BOOK NOTES by Dr. Joan Ruddiman
April is National Poetry Month. Most of us had no idea, just as we have no idea who our Poet Laureate is and what he (she?) does.
(For the answers, see below.)
Poetry and poets deserve to be celebrated. Poetry is all around us and strongly influences how we think. Lyrics are poems set to music. Who doesn’t sing along with the radio? Those of a certain age recall analyzing the poetry sung by the Beetles and Jimi Hendrix. Do kids today ponder the deep meaning of rap? But of course!
One of the most provocative theories about early childhood development is the impact of rhythm and rhyme on cognitive growth and learning to read. Seems that nursery rhymes help the brain develop auditory skills, which is critical to the reading process.
We all have some experience with poetic patterns assisting memory. How about "thirty days hath September… " and consider how many of us still sing the alphabet. How nice that "g" and "p" rhyme!
For caring adults looking for good read-aloud ideas for their little ones, the current issue of "Reading Today," through a special arrangement with "School Library Journal," offers suggestions of books of verse and books written in verse for children and young adults. The theme is "History in Verse" from the April 2005 issue of "SLJ," compiled by Nina Lindsay, a librarian from the Children’s Room of the Oakland Public Library in California.
One notable author who uses language in unusual ways for dramatic affect is Karen Hesse. Hesse tackles tough stories from history like the Dust Bowl of the 1930s in "Out of the Dust" and "Witness" about the racial conflicts in a small Vermont town in 1924. Both of these were award-winning Young Adult books. For elementary fiction (grades 2 to 6), she tells the story of a Jewish girl in Warsaw during World War II titled "The Cats in Krasinski Square." Hesse works with alliteration, interior rhymes and repeated imagery as illustrator Wendy Watson adds to the story with mixed media images.
Walter Dean Myers is another well-known and beloved Young Adult author who captures the imagination of his readers with good stories told in unique ways. "Patrol: An American Soldier in Vietnam" combines free verse with collage illustrations by Ann Grifalconi. Myers, once a solider, writes in the voice of a solider on patrol.
How better to celebrate the life of a poet than with poems? Tony Medina, with illustrations by R. Gregory Christie, tells from the first-person point of view in free verse, the story of Langston Hughes from Harlem to Africa and back again. "Love to Langston" is a joy to share with youngsters.
Though not in verse, Penelope Niven won awards and readers’ hearts for her well-researched biography of Carl Sandburg one of American’s greatest poets. Niven follows with her first children’s book on her life’s passion: "Carl Sandburg: Adventures of a Poet."
Niven in 1980 founded and directed the national Carl Sandburg Oral History Project. This North Carolina native years ago visited Sandburg’s home in Connemara and marveled at the mass of materials the author had accumulated in 22 years of writing in that house.
A summer volunteer job led to her professional undertaking to organize the Sandburg papers. From a wealth of knowledge about the man and his writing, Niven wrote her award-winning biographies. "Adventures of a Poet" won the International Reading Association’s 2004 Children’s Book Award in the intermediate nonfiction category.
Hughes, Sandburg, Robert Frost are powerful role models for all children, but especially for boys who might hold the bias that poets are sissies. As Jocelyn Jones notes in her review of Niven’s book in "Reading Today," kids can connect to Sandburg, "who as a little boy dreams of being a baseball player and grew into a restless teenager." He is a classic case of the fabulous failure who lives through a range of out-of-the-ordinary experiences to become an honored man of letters.
For those looking for more "History in Verse" connections, or literally thousands of other reviews of children’s literature, go to www.SLJ.com.
Now for some answers to who our Poet Laureate is and what he does. (Currently "he," but many woman since the inception of the honor in 1937 have worn the title).
From the Library of Congress Web site comes this information: Ted Kooser, author of the Pulitzer Prize winning "Delights and Shadows" is currently The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry (the official title since 1985) for the Library of Congress. The Librarian of Congress, in consultation with the past Poet Laureate and others, makes the appointment that runs from October to May. The title carries a stipend of $35,000 that is funded by a gift from Archer M. Huntington, an Industrial Age philanthropist. (He opted to be a poet, philosopher, and philanthropist rather than take over the family railroad business.)
To quote the Library of Congress, "The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry serves as the nation’s lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry."
Some notables who have served as Poet Laureate include Robert Frost, Rita Dove, Robert Penn Warren, and Robert Pinsky a New Jersey boy who graduated from Rutgers. Pinsky served "an unprecedented three consecutive terms" from 1997 to 2000.
There is still time in April to celebrate National Poetry Month by sharing some good stories told in verse, singing a lyrical song, or impressing friends with trivia about our Poet Laureates.
"O to have my life henceforth a poem of new joys!"
Walt Whitman’s "Leaves of Grass," 1900
Joan Ruddiman, Ed.D., is a teacher and friend of the Allentown Public Library.

