Sources: Poetry Aloud Here 2: Sharing Poetry with Children
Deidre Winterhalter

Youth Services Librarian, Hinsdale Public Library, Warrenville, Illinois

Texas Women’s University professor and “Poetry Friday” founder Sylvia M. Vardell has updated her 2006 book Poetry Aloud Here. The second edition serves as a guidebook to incorporating poetry into schools and, to a lesser extent, into public libraries.

The text includes compelling arguments for presenting poetry to children and practical ways to go about including the genre in interactions with children in a variety of contexts. An annotated list of poets whose works suit children makes up a large portion of the text, making it especially useful for a public librarian who wishes to update a children’s poetry collection. A section filled with biographical information on more than sixty poets acknowledges that many professionals (and therefore the children they serve) are familiar primarily with big names like Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky, and Vardell thoughtfully provides read-alikes from lesser-known authors. A special focus on literature from a variety of cultural perspectives adds a further layer of usefulness.

The book proposes concrete lessons, such as author profiles that showcase one work by the poet and include a related instructional activity. Advice from the author and from professional poets on the process of introducing poetry to children complements the book’s collection development utility. The author also offers practitioner perspectives, mostly from school librarians with public librarians and teachers interjecting occasionally.

Poetry Aloud Here refers liberally to other publications, including research on poetry as a component of literacy (conducted by the author herself). As in the original, this new edition features extensive bibliographies of both poetry anthologies and collected works of selected poets. Appropriately, the author acknowledges the internet as a powerful resource for information on poetry, poems, and authors and shares links to and annotations of numerous websites focusing on poetry appropriate for young people.

Considering the infusion of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) into the guidelines of most American educators, this update arrives at an apt moment. Allowing for the fact that poems are suggested as frequently as stories as textual examples in the Common Core’s English and Language Arts standards, guidelines on implementing poetry programming should be welcome in any elementary or middle school (www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy).

Although updated and expanded, the key message matches that of the 2006 version, and budget-conscious holders of the original may consider retaining it. However, librarians who would like to supplement a professional collection on a frequently overlooked topic will find this volume essential.



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