Sunday, April 26, 2026

NPM Day 26: Sharing Poetry with Tweens & Teens - Invitation to Create Day 1

As I've said before, reading and sharing poetry often leads to creating poetry. There are some really fun ways to create poetry with tweens and teens. Today, I'm sharing magnetic poetry, cut-up poetry, and Post-it Note poetry. Most of these are ideas I came across on blogs or Pinterest over the years. 

You can buy official Magnetic Poetry® kits from their website here. There are kits for every level and interest imaginable. You can even play with a few of the kits online. Find that here

If buying an official kit isn't in your budget, you can make your own. Here are some links that show you how to create DIY magnetic poetry: 

Screenshot of Pin on Pinterest

Cut-Up Poetry is similar to magnetic poetry, but you don't need magnets. You can use words cut out of magazines, packages, junk mail, or really anything to create poems. You can make these temporary just by laying the words out on a table or piece of paper and snapping a picture of your poem. You can make it a little more permanent if you use cut-out words to make pushpin poetry or by gluing your selected words to a piece of paper. See gluing examples above, here, and here. Pushpin poetry as simple as it sounds. You put words on a cork board using pushpins. See an example here

Screenshot of Pin on Pinterest

Post-It Note Poetry is just what it sounds like. You're writing short poems on post-it notes. You could also use index cards or any smaller paper. The beauty of post-it notes is that they're sticky so you can display them. See the above image for an example. Amy Ludwig VanDerwater is writing index card poems for her 2026 poetry month challenge. See it here





Saturday, April 25, 2026

NPM Day 25: Poetry for Tweens & Teens

Tweens and teens can enjoy poetry, too. Sometimes it's a harder sell because as part of their education they've had to over analyze poems. All the previous poets and collections I've shared that are for children may also appeal to tweens and teens. In addition I'd like to highlight some poetry collections, verse novels, and nonfiction in verse. 

Verse novels can appeal to tweens and teens because they read quickly. 

A few of my favorite verse novels are Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, Borrowed Names by Jeannine Atkins, and Your Own, Sylvia by Stephanie Hemphill, but I admit that I don't read verse novels as often as I do poetry collections. 

Poetry Collections for Tweens and Teens 

  • Somebody Give This Heart a Pen by Sophia Thakur
  • Respect the Mic: Celebrating 20 years of Poetry from a Chicagoland High School edited by Peter Kahn, Hanif Abdurraqib, Dan “Sully” Sullivan and Franny Choi
  • When the Stars Wrote Back by Trista Mateer
  • You Don’t Have to Be Everything: Poems for Girls Becoming Themselves edited by Diana Whitney
  • Black Girl You Are Atlas by RenĂ©e Watson
  • Legacy: Women Poets of the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes
  • Dark Testament: Blackout Poems by Crystal Simone Smith
  • Ink Knows No Borders: Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience edited by Patrice Vecchione & Alyssa Raymond
  • One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes 

Verse Novels for Tweens and Teens 

  • Call Me Athena: Girl from Detroit by Colby Cedar Smith
  • Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds
  • Red, White, and Whole by Ranjani LaRocca
  • Me (Moth) by Amber McBride
  • Enter the Body by Joy McCullough
  • The Watch that Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic by Allan Wolf
  • The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep: Voices from the Donner Party by Allan Wolf
  • Bull by David Elliott
  • Voices: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc by David Elliott
  • The Seventh Raven by David Elliott 

Nonfiction in Verse for Tweens and Teens 

  • Ordinary Hazards: A Memoir by Nikki Grimes
  • A Long Time Coming: A Lyrical Biography of Race in America from Ona Judge to Barack Obama by Ray Anthony Shepard
  • Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson
  • Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
  • Stone Mirrors: The Sculpture and Silence of Edmonia Lewis by Jeannine Atkins 

Resources 

Links to My Reviews 


Friday, April 24, 2026

NPM Day 24: Poetry Tag

Poetry Tag was created by Sylvia Vardell as a fun game on her blog during April 2010. You can read all about it here. In the March 2011 issue of Book Links, she shared the idea with teachers and librarians in her Everyday Poetry column seen below. I was inspired to create my own poetry tag games. I've shared them with students and I would really like to create more games with the kids, but I'd need more time and lots of poetry books to look through. 

You could even write poems based on the idea of connections between poems. Start with a poem you wrote or just one you like a lot and respond to it. Here's one of the Poetry Tag games I created way back in 2012. I'm still sharing it with kids and teens to this day. 

  • “Nobody’s Pet” from A Whiff of Pine, A Hint of Skunk by Deborah Ruddell
  • “My Dog May Be a Genius” from My Dog May Be a Genius by Jack Prelutsky (p.7)
  • “The Spellican” from I’ve Lost My Hippopotamus by Jack Prelutsky (p. 126)
  • “Sea Speak” from A Rumpus of Rhymes by Bobbi Katz
  • “Wanda’s Swimsuit” from Button Up! Wrinkled Rhymes by Alice Schertle (p. 20)
  • “Sharks” from Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom by Marilyn Singer
  • “The Detested Radishark” from Scranimals by Jack Prelutsky (p. 29)
  • “Red Radish, Green Garnish” from The Bookworm’s Feast by J. Patrick Lewis

Resources 

Links to my Reviews


Thursday, April 23, 2026

NPM Day 23: Writing Poetry

There are many books about writing poetry written specifically for children and teens. Teens might also look at poetry writing books written for adults. Both age groups might also benefit from looking at general creative writing books. One of my favorite books is Panning for Gold in the Kitchen Sink: Everyday Creative Writing by Michael C. Smith and Suzanne Greenberg. What follows is just a selection of the books available for children and teens interested in writing poetry. 

  • A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms selected by Paul B. Janeczko
  • Picture Yourself Writing Poetry: Using Photos to Inspire Writing by Laura Purdie Salas
  • Poetry Matters: Writing a Poem from the Inside Out by Ralph Fletcher
  • How to Write Haiku and Other Short Poems by Paul Janeczko
  • Pick a Picture, Write a Poem! By Kristen McCurry
  • Immersed in Verse: An Informative, Slightly Irreverent, & Totally Tremendous Guide to Living the Poetic Life by Allan Wolf
  • Write Your Own Haiku for Kids: See the World through “Haiku Eyes” by Patricia Donegan
  • Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem by Jack Prelutsky
  • What Is Poetry? The Essential Guide to Reading and Writing Poems by Michel Rosen
  • How to Write Poetry by Paul B. Janeczko
  • The Death of a Hat: A Brief History of Poetry in 50 Objects selected by Paul B. Janeczko
  • My Shouting, Shattered, Whispering Voice: A Guide to Writing Poetry & Speaking Your Truth by Patrice Vecchione
  • Write Your Own Poems by Jerome Martin

Resources 

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

NPM Day 22: Invitation to Create - Making, Crafting, Collecting, Listing

There are poetry collections for children about origami, making, crafting, collecting, and listing. All of these titles can inspire poetry writing. 

  • Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O'Connell George 
  • Things to Do by Elaine Magliaro 
  • With My Hands: Poems about Making Things by Amy Ludwig Vanderwater
  • Finding Treasure: A Collection of Collections by Michelle Schaub 

If you like the idea of list poems, don't miss Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems edited by Georgia Heard

Resources 

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

NPM Day 21: Invitation to Create - Illustrated Books

Wordless picture books, like paintings and other art, offer a wonderful opportunity to inspire poetry and other creative writing. 

I especially like David Wiesner's wordless books, Aaron Becker's Journey trilogy, and the art books by Amy and Greg Newbold. What poem will you write today? 

  • Journey by Aaron Becker
  • Quest by Aaron Becker
  • Return by Aaron Becker
  • Flotsam by David Wiesner
  • Tuesday by David Wiesner
  • Mr. Wuffles by David Wiesner
  • If Picasso Painted a Snowman by Amy and Greg Newbold
  • If da Vinci Painted a Dinosaur by Amy and Greg Newbold
  • If Monet Painted a Monster by Amy and Greg Newbold

Resources 

Links to My Reviews


Monday, April 20, 2026

NPM Day 20: Invitation to Create - Anagrams and Art


Reading poetry often leads to creating poetry. Over the next few days, I'll be sharing ways you and/or the kids and teens in your life might be inspired to create poetry. 

We'll start with anagrams. If you haven't read Lemonade and Other Poems Squeezed from a Single Word by Bob Raczka, do it now. The idea is brilliant and reminds me of those worksheets I got as a kid: How Many Words Can You Make Out of This Phrase? In his preface, Bob invites readers to try their hand at creating poems from one word. 

Art can definitely inspire poetry as seen in the two collections World Make Way: New Poems Inspired by Art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins and Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art edited by Jan GreenbergYou can find public domain images or open access art on a few websites. Here is a selection: 

Resources 

Links to My Reviews