Illustrations and poetry encourage imagination, engaging children to experience each creation.
At school visits, before and after reading a poem aloud, I share information about the poet and illustrator. This year, I also focused on the title of each poem. For example, when introducing Pencil Plunge by Laura Purdie Salas, I asked, “What is the poem about?” A few of my favorite answers: It’s a pencil doing the polar bear plunge! It’s a pencil plunging into a toilet and then turning into an actual plunger.
My appreciation for poetry and art started with an amazing poetry book edited by Jan Greenberg, Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art. It’s a wonderful combination of poems matched with famous artists. Think of all the fabulous art questions! What do you see? What would you draw? What colors would you use?
A list of favorite children’s poetry book illustrators:
- Friends and Foes: Poems About Us All
- Poem Runs: Baseball Poems and Paintings
- UnBeelievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings
- Poetrees
- Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander
- Voice of Freedom Fannie Lou Hammer: Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford
Holly Meade:
Jon J Muth:
- Harlem: A Poem by Walter Dean Myers
- Jazz by Walter Dean Myers
- We Are American: A Tribute From the Heart by Walter Dean Myers
- Flutter & Hum: Animal Poems = Aleteo Y Zumbido : Poemas De Animales by Julie Paschkis
- Twist: Yoga Poems by Janet S. Wong
- Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People by Monica Brown
- Vivid: Poems & Notes about Color by Julie Paschkis
Chris Raschka:
- A Foot in the Mouth: Poems to Speak, Sing and Shout selected by Paul B. Janeczko
- Good Sports: Rhymes about Running, Jumping, Throwing and More by Jack Prelustky
- The Death of the Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects selected by Paul B. Janeczko
Explore my list of new children’s poetry books with amazing illustrations.
How are you incorporating illustrations in your poetry programs? Please share in the comments below.
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