Guess what came in the mail a couple of days ago? A copy of a great new poetry anthology titled One Minute Till Bedtime: 60-Second Poems to Send You Off to Sleep. The poems were selected by former Children's Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt and the illustrations were done by Christoph Niemann. The anthology includes more than one hundred selections--many by some of our most respected children's poets, including Nikki Grimes, Jack Prelutsky, Ron Koertge, Lee Bennett Hopkins, J. Patrick Lewis, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Marilyn Singer, Mary Ann Hoberman, Julie Larios, X. J. Kennedy, Pat Mora, Nancy Willard, Jane Yolen, Janet Wong, Joyce Sidman...and Kenn Nesbitt. There are so many other poets whose works are included that I just can't list them all!
I am so happy to tell you that one of my poems is included in this wonderful
book—which has already garnered three starred reviews!
* "These pithy poetic observations and Niemann's engaging illustrations prove at once antidote and anodyne for the sleep-averse child demanding just one more....A dreamy collection of bedtime poems and witty illustrations that's anything but sleepy."―Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "With a broad range of voices and sentiments, the collection delivers poems to meet any mood."―Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "Exuberant for the most part (with some serious musings to lend ballast) and in perfect harmony with its cartoonish, color-washed illustrations, this sleepy-time volume is just the thing for the rhyme-loving child who has graduated from Mother Goose."―School Library Journal, starred review
One Minute till Bedtime is due for release on November 1, 2016.
It would make an excellent holiday gift for parents of young children...and for kids who love poetry. I'm planning to order several more copies to give as baby and Christmas presents.
NOTE: Not all the poems in this anthology are about bedtime. They touch on various and sundry topics. Titles of some of the poems: A Hard Rain, The Dandelion, Our Kittens, Skateboard Girl, The Tadpole Bowl, A Visit to the Forest, Me and My Feet, and Armadillo.
The poems are divided into six sections--each of which begins with a poem by Nesbitt.
The first poem in One Minute till Bedtime is Whew!, Nesbitt's list poem in which a child tells us all the things he/she has to before being able to enjoy reading a book.
Here is how the poems ends:
Telephoned
my gramps and grammas.
Changed into
my soft pajamas.
Fluffed the pillows.
Got my Ted.
Said my prayers.
Climbed in bed.
All that's done;
at last I'm freed.
Finally,
it's time to read.
And here is my contribution to One Minute till Bedtime:
Chirping
in the dark, their song
Resonates
In
the still air. A
Chorus
of summer night strummers in concert with
Katydids
Entertaining
warm evenings with
Their
Symphony
of wings.
***************
Linda has the Poetry Friday Roundup at TeacherDance.
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