Saturday, April 11, 2026

NPM Day 11: Thematic Poetry Part 1 - Cats, Dogs, Pets

Over the next few days, I'll be sharing some themed lists of poetry books for children. I've found that keeping themed lists makes it easy for me to find poetry to share with children. The first list is for cats, dogs, and pets. 

Cats 

  • Cat Talk by Patricia MacLachlan & Emily MacLachlan Charest
  • The Maine Coon’s Haiku and Other Poems for Cat Lovers by Michael J. Rosen
  • Won Ton: A Cat Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw
  • Won Ton and Chopstick: A Cat and Dog Tale Told in Haiku by Lee Wardlaw
  • A Curious Collection of Cats by Betsy Franco

Dogs 

  • Little Dog Poems by Kristine O’Connell George
  • Once I Ate a Pie Patricia MacLachlan & Emily MacLachlan Charest
  • I Didn’t Do It Patricia MacLachlan & Emily MacLachlan Charest
  • Name That Dog! Puppy Poems from A to Z by Peggy Archer
  • A Dazzling Display of Dogs by Betsy Franco
  • Every Day’s a Dog’s Day: A Year in Poems by Marilyn Singer
  • The Hound Dog's Haiku and Other Poems for Dog Lovers by Michael J. Rosen 

Pets 

  • The Pet Project: Cute and Cuddly Vicious Verses by Lisa Wheeler 
  • Who Named Their Pony Macaroni? Poems about White House Pets by Marilyn Singer 
  • Bless Our Pets: Poems of Gratitude for Our Animal Friends edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins

Resources

Links to My Reviews 

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Friday, April 10, 2026

NPM Day 10: Poetry Programs for Kids

Outreach Visits to Elementary Classrooms 



  • 2012: Animal Poetry (In the Wild by David Elliott, If Not for the Cat by Jack Prelutsky) and Riddle Poetry (If Not for the Cat by Jack Prelutsky, Spot the Plot: A Riddle Book of Book Riddles by J. Patrick Lewis, Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman) 
  • 2013: Selections from I've Lost My Hippopotamus by Jack Prelutsky, The Underwear Salesman and Other Poems for Better or Verse by J. Patrick Lewis, and Please Bury Me in the Library by J. Patrick Lewis. See full details here. 
  • 2015: Bird Poetry (On the Wing by David Elliott and Today at the Bluebird Cafe by Deborah Ruddell)
  • 2018: Selections from Something Big Has Been Here by Jack Prelutsky, World Rat Day by J. Patrick Lewis, and If Not for the Cat by Jack Prelutsky
  • 2019: Selections from some of my favorite poets (Deborah Ruddell, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater, and Joyce Sidman). See full details here. 

Poetry Programs for Private School Classes and Homeschool Groups 

  • 2016 and 2017: Poetry Egg Hunt, Book Spine Poetry, Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed from One Word by Bob Raczka, Poetry Tag, Acrostic Name Poem, and Riddle Poems
  • 2012: Poetry Introduction for 1st-3rd grade. See full details here.

Poetry Special Events

  • Poetry Break Storytimes
    • 2011: Animals. See full details here.
    • 2012: It's Raining Cats and Dogs. See full details here.
  • Poetry Picnic (2024): Food theme poems and snacks. See full details here.

Resources

Links to My Reviews


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Thursday, April 9, 2026

NPM Day 9: Using Poetry on a Flannel Board or with Props

List poems are great to adapt for use on a flannel or felt board. You can approach this a couple of different ways. You can put all the pieces on and them point to them as you recite the poem or you can put them on one piece at a time as you recite. You can also handout pieces to the children so they can put them on. 

Here are the poems I've turned into felts sets. Links are to my blog posts about them. 


You can also use poems in storytime with props. Inspired by Anne who blogged at So Tomorrow, I use "Shadow Wash" by Shel Silverstein from Where the Sidewalk Ends. You just need two different size shadows cut out of felt and small bucket or bowl that you can't see through. 


In March 2024, I created some picture cards to go along with "Percy's Perfect Pies" by Jack Prelutsky from It's Raining Pigs and Noodles. The images I used were mainly from free clipart sets on Teacher's Pay Teachers or clker. I shared the poem during a pie themed storytime and the picture cards definitely added interest for the younger kids. Prelutsky has more poems that would work well with picture cards: "Gloppe's Soup Shoppe" from A Pizza the Size of the Sun and "Bleezer's Ice Cream" from The New Kid on the Block. 

Resources 

Links to My Reviews 

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Wednesday, April 8, 2026

NPM Day 8: Using Poetry in Storytime

I use poetry in storytime often and in a few different ways. Today, I'll be highlighting how I use poetry to inspire storytime and how I add poetry to a storytime theme. 

First, you need to know the poetry books in your collection. A library online catalog can be particularly helpful if the record lists all the poem titles within a collection. For me this has been true for Shel Silverstein's collections and a few larger collections. Table of Contents, Index to Titles, and Index to First Lines in the physical books are also helpful. Also of note is Sylvia Vardell's The Poetry Teacher's Book of Lists. Published in 2012, it lists poetry books in a variety of lists. Find it on Amazon. 

When I review poetry books on my blog, I make note of contents (list of animals, for example) and my favorite poems within. My review of If This Bird Had Pockets: A Poem in Your Pocket Day Celebration by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is an example of this. I also make notes of the various ways you can use the collection. My review of Delicious: Poems Celebrating Street Food Around the World by Julie Larios is an example of this. This turns into a helpful reference for me. If you aren't a blogger, you can keep notes like these in whatever manner works best for you. 

In the Wild by David Elliott, On the Farm by David Elliott, several collections of bird poems, haiku and several collections of seasonal poetry have all inspired storytime themes. Using the collections by David Elliott, I read the entire collection as my first book and add one or two picture books to round out the storytime. With the thematic collections, I read several poems from multiple collections throughout the storytime. Sometimes, I read a few poems from a collection as my last and shortest storytime book. I did this most recently with a bugs storytime in March when I shared four poems from Insectlopedia by Douglas Florian. See all my poetry storytimes here. 

I have added poems to so many storytime themes: apples, bears, bees, birds, bugs, butterflies, camping, dinosaurs, fairy tales, farm, forest, frogs, love, polar animals, seasons, spiders, teatime, and zoo animals. A recent example is adding “21 Things to Do with an Apple” from The Popcorn Astronauts and Other Biteable Rhymes by Deborah Ruddell to an apple themed storytime last fall. 

Resources: 

Links to My Reviews

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Tuesday, April 7, 2026

NPM Day 7: Poetry Breaks, Fridays, Teatimes, and Picnics

Today I want to talk about a few ways you can share poetry with children in your classroom, library, or home. 

Poetry Break 

This is something I came up with as a way to share one of my favorite things with the students during classroom visits. After reading 2 or 3 books, we'd take a poetry break. I'd select a few kids to pick a number. I would then read the poem on the corresponding page in the Jack Prelutsky poetry collection I'd brought. After several classroom asking for 10, 25, 50, or 100, I decided to make numbers that the kids would draw out of a basket. I'd use the same poetry collection until we used all the numbers. I pick the kids by asking who has a birthday this month or next month. You could also do first initials or shirt colors. Larger collections work well for this. In addition to Jack Prelutsky, you could use Shel Silverstein, the National Geographic poetry collections, Kenn Nesbitt, and Karma Wilson. 

Poetry Fridays

Poetry Friday is two things. It is a weekly blog roundup. Bloggers post about poetry for children and teens on Friday. Find more out here from Renée LaTulippe. Poetry Friday is also a series of anthologies edited by Janet Wong and Sylvia Vardell and published by Pomelo Books. Wong and Wardell created these anthologies to make it easier for classroom teachers to share poetry with their students. Find out more here. 

Poetry Teatime 

Poetry Teatime was created by Julie Bogart from Brave Writer as a way for homeschooling families to incorporate more poetry into their learning. The official website has a Quick Start Guide, Poetry Books for Every Age List, Themed Teatime Ideas, Poetry Prompts, and Learn about Poets. Poetry teatime could be used by teachers, families, or librarians with students who are schooled publicly, privately, or at home. The possibilities are endless! 

Poetry Picnic

An idea from a stay-at-home mom who Blogs at Read-At-Home Mom: read poetry with your kids outside. Add snacks to make it a picnic. See all of Katie's poetry picnic posts here. Katie's poetry picnic posts and ideas for book tastings lead me to create a Poetry Picnic program in 2024. Read all about it here. 

Links to My Reviews 

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Monday, April 6, 2026

NPM Day 6: Favorite Poets for Elementary Age

I have one word to share about selecting poetry for elementary age students: humor. Kids love to laugh. Fun illustrations or real photos help, too. 

Jack Prelutsky


I first discovered Jack Prelutsky in 2011 when I read his collection My Dog May Be a Genius. His poems are funny and inventive. I love sharing his poetry with elementary student when I do class visits. I'll talk more about exactly how I share his poems tomorrow. His most recent collection is Hard-Boiled Eggs for Breakfast and other Tasty Poems. Jack Prelutsky was the inaugural Young People's Poet Laureate back in 2006. 

Shel Silverstein 

Silverstein is master of children's poetry. I didn't read him as a kid, but I love using his poems now. I've turned a couple into storytime activities and like to share a poem when it fits my theme like "Don the Dragon's Birthday" from Falling Up for a dragon themed storytime. I especially like Runny Babbit and Runny Babbit Returns. Spoonerisms are fun to create and read, but be sure you don't get your tongue twisted!

Chris Harris 

Chris Harris is a new to me poet, but his poetry reminds me of Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein. If humor can get kids interested in poetry, please share Chris Harris' two collections: I'm Just No Good at Rhyming and My Head Has a Bellyache. 

National Geographic Poetry Collections 

J. Patrick Lewis edited three poetry collections for National Geographic Kids: National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry, National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry, and The Poetry of US. The collections feature a mixture of classic poems and new poems paired with stunning National Geographic photos. 

Resources 

Links to My Reviews

Jack Prelutsky


NG Poetry Collections
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Sunday, April 5, 2026

NPM Day 5: Favorite Poets for Preschool and Kindergarten

When sharing poetry with children, you need to make sure the poetry is on their level. Today, I'm sharing my favorite poets for preschool and kindergarten age children. 

David Elliott 

Screenshot from David Elliott's website

His poetry series from Candlewick is storytime gold. The poems are short and lyrical and I love Elliott's word choice. Each title in this series could inspire a storytime theme or an in-depth study of types of animals. There are farm animals, wild animals, sea creatures, birds, extinct animals, forest animals, pond animals, polar animals, and desert animals. The latest book in the series, At the Edge: Curious Creatures of Planet Earth, will be available on May 19th. (Side note: Elliott has also written some fascinating verse novels for teens.)

Douglas Florian 

He has so many poetry collections on so many topics. When planning a storytime theme, I almost always check if Florian has a poetry book about the theme. For example, my theme for this past week was bugs so I shared four poems from Insectlopedia. His poetry collections are humorous, witty, and often punny. In my opinion, his illustrations are appealing because they look like something a kid could or would create. His most recent poetry collections are Thank You, Sun (March 2026), Windsongs: Poems about Weather, and Zoobilations: Animal Poems and Paintings. 

Nicola Davies 

A UK import, Davies' three poetry collections are filled with simple poems and gorgeous illustrations. As with Elliott and Florian, I often use poems from these collections in storytime. Don't miss Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature, Song of the Wild: A First Book of Animals, and A First Book of the Sea. 

Resources 

Links to My Reviews

David Elliott

Douglas Florian 

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