| The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books |
| The Bulletin Dozen is a monthly theme-based list of titles available only on-line. Since we're awfully fond of bakers here at the Bulletin, we thought we'd adopt their philosophy of generosity and throw in an extra one or two when we have them to offer--so don't expect an even dozen. Please feel free to copy, download, or link to these lists. We ask only that you cite the source. See the archive for lists from previous months. | |
Poetry, Take One |
We've broken the poetry into two lists: next month will be devoted to anthologies including work from multiple authors, while this month focuses on volumes of verse from individual poets. Varying in tone from the gross to the grave to the grand, these titles will be useful in any number of different circumstances and rewarding in even more.
- Adoff, Arnold. Slow Dance Heart Break Blues. Lothrop, 1995. Gr. 6-9.
Accuracy, empathy, and style make this a winning collection about life as seen through teenage eyes. (BCCB 10/95) [see also Love Letters]
- Farber, Norma. When It Snowed That Night; illus. by Petra Mathers. Geringer/HarperCollins, 1993. Gr. 2-4.
This collection of fifteen poems celebrates the nativity in the quiet voices of animals and of some humans who are often overlooked; Mathers' intensely colored animal vignettes are visually reminiscent of a streamlined Rousseau.
- Fletcher, Ralph. Buried Alive: The Elements of Love. Atheneum, 1996. Gr. 7-12.
"Plainspeaking but lyrical, Fletcher makes poetry accessible while still keeping it, well, poetry." (BCCB 7/86) [see also I Am Wings: Poems about Love]
- Florian, Douglas. Bing Bang Boing; written and illus. by Douglas Florian. harcourt, 1994. Gr. 3-6.
Tart, inventive, and funny poems in a variety of verse forms are enhanced by Florian's doodly sketches in thick lines. (BCCB 11/94) [see also beast feast, on the wing, and in the swim]
- Heide, Florence Parry. Grim and Ghastly Goings On; illus. by Victoria Chess. Lothrop, 1992. Gr. 2-4
Deftly controlled grotesquerie is the name of the game here, with Chess' beady-eyed characters encountering-or being-various monstrosities. (BCCB 9/92) [see also Tales for the Perfect Child and Oh, Grow Up!]
- Kennedy, X. J. Brats; illus. by James Watts. McElderry, 1986. Gr. 3-5.
Perhaps the multitalented Kennedy's most enduring contribution, these lively, kid-smart, and irreverent verses will entertain veteran and reluctant reader alike. (BCCB 7/86)
- Lewis, J. Patrick. Riddle-icious; illus. by Debbie Tilley. Knopf, 1996. Gr. 2-4
Lewis breathes new life into the ancient form of the "guess what this is" riddle; his inventive poems are well-matched by Tilley's spiky, sharp-minded illustrations. (BCCB 6/96)
- McNaughton, Colin. Making Friends with Frankenstein. Candlewick, 1994. Gr. 3-6.
Energetic, chantable poems are playground-vigorous with a particular gift for the enthusiastically disgusting. (BCCB 4/94)
- Prelutsky, Jack. A Pizza as Big as the Sun; illus. by James Stevenson. Greenwillow, 1996. Gr. 3-6.
Prelutsky's adroit wordplay and ebullient rhythms, illustrated with Stevenson's scrawls blitzing across the page, make this a cornucopia of appealing verse. (BCCB 9/96) [see also The New Kid on the Block and multiple others]
- Schertle, Alice. How Now, Brown Cow; illus. by Amanda Schaffer. Browndeer/Harcourt, 1994. Gr. 1-4.
In oversized picture-book format, this single-topic volume ruminates wittily and elegantly on cows, assisted by vibrant, thickly textured full-page paintings. (BCCB 12/94)
- Strauss, Gwen. Trail of Stones; illus. by Anthony Browne. Knopf, 1990. Gr. 10 up.
Verse insights into fairy tales such as Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rumpelstiltskin, these poems are sophisticated and evocative, well-matched by Browne's starkly imaginative drawings. (BCCB 4/90)
- Turner, Ann. Grass Songs; illus. by Barry Moser. Harcourt, 1993. Gr. 8 up.
Turner imagines the voices of pioneer women in free-verse poems, accompanied by Moser's understated yet haunting portraiture. (BCCB 6/93)
- Worth, Valerie. All the Small Poems and Fourteen More; illus. by Natalie Babbitt. Farrar, 1994. Gr. 4 up
This is a complete collection of Worth's precise, observant free-verse "small poems," which bring fresh insights to everyday objects. (BCCB 2/95) [see also Street Talk]
This page was last updated on September 1, 1997.