A Poem for Every Day of the Year

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March – Paper Dragons – Susan Alton Schmeltz – A fun poem in which children can make their own kites and version of the poem and describe the movement of kite in the air. This could also be linked to history and exploring traditional toys throughout the time periods. This is a book I would definitely have in my classroom. I could see this being used as a nice, peaceful way to start the school day. I think it presents a lovely opportunity to bring the class together and create a ‘poetry environment’ and ultimately spark a child’s interest in poetry. The book captures the complexity and diversity of nature very well and as we move through it, we are made aware of the changing seasons and a variety of living things. I believe this poetry book could be used for a variety of topics/lessons, for example: This book is fantastic for both adults and children - the range of poems on offer would definitely tempt anyone who is not accustomed to poetry to dive in and explore. I didn’t think poetry was ‘my thing’ but this anthology was extremely refreshing; I enjoyed the mix of traditional and contemporary poems and on top of this, the poems weren’t too lengthy or arduous to read – it felt like an extremely inclusive and accessible collection of poetry. On first look at this book it could be used as a whole class or school resource to read aloud one poem a day within class or during assemblies. This would be a simple, short but consistent approach to exposing young children to different types of poetry and a broad range of authors. If this book was to be used within the classroom, I would use it either as mentioned above or to support the range of topics covered across the curriculum, particularly within English, science, geography and history.

April – Voices of Water – Tony Milton – I would use this poem to explore water and the sounds associated to water. The class could make their own music to accompany the poem with instruments or body percussion, such as creating a soundscape. Ik wou dat ik een vogel was. Een natuurgedicht voor elke dag van het jaar. Samengesteld door Margot Diederix en Marlous van Mourik. Met illustraties van Frann Preston-Gannon.If using this book in English specifically for poetry, I would use it to highlight the different forms of poetry such as haiku’s, riddles, acrostics and shape poems. I would also use the book to reference when children begin to learn to write poetry and explore writing their own versions (examples of when I would do this are highlighted below). I would also use this in English to explore the different ways poetry could be read aloud, i.e. explore how RAP lyrics are a form of poetry; specifically standing for rhythm and poetry. The way a poem is performed can change the feeling or message you receive when listening to or reading the poem on paper.

I listened to this as an audio book I had borrowed from the library and would listen to a few poems each day. Similar to what I am doing with Year of Wonder: Classical Music for Every Day. I found it was a great way to stop and reflect for a few minutes each day. There is something about listening to poetry read out loud that brings it to life. Allie Esiri's delightfully eclectic anthology takes you on a poetic journey through every night of the calendar year. A fun book for all the family to enjoy. Tatler

The first one was very hit-or-miss due to the selection of poems, the second one was a history book (non-fiction), and this year I read this. Elke dag van het jaar een gedicht, met de natuur als thema én geschikt voor jong en oud. Meer perfect wordt het niet. Poëzieliefhebbers gaan hierin oude, favoriete, namen tegenkomen en nieuwe stemmen leren kennen. Wie nog niet into poëzie is gaat dit zeker worden. ‘Ik wou dat ik’ staat vol woorden en prenten om te koesteren; in je eentje, samen met het gezin of romantisch met je geliefde. (Ik zie al afgeleide Whatsapp-groepjes ontstaan, of nieuwe klas-rituelen.) For those who do not read much poetry, for those who do not know where to start, this is a fun and easy commitment to take on. Reading a poem a day does not take long, mere minutes, and with over three-hundred poems in here there's bound to be a poem that speaks to each reader directly. I broke the rule though and read it all at once. Some books become lifelong treasures and A Poem for Every Night of the Year, edited by Allie Esiri, will be one of them. A handsome collection, it contains not just classics by TS Eliot and Eleanor Farjeon but modern poems by Maya Angelou and Tony Mitton. It is the best book of its kind since Charles Causley's, and a must-have for nine-plus readers. -- Amanda Craig The New Statesman

I like that the poem for my birthday is written by someone who's name looks similar to mine... Gene (Gén). October – Poems about rain by various authors – These poems could be used in geography lessons to explore rain. Children could conduct investigations using their senses to capture the different sounds that are made by rain, as well as documenting how different types of rain feel and look. urn:lcp:readme2poemforev0000unse:epub:d20b122c-4939-4c40-ad59-373bb94aaff0 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier readme2poemforev0000unse Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t5x72vf8r Invoice 1652 Isbn 0330391321 July – Shadows – Judith Nicholls – This poem could be used in science to explore light, particularly shadows. This could link to a practical activity where the children capture and investigate their own shadows. Which they could use to write their own version of this poem. I won’t say I’ve became a poem lover overnight, but this was a great stepping stone into a world previously unknown.Particular favourites of mine included Love's Philosophy by Percy Shelley, The Buddha by Tony Mitton and the very famous The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. There's also an excellent extract from Shakespeare's The Tempest, which in itself is a play of pure poetry. As such the poems are rich in diversity and carry with them varying degrees of complexity. Although published by Macmillan Children's Books, I think this collection is more suited to an adult reader. There are, certainly, poems in here that a young reader may enjoy, but I think an adult would get more out of poems that deal with larger issues such as love, death and life. I could not love A Poet for Every Day of the Year more. I confess I haven’t read the whole book yet as I am savouring the dated poems and poets each night so that this is a gift of a book that will last me the entire year. However, the format is the same for every day and includes an insightful and accessible potted history of the poet, with reference to social, historical and biographical detail that stirs such an interest in the reader that A Poet for Every Day of the Year provides even more entertainment by acting as a catalyst for further reading and research. For example, when I opened my copy on the day I received it, the poet was John Clare who just happens to have lived three miles from where I am, but there are other poets I’m much less familiar with so I have an introduction that can lead me to discovering more of their work. This adds to the significance and joy in reading A Poet for Every Day of the Year. I am the seed that grew the tree is a collection of nature poetry (oh woah, that rhymed!) for every day of the year, selected by Fiona Waters and illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon. Surprisingly to me, it is filled with lots of poetry throughout time that wasn't created just for this collection.

This collection is a mix of poems; some funny, some reflective. Some I had heard before and some I hadn't. I have listed some of my favourites from this listening below but I think if I re-listen at some other time time of year this list might be totally different. I loved this book, particularly the theme of nature and the potential it has to ignite a passion for animals and our natural world in those who read it. I adored the imagery and the overall presentation of the book – it feels special to hold, it makes the poems inside feel special to have, it makes poetry exciting! As with every ' a (insert name) a day' book, I started off well. Reading a poem a day and wanting to read more was great, then I kind of forgot about it and left it at my parents which is why I read four months' worth of poems yesterday+today, whoops. Use poems as models/example for writing own poetry – use nature as a basis, take the children outside or get them to think about their own relationship with nature, places they’ve been, how they’ve interacted with nature – use this as a starting point for their own poems.Poetry, even more so than short stories or novels, is a deeply personal thing. Therefore, it’s always a gamble to buy a book like this. I’m happy to have found that this was definitely „for me“ and I had great fun throughout the year. It sometimes made me cry (it was an emotional year) but usually cheered me up or emphasized my good mood.