Hook Your Kids on Poetry for World Poetry Day

Does the thought of reading antiquated love poetry fill your kids with dread? Let’s break down the poetry barrier with verses that are accessible and engaging. With LightSail’s incredible selection of poetry for kids, there’s a poem for every reader.

1. Modern Poems

If your students are worried that poetry is going to be dry and boring, start them with some of today’s latest anthologies. Recent publications are often packed with attention-grabbing layouts, colorful illustrations, and kid-friendly themes.

Don’t know where to start? Check out these poetry books:

• Dear Wandering Wildebeest: And Other Poems from the Water Hole by Irene Latham

• Dictionary for a Better World: Poems, Quotes, and Anecdotes from A to Z by Irene Latham and Charles Waters

• Eek, You Reek!: Poems about Animals that Stink, Stank, Stunk by Jane Yolen 

• Feeding the Flying Fanellis: And Other Poems from a Circus Chef by Kate Hosford

• Lion of the Sky: Haiku for all Seasons by Laura Purdie Salas

• A Spectacular Selection of Sea Critters: Concrete Poems by Betsy Franco

• Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, edited by Miranda Paul

If you’re looking for reading fluency activities, LightSail even offers audio versions of some popular volumes. Can I Touch Your Hair?: Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham and Charles Waters is available in a Follow & Listen (per Word) format that’s beneficial for literacy development.

2. Classic Poems

While newer poems may catch your children’s attention first, classic works by famous poets have a lot to offer, too.

Take a look at Edna St. Vincent Millay’s “Afternoon on a Hill.” The topic is approachable, and the lines are short and easy to grasp. In fact, struggling readers often find poetry’s brief phrases easier to tackle than long paragraphs. When it comes to reading tools for kindergarten, poetry’s rhyming words are another bonus!

Maybe a historical connection will be the spark that ignites your children’s love of poetry. The Poems of Emma Lazarus, Volume 1 includes “The New Colossus.” That’s the poem inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.

Or how about an anthology that seems to break all of the poetry rules? Older students may enjoy digging into Gertrude Stein’s Cubist style in Tender Buttons.

3. Poetry Videos

Text editions aren’t the only way for kids to meet great poets. Videos may be just the thing to hook your young readers.

In “Dr Maya Angelou, Poem,” children can listen to a snippet from a poetry legend. “Poetry Reading: Irene Latham & Charles Waters Read Poems” features pieces written with kids in mind. “How Emily Dickinson Writes a Poem” guides viewers through finding the meaning in classic poetry.

Finally, did you notice that all of these works were written by women, edited by women, or included a female collaborator? Your socially conscious kids may jump right on board with the idea of reading powerful pieces from female creators. And since World Poetry Day (March 21) falls within Women’s History Month, it’s a perfect fit!