"I think poetry is a surefire way to get young people engaged with literature because of its immediacy, its emotional intimacy, its rhythm, its ability to take the human soul entire, as Langston Hughes said, and squeeze it, 'like a lemon or lime, drop by drop, into atomic words'."
~Kwane Alexander, The New York Times Book Review, April 22, 2018, p. 24
The books and multimedia resources on this page focuses on writers using language poetically and creatively.
Rhymes & Songs
Dr. Seuss
Jump Rope Rhymes
Songs and Apps for Music and Songs
Historical Sound Recordings
Poetry
Folklore for Kids: Exploring the Rhymes, Songs and Games of Childhood, American Library Association
I'm Just No Good at Rhyming. Chris Harris. Illustrated by Lane Smith. Little, Brown, 2017
How to Read (in) Music. Educators Peg Grafwallner and Erica Breitbarth showcase how to connect reading with music learning.
There's a Wocket in My Pocket: Dr. Seuss's Book of Ridiculous Rhymes. Dr. Seuss. Random House, 1996
Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss) biography from the Poetry Foundation
Geisel Award Winners and Honor Books, American Library Association
Dr. Seuss Digital Book Apps from Oceanhouse Media | March 2 is Dr. Seuss Day (also known as Read Across America Day)
Anna Banana: 101 Jump Rope Rhymes. Joanna Cole. Illustrated by Alan Tiegreen. HarperCollins, 1989
The History of Double Dutch, National Double Dutch League
Ella Jenkins performing Who Fed the Chickens from Smithsonian Folkways Recordings on YouTube
The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue. Suzanne Slade. Illustrated by Stacy Innerst. Boyds Mill Press, 2016
Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band. Kwane Alexander. Illustrated by Tim Bowers. Sleeping Bear Press, 2011
SoundHound, a music search and recognition app.
Magic Piano is a songwriting App for children
Incredibox is a music mixtape app
The National Jukebox from the Library of Congress - More than 10,000 historical sound recordings free of charge
Sound Beat from the Better Audio Archives, Syracuse University Libraries - 90 second radio show featuring historical recordings of 20th century music
Only 14 percent of pre-1965 commercial recordings are currently available
Only 10 percent of music from the 1930s can be accessed by the public
Compose poetry in collaboration with classic American poets like Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Edgar Allen Poe, and many more.
Poets act as your muses, making suggestions of verses as you write a poem
Make with me: Poem Pockets, Educator Innovator (April 2020)
Poetry Reading is Up, National Endowment for the Arts (June 7, 2018)
Nearly 12 percent (11.7%) of adults read poetry in the last year
Among 18-24-year-olds, the poetry-reading rate more than doubled, to 17.5 percent in 2017, up from 8.2 percent in 2012
How Poetry can Help Communicate Science, Scientific American (July 19, 2019)
Explore poetry writing resources, examples, and ideas: