Parents have the capability to open the door to an incredible world for their child(ren). They have the sole pleasure of sharing the beau...

KidLit Picks March Round Up

Saturday, April 08, 2017 BookBairn 2 Comments

Parents have the capability to open the door to an incredible world for their child(ren). They have the sole pleasure of sharing the beauty and wonder of poetry with them. Poetry books contain soothing rhythms and rhymes, short, simple sentences and clever repetition of key words and phrases. There is nothing like the rhythm of words flowing together to form a story in such rich language. Poetry is such a happy thing! It's magical to watch children's eyes, minds, and hearts dancing along the rhythmical lines of poetry and into a lifelong love of lyrical language.

The variety of language and structure in poetry is great for children's growing brains and imaginations. It's also refreshing for the grownups who read with them! With National Poetry Month now that we're in April, it's a splendid time to let poetry blossom in your household and in the young hearts of your children.

We hope you enjoyed following @kidlitpicks book club this month, and a special thank you to Charnaie from Here Wee Read for the thoughtful theme!



Finding Wonders, by Jeannine Atkins 
“'Knowing our history can make us stronger.' Having examples of strong, determined, intelligent women from history for our own girls to read about can make them stronger.” -- Summer from @readingisourthing


Things to Do, by ​​Elaine Magliaro and Catia Chien
Things to Do shows readers that wonder and enjoyment can be found anywhere and everywhere." -- Mel from @spiky_penelope


A Child's Garden of Verses, by Robert Louis Stevenson
It's easy to hear [poetry] and immediately jump to Shel Silverstein... But before there was Shel, there was Stevenson.” -- Katie from @afriendlyaffair



Noisy Poems, by Debi Gliori
It makes a nice change from stories every now and again and it's worth mentioning that it is chosen by Little Miss Bookhabit quite regularly so it gets the child friendly seal of approval.” -- Claire from @alittlebookhabit



A Family of Poems, by Caroline Kennedy and Jon J Muth
"When read aloud, poetry is rhythm and music and sounds and beats. Young children may not understand all the words or meaning, but they'll feel the rhythms, get curious about what the sounds mean and perhaps want to create their own." -- Leah from @astoryaday


Feelings, by Richard Jones and Libby Walden
“Full to the brim of delightful illustrations and with a brilliant use of colour, this book is a beautifully poetic look into a wide range of emotions ranging from ‘happy’ to ‘angry’ to ‘alone’ and ‘calm.’” --  Kim from @bookbairn



Voyage, Billy Collins and Karen Romagna
“My selection has sentimental value as it was given to me by a dear friend to celebrate the arrival of our daughter.” -- Miranda from @bookbloom



Poems to Perform, by Julia Donaldson
“This book was such a great find and has propelled me to explore poetry and performance in the classroom.” -- De from @books_and_babycinos


Animal Ark, by Kwame Alexander and Joel Sartore
Stunning images and beautiful text! National Geographic does it again!” -- Arielle from @childrensbooksgalore


What Are You Glad About? What Are You Mad About? by Judith Viorst
This collection of thoughtful, funny, and touching poems is grouped into child-centred topics, such as feelings, school stuff, family, home, friends, help, best and worst, seasons, mysteries, and unfinished business.” -- Rossa from @curiouslittlepeople


Tan to Tamarind: Poems about the Color Brown, by Malathi Michelle Iyengar  and Jamel Akib
Who knew there were so many beautiful shades of the color brown!” -- Charnaie from @hereweeread



The Moon and Me, by Anna and Brian Boyter
"This easy read is perfect for little ones, especially with its lyrical text." -- Wendy from @homegrownreader


A Poem for Peter, by Andrea Davis Pinkney, Lou Fancher, and Steve Johnson
It's a heart-burstingly inspiring and beautiful read. And one that I foresee becoming a well-thumbed, much-discussed book in this household for years to come.” -- Shannon from @ohcreativeday



Poetrees, by Douglas Florian 
Ripe with information, Douglas Florian's poems in Poetrees are perfect for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers.” -- Jamie from @smallysbookshelf


Come With Me To Paris, by Gloria Fowler and Min Heo
I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and share my love of this big beautiful city with my kids.” -- Michelle from @the.book.report



The Land of Nod, by Robert Louis Stevenson and Robert Hunter 
It's a phantasmagoric journey through twilight shadows and moonlight.” -- Liam from @words.and.illustrations




It's been a great month of poetry books and women's history books. They've glittered IG feeds like precious diamonds. I'm excited that during April we get to continue celebrating both themes, with it being National Poetry Month and because our new focus for KidLitPicks is MIGHTY GIRLS.


As parents and educators, it is important for us to reflect on the messages we present to our children through literature. Unfortunately, female characters have been historically underrepresented in children’s books and are often an easy target for gender stereotyping. Gender stereotypes are flawed because they are incomplete and marginalize those who don’t “fit” with the label. If we truly want books to be “windows, mirrors, and sliding glass doors” for children (as described by Rudine Sims Bishop), then we must look for books that shatter gender stereotypes and reflect the diversity of the world we live in.



That’s why in April we are sharing books that feature mighty female characters – girls who are smart, strong, brave, adventurous, scientific, athletic, and messy. By choosing kids books that go against gender stereotypes, we can redefine what it means to act “like a girl.

We have been collating some of our favourite Mighty Girl books on the blog here and can't wait to see what the others in the #kidlitpicks team choose so we can add even more Mighty Girls to our collection. Join the @kidlitpicks book club as we share your Mighty Girl books all month long. Tag #kidlitpicks and #mightygirlbooks

Happy reading!
Mummy and BookBairn xx

2 comments:

  1. Looks like a great selection of poetry books. Go girls for April.

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    Replies
    1. Yes! Looking forward to reading some great Mighty Girl books this month!

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