Children's Poetry Books & The 2007 Cybils

Last fall, I had the pleasure of serving as one of the five members of the Cybils poetry-nominating panel. As a panelist, I read and evaluated twenty-six children’s poetry books—a few of which were exceptional. I felt that several other poetry books were strong enough to recommend without hesitation. There were also books whose quality of poetry was uneven—books in which some of the poems were excellent and others were just mediocre.

Now that we have passed the midway mark of the current year, I have begun to revisit the children’s poetry books that I’ve read and reviewed to date at Blue Rose Girls and at Wild Rose Reader—books that will be eligible for a 2007 Cybils Award. I have included links to my reviews of these books below. In my opinion, all are fine books. I’d like to mention that in addition to having poetry of quality, the books also have wonderful illustrations. (Note: I haven’t written reviews of all the poetry collections and anthologies that I’ve read this year.)

If you have read any/all of these books—I’d really like to know what you think. Do you have a favorite among them? What other children’s poetry books published in 2007 would you recommend?

SINGLE AUTHOR COLLECTIONS

TWIST: YOGA POEMS
Written by Janet Wong
Illustrated by Julie Paschkis

ANIMAL POEMS
Written by Valerie Worth
Illustrated by Steve Jenkins


COMETS, STARS, THE MOON, AND MARS
Written & illustrated by Douglas Florian

THIS IS JUST TO SAY: POEMS OF APOLOGY AND FORGIVENESS
Written by Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski

ANTHOLOGIES


HERE’S A LITTLE POEM: A VERY FIRST BOOK OF POETRY
Collected by Jane Yolen & Andrew Fusek Peters

SPECIAL CATEGORY

TODAY & TODAY: HAIKU BY ISSA
Illustrated by G. Brian Karas

Let me know what poetry collections and anthologies published in 2007 that you would recommend to me and other blog readers.