National Poetry Month: Jack Prelutsky

Anyone who knows anything about children's poetry knows about Jack Prelutsky. He is the author of several books of poetry, including A Pizza the Size of the Sun and It's Raining Pigs and Noodles. He's also the author one of my favorite poems ever, The Troll. I used to read that poem to my daughter just for the delight in spooking her.

Jack Prelutsky has also written a neat little book called Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme. This book is a great way to get kids interested in reading AND writing poetry. Along with poems to read just for fun, this book has "poem starts," which are exactly what they sound like: the starts of poems. A few lines of a poem are written on the page, with the final line (or lines) to be completed by the reader.

Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme is a fun, no pressure way to encourage kids to begin writing their own poems. Check it out!