April is here and that means spring and poetry are in the air. Our annual Poem in Your Pocket Day is Tuesday, April 20. If you need a poem (and who doesn’t need a great poem these days?), our libraries are bursting with wonderful poetry titles, ranging from a first edition of T.S. Eliot‘s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats to Maya Angelou‘s striking and modern picture book, Life Doesn’t Frighten Me at All. And of course, perennial favorite Shel Silverstein.

In addition, there are several great poetry websites that you and your child can explore together.

Poetry Foundation: Children’s Poetry
Poets.org
Scholastic National Poetry Month Resources
The Children’s Poetry Archive
Printable Poetry for Kids
PBS Kids: Fern’s Poetry Club

And check out this great idea for writing found poetry!

Let me take this opportunity to share one of my very favorite poems with you, Pied Beauty by Gerald Manley Hopkins. I love this poem because not only is it great fun to read aloud, it also celebrates the amazing, crazy diversity of nature.

Pied Beauty by Gerald Manley Hopkins

GLORY be to God for dappled things—
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

What is YOUR favorite poem? Feel free to leave the name of your favorite poem or poet in the comments, or share a link to a favorite poetry site.

I’ll see you in the library,

Jennifer Hubert Swan, Middle School Librarian