Exploring Notable Poetry Books for Advocacy with Children

By Ted Kesler

I have just completed my position as chairperson of the NCTE Poetry and Verse Novels for Children Committee. Our list of notable poetry and verse novels that were published in 2021 as well as other information about the award can be found on the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children page.

In this blog post, I discuss three notable poetry books from this list that promote advocacy and provide lesson plan ideas to do with children. 

Photo Ark ABC

​Photo Ark ABC: An Animal Alphabet in Poetry and Pictures, poetry by Debbie Levy and photos by Joel Sartore (National Geographic Kids, 2021).

​The diverse and playful poetry forms in Photo Ark ABC oscillate with vibrant pictures to create fascination with each animal that is represented. Here is one example:

“O is for Octopus” from Photo Ark ABC. ​

​The book is part of the Photo Ark Project, that aims to “document every species living in the world’s zoos and wildlife sanctuaries, inspire action through education, and help save wildlife by supporting on-the-ground conservation efforts” [Back Book Cover]. Therefore, the book provides wonderful online resources to use with children, which expand opportunities for classroom explorations. Here are some ideas:

1. Visit the National Geographic Photo Ark Project online, and have students research and present about one of the animals they find fascinating or that is endangered.
2. Locate each animal in the backmatter of Photo Ark ABC on a world map. Then, use the Google Earth feature that is connected with this Photo Ark project.  
   
3. Study the poems as mentor texts, and have students write an original poem for the animal they studied.
4. Students can then create their own full page spread of the photo and poem, along with an information text box. 
5. Pursue other explorations using the Photo Ark resource: www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/photo-ark/education/

The Last Straw

​The Last Straw: Kids vs. Plastics, poetry by Susan Hood, illust. by Christiane Engel (HarperCollins, 2021). ​

​The Last Straw fits into the hybrid genre of poetic nonfiction (Kesler, 2012), as every page combines poetry with expository writing about a specific topic. Topics include microplastics, plastic bags and straws, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and other environmental issues. The poetry also has diverse forms, such as odes, concrete poems, limericks, elegy, and persona.

​The book also provides resources for each topic in the back matter. Here is one look inside:

“Be Straw Free” from The Last Straw.

​Ultimately, like Photo Ark ABC, The Last Straw promotes advocacy. Here are some instructional ideas for classrooms:

1. School-Based Research Project:

• Have students generate a list of all the disposable plastics that people use in the school as they go about their school day.
  
• Problem-solve with children ideas to reduce, reuse, and recycle.
• Research alternatives to one of the disposable plastics that is commonly used in the school (e.g., sporks). Develop a plan for change that includes interviews, cost analysis, speech writing, petitions, etc.

      2. Reading:

• In small groups, students can find a page they love. Practice and then perform the poem.
  
• Read the other sources of information on the page.
• Then, read the information about that poetry page in the “Sources and More” section in the back matter.
  
• Have groups present to each other how the sources of information on the page all fit together.

      3. Writing:

• Provide laptops or other digital devices to each group to research the sites that are provided for their topic.
• Make a group presentation to the class about what they discovered and one way to make a difference.

My Thoughts are Clouds

​My Thoughts Are Clouds: Poems for Mindfulness, poetry by Georgia Heard, illust. by Isabel Roxas (Roaring Brook Press, 2021). 

​As the title implies, My Thoughts Are Clouds guides children to quiet their minds, which, in the words of Georgia Heard, allows them “to feel calmer, more joyful, more focused, less anxious, and to find the space and peace to live in the present moment.” In “Mindful World,” Heard proclaims, “When I become calm on the inside, / the world becomes calm on the outside.” This book ultimately leads readers towards kindfulness.
​
While taking readers through the dimensions of mindfulness, many of the poems also instruct, calling out to try it, like a how-to manual, poems such as “Counting Breaths,” “Square Breathing,” “In and Out Breath,” “Nature Walk,” “Come Home to Your True Self,” “Butterfly Body Scan,” “The Music of the Moment,” “Three-Way Loving Kindness Meditation.” Here is one look inside:

​“Butterfly Body Scan” from My Thoughts Are Clouds.

​You might choose any of these poems for shared reading, or assign it to a small group to practice reading aloud beautifully, and then guide the class through the activity that the poem describes.

​Many poems also call out like writing notebook prompts, similar to the mindful prompts in Heard’s book, Writing Towards Home: Tales and Lessons to Find Your Way (Heinemann, 1995). Poems such as “My Thoughts Are Clouds,” “Consider a Raisin,” “Open Your Eyes,” “Cultivate Tenderness,” “Kindfulness” all would provide rich writing notebook explorations. For example, I imagine students copying the poem “My Thoughts Are Clouds” on the left-side of a full-page spread in their notebook, and then on the right-side, creating their own thought clouds. 

​Finally, I think “Empowerment Mantra Haiku” (see image below) would provide an outstanding activity. The entire class could compose their own affirmative heard-shaped messages for a class empowerment “take one, add one” bulletin board that each child can hold onto as a gift and a reminder to be good to themselves and others throughout the day. 

“Empowerment Mantra Haiku” from My Thoughts Are Clouds.

Ted Kesler, Ed.D. is an Associate Professor at Queens College, CUNY and has been a CLA Member since 2010. He served as chairperson of the NCTE Poetry and Verse Novels for Children Committee from 2019 to 2021.
www.tedsclassroom.com | @tedsclassroom | www.facebook.com/tedsclassroom)