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Poetry for Children

with Robert Schechter

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Moon

 

The moon’s round face

Through my window came peeping

On a star-sprinkled night

When I wasn’t sleeping,

It looked lean and hungry

So maybe it might

Like a midnight snack—

Just a little bite.

I said, “Moon, how about

Some mouse a la mode,

A delicious sandwich

Of hot roast toad?

A bottle of ice cold

Popcorn pop?

A bunch of baked beans

And a big lamb chop

With sauerkraut on it

And plenty of wool?”

“No thanks,” said the Moon,

“Can’t eat, I’m full.”

 

 

X. J. Kennedy’s latest collection of poems is That Swing (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018). His textbook An Introduction To Poetry (co-authored with Dana Gioia) has now been used by more than eight million college and high school honors students.

My iPhone Did My Homework

 

My iPhone did my homework.

I simply talked to Siri.

I read her all the problems

and she answered every query.

I asked her, “What is five times twelve?”

She answered, “Allentown.”

Her answer seemed suspicious

but I shrugged and wrote it down.

I asked her, “Who’s the President

or leader of Peru?”

She answered, “Forty seven,”

so I wrote that one down too.

I asked her ten more questions,

and she answered every one.

Her answers seemed bizarre

but I was glad to have it done.

It seems that Siri’s not too smart,

or maybe slightly deaf.

I turned my homework in today

and got a big, red “F.”

I guess, for homework,

Siri’s not the best to call upon.

I’ll only let Alexa

do my homework from now on.

 

 

Former Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt has written a zillion funny books for kids (give or take a bajillion). He’s also a huge geek and loves writing poems about science and technology. When he’s not writing poetry, he likes programming his computer to do dumb stuff.

What I’d Like to Share

 

I’d like to share a nasty cold

And all my clothing that’s too old.

I’d like to share my toys that broke,

At dinnertime, my artichoke.

I’d like to share a rotten chore.

Perhaps you’d like to sweep the floor?

And I would gladly share the pain

Of toothaches or an ankle sprain.

I’d share my cares,

My worries, too.

I thought I’d share

These thoughts with you.

 

 

The Dreaded Dreeth

 

The dreaded Dreeth

Has eighty-odd teeth;

Twenty above

And twenty beneath,

Twenty more left

And twenty more right —

A toothsome,

Gruesome,

Chewsome sight.

 

© 1999 Douglas Florian. First published in Laugh-eteria.

 

 

Artist and poet Douglas Florian has written and illustrated dozens of books of children’s poetry, including Poetrees (2010) and Dinothesaurus (2009), a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, a Horn Book Fanfare List selection, and a Junior Library Guild selection.

If I Were a Blue Balloon

 

If I were a blue balloon,

I’d lift you up to fly with me

through silver starlight, past the moon —

I’d share my nighttime willingly.

 

I’d lift you up to fly with me

where dragons set the sky aflame.

I’d share my nighttime willingly.

You’d be a knight and lay your claim

​

where dragons set the sky aflame.

I’d ferry you through dreams of night —

you’d be a knight and lay your claim —

then float you into morning light.

 

I’d ferry you through dreams of night,

through silver starlight, past the moon,

then float you into morning light —

if I were a blue balloon.

 

First published in One Minute Till Bedtime: 60-Second Poems to Send You Off to Sleep.

 

 

Renée M. LaTulippe is an author, editor, and teacher. Her poems appear in many anthologies including School People, Thanku: Poems of Gratitude, and One Minute Till Bedtime. Renée teaches The Lyrical Language Lab and blogs on children’s poetry at NoWaterRiver.com.

What I Know About the Sun

 

I know that the sun is a dazzling star

far, far from earth. Millions of miles far.

I know that plants, animals and people

need the sun to grow.

I know that it takes eight minutes or so

for the light of the sun to reach earth.

And that the sun is always shining somewhere

even when it’s dark in my back yard.

I also know how the sun shimmers on the pond

where my grandpa takes me fishing.

And how quickly it bakes mud pies on an August day.

I know how the sun brightens everything—even hearts.

And how poets like to sing about it.

 

First published in The Poetry Friday Anthology For Science, Teacher Edition, 2014.

 

 

Eileen Spinelli has authored more than 40 children’s books. Her books of poetry include Feathers: Poems About Birds (2004), Tea Party Today (2006), and When You Are Happy (2006).

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Sandy Surprise

 

I sculpt a face

beside the sea.

I think it looks

a bit like me:

A small twig mouth

and seaweed hair,

two sandy ears—

a perfect pair,

a seashell nose

and pebble eyes.

I think I’m done

but then . . . surprise!

When I get up

to go and play,

the nose sprouts legs

and crawls away!

 

First published in Clubhouse Jr. July 2012

 

 

Diana Murray is the author of over a dozen children’s books, including  Unicorn Day, Ned the Knitting Pirate, and Goodnight, Veggies. Her poems also appear in magazines and anthologies such as Thanku: Poems of Gratitude. Visit her website at http://www.dianamurray.com

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