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By: Vivian Hackney

Table of Contents Introduction---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 3 Miss! Sue is Kissing-------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 5 Sweets for My Sweet-----------------------------------------------------------------------Page 6 Two Friends---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 7 Cat Kisses------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 8 Jam on Toast--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 9 Bumble Bee---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 10 Bedtime Snacks----------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 11 I love the Sea-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 12 April Rain Song----------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 13 Jittery Jim-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 14 There Was an Old Man with a Beard-------------------------------------------------Page 15 The Pizza-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 16 My Name is--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 17 Wiggly Giggles---------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 18 Rhinos Purple Hippos Green----------------------------------------------------------Page 19 Bananananananana-------------------------------------------------------------------Page 20 Lumps-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 21 The Yak-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 22 Bibliography----------------------------------------------------------------------------Page 23

Introduction Many different elements go into a good poem such as rhyming and good rhythm but there are other elements that separate a good poem from a great one. The first element is that a poem needs to be relatable. Some poems are whimsical and are more on a fantasy level but children as well as adults want to read pieces that can be related to their lives specifically. An example would be something as simple as a piece of the poem or literature that sticks out to them because they can relate to it. The second quality is the poem has to be fun to read. Nothing is worse than reading a poem that you cant find the rhythm or scheme to. Some haikus for example dont have much rhythm but they are short enough that it isnt really a problem and its too short to get bored with. A poem with beat is great for children who love to put a clap or a snap with it while they read. You can do a lot with poems that have rhythm in a younger classroom. The third quality is that a good poem should have strong imagery. Just explaining a sky as being blue is boring and readers already know that the sky is blue. Playing around with words and using great description to bring words to life is a great way to have a strong and effective poem. The fourth quality is that a good poem should make the reader feel something. Whether it is a laugh or a cry or just makes the readers heart feel something, then it is an effective poem. I believe poems should be written to reach something in each reader. The fifth quality is that poems should be able to paint a picture for the reader. That doesnt mean it has to be a poem about scenery or colors but every poem should be written well enough where the reader is able to see it

4 clearly and understand what the writer is trying to say. The last quality that makes a good poem is that it needs to be written clearly and with appropriate language. Kids poems should have words and understandings that a child can relate to. More mature poems should have older language and talk with a more mature voice. In Wiggly Giggles by Stacy Jo Crossen and Natalie Anne Covell, the humor of this poem and choice of words is exceptional. As a reader, I can relate to having the giggles in class and not being able to get rid of them. Also, I can visualize the main character. He is clearly in school and is laughing at Mary who is hiccupping and trying to contain his laughter. This poem also rhymes which is fun for kids to read as well as adults. It gives it a rhythm and it makes this poem that much more fun.

Miss! Sue is Kissing Miss! Sue is kissing the tadpoles again. She is, Miss. I did, I asked her. She said something about catching him young. Getting one her own age. I dont know, Miss. She keeps whispering, Prince, Prince. Isnt that a dogs name, Miss? Michael Harrison

Sweets for My Sweet Not only is she toffee-nosed But she is bubblegum-mouthed candyfloss-haired polomint-eared chocolate-button-bellied smartie-pantsed and liquorice allsorts of things In fact, she is very, very sweet. Roger McGough

Two Friends lydia and shirley have two pierced ears and two bare ones five pigtails two pairs of sneakers two berets two smiles one necklace one bracelet lots of stripes and one good friendship. Nikki Giovanni

Cat Kisses Sandpaper kisses On a cheek or a chin That is the way For a day to begin! Sandpaper kisses A cuddle, a purr. I have an alarm clock Covered with fur. Bobbi Katz

Jam on Toast Why is strawberry jam so red? Why is toast so brown? Why when I drop it on the floor Is it always jam side down? Gareth Owen

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Bumble Bee Black and yellow Little fur bee Buzzing away In the timothy Drowsy Browsy Lump of a bee Rumbly Tumbly Bumbly bee. Where are you taking Your golden plunder Humming along Like a baby thunder? Over the clover And over the hay Then over the apple trees Zoom away. Margaret Wise Brown

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Bedtime Snacks Good: Cookies and one glass of milk for two dunkers --- me and my dad. Better: Popcorn, a video, and sleeping bags stuffed with friends. Best: Blanket pulled up over my head --book, flashlight, and chocolate bar. Linda Sue Park

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I LOVE THE SEA I love the sea! the rippling sea, The ebbing, smiling, sunlit sea, Hiding a world of mystery, Like you and me! I love the sea! the placid sea, The sleeping, glassy, silent sea, Dreaming on long Eternity, Like you and me! I love the sea! the heaving sea, The mighty, moontost, angry sea, Fretting from bondage to be free Like you and me! Alfred M. Cruikshank

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April Rain Song Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby. The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk. The rain makes running pools in the gutter. The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof at night--And I love the rain. Langston Hughes

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Jittery Jim Theres room in the bus For the two of us, But not for Jittery Jim. He has a train And a rocket plane, He has a seal That can bark and swim, And a centipede With wiggly legs, And an ostrich Sitting on ostrich eggs! And crawfish Floating in oily kegs! Theres room in the bus For the two of us, But well shut the door on him! William Jay Smith

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There Was an Old Man with a Beard There was an Old Man with a beard, Who said, It is just as I feared!--Two Owls and a Hen, four Larks and a Wren, Have all built their nests in my beard! Edward Lear

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The Pizza Look at itsy-bitsy Mitzi! See her figure slim and ritzy! She eatsa Pizza! Greedy Mitzi! She no longer itsy-bitsy! Odgen Nash

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My Name is. . . My name is Sluggery-wuggery My name is Worms-for-tea My name is Swallow-the-table-leg My name is Drink-the-Sea. My name is I-eat-saucepans My name is I-like-snails My name is Grand-piano-George My name is I-ride-whales. My name is Jump-the-chimney My name is Bite-my-knee My name is Jiggery-pokery And Riddle-me-ree, and ME. Pauline Clarke

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Wiggly Giggles Ive got the wiggly-wiggles today, And I just cant sit still. My teacher says shell have to find A stop-me-wiggle pill. Ive got the giggly-giggles today; I couldnt tell you why. But if Mary hiccups one more time Ill giggle til I cry. Ive got to stamp my wiggles out And hold my giggles in, Cause wiggling makes me giggle And gigglers never win. Stacy Jo Crossen and Natalie Anne Covell

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Rhinos Purple, Hippos Green My sister says I shouldnt color Rhinos purple, Hippos green. She says I shouldnt be so stupid; Those are things Shes never seen. I will color What I want to--Rhinos purple, Hippos green. Michael Patrick Hearn

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Bananananananana I thought Id win the spelling bee And get right to the top, But I started to spell banana, And I didnt know where to stop. William Cole

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Lumps Humps are lumps and so are mumps. Bumps make lumps on heads. Mushrooms grow in clumps of lumps--on clumps of stumps, in woods and dumps. Springs spring lumps in beds. Mosquito bites make itchy lumps. Frogs on logs make twitchy lumps. Judith Thurman

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The Yak Yickity-yackity, yickity-yack, the yak has a scriffily, scraffily back; some yaks are brown yaks and some yaks are black, yickity-yackity, yickity-yak. Sniggildy-snaggildy, sniggildy-snag, the yak is all covered with shiggildy-shag; he walks with a ziggildy-zaggildy zag, sniggildy-snaggildy, sniggildy-snag. Yickity-yackity, yickity-yack, the yak has a scriffily, scraffily back; some yaks are brown yaks and some yaks are black, yickity-yackity, yickity-yak. Jack Prelutsky

23 Bibliography

Hollyer, Belinda. She's All That: Poems About Girls. N.p.: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. Print.

Yolen, Jane, Andrew Peters, and Polly Dunbar. Here's a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2007. Print.

Park, Linda Sue., and Istvan Banyai. Tap Dancing on the Roof: Sijo (poems). New York: Clarion, 2007. Print.

Van, Wright Cornelius, Ying-Hwa Hu, and Debby Slier. Make a Joyful Sound: Poems for Children by African-American Poets. New York: Checkerboard, 1991. Print.

Prelutsky, Jack, and Arnold Lobel. The Random House Book of Poetry for Children. New York, NY: Random House, 1983. Print.