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. 

• "Gopher in the Garden" by Jack Prelutsky from Zoo Doings
• "I Planted a Whistle" by Jack Prelutsky from I've Lost My Hippopotamus 

• "I Made My Dog a Valentine" by Jack Prelutsky from It's Valentine's Day 
• "Goodnight Mummy" by Roger Stevens from Switching on the Moon: A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems collected by Jane Yolen & Andrew Fusek Peters 
• "I Made Myself a Snowball" by Shel Silverstein from Falling Up
• "Who Is Tapping At My Window?" by A. G. Deming from A Child's Book of Poems by Gyo Fujikawa 

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 

• Jack Prelutsky's website
• Teaching guide to The World of Jack Prelutsky on the publisher's website
• Activity guide to Celebrate National Poetry Month with Jack Prelutsky on the publisher's website
• Jack Prelusky Interview on the publisher's website
• Shel Silverstein's website (Be sure to check out the Learning Resources tab!)

Links to My Reviews 

• I've Lost My Hippopotamus 

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: 

• Book Activities and Educators Guide for If This Bird Had Pockets on the publisher's website
• David Elliott's website
• Teacher's guide to David Elliott's poetry series on the publisher's website
• Storytime by Bridget Site

Links to My Reviews

• If This Bird Had Pockets: A Poem in Your Pocket Day Celebration
• Delicious! Poems Celebrating Street Food Around the World
• In the Wild
• On the Farm
• The Popcorn Astronauts and Other Biteable Rhymes

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 

• What's the Weather Inside? 
• Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast and Other Tasty Poems
• I've Lost My Hippopotamus 
• My Dog May Be a Genius
• National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry edited by J. Patrick Lewis
• National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry edited by J. Patrick Lewis

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 

• Jack Prelutsky's website
• Teaching guide to The World of Jack Prelutsky on the publisher's website
• Activity guide to Celebrate National Poetry Month with Jack Prelutsky on the publisher's website
• Jack Prelusky Interview on the publisher's website
• Shel Silverstein's website (Be sure to check out the Learning Resources tab!)
• Chris Harris's website
• Educator's guide for I'm Just No Good at Rhyming on the publisher's website
• Storytime kit for I'm Just No Good at Rhyming on the publisher's website
• Teaching Tips for My Head Has a Bellyache on the publisher's website
• Support materials for National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry on RIF Literacy Central
• Lesson plan for National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry by NG School Publishing via TeachingBooks
• Find a fun way to use National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry on the ALSC Blog by Paige Bentley-Flannery

Links to My Reviews

Jack Prelutsky

• Camille Saint-Saens's The Carnival of the Animals with New Verses
• Hard-Boiled Bugs for Breakfast and Other Tasty Poems
• If Not for the Cat
• I've Lost My Hippopotamus 
• My Dog May Be a Genius
• Pizza, Pigs, Poetry: How to Write a Poem

NG Poetry Collections

• National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry edited by J. Patrick Lewis
• National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry edited by J. Patrick Lewis

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