POET TREE BLOOMS IN YOUTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Budding young poets and poetry lovers will soon
have their own place to nest in the Youth Services Department. The
opening of the library’s new Poet Tree Corner will coincide with
Children’s Poetry Week, April 14-20. It is the generous gift of
Des Plaines residents Douglas and Maxine Hubbard to honor the
memory of their daughter, Rebecca May Hubbard.
Douglas (l) and Maxine Hubbard (r)
with Library Administrator Sandra Norlin.
The Poet Tree Corner features a tree built out
from the northeast corner of the second floor. Inside, there is
room for a child to sit and read or write. The area also includes
an interactive magnetic poetry board and a stage with levels for
performing or reading. All are set against a backdrop of river and
sky. In addition, the children’s poetry books have been
relocated to the Poet Tree Corner.
As part of the opening celebration, Poetry Alive!
will perform at the library twice on Saturday, April 13. Programs
are at 10 a.m. for grades 6-8, and 2 p.m. for grades K-5. The
first activity scheduled in the Poet Tree Corner is a Poetry Slam
for children in grades K-8 on Monday, April 15 at 7 p.m. Children
are invited to participate in all activities. Phone Youth Services
at 847-376-2839 for details.
GIVE A CHILD THE GIFT OF POETRY
|
by Sara
McLaughlin |
Children are natural poets. They have an innate
gift for rhyme and rhythm. Words delight them. Repetition enchants
them. The toddler who loves Mother Goose nursery rhymes can
grow into the child who appreciates more sophisticated poetry.
Helping a child discover the enchantment of poetry is a gift that
will last a lifetime.
One easy way is through a poetry picture book, or
a picture book that contains a single poem. Some of my favorites
include Cats Sleep Anywhere, by Eleanor Farjeon; Hush: A
Thai Lullaby, by Minfong Ho; and The Owl and the Pussycat,
by Edward Lear (the edition featuring Jan Brett’s illustrations
includes a parallel love story between two fish beneath the
"beautiful pea-green boat" – a delightful detail!).
A Small Child’s Book of Cozy Poems,
illustrated by Cyndy Szekeres, contains a selection of poems by
various poets and is perfect for quietly sharing with your little
one on your lap. Jane Dyer’s Animal Crackers: A Delectable
Collection of Pictures, Poems, and Lullabies for the Very Young
offers a wider selection that will appeal to toddlers and
preschoolers equally. Other
recommended anthologies include Talking Like the Rain: A First
Book of Poems, selected by X. J. Kennedy and Dorothy M.
Kennedy, and The 20th Century Children’s Poetry
Treasury, selected by Jack Prelutsky. These are books that
will grow with your child and can be dipped into time and time
again.
While all poems beg to be read aloud, there are
some that almost demand it. Bobbi Katz’s A Rumpus of Rhymes:
A Book of Noisy Poems will win over any child with its
exuberant onomatopoeia (the "glubita, glubita, glubita"
of a washing machine, for example). And finally, bilingual poetry
books offer a marvelous opportunity to celebrate the sound and
feel of words on our tongues. Two special favorites are Francisco
X. Alarcón’s From the Bellybutton of the Moon/Del ombligo de
la luna and Pat Mora’s Delicious Hullabaloo/Pachanga
deliciosa.
| These books and many more are
waiting for you and your child on our poetry shelves. You’ll
find funny poems and sad poems, short poems and long
poems, poems that rhyme and poems that don’t – all of
them wonderful "gifts" waiting to be shared! |
 Children’s
Librarian Sara McLaughlin introduces young patrons to the
joys of poetry.
|
CELEBRATE @ YOUR
LIBRARY
DURING APRIL
1-30, National Poetry Month
14-20, National Library Week
14-20, Children’s Poetry Week
15, Check It Out Yourself Day
