How to Write a Poem encourages children to see power in words. It is a great book showing the mechanics and process of writing. This book gives children confidence. Children will begin to see how they can channel their emotions, lift their voices, and change the world. A wonderful think and act “how-to” book. Readers will see how they can begin with a question, use their imaginations, make connections, and then let the words slide down to their pencils. The illustrations used in this book, likewise, encourage readers to use their imaginations, recyclables, and inventive resources to give art to the stories they write. Quite the positive book to use with children!!!
As a librarian or teacher, I would use this book in a classroom lesson (third grade – up). I would read aloud the book to the students, and then have each student close their eyes to think about a question in science or nature of interest to them. I would have each student to take out a sheet of paper and write down their question. Again, I would ask them to close their eyes and visualize the question. Write ten words in the left corner of page about the question and visualization…Use a dictionary, to look up a few of these words to list an additional ten synonyms in the right corner of the page.
Using the question, the list of twenty words and incorporating sensory thoughts, I would ask the students to let the words and thoughts flow to their pencil and write a poem. Afterwards, they could illustrate with magazines, newspapers, scraps, pencil, and crayons.
An additional challenge activity: turn to a reliable source to READ and learn more about their question.
Caldecott Worthy? Absolutely!
[For further reading.... The illustrator of How to Write a Poem is the Caldecott Honor-winning Melissa Sweet. She wrote and illustrated another favorite book of mine, Some Writer!: The Story of E. B. White. If you love Charlotte's Web, this biography would be a great one to read!]