Poetry Friday: Seeking Recommendations for the Party People

The Friends group at my local library not only sponsors an enormous sale in July but also maintains book-sale shelves throughout the year. They raise a ton of money. The other day I lucked out, buying The Random House Book of Poetry for Children for only three dollars. I'm glad to have a copy of my own since this book gets recommended repeatedly when I talk to people about children's poetry. My first-grade reading buddies at a nearby city school liked hearing a couple of poems from the book, but two of the girls wanted a poem on 1) princesses, and 2) parties. I couldn't find much that fit the bill at quick notice. Parties have been a huge topic with the first-graders this year. We reminisce about birthdays, look forward to barbecues, and talk excitedly about festivities during their town's Puerto Rican Day parade. The children love to draw pictures of parties on their dry-erase boards after they write out some words from the books we read.

If any readers have suggestions of poems about parties or princesses, I'm all ears. The 811 section in the children's section of the library is vast, so poems from older books are fine, too. I'm not looking for poems at the kids' reading level necessarily but ones I could read to them. Short, funny, and relatively simple are especially welcome.

Read more poetry-related posts by visiting Wild Rose Reader's Poetry Friday roundup.

Comments

[Renee]

Your post reminded me of a fun poem:
http://dear-time.blogspot.com/2008/05/poetry-friday-childrens-party.html

It isn't quite what you are looking for, but I think you'll appreciate it. (Especially after the party!) Enjoy and good luck. I look forward to reading the responses and seeing what everyone comes up with.

[Susan T.]

That was so funny! Thank you for the link, Renee. Everyone else, head over to D.E.A.R. Time; the poem is a hoot.

[Jules]

Oh man, I WOULD have to read this when I'm not at home (and won't be home 'til tomorrow) around my poetry books.

I will look later. I love a good challenge like this (having said that, if I forget, send me an email to remind me if you think of it yourself!)

Jules, 7-Imp

[Jules]

Oh, and I believe there are a few about parties in Here's a Little Poem (Yolen and Fusek Peters and Polly Dunbar)....

more later.
jules

[Susan T.]

Jules, great! I will check out Here's a Little Poem, which would be a good addition to the school's library, actually.

[Mary Lee]

I seem to remember a princess poem by Judith Viorst. Indeed, when I Googled "princess poem by viorst" I found this:

http://www.iblist.com/book18773.htm

Don't Bet on the Prince might be a bit too feminist for your first grade friends, but YOU might love some of the poems and stories in it!

[Susan T.]

Mary Lee, that book sounds fascinating. Thanks!

I should read Robert Munsch's "Paper Bag Princess" to the first graders. They'd probably get a kick out of it. My sweet little friends watch a lot of TV, and get many ideas from the Disney stuff, I'm afraid. They're not alone, of course. A few years back Jr.'s old preschool banned, er, discouraged, t-shirts, clothes, etc., depicting TV/movie characters.

[Elaine Magliaro]

Susan,

Here are the titles of some party poems:

1. "Marty's Party" by David McCord (ONE AT A TIME, page 398)

This is how it begins:

Marty's party?
Jamie came. He
seemed to Judy
dreadful rude. He
joggled Davy,
spilled his gravy,
squeezed a melon
seed at Helen...

2. "The Rose on My Cake" by Karla Kuskin (TALKING LIKE THE RAIN, page 18)

3. "Five Years Old" by Marie Louise Allen; "The Wish" by Ann Friday; "Birthdays" by Mary Ann Hoberman (READ-ALOUD RHYMES FOR THE VERY YOUNG, page 29)

4. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, which is a small anthology of birthday poems selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins and illustrated by Hilary Knight.

[Susan T.]

Oh, Elaine, this is terrific! Thank you so much.

[Sylvia]

If it's not too late to toss another "party poem" recommendation your way, you might look for Birthday Rhymes, Special Times by Bobbye S. Goldstein (1995, I think). Fun topic!
Sylvia

[Susan T.]

Sylvia, that's great! Thank you. I'm sure one of the local libraries will have that.

I'm taking the poems next week; this week I went on a field trip with the children and their teachers.

[StacyFaye]

I've read the anthology of birthday poems "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" and I recommend it!

[Susan (Chicken Spaghetti)]

Well, that sounds right for my friends who like to hear about parties! Thank you.