Poetry Centers Book List

Hello Teachers,

I've been busy collecting some poems for kindergarten, first, and second grade students to read in Poetry Centers.  You may have some favorites too.  Share them with us!  I searched for poems that help kids understand the following:

• Poets can use honest language to create strong images.
• Poets can use interesting patterns on the page to create sound and rhythm.
• Poets can write about big feelings they have and make their readers feel big feelings.

We sorted some of the poems into three simple categories so kids could read poems around topics first and then later they could perhaps sort them like writers, noticing some of the author's craft. 
 

Poems about Different Kinds of Animals:

Turtle by Charlie Reed

Cow by Valerie Worth

Goldfish by Valerie Worth

Fish by Mary Ann Hoberman

Cat in the Dark by John Agard

Cat Kisses by  Bobbie Katz

Poems about Nature:

March by Elizabeth Coatsworth

Pebbles by Valerie Worth

Sky by Grace Nichols

From My Window by Zaro Weil

Mermaid’s Lullaby by Jane Yolen

The Wind by Stanley Cook

Rainy Day by William Wise

Spring by Hugo Majer

Silence by Eve Merriam

SSSH by Betsy Hearne

Sunrise by Frank Asch

Autumn Leaves by Leland B. Jacobs

Go Wind by Lilian Moore

Until I Saw the Sea by Lilian Moore

Poems About Insects:

Fireflies by Zaro Weil

Clickbeetle by Mary Ann Hoberman

Ants Live Here by Lilian Moore

The Caterpillar by Christina Rossetti

Crickets by Valerie Worth

If You Catch a Butterfly by Lilian Moore

Hey Bug by Lilian Moore

 

Many of the poems above are favorites of children's author Georgia Heard and mentioned in her professional resources as well.  Her resources for supporting kids as the read poetry include Climb Inside a Poem and Awakening the Heart.  

You will also want to have a collection of poetry anthologies on hand in your classrooms.  Some Georgia's anthologies as well as other favorite anthologies are listed below. 

Stella Unleashed by Linda Ashman and Paul Meisel

Once I Ate a Pie by Patricia Maclachlan and Emily Maclachlan Charest

Creatures of Earth, Sea, and Sky by Georgia Heard

Animal Poems by Valerie Worth

All the Small Poems and Fourteen More by Valerie Worth

The Llama Who Had No Pajama: 100 Favorite Poems by Mary Ann Hoberman

Climb Inside a Poem (Big Book) by Georgia Heard

Falling Down The Page: A Book of List Poems by Georgia Heard

Honey I Love and Other Love Poems by Eloise Greenfield

I have plans to put up more charts, video, and mentor text to support poetry reading and writing this month.  Looking forward to sharing more with all of you!