Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt (Booktalk)

Boys don't keep journals? Kevin does. He's 12, almost 13, in the 7th grade. He's the youngest of five boys, and his parents - both doctors - are never at home. His brother Petey (the next oldest) often beats Kevin up. His journal is his way of blowing off steam. It's in poem form. Let's take a look here.

Kevin's real (private) diary is on the left. 

[Read the poem on page 6 and show both pages 6-7 to your readers.] He's taking pages from an old book and circling words and phrases on that page to make a poem within a page - a found poem. This one is very Kevin: it says, "We will die. / The smell is killing us. / TEACHER SMELL is deadly. / Barf." Okay, so it got your attention but it's obnoxious and it's not a good poem. But the poem in his journal which he wrote to himself is pretty good. He talked about words jumping out at him "like tickly little fleas / needing a good scratching. / So I scratched them." He has a great imaginative mind and a flair for words.

So basically he's living two lives: the life of his private journal which shows a really good poet and the life of a found poem graffiti artist whose sole objective is to tick off authority figures at his school.

Why do you think he is doing this? [Entertain theories.] Some of you may be right. What would you think if I told you that Petey, his brother, threw his real journal out the car window and someone found it? Will Kevin be able to keep up his poetry?

Rhyme Schemer by K.A. Holt. 2014: Chronicle Books. 169 pages. Booktalk to grades 4-9.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (Booktalk)

What if your twin brother was your best friend in the whole world? And what if he stopped being your best friend?

Josh and Jordan (called JB) are twins who both love basketball. And they love each other, until things start going downhill in their friendship. Josh lost a bet with JB and JB cut off a lot of Josh's beloved dreadlocks. The results were freaking looking.

They used to eat lunch together -- actually, they ate all their meals together -- until JB got a girlfriend named Alexis. Now he eats lunch with her. Josh saw JB kissing Alexis in the school library. Fun. JB barely speaks to Josh. Josh is feeling increasingly isolated and alone.

The anger is growing. Josh messes up in a big game, sees JB wink at Alexis, and feels a surge of resentment - so much so that he hurls the ball unreasonably hard at JB who then starts bleeding and has to go to the hospital. Bad drama. Josh's mom is furious and chews Josh out. She asks Josh: you going to get mad at your brother every time he has a girlfriend? "You're twins, not the same person."

Will Josh ever get his best friend back?

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. 237 p. HMH Books for Young Readers. Newbery Medal, 2015. Booktalk to grades 5-9.

Book talk: The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes

It's summer time, and your second grade year will start soon. I want you to imagine that you're on a family trip, stopping in Minnesota to see a statue of the Jolly Green Giant. Obviously, this statue is really, really tall and really, really green. You're wearing a new baseball cap that you love. It's a windy day, and you're on the lookout platform of the statue.

Goodbye, new baseball cap!

Your cap suddenly blows away in the wind! Without thinking, you step over the guardrail and REACH as far as you possibly can. You fall to the far pavement below.

The next thing you remember is waking up in a hospital. Your parents are with you, and so is your three-year-old sister, Sal.

You have a head injury, but the doctor says you'll be okay. "You fell exactly the right way to protect yourself," he says.

But you're still worried that you won't be smart enough for the school year.

The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes. 229 p. 2013: Greenwillow Books. Booktalk to 2nd - 4th, and also to advanced 1st grade readers and reluctant/basic level 5th graders.

Book talk: Stardines Swim High Across the Sky: And Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky

You know how scientists keep finding new species? The poet Jack Prelutsky has found new species too – hybrid imaginary creatures who act crazy and may even honk at you while getting stuck to trees. 

My personal favorites are the slobsters. Trust me, do not take one of them to a restaurant, because you’ll regret it: “Slobsters are slovenly, / slobsters are crude, / slobsters love mashing / And smushing their food.” Their utter lack of manners will really embarrass you, unless you yourself have no manners at all, and then you’re probably a slobster yourself.

The sobcats can be just as tough as the slobsters to hang out with, because the sobcats just sit around weeping and weeping for no reason whatsoever. “That miserable sobcat’s / been moaning for years, / Sitting alone, / Weeping copious tears.” They just like being miserable. No, I don’t understand it either. I do like the blankets they’re hiding under, though. Maybe it’s comfy under there.

You know who has an even tougher time of it than the sobcats? The chormorants! They look like these real birds – called cormorants – but because they just do chores all day, day after day, -- they’re called chormorants. These birds are serious and never joke around. I just wish they’d clean my house, because I live with some slobsters.

Stardines will also introduce you to creatures such as the tattlesnake, the gloose, and the wedgehogs. Watch out for the panteaters, too.

Stardines Swim High Across the Sky: And Other Poems by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Carin Berger. Unpaged. Greenwillow Books, 2012. Booktalk to grades 2-6.

Book talk: Shiver Me Timbers: Pirate Poems by Douglas Florian and Robert Neubecker

Pirates are good at being nasty, smelly, and rude. It takes a lot of work, and they take it very seriously. If you’re a pirate, there are strict dress and behavior codes you must follow: “Pirates wear patches. / Pirates have hooks. / They all play with matches. / And give dirty looks.” How are your dirty looks? Have you been practising them? These pirate poems will get you back up to speed with all of that, trust me.

If you’re a pirate, you have to do a really great evil grin, too. You have to get your pirate language memorized, as well: a rotten pirate is a “scurvy dog,” and a villainous person is a “scallywag.” Are you getting this? Say “aye,” if you are! My favorite poem in this book of pirate poetry is “The Pirates’ Code of Conduct.” “Don’t take a bath. / Avoid all math. / It’s best to yell / And blessed to smell. / Act rash and rude. Dash down yer food…”

Speaking of food, the poem, “Pirates’ Meal” will let you know exactly what your weekly meals will consist of. Can you guess what the main food group is? No, it’s not McDonalds. It’s much, much worse.

Shiver Me Timbers: Pirate Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian, pirates by Robert Neubecker. Unpaged. Beach Lane Books, 2012. Booktalk to grades 1-5.

Book talk: Cat Talk by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest

Wouldn't you love to get the inside scoop on a cat's life, told from the perspective of the cat himself?

That's what this wonderful book of poetry does. I love all these cats, but I have three favorites.

Lily tells us she was born in a big red barn, with cows, horses, and sweet-smelling hay. Lily has a secret that she'll only share with you: her best friend is a mouse! [Show picture of Lily.]

Sylvie is the boss. I mean, THE BOSS. You don't mess with the boss. "I am the boss cat. / I twitch my tail to prove it. / I boss the dogs. / I boss my people." There are three things which Sylvie loves, and if you read her poem, you'll know not to mess with them. You don't want to get in trouble with the boss! [Show picture of Sylvie.]

Eddie is cat with a job!"I greet people at the office door. / I sleep on the copy machine. / I run to the phone when it rings." And when Eddie is tired, he closes his eyes and pretends that you aren't there at all. He's really good at living in an office and not letting the chaos get to him.

There are other cats I didn't have time to tell you about. Read their poems in Cat Talk by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest.

Cat Talk by Patricia MacLachlan and Emily MacLachlan Charest, illustrated by Barry Moser. Unpaged. Katherine Tegen Books, 2013. Booktalk to grades K-3.

Book talk: Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2013-2014)

Before I tell you the title of this book, I want you to think about all the shapes you see out in nature. What’s one shape that you see in plants and flowers, in animals, in the water, and in weather patterns? [Give the kids time to guess.]

If you guessed a circle, you’re very close. The answer is a spiral. A spiral is a shape that curls around a center point.

[Show the first pages with the snake, woodchuck, and mouse.] In this picture we see a chipmunk, a woodchuck, a snake, and a mouse – all curled up into spirals. They’re sleeping or hibernating. [Turn page.] Fitting into a spiral helps them conserve precious body heat and fit into tiny, hidden spaces.

Spirals are also great at protecting what’s inside. [Show page with hedgehog and millipede.] If a hedgehog feels threatened, it rolls up into a tight spiral, so all you see is a ball of quills. Tiny millipedes use the same tactic: rolling up into a spiral, they’ve got an armored external shell as defense.

[Show page with rose, daisy, and sunflower.] The petals, leaves, and seed heads of many flowers grow in spirals – the spiral shape makes the best possible use of space and sunlight: pretty wise!

You can see spirals in whirlpools, in tornados, and in galaxies. [Show page with spiral galaxy.] There are also spirals inside you: 3-D spirals called helixes in your genetic makeup, your DNA. Read more about the cool, smart spiral in Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman.

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman, pictures by Beth Krommes. Unpaged. 2011: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children. Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2013-2014 (primary grades).

Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature

Book talk: Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse (Virginia Readers' Choice, 2012-2013)

Did you look in the mirror this morning? Mirrors are funny. They show us a reversed image of ourselves. This book, Mirror Mirror, is all about reversals in fairy tales, a really fun topic, because reversals are everywhere in fairy tales: the poor, abused girl becomes the rich, beloved princess; the ugly duckling becomes the beautiful swan; the old crone becomes the young girl. There are reversals of appearance, of reality, and of good/evil.

"In the Hood," a reverso poem

But what if you made a poem, called a reverso, about this? Reversos are deceptively simple. I’m going to read you my favorite one. [Read your favorite reverso to the kids while showing them the accompanying picture: I like “In the Hood”]

[While explaining the reverso format, turn the pages so they can see others…] A reverso poem is like a puzzle: you read it, going down, as you would normally read. If you then took them bottom lines and put them at the top, reversing the order, you’re using exactly the same words but somehow, mysteriously, the meaning changes. Look carefully or you’ll miss it.

Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Josee Masse. Dutton Children’s Books: 2010. Booktalk to elementary (I would use it for 1^st through 5^th). Virginia Readers’ Choice, 2012-2013.

Booktalk: Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich [Monsters; 1]

Every person out there has a favorite monster. You may not want to admit it, but it’s true. Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich is actually a book of monster poems featuring really well-known monsters like Frankenstein, the Creature from the Black Lagoon, Dracula, Godzilla, and all the rest. Each poem gives you some really embarrassingly hilarious and bizarre information on the monster. For example, there’s actually a poem called, ‘Godzilla Pooped on My Honda.’ It will give you all the gross-out details which I cannot. In another poem, Count Dracula was with a bunch of other monsters at night, trying to be Mr. Cool and all that, but the whole time he had spinach stuck on his teeth! And no one told him, but they all knew! How totally embarrassing. And did you know that the Invisible Man got a haircut? I can’t tell you how it turned it, but things got ugly. Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex.

Booktalk: Don't Forget Your Etiquette! [Manners; 3]

You know how dangerous bad advice can be? Well, this is a book of manners – also called etiquette – written in poems. No, the poems are not dangerous in and of themselves. It’s what’s in the poems: advice about how to misbehave, written by this really wild girl with glasses, Miss Information. Get it? Misinformation, also known as bad information. If you follow Miss Information’s etiquette, this is how you behave in the family bathroom when people are waiting to use it [show pages titled, “Bathroom Etiquette]:

1). Lock the bathroom door and ignore the pleading of your brothers and sisters.

2). Take a couple of hours to practice your trombone in the bathroom.

3). Bring a lot of reading material for when you sit on the throne.

4). Order in a pizza.

5). Pedicure your dog.

6). Let your siblings in in a few weeks.

7). Take your time, really.

Yep, there’s some really good bathroom etiquette there for ya. I don’t even want to show the etiquette about behaving around the babysitter, dressing yourself, or eating. So, if you want a great guide on how not to behave, check out Don’t Forget Your Etiquette! by David Greenberg.

Don’t Forget Your Etiquette! The Essential Guide to Misbehavior by David Greenberg. Unpaged. Farrar, Straus and Giroux: 2006. Booktalk to K-6^th grades.

Take a Second Look: Booktalk 2

[Hold up cover.] This is Loeb. He’s a middle-school zombie. Just like the title tells you, he eats brains for lunch, as the other zombies at his school do. The zombies have flies, maggots, and when they roll their eyes, their eyes fall out of their heads. So Loeb’s got quite a middle school – there are three groups of kids. You’ve got the zombies, the Lifers [regular human beings], and the chupacabras [blood suckers, also called Chupos]. Weird, huh? Well, this is one weird book. It is written entirely in haiku form. Why in haiku? I mean, there’s nothing creepy about haikus! Loeb the zombie likes to hang out in the school library. The librarian, Mrs. Fincher, recognizes that he’s really smart and a good writer. She urges him to enter his haikus at open poetry mike night at school. Oh, and to complicate things, he sort of has a crush on a pretty lifer named Siobhan. Loeb’s friends sure don’t want him to succeed: after all, there are unwritten rules about what zombies can and cannot do. But Loeb is kind of cool, and smart, and funny. So what if his ear falls off from time to time?

Brains for Lunch by K. A. Holt. 86 p. Roaring Book Press, 2010. Booktalk to 5^th, middle school, high school.

Cool, Smart Poetry: Booktalk 3

Poets can get away with stuff that non-poets can’t. For example, only a poet would think about what trees dream about at night. One of my favorite poems in this collection is called “The Oak Trees Are Dreaming” by Patricia Hubbell, and I got to hear her read it on the CD that comes with the book. Hearing her read it made the poem come alive for me. Back to poets getting away with stuff. Only a poet could write an ode to a termite who caused your Cousin May to fall through the floor today. And only a poet could write an obituary for a clam that lived and died 300 million years ago. And only a poet could compare a bear in a zoo to a lost child in the woods. And only a poet could explain to you why everything that lives wants to fly. The great thing about a treasury of poetry like this one is that it has something for everyone. You are guaranteed to find at least a few poems that you really love. The Tree that Time Built: [Poems] Selected by Mary Anne Hoberman and Linda Winston.

The Tree that Time Built: [Poems] Selected by Mary Anne Hoberman and Linda Winston. 209 p., includes index, glossary, and accompanying audio CD. Sourcebooks, Inc, 2009. Booktalk to elementary school [grades 3-5] and to middle school.

Cool, Smart Poetry: Booktalk 2

[Before you booktalk, put bookmarks in your favorite poems in case you want to read a few instead of doing a traditional “booktalk.” These poems are charming.]

Can you imagine a poem about your great-aunt who was a paleontologist famous for finding fossil poo? Or a poem about hugging and kissing a giant dinosaur skeleton in a museum? Or a poem about a prehistoric kid who has a teddy bone instead of a teddy bear? [Show the picture: it’s the poem titled “Teddy Bone.”] Doesn’t he look miserable in his leaky, lumpy bed? He wakes up miserable every morning: so next time you’re whining about going to bed, think about what life was like for prehistoric kids! Can You Dig It And Other Poems by Robert Weinstock features cool, quirky poems with hilarious little details: triceratops on a trapeze; Cro-Magnon men wearing animal tutus; and a T. Rex who accidentally ate his friends!

Can You Dig It and Other Poems: Unearthed by Robert Weinstock. Unpaged [21 poems]. Disney Hyperion Books, 2010. Booktalk to grades 3-6.

Cool, Smart Poetry: Booktalk 1

[Before you booktalk, put bookmarks in your favorite poems in case you want to read a few instead of doing a traditional “booktalk.” More charming poems here.]

Did you know that 99% of all species that ever existed are now extinct? 99% -- that’s pretty much all species! So the species that are still sticking around today, like us, are pretty lucky and amazing. [Showcase cover of book]. This book is called Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors by Joyce Sidman and illustrator Beckie Prange. That’s a tricky word – ubiquitous. What does that mean? [Take answers or guesses.] The glossary at the back tells us this: “Something that is (or seems to be) everywhere at the same time.” So basically, ubiquitous means something that’s everywhere – and something we are used to: bacteria, beetles, ants, grass, squirrels, and humans. All of these things have ancient ancestors. Take squirrels, for example.

[If you want, skip the next part, and just read the poem “Tail Tale” and then give your readers a few pre-rehearsed facts from the squirrel info section.]

“Tail Tale” is a cool shaped poem [show the picture]: squirrels have more determination and perserverance than we’ll ever have, and their genetic family is 36 million years old. That’s older than us, good old homo sapiens. In the world of species, we are the new kids on the block. Our everyday world is full of ancient mysteries, and history lives through those ubiquitous plants and animals. Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors by Joyce Sidman.

Ubiquitous: Celebrating Nature’s Survivors by Joyce Sidman, ill. by Becky Prange. Unpaged. Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010. Booktalk to intermediate grades [3-5] and middle school.