2009 NCTE Notable Poetry Books for Children

Just two weeks ago at the NCTE Annual Convention in Orlando, the NCTE Excellence in Poetry Committee--of which I am a member--presented a session titled Poetry for Children and Teachers at Its Best: The 2009 Notable Poetry Titles. We read from and shared impressions of our favorite children's poetry books of last year, offered suggestions for incorporating poetry in the classroom, and talked about some of the best new titles of 2010. We even did some choral reading with the audience.

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Members of the NCTE Excellence in Poetry Committee: Barbara Ward (Chair), Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Jonda McNair Mary Napoli, Terrell Young, and Elaine Magliaro

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Here are our 20 Notable Poetry Books of 2009. I have provided links to review of the books.

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Poetry Book Reviews by Wild Rose Reader

Messing Around on the Monkey Bars and Other School Poems in Two Voices
Written by Betsy Franco
Illustrated by Jessie Hartland


The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination
Selected by Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston

City I Love
Written by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Illustrated by Marcellus Hall

Incredible Inventions
Edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins
Illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach


The Cuckoo’s Haiku and Other Birding Poems
Written by Michael J. Rosen
Illustrated by Stan Fellows

Button Up! Wrinkled Rhymes
Written by Alice Schertle
Illustrated by Petra Mathers

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors
Written by Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

Reviews by Other Bloggers and Journal Reviewers

Orangutan Tongs
Written & illustrated by Jon Agee
Review from School Library Journal

Dinothesaurus: Prehistoric Poems and Paintings
Written & illustrated by Douglas Florian
Review by Kirkus

A Curious Collection of Cats
Written by Betsy Franco
Illustrated by Michael Wertz
Review by Elizabeth Bird of A Fuse #8 Production

African Acrostics: A Word in Edgeways
Written by Avis Harley
Photographs by Deborah Noyes
Review by Tricia Stohr-Hunt of The Miss Rumphius Effect

Falling Down the Page: A Book of List Poems
Edited by Georgia Heard
Review by Esme Raji Codell of the PlanetEsme Plan

My People
Written by Langston Hughes
Illustrated by Charles R. Smith Jr.
Review from Through the Looking Glass Book Reviews

A Foot in the Mouth
Selected by Paul B. Janeczko
Illustrated by Chris Raschka
Review by Kristi Elle Jemtegaard for Parents’ Choice

The Monsterologist: A Memoir in Rhyme
Ghostwritten by Bobbi Katz
Illustrated by Adam McCauley
Review by Kelly Fineman of Writing and Ruminating


Spot the Plot: A Riddle Book of Book Riddles
Written by J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrated by Lynn Munsiger
Review by Tricia Stohr-Hunt of The Miss Rumphius Effect

The Underwear Salesman and Other Jobs for Better or Verse
Written by J. Patrick Lewis
Illustrations by Serge Bloch
Review by Sylvia Vardell of Poetry for Children


Sweethearts of Rhythm: The Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World
Written by Marilyn Nelson
Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
Review by Monica Edinger of Educating Alice



A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems
Written by Deborah Ruddell
Illustrated by Joan Rankin
Review by Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA -- School Library Journal, 04/08/2009


Steady Hands: Poems about Work
Written by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
Illustrated by Megan Halsey and Sean Addy
Review by Sylvia Vardell of Poetry for Children

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Tricia has the Poetry Friday Roundup at The Miss Rumphius Effect.