented by three to five dated poems that expose a nugget of inspiration or a spark of recognition about the natural world and our place in it.

Spring is revealed as chilly, rainy, and blooming with early flowers:

march 26: “shivering and huddled close / the forever rushing daffodils / wished they had waited”

Summer brings swimming, tomatoes, and deep dark nights:

september 10

“a star is someone else’s sun / more flicker glow than blinding / a speck of light too far for bright / and too small to make a morning”

Fall is a time for sweaters, pumpkins, and falling leaves:

november 2

“more silent than something / much noisier than nothing / the last leaf / when it landed / made a sort of sound / that no one knew they heard”

Winter  is quiet, cozy fireplaces, and snow, snow, snow:

december 21

“as if one day, the mountain decides / to put on its white furry hat / and call it winter”

december 29

“and i woke / to a morning / that was quiet / and white / the first snow / (just like magic) came / on tiptoes / overnight”

The volume begins and ends with a poem dated the same day—March 20, the vernal equinox—giving this book a cyclical form that echoes the passing of time. To accompany Julie Fogliano’s beautiful poems, Julie Morstad has created gorgeous watercolors of children experiencing each day and the changes they bring. The soft, matte pages enhance the colors of each season and the quiet reflections these poems offer.

Ages 6 and up (adults will enjoy these poems too)

Roaring Brook Press, 2016 | ISBN 978-1596438521

National Poetry Month Activity

Grow a Poem

CPB - Plant Poem

A poem often grows in your imagination like a beautiful plant—starting from the seed of an idea, breaking through your consciousness, and growing and blooming into full form. With this craft you can create a unique poem that is also an art piece!

Supplies

  • Printable Leaves Template, available here and on the blog post
  • Printable Flower Template, available here and on the blog post
  • Wooden dowel, ½-inch diameter, available in craft or hardware stores
  • Green ribbon
  • Green craft paint
  • Green paper if leaves will be preprinted
  • Colored paper if flowers will be preprinted
  • Flower pot or box
  • Oasis, clay, or dirt
  • Hole punch
  • Glue
  • Markers or pens for writing words
  • Crayons or colored pencils if children are to color leaves and flowers

Directions

  1. Paint the dowel green, let dry
  2. Print the leaves and flower templates
  3. Cut out the leaves and flowers
  4. Punch a hole in the bottom of the leaves or flowers
  5. Write words, phrases, or full sentences of your poem on the leaves and flowers (you can also write the poem after you have strung the leaves and flowers)
  6. String the leaves and flowers onto the green ribbon (if you want the poem to read from top to bottom string the words onto the ribbon in order from first to last)
  7. Attach the ribbon to the bottom of the pole with glue or tape
  8. Wrap the ribbon around the pole, leaving spaces between the ribbon
  9. Gently arrange the leaves and flowers so they stick out from the pole or look the way you want them to.
  10. Put oasis or clay in the flower pot or box
  11. Stick your poem pole in the pot
  12. Display your poem!