Here we go again! It’s time for this week’s Children’s Poetry Blog Post Roundup. It’s a little slower than usual as it’s the middle of summer in the northern hemisphere, but many poets are still hard at work. Here’s what they’ve been up to this past week.
Today I Packed My Lunch MyselfWhen I was in elementary school, beginning in about the fourth grade, I was responsible for packing my own lunch every day. I even wrote a poem about it in my book Revenge of the Lunch Ladies called “I’m Getting Sick of Peanut Butter.” In that poem, I complain that my lunch has a peanut butter sandwich in it every day, and I’m getting tired of it. The original ending of that poem was, “You see, it is the only thing that I know how to make.” In other words, I had only myself to blame for the fact that my lunch was always the same thing.
When I submitted the poem to my editor, he argued that children don’t pack their own lunches, and insisted that I change the ending, so it would up as, “You see, it is the only thing my mom knows how to make.” I didn’t like that ending as much, but I could see that we were never going to agree, so I decided to compromise.
Recently, I was thinking about that, and it occurred to me that, even if most kids don’t pack their own lunches every day, they might do it every once in a while. I wondered what would happen if a kid who didn’t normally pack their own lunch suddenly had the opportunity. What might they include? Would they put in every sweet or tasty thing they could find? And that’s how this poem was born.
Today I Packed My Lunch Myself
Today I packed my lunch myself.
I got my lunch box off the shelf
and quickly filled it to the top.
I don’t know why I couldn’t stop.
That’s why I have a soda pop,
an ice cream cone, a lemon drop,
bananas, bacon, gummy bears,
lasagna, licorice, pickles, pears,
a candy bar, a chocolate shake,
an apple pie, a birthday cake,
some chips and dip, a T-bone steak…
I also have a tummy ache.
— Kenn Nesbitt
Alright, poetry pals! It’s time again for this week’s Children’s Poetry Blog Post Roundup! Here’s what’s been happening in the world of children’s poetry for the past week. Grab a juice box and settle in!
My Sister Found Some ScissorsThis poem was inspired by some real-life hair-raising moments in my family. When my daughter was about six years old, she decided, without warning, to cut her own hair one morning before school. Let’s just say the results were… not great. I had to do a quick fix before we dashed out the door. Then, years later, when she was a teenager, she offered to cut her older brother’s hair. That one didn’t go so well either. And, once again, I was the emergency barber. Fortunately, she never tried to cut her parents hair or give the pets a trim. But these memories made me think: what if a kid just couldn’t stop giving haircuts? This is…
My Sister Found Some Scissors
My sister found some scissors.
She climbed up on a chair.
She stood before the mirror
and snipped off all her hair.
She thought it was exciting,
and so, when she was through,
she gave the dog a haircut.
She gave the cat one too.
I even let her cut mine.
She didn’t do too bad.
But when our parents found out,
my goodness, they were mad.
She tried to be a barber.
Now she’s in trouble deep.
She practiced on our parents
while they were both asleep.
— Kenn Nesbitt
It’s time again for this week’s Children’s Poetry Blog Post Roundup! Here’s what’s been happening in the world of children’s poetry over the past week, from the wonderful world of kidlit blogs, for all you poetry lovers out there. Let’s see what the poets and teachers have been up to!
The ShowdownMy friend and colleague Alan Katz , author of the “Silly Dilly” song books such as Take Me Out of the Bathtub, mentioned that going to be doing a performance called “The Joke Show” and he said that it’s called a “show” because you’re expected to “show up.” Since we both write funny poems, I jokingly asked if there “would be a showdown if I showed up?” As soon as I said it, I realized there was the seed of a poem in there. My wife was on the phone with her mother at the time and as soon as she hung up, she told me that her mom had given her the “lowdown.” That cinched it. I knew I had to write a showdown poem. I hope you enjoy the result.
The Showdown
The bad guys in the black hats,
and the good guys in the white,
declared there’d be a showdown
in the village square tonight.
The word went out for miles around,
so people got the lowdown.
And everyone decided they
should go down to the showdown.
With everybody driving
on the highway to the showdown,
the traffic got so bad that it
became a massive slowdown.
And in the end, the bad guys
and the good guys had no throwdown.
The roads were blocked, so nobody
could show up at the showdown.
— Kenn Nesbitt
Hi, everyone! It’s time again for the Children’s Poetry Blog Post Roundup! Here’s what’s been happening in the world of children’s poetry this past week, as shared by the wonderful bloggers out there:
Welcome back for this week’s Children’s Poetry Blog Post Roundup! That means I’ve been sifting through the web, checking out the latest happenings in the world of children’s poetry, and now I’m bringing you the scoop. Grab your pencils and let’s see what’s been going on!
Ice Pops, Ice PopsSummer is here, and the days are getting hot! I wrote this poem a couple of years ago for Storyworks 2 magazine, just in time for the end of the school year. Now that July has arrived again and the days are scorching, it felt like the perfect moment to share it on the website, along with a little “ice advice.” After all, there’s nothing better than a cool, sweet treat on a scorching day… as long as you remember how to treat your treat. This is…
Ice Pops, Ice Pops
Ice pops, ice pops.
A tasty frozen treat.
Ice pops, ice pops.
Delicious, cold, and sweet.
Nice pops, ice pops,
in summer can’t be beat.
But don’t drop. Ice PLOPS
aren’t as good to eat.
— Kenn Nesbitt
It’s that time again for the Children’s Poetry Blog Post Roundup. Here’s what’s been happening in the world of children’s poetry this past week. Get ready to see what our fellow poets and teachers have been up to!
