If I Ran the School

Title: If I Ran the School
Poems Selected and Introduced by: Bruce Lansky
Genre: Giggle Poetry

If I Ran the School is 24 funny school poems picked by Bruce Lanky, also known as the "king of giggle poetry". This is a goofy little book! The poems are mostly talking about how the kids do not like the schools they are at and how much homework they are getting and they do not enjoy.

I think this could be an important book to read to the class to show that our classroom IS going to enjoy homework because as a teacher I hope to make it as fun as possible. I want my students to know that the things I make them do will be for their benefit and that challenges do not have to be a Debby downer, and that they can be fun and exciting as well!

Mary Had A Little Jam

Title: Mary Had A Little Jam
Author: Bruce Lansky
Illustrator: Stephen Carpenter
Genre: Poetry

This is a cute little poetry book that has a bunch of little poems. I enjoyed these because they all rhymed and were short and sweet! The poem that stands out (because of the title) is Mary Had A Little Jam and it says,

"Mary had a little jam:
she spread it on a waffle.
And if she hadn't eaten ten,
she wouldn't feel so awful."

Which I thought was really cute, obviously it is a change from Mary Had A Little Lamb, but it was short and cute!
These poems are fun and easy to read to kids because they like to hear rhymes and try to com up with their own rhyming words, which is more difficult for kids than you would think. Another cool thing I noticed from the book is that the illustrations start with a bright day when all of the kids in the poems are playing around, and it ends with darker illustrations because the poems become more about tonight time and going to sleep! I think that was really neat and reading some of these rhyming poems would be a great example of rhyming to read to a class.

The Ghost-Eye Tree

Title: The Ghost-Eye Tree
Authors: Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
Illustrated by: Ted Rand
Genre: Poetry

This is a cute story that was written as if it were 100 years ago or so. There is a family that lives down a road and the mother asks the son and daughter to walk to the end of the road to get some milk from the milk man. However, to get to the milk man you have to pass the ghost-eyed tree. The sister does not believe the brother that there is really a ghost tree so she convinces him that it is all fine. The brother has a hat on that the sister says looks stupid on hm, but he likes it. On their way home the ghost-eyed tree comes to life and reaches out for the two kids with its branches, and the kids run away to make an escape!

While escaping from the ghost-eyed tree the spill a lot of milk and the brother lost his hat, the sister kicks into protection mode and to keep their mother from worrying they fill the half-filled milk up with water and then she runs back into danger to find the boys hat for him, even though she did not like the hat on him.

This story is a good one to read to the kids because it shows courage, bravery and love! Those are things that are needed in little children and it happens to be a tough lesson to learn.

Together We Are Together

Title: Together We Are Together
Author/Illustrator: the St. Brigid's Head Start Children Syracuse, New York
Genre: Poetry

I love this book because it starts off by explaining that this book is written by children and they use poetry to use words in a special way to express their feelings about anything such as their favorite things to do, their families, friends, and feelings about themselves. It is such a sweet book to have and read!

Another reason I think this book is so good is because it is literally ONLY written by children. This is an awesome way to get to know you students, while at the same time teaching them about poetry! Some of the poems in the book were very sad and touching, while at the same time they tell A TON about a kid and why they are who they are. The kids talked about their families, and friends and their troubles in these poems. This book is amazing!

The New Kid On the Block by Jack Prelutsky

Title: The New Kid On the Block
Author: Jack Prelutsky
Illustrator: James Stevenson
Genre: Poetry


This book is full of different poems! One of the greatest poems in the book is obviously (because it s the title) The New Kid On the Block. So let me tell you a little about the poem. The poem is about a new kid that has moved into a neighborhood, and is very rough and mean. The new kid likes to beat up on the other kids, specifically the guys.

The new kid on the block is a girl, beating up on all of the guys. The guys are afraid of her because she stomps on toes, pulls hair, twists arms, and steals balls from the other kids!

I think this poem would be a great read aloud to do in from of a class to show what NOT to do at school. Especially if there is a known "bully" in the classroom, it would be good for everybody to hear it and clear the air that certain things such as pulling hair and stomping on toes are not aloud!