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 

• David Elliott's website
• Teacher's guide to David Elliott's poetry series on the publisher's website
• Educator's guide to Ice: Poems about Polar Life on the publisher's website 
• Activities for Windsongs: Poems about Weather from RIF Literacy Central
• Teacher's notes and activity kit for A First Book of Animals from the UK publisher's website
• Activities for Song of the Wild: A First Book of Animals from RIF Literacy Central

Links to My Reviews

David Elliott

• In the Sea
• In the Wild
• In the Woods
• On the Farm
• On the Wing
• In the Past

Douglas Florian 

• Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings
• Ice: Poems about Polar Life
• Mammalabila
• Poetrees   
• UnBEElievables: Honeybee Poems & Paintings
• Friends and Foes: Poems About Us All
• Zoobilations! Animal Poems and Paintings

Nicola Davies 

• Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature
• Song of the Wild: A First Book of Animals

NPM Day 4: Nursery Rhymes

Nursery Rhymes are often children's first exposure to poetry. I don't ever remember a time when I didn't know the traditional nursery rhymes. Reading Rockets says the following: "There’s a reason we learn nursery rhymes as young children. They help us develop an ear for our language. Rhyme and rhythm highlight the sounds and syllables in words. And understanding sounds and syllables helps kids learn to read!" 

There are collections of the traditional rhymes with beautiful illustrations.  

• Here Comes Mother Goose collected by Iona Opie and illustrated by Rosemary Wells
• Tomie dePaola's Mother Goose
• To Market, To Market by Anne Miranda
• The Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose 
• Mother Goose: Numbers on the Loose by Leo and Diane Dillon 

There are new and innovative collections. 

• The Real Dada Mother Goose by Jon Sciescka 
• Mother Goose of Pudding Lane by Chris Raschka
• Motor Goose: Rhymes that Go! by Rebecca Colby 
• Maybe Mother Goose by Esmé Raji Codell
• Grumbles from the Town: Mother Goose Voices with a Twist by Jane Yolen and Rebecca Kai Dotlich 
• La Madre Goose by Susan Middleton Elya
• You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Mother Goose Tales to Read Together by Mary Ann Hoberman 

And, of course, there are some lovely picture books to pair the nursery rhymes with 

• Interrupting Chicken: Cookies for Breakfast by David Ezra Stein
• The Great Nursery Rhyme Disaster by David Conway 
• Not Last Night But the Night Before by Colin McNaughton 
• Mother Goose’s Pajama Party by Danna Smith

Resources

• Activity kid and teacher's guide for The Real Dada Mother Goose on the publisher's website
• Teacher's guide for Motor Goose on the author's website
• Book extras for La Madre Goose on the illustrator's website
• Teacher's guide for Interrupting Chicken: Cookies for Breakfast on the publisher's website
• Series activity kit for Interrupting Chicken on the publisher's website
• Activity guide for Mother Goose’s Pajama Party on the author's website

Links to My Reviews

• Interrupting Chicken: Cookies for Breakfast
• Mother Goose of Pudding Lane
• Maybe Mother Goose by Esmé Raji Codell

NPM Day 3: Poetry Award Winners

There are quite a few awards for poetry written for children and teens. These award winning poets and books also make a good place to start if you're new to sharing or reading poetry to children. 

National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Poetry Award

Charles R. Smith, Jr. is the 2025 recipient of this award. His most recent books include World Soccer Kings, Black Diamond Kings: Heroes of Negro League Baseball, and Hoop Queens 2. Check out the website for the award here. Don't miss NCTE's Notable Children's Poetry Books and Verse Novels List also on the website below the award information. 

Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award

The Poet and the Bees: A Story of the Seasons Sylvia Plath Kept Bees by Amy Novesky is the 2026 Award Winner. All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson is the 2026 Honor Book. Check out the website for the award here. 

Claudia Lewis Award

Awarded by the Bank Street College of Education, the Claudia Lewis Award gives out two awards each year, one for older readers and one for younger readers. The Award Winner for older readers in 2026 is The Poetry of Car Mechanics by Heidi E. Y. Stemple. The Award Winner for younger readers in 2026 is For a Girl Becoming by Joy Harjo. Check out the website for the award here. 

Children's and Young Adult Book Lovers' Literary Awards (Cybils Awards)

Cybils give two awards for poetry, one for a novel in verse and one for a poetry collection. Cybils are currently taking a break, but the 2024 Novel in Verse Winner was Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi and the 2024 Poetry Collection Award Winner was Black Girl You Are Atlas by Renée Watson. Check out the website for Cybils here. 

Resources

• Charles R. Smith, Jr.'s website
• Discussion guide for Black Diamond Kings: Heroes of Negro League Baseball on the publisher's website
• Amy Novesky's website
• Renée Watson's website
• Discussion guide for All the Blues in the Sky on the author's website
• Heidi E. Y. Stemple's website
• Joy Harjo's website
• Shifa Saltagi Safadi's website
• Book activities for Kareem Between on the author's website
• Teacher's guide for Black Girl You Are Atlas on the publisher's website

NPM Day 2: Young People's Poet Laureate

Did you know there was a Young People's Poet Laureate? There's been one since 2006. 

From the official website, here's a description of the program: "Appointed every two years, the title of Young People’s Poet Laureate (YPPL) is awarded to a poet in recognition of a career devoted to writing exceptional poetry for young readers while working to instill a lifelong love of poetry among developing readers. This two-year appointment comes with a $25,000 annual stipend and additional programmatic funding in support of a project that promotes poetry to young people and their families, teachers, and librarians."

Here's a list of the of the Young People's Poet Laureates to date: 

• Carole Boston Weatherford (2024-2026): During her time as YPPL, Weatherford has published numerous books including Outspoken: Paul Robeson, Ahead of His Time: A One-Man Show.  
• Elizabeth Acevedo (2022-2024): During her time as YPPL, Acevedo published Inheritance: A Visual Poem. 
  
• Naomi Shihab Nye (2019-2022): During her time as YPPL, Nye published Everything Comes Next: Collected and New Poems and Cast Away: Poems of Our Time.  

• Margarita Engle (2017-2019): During her time as YPPL, Engle published Miguel's Brave Knight: Young Cervantes and his Dream of Don Quixote as well as other titles. 
• Jacqueline Woodson (2015-2017): During her time as YPPL, Woodson published her memoir in verse Brown Girl Dreaming. 

• Kenn Nesbitt (2013-2015): During his time as YPPL, Nesbitt co-authored Bigfoot Is Missing with J. Patrick Lewis. 
• J. Patrick Lewis (2011-2013): During his time as YPPL, Lewis edited The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry and published 14 other books. 
• Mary Ann Hoberman (2008-2011): During her time as YPPL, Hoberman co-edited The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Science, Nature, and Imagination with Linda Winston. 
• Jack Prelutsky (2006-2008): During his time as YPPL, Prelutsky published 11 books. Of note are Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other Poems, My Dog May Be a Genius, and Pizza, Pigs, and Poetry: How to Write a Poem.

Books written by these poets or recommended by these poets are an excellent place to start if you're new to poetry. In writing this post, I discovered several titles I need to add to my TBR pile. 

Resources 

• Carole Boston Weatherford's website
• Teacher's guide for Outspoken: Paul Robeson, Ahead of His Time: A One-Man Show on the publisher's website
• Elizabeth Acevedo's website
• Reading guide for Cast Away: Poems of Our Time on the publisher's website
• Teacher's guide, postcard, and poster for Miguel's Brave Knight: Young Cervantes and his Dream of Don Quixote on the publisher's website
• Teacher's guide for Brown Girl Dreaming on the publisher's website
• Jacqueline Woodson's website
• Kenn Nesbitt's Poetry4Kids website
• Teacher's guide for Bigfoot Is Missing on the publisher's website

Links to My Reviews: 

• Miguel's Brave Knight: Young Cervantes and his Dream of Don Quixote
• The National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry
• My Dog May Be a Genius

NPM Day 1: Why Poetry?

Why should you share poetry with children specifically? I believe middle school and high school age students don't like poetry because they've been made to analyze poetry in depth looking for a hidden meaning in their ELA classes. 

For preschool and elementary age children, poetry is fun. The poems are often humorous and help expand the children's vocabularies and imaginations. Reading poetry written for children is often eye-opening for adults. Poetry doesn't have to rhyme or have a deeper meaning. 

"How to Build a Poem" by Charles Ghinga from The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How To Poems selected by Paul B. Janeczko is the perfect introduction to poetry for children. I'll share it below.  

How to Build a Poem by Charles Ghinga 

Let’s build a poem 

made of rhyme 

with words like ladders 

we can climb, 

with words that like 

to take their time, 

words that hammer, 

words that nail, 

words that saw, 

words that sail, 

words that whisper, 

words that wail, 

words that open 

window         door, 

words that sing, 

words that soar, 

words that leave us 

wanting more. 

This quote from Douglas Florian in I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins also shows how wonderful poetry can be: 

"To define poetry is like defining love:

A poem is a glimpse. 

A poem is a glimmer. 

Something that makes your whole soul shimmer. 

A poem is a taste. 

A poem is a sip. 

Something that makes your whole heart flip." 

From the preface of Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth, Alexander says this: "Enjoy the poems. We hope to use them as stepping-stone to wonder, leading you to write, to read the works of poets being celebrated in this book, to seek out more about their lives and their work, or to simply read and explore more poetry. At the very least, maybe you can memorize one or two. We wonder how you will wonder." 

I've learned from my own experience that reading and writing poetry leads to more. I've challenged myself to write a poem every day in April. I'll probably read some poetry, too. I have a backlog of books to review in my office. How are you going to celebrate National Poetry Month? 

Resources 

• Find a teacher's guide and a poetry toolkit on the publisher's website for I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage compiled by Lee Bennett Hopkins. 
• Find a teacher's guide on the publisher's website for Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander with Chris Colderley and Marjory Wentworth. 
• Website for National Poetry Month

Links to my reviews: 

• The Proper Way to Meet a Hedgehog and Other How To Poems
• I Remember: Poems and Pictures of Heritage
• Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets

National Poetry Month 2026

National Poetry Month begins tomorrow. 2026 marks the 30th anniversary of National Poetry Month. Find out more at the official website. 

Poetry is one of my favorite things. I love reading poetry, writing poetry, and sharing poetry with children and teens in my libraries. 

To celebrate National Poetry Month on What Is Bridget Reading?, I'll be posting everyday about ways you can share poetry with children and teens. I originally created a presentation for a college level Literature for Children and Youth class where I was a guest speaker for a few semesters. That opportunity ended and rather than just let my presentation gather dust, I'm turning it into content for my blog. 

I hope you enjoy my posts in April and that you are inspired to share more poetry with the children you interact with. 

Winter Wonderland Party

I hosted this event in January, but you could also do it in December or February. 

We read a few wintry books: Fox Versus Winter by Corey R. Tabor, Out Cold by Ryan T. Higgins, and Cold Turkey by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Kirsti Call. 

We had a snowball fight with fake snowballs. I got them from Amazon. 

We built snowmen with Play-Doh and accessories from Amazon. 

We went ice skating indoors using wax paper as skates on the carpet. 

We went on a Winter Animals Scavenger Hunt. I used a free clipart set from Teachers Pay Teachers. Find it here. 

I sent the kids home with plenty of activities: 

• I Spy Snowmen (Paper Trail Design)
• Coloring Page from Out Cold (Publisher's Website)
• Spiral Snowman Craft (krokotak)
• Winter Bear Coloring Page (krokotak)
• Recipes for snow dough, white play dough, and salt dough. The first two are from Imagination Tree (my favorite source for play dough recipes) and the last is from Unsophisticook.