Book Love: The Bill Martin Jr Big Book of Poetry

Title: The Big Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry

Editors: Bill Martin Jr. and Michael R. Sampson

Illustrators include: Ashley Bryan, Lois Ehlert, Steven Kellog, and more

Why I Love this Book: First of all, I love poetry! Poetry is a great tool for developing literacy skills with young children as they listen to and work with the rhythms and rhymes in the text.This collection of poems is full of words and colors that can capture imagination and inspire young readers and writers. The selection of poems is quite broad, and features works from Robert Frost to Emily Dickinson to Kaliki to Jack Prelutsky, and even includes 5 poems by Bill Martin Jr. Each poem is brought to life with fun and beautiful illustrations that come from a variety of talented artists. The poems are organized into chapters that cover different topics such as people, animals, school, feelings, food and Mother Goose nursery rhymes.  This is a great resource for children of all ages- at home or in the classroom! 

Book Love: Earthdance

Title: Earthdance

Author: Joanne Ryder

Illustrator: Norman Gorbaty

Why I Love This Book: This book explores the Earth in a unique and simple way, with poetic text that inspires imagination and flows beautifully through each page. It celebrates the wonder and beauty of both living and non-living things on the Earth. The illustrations are bright, colorful and creative. I was introduced to this book while student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom. They used the book as inspiration for a beautiful dance that they performed about the Earth. It could easily be used with K-3 students. 

*Watch for a Book Love post every week, featuring a book or two that we love.