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Interview with a Children's Librarian

"If I can help children make a good first connection with books, it will last a lifetime."

Natalie began her career as a preschool and kindergarten teacher, but she quickly realized that her real passion lay in sharing literature with children. She returned to school to become a children's librarian and has worked both in schools and in public libraries during her career. She is currently Library Director at an elementary school, and she shares a lot of poetry with children.

What are some of the ways in which you use poetry in your work with children?
When young children come to the library, I expose them to poetry simply by reading it aloud and emphasizing the rhymes or the sounds of the words. I really just want them to enjoy the sounds of the language. With older children, I still primarily want them to enjoy poetry, but I can begin to get them to think about different kinds of poetry. I introduce older children to different kinds of poetry books--anthologies, concrete poems, narrative poems, and humorous poems. I also show them the huge sweep of what poetry can be about--color, nature, dragons, mice, a corn field, or anger. Another activity I like to do with older children is to look at different illustrators' interpretations of the same poem. For example, we might look together at Jan Brett's and James Marshall's versions of Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussycat. We can compare and contrast the two books, even focusing on one small aspect, such as the "pea-green boat." Of course, I also take children to the poetry section of the library so that they will know where they can find a variety of poetry books whenever they are interested in taking a poetry book out of the library.

What benefits does poetry offer above other kinds of read-alouds you do with children?
Poetry celebrates the individual word, the sound of language, and the rhythm of language in a way that narrative does not. It is a fun, short, tasty morsel to share with children. I think it's important to expose very young children to poetry because children build the foundation for learning to read through being exposed to the sounds and rhythms of language. For older children, I think poetry is a great vehicle for learning how complex thoughts, humorous ideas, deep emotions, or entire narratives can be expressed with a few carefully chosen words.

Why do you think children like poetry?
Poetry is natural to children. They speak poetry themselves, unwittingly spilling out metaphors of the most surprising and engaging kind. Good poems do the same thing. Babies, toddlers, and young children just love the sounds of poetry, even if they don't understand all the words or the meanings of the poems. Children of all ages seem to remember poems with relative ease, especially rhyming poetry. I think that poetry is also part of one's cultural identity, part of one's shared culture. Just think of the number of times you hear references to "Humpty Dumpty" or "The Jabberwocky." I recently read a book of poems to second-graders that was a satire on Mother Goose classics. I was surprised to find out that many of the children actually didn't know the original Mother Goose poems, so we backtracked and read lots and lots of Mother Goose poems. Although you might think these poems are too simplistic for second-graders, they had a great time learning these poems by heart! Once they learned the original poems, they understood the humor in the satirical poems.

What kinds of poetry do you like for different ages of children?
For the very youngest ages, I like playful, rhyming poetry about topics that are familiar and of interest to children. Kindergartners and first graders really enjoy humorous poems about topics they can relate to. I will begin to show children at these ages that poetry does not always rhyme, but I also want to make sure that beginning readers are exposed to plenty of rhyming poetry to help them build phonemic awareness that will help them as they begin to read.

In second and third grades, I try to broaden their concept of what poetry can be. I introduce them to anthologies of poetry about a single topic, such as The Dragons Are Singing Tonight, by Jack Prelutsky, a book of poems all about dragons. I show them concrete poetry, or poems that are designed to look like what they are about, by sharing collections such as Joan Bransfield Graham's Flicker Flash. I also introduce them to a couple of kinds of poetry that often inspire children to write their own poetry--haiku and acrostic poems. Leslie Evans' Winter: An Alphabet Acrostic is a collection that shows children how rich acrostics can be. I also like to share longer narrative poems that tell an entire story, such as Vera B. Williams' Amber Was Brave, Essie Was Smart and Sharon Creech's Love That Dog. I even introduce children to outrageous poems--such as those in James Stevenson's Sweet Corn and Corn Chowder-- that make them rethink their idea of what makes a poem.

What are your favorite poetry books?
There are so many wonderful poetry books for children that it's difficult to choose my favorites. For babies, toddlers, young children and even kindergartners, I like Here Comes Mother Goose, edited by Iona Archibald Opie and illustrated by Rosemary Wells. For the same ages, I also like books by Douglas Florian, such as A Pig is Big and Summersaults. I also like Florian's works for school-aged children, such as Laugh-eteria. I also love Plum, a new collection by Tony Mitton, the Danitra Brown series by Nikki Grimes, and Pass It On: African-American Poetry for Children, edited by Wade Hudson. Of course, I really love some old classics, like A.A. Milne's When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six. Another collection of poems that has stood the test of time is The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, edited by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Arnold Lobel.

April is the American Library Association's National Poetry Month. How do you usually celebrate this event in your school?
I do try to highlight poetry during the month of April, but I should also say that I expose children to poetry throughout the entire year. I find that it's most effective when you share poetry consistently and not just during a particular time of the year. But I do try to generate excitement about poetry in April. A few years ago, I started to draw our faculty's attention to poetry by sharing one adult-oriented poem with faculty each week during April. I just put one poem in each faculty member's box each week, and I think it reminds teachers of the power of poetry. I also give teachers one poem each week to share with children, I share poetry in the library, display poetry books, and offer children poetry bookmarks. I also write an article about poetry in the school's parent newsletter and recommend new poetry books to parents. I do love having a special time to celebrate poetry, but I feel strongly that it should be part of children's regular library and classroom experience throughout the year.