Explore Poetry!: With 25 Great Projects

Gr 5–8—This thorough title covers the basics of poetry, though it won't necessarily inspire passion in the subject. Nearly every page is full of facts, "Words to Know," and "Try This!" activities. Topics covered are a quick history, how to write poetry, its elements, and the emotional and intellectual experience of poetry. Information on the history of the subject is crunched and will require support, and the text is on the lackluster side ("Romantic poetry, written in the late 1700s and early 1800s, focused on imagination and emotion. Beat poetry, written in the 1940s and 1950s, was known for trying different things."). Activities include writing haiku, mixing and matching metaphors, and creating mobile poems and handmade books. The QR codes throughout help readers experience the sound of poetry, providing access to poets reading their own work, as well as to online word clouds and rhythm makers. Another feature is the "Know Your Poets" text box, which offers an introduction to important poets such as William Shakespeare, Robert Frost, Dylan Thomas, and Langston Hughes. Connections established between poetry and science, math, and music make this title a good possibility for STEM curriculum. Cartoon illustrations of a fox who wears sunglasses, a beret, and a turtleneck, and his friend, an overweight dog sporting an Elizabethan collar, add some humor but perpetuate stereotypes of poets. A similar book for budding teen poets is Allan Wolf's Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverent & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poet's Life (Lark, 2006).