Switching on the Moon {Poetry Friday}

Switching on the Moon  A Very First Book of Bedtime Poems collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters is new to me and one I think every home should have.  When the girls were younger we found poetry to be a quick fun read on those nights were bedtime started a bit late or when they were exhausted.  In the classroom, we have been using Owl Moon as a mentor text to write narrative stories and one of my students came bouncing in one morning filled with excitement to share with me she had a poetry book at home by Jane Yolen.  We've had the book on loan for a week now and my students are asking daily for a poem to be read aloud.

The book is organized into three sections; Going to Bed, Sweet Dreams, and In the Night.  In very small print in the back I found the authors gathered poems from various English speaking countries and on purpose they kept spellings and word usage in their original format.  This will open doors for vocabulary/language discussions.  The topic of the poems selected are often topics students will have background knowledge for; snuggles, teddy bears, nighttime, stars, moon, night lights, and bats.  The illustrations are beautiful!  G. Brian Karas creates warm, inviting, and caring illustrations using gouache, acrylic, and pencil.  I wish this was around when my own girls were smaller, I know we would of loved it.

Poetry Friday is being held at Jama's Alphabet Soup.  Thanks Jama!