Lists and Suggestions for Kids

"Deeply emotional, evocative free verse by poet and activist Sojourner Kincaid Rolle traces the solemnity and celebration of Juneteenth from its 1865 origins in Galveston, Texas to contemporary observances all over the United States. This is an ode to the strength of Black Americans and a call to remember and honor a holiday whose importance reverberates far beyond the borders of Texas"--

"From this first stanza, readers are invited to pay attention--and to see that paying attention itself is poetry. Kwame Alexander and Deanna Nikaido's playful text and Melissa Sweet's dynamic, inventive artwork are paired together to encourage readers to listen, feel, and discover the words that dance in the world around them--poems just waiting to be written down."--

"[An] illustrated poetic ode to the creatures that inhabit the North and South poles. The stark, cold landscapes of Earth's poles may seem inhospitable, but their snowy hollows and glacial waters hide an astounding variety of creatures, from the tiny, fascinating tardigrade to the mysterious giant squid, from the fleet-footed Arctic hare to the majestic polar bear"--Provided by publisher.

"If you're a curious child and you get a new dog, you discover all kinds of things. Gravity has new meaning, when you're racing down a slide toward your eager-beaver dog waiting at the bottom (uh-oh!). Friction has a new meaning, when your slippery dog escapes from the bath (soap+fingers=not enough friction). But love has a new meaning too, when you and your cosmic dog become the center of your own universe."--

"Aquí era el paraíso / Here was paradise es una selección de poemas escritos por el gran poeta maya Humberto Ak'abal. Creados primero en k'ické, estos poemas evocan su infancia en y alrededor de la aldea maya k'iché de Momostenango, Guatemala. Ak'abal es reconocido mundiamente como uno de los grades poetas contemporaneous de la lengua hispana y uno de los más grandes poetas indígenas de América. Escribió sobre niños, abuelos, madres, animales, fantasmas, amores frustrados, sembradíos, lluvias, poesía, pobreza y muerte. Aunque Ak'abal escribió para adultos, esta colección bilingüe en español e inglés es también accessible para jóvenes, acompañada por la Hermosa obra de la ilustrdora guatemalteca Amelia Lau Carling y por un prólogo de la editor Patricia Aldana."--

"An inspiring and comforting collection of poems that will take kids on a journey to discover their own identities, find inner strength, and learn to love themselves--and one another. Filled with gracefully simple poems and vibrant, lyrical illustrations, all kids will be able to find a piece of themselves reflected within the pages of this book."--

From Children's Literature Legacy Award-winning author Nikki Grimes comes a feminist-forward new collection of poetry celebrating the little-known women poets of the Harlem Renaissance-- paired with full-color, original art from today's most talented female African-American illustrators. Taking inspiration from the unsung women poets of the era, Grimes uses the "Golden Shovel" poetry method to create original poems drawn from the words of ... groundbreaking women writers. Set alongside the original works, Grimes's all-new poetry pays tribute to the unique heritage of these women and their spiritual connection to nature, illuminating female self-expression in the early twentieth century, reinvented with contemporary relevance and context. Featuring artwork by some of today's most exciting Black women: Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Nina Crews, Pat Cummings, Laura Freeman, Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Ebony Glenn, Xia Gordon, April Harrison, Vashti Harrison, Ekua Holmes, Cathy Ann Johnson, Keisha Morris, Daria Peoples-Riley, Andrea Pippins, Erin Robinson, Shadra Strickland, Nicole Tadgell, Elizabeth Zunon.

"In Body Music, bestselling authors Jane Yolen and Ryan G. Van Cleave bring their trademark wit to fifteen hilarious poems that celebrate the sounds of the human body, from sniffles to snaps, sneezes to wheezes, hiccups to yawns, and more! Each poem is illustrated with bright, lively artwork and is accompanied by scientific facts that answer questions like: What is a knuckle crack? Why do we sneeze? and What makes a tummy rumble? Funny and secretly educational, Body Music has it all: science, history, language arts, and farts!"--Page [4] cover.

"An's grandmother Bà sometimes gets trapped in her cloudy memories. An and her grandfather Ông come up with a plan to bring her back to a happy moment: growing gấc fruits so they can make xôi gấc, Bà's favorite dish from her wedding in Vietnam many years ago. An and Ông must be patient as the seeds grow, flower, and turn into fruit. When the xôi gấc is finally ready, An is hopeful that her grandmother will remember her wedding wish with Ông: hundred years of happiness. This stunning picture book ... beautifully showcases the love between grandparents and grandchildren, the challenges of memory loss, and the joy that sweet reminders of a faraway home can bring"--

"When night arrives and the birds swoop home to nest, it's time to have a bath, put on pajamas, brush teeth, and settle in for sleep. This soothing collection of Sean Taylor's original verse and rhyme for the very young explores the ritual of bedtime with warmth, tenderness, and gentle humor. Thirty poems in many styles, from shape poems to free verse to ballad poems, are divided into three sections. From sleepy bats to dreaming ducks, from a favorite blanket to the chugga! chugga! of a dream train coming down the tracks, these imaginative variations on a timeless theme--brought to life in soft, shimmering illustrations--resonate with pure emotion, inviting sleepyheads of every stripe to indulge in sweet dreams."--

"The People Remember tells the journey of African descendants in America by connecting their history to the seven principles of Kwanzaa. It begins in Africa, where people were taken from their homes and families. They spoke different languages and had different customs. Yet they were bound and chained together and forced onto ships sailing into an unknown future. Ultimately, all these people had to learn one common language and create a culture that combined their memories of home with new traditions that enabled them to thrive in this new land. Sumptuously illustrated, this is an important book to read as a family--a story young readers can visit over and over again to deepen their understanding of African American history in relation to their own lives and current social justice movements. By turns powerful and revealing, this is a lyrical narrative that tells the story of survival, as well as the many moments of joy, celebration, and innovation of Black people in America."--

"Pictures of plants and animals and short, story poems--pair them with photographs of innovative inventions and designs found around the world to see fascinating examples of nature-inspired design. A lotus leaf inspires the invention of the umbrella. A cat's eyes inspire the invention of safety road reflectors. Discover how mimicking behaviors and strategies in nature leads to amazing new prdocuts, processes, and technologies that improve our lives and environment."--

"Mr. Keene loved being the principal of his fine, fine school. He was so proud of his students drawing and painting and reading and singing that he thought his buttons would burst! Then one day his appendix burst, and a new principal, Mr. Tatters, swooped in to take his place. Mr. Tatters said, 'In order to be a smart, smart school, we will have lots and lots of tests.' And suddenly there were no more cards and banners, posters and songs. Instead, they took tests all week long! Will Mr. Keene return to save his smart, smart school and make it shine again?"--

"With magical, concise and perceptive poems, Newbery-Honor winning author Joyce Sidman captures the life of a tree frog in an intimate and moving way. A master of the science note, her fascinating sidebars help bind the twin poems together and ground our perspective. We learn how treefrogs have sticky toe pads, how they still themselves when in danger, how they can change from green to gray to camouflage themselves - even how they eat their own skins, which is full of nutrients. The narrator's connection with this small creature brings solace, comfort, and a sense of mystery."--

"From the giant tree ferns of the forests primeval to the hardy sycamores of today's urban forests, experience the essence of trees through poems that engage with every season and stage of the life cycle, from seed to photosynthesis. A broad exploration of a majestic subject, this collection of haiku touches on such topics as the importance of trees to other living creatures and the communication of trees with one another through a complex network of roots." -- Amazon.com.

A brilliantly illustrated collection of 366 hilarious poems to keep you laughing all year round! From rib-ticklingly funny to wryly witty, each poem in this uplifting collection is guaranteed to put a smile on your face and is perfect for reading aloud to share even more side-splitting hilarity with family and friends. Whether it's a poem about socks or spaniels, eggs or elephants, this bright and brilliant collection will bring you cheer and laughter every day. The spectacular range of poems for children includes work by John Agard, Maya Angelou, Hilaire Belloc, Brian Bilston, Lucille Clifton, Wendy Cope, Roald Dahl, Edward Lear, Spike Milligan, Ogden Nash, Grace Nichols, Jack Prelutsky, Michael Rosen, Christina Rossetti, Benjamin Zephaniah and many more.

"This Spanish-English bilingual edition is the first fully illustrated selection of Book of Questions: comprising 70 questions of the original 320, these poems, carefully woven together by theme and accompanying full-page illustrations, invite us to wonder at the natural world and the myriad mysteries it contains. "Book of Questions," written by beloved Chilean poet and Nobel Prize winner Neruda, was completed just months before his death in 1973, and is his last great work of poetry. By turns lyrical and cosmic, dreamlike and nonsensical, paradoxical and playful, each of these unanswerable questions asks us to set aside certainty and constraint and to enter into the vastness of the unknown. With riddles like "Where is the center of the sea? / Why don't waves break there?" and "What do you call a flower / that flits from bird to bird?", Neruda inspires us to unravel our assumptions and re-envision our relationship to nature. The only answer that is sure to arise from these questions is a closer observation of and reflection on the world in which we live, and a renewed sense of curiosity and wonder at our shared universe"--

During the coldest season, when the world feels scary -- what do you remember about being warm? Baked potatoes. Trust. A kettle on the stove. Blankets. A smile. And, most of all, the reassurance that you belong. In his powerful and moving poem, featuring illustrations from thirteen extraordinary artists, bestselling author and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Neil Gaiman draws together many different memories to answer the question, 'what do you need to be warm?'