Greetings, fellow word-weavers and poetry enthusiasts! It’s that time again for our weekly Children’s Poetry Blog Post Roundup. I’ve gathered the latest happenings from the wonderful world of children’s poetry over the past week, just for you. So grab a cup of tea, settle into your favorite armchair, and let’s see what our amazing poets and teachers have been up to!
Children’s Poetry Summit
The Sean Taylor: The CLiPPA Prize List and the Importance of Poetry for Children post brought exciting news, announcing the 2026 CLiPPA Poetry Award shortlist. Among the five selected titles is Sean Taylor’s Five Little Friends: A Collection of Finger Rhymes. The summit highlighted the vital role poetry plays for young children in language development and culture, mentioning that Taylor even wrote 35 new finger rhymes during lockdown. They’re looking forward to the CLiPPA show at the National Theatre.
Danna Smith Book Blog
Danna Smith shared some behind-the-scenes fun in her post, 🚂All Aboard for Storytime: Why “Wake Up, Freight Train!” is a Toddler Favorite. She expressed her excitement for her board book, Wake Up, Freight Train!, which has become a playroom favorite for toddlers who simply can’t resist a train whistle.
David L. Harrison
A flurry of activity surrounds the upcoming “David Harrison and Friends” event on May 5th at The Library Center! David L. Harrison’s blog shared many exciting previews. The post Kyrie Miles and students join David Harrison and Friends at The Library Center on May 5 announced that Kyrie Miles will lead the Wanda Gray Honor Choir of 4th graders in performing David Harrison‘s poems. Similarly, Shelby Tillery presents Disney students with David Harrison and Friends on May 5 at The Library Center shared that Shelby Tillery from Disney Elementary will also have her students perform. Music teachers guiding students to perform poetry, connecting words with the arts, sounds like a wonderful experience for the children! The Karen Craigo joins David Harrison and Friends at The Library Center on May 5 post highlighted that three Missouri Poets Laureate—Justin Hamm, Karen Craigo, and David Harrison himself—will be present, with Karen Craigo joining other Springfield-area poets. The Byron Biggers Band joins David Harrison and Friends at The Library Center on May 5 informed us that the band, formed by Chris Craig and Gale Clithero, will perform musical settings of David Harrison‘s poems. We also learned from Sarah Wiggin to join David Harrison and Friends at The Library Center on May 5 that Sarah Wiggin, a theatre professor, will join Michael Frizell and students to perform David’s work. If you’re planning to attend, the How to attend David Harrison and Friends post gives all the details: it’s free, no ticket needed, at Hatch Auditorium on May 5th from 6:30–8:30 PM. Beyond the event, David Harrison also reminisced in Good memory, wrong day about a day named in his honor in Springfield, realizing it was twelve years ago on April 2nd, not the date he initially remembered, calling it one of the nicest things that ever happened to him.
Imagine the Possibilities
For Poetry Friday, Rose Cappelli continued her April Poetry Project with Poetry Friday: Backyard Wonders, sharing two tankas she wrote, “Time,” inspired by a Mary Oliver line and cherry blossoms, and “At Night,” from her backyard observations. She also pointed readers to Heidi Mordhorst’s roundup for a poetry conversation with Margaret Simon and Jone Rush MacCulloch.
Kate Williams
Kate Williams has been busy with her book, Squeak! Squawk! Roar!. In Squirrels & their Squirrel App, she invited readers to listen to “ZAP!” a poem from the book about squirrels. Her post, Someone’s reading Squeak!, celebrated a young reader enjoying the riddle poems from her book. She also shared A not so happy hen –, a riddle poem from the same book, and mentioned new Teach Poetry videos on her YouTube channel.
Live Your Poem
Irene Latham’s A Polka Dot Poem post shared a roundup of a very busy weekend, including a book launch, writing tips, a Goodreads giveaway, and an ArtsSpeak feature on Yayoi Kusama, all ending with a special Polka Dots poem she wrote for Rebecca Kai Dotlich.
Liz Garton Scanlon
Liz Garton Scanlon continued her delightful daily haiku series throughout the week. Her Haiku 17 — April 17, 2026 post reflected on the surprising beauty of a datura (moonflower) found during a walk, wishing everyone a Happy National Haiku Day. Haiku 16 — April 16, 2026 featured a verse about busy leafcutters and how small acts can change the world. In Haiku 15 — April 15, 2026, she shared her affection for often misunderstood animals, alongside a haiku about a snapper. Haiku 14 — April 14, 2026 explored the human urge to create art with nature, from cairns to cave art. Haiku 13, 2026 brought a sweet memory of a dog named Keeper and introduced a new pup, Poppleton, ending with a haiku about ducks, dogs, and water. For Haiku 12 — April 12, 2026, she delighted in a haiku about ear horns appearing overnight. Finally, Haiku 11 — April 11, 2026 set a reflective mood for a moody Austin Saturday with a verse about drama in the wings.
Miss Rumphius Effect
Tricia Stohr-Hunt continued her wonderful National Poetry Month 2026 project, creating poems from playful prompts. In NPM 2026 – Day 17, she shared a Five W Poem from the Poetry Machine and honored those speaking up for rights. For NPM 2026 – Day 16, she crafted “Playground Sonnet” using an Action Poems activity from Joseph Coelho‘s Poetry Kit. NPM 2026 – Day 15 presented “A dream about our world,” a Haikubes-inspired haiku. NPM 2026 – Day 14 featured her pantoum, “My Heart is a Glorified Drum,” generated with Metaphor dice. NPM 2026 – Day 13 produced “Swamp Dirge” from a Roll-a-Poem Dice Game. NPM 2026 – Day 12 saw her creating a Mad Libs–style piece about a stuffed rabbit. Finally, in NPM 2026 – Day 11, she crafted a triolet titled “In a Parallel Universe” using Paint Chip Poetry prompts.
Poetrepository
Mary Lee Hahn’s Poetrepository often explores how poetry connects with current events. She featured “Poetry In The News” in a post discussing Panel Advances Trump’s Triumphal Arch, Even as Key Member Suggests Changes, linking to a New York Times article. Her post Al Jazeera’s Europe News Today discussed how poetry can illuminate stories and human experiences behind headlines, deepening engagement with the news. She also highlighted Jeremy Hansen‘s sentiment about sharing joy when people appreciate teamwork in You Are a Crew, referencing a NYT article about the Artemis II crew. A post about National Poetry Month shared Jane Hirschfield‘s thoughts on poetry’s enduring potency and the persistence of joy and language. Several other posts, including War in the Middle East, President vs. Pope, and Orban Concedes Defeat, also touched on the theme of poetry engaging with current events, though detailed summaries of their content were not available.
Poetry Boost
Michelle Schaub‘s Poetry Boost shared POEM SHARE returns with some greatest hits for Poetry Month, featuring children’s poets sharing favorite animal poems. Highlights included Rebecca Gardyn Levington on giraffes, Matt Forrest Esenwine’s “Elegant Danger” about the peacock mantis shrimp, Eric Ode’s “The Frog,” Rose Capelli’s “How to Wiggle Like a Worm,” and Leslie Bulion’s Galápagos penguins. The post invited children to write their own animal poems.
Poetry Pop
Danna Smith offered a thoughtful meditation in Zen Pop: The Earth We Borrow— Reflecting on Grief and Birthdays This Spring, reflecting on mortality and renewal, inspired by a line from The Way Home and set against the backdrop of spring’s thawing and new beginnings.
Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme
Matt Forrest Esenwine shared his wonderful experiences visiting schools for National Poetry Month in Poetry Friday: Celebrating National Poetry Month with student poetry – Part 2! He led poetry workshops for kindergartners through third-graders, using games like “Most Boring Object Ever” and color-poem activities to spark their imaginations. In a rare mid-week post, I got “this” close…but it wasn’t meant to be, Matt candidly shared a personal disappointment about finding an agent, but quickly encouraged others and outlined his spring school-visit presentations.
Reflections on the Teche
Margaret Simon had a reflective and collaborative week. For Poetry Friday, her post Poetry Friday: Another Clutch to Watch Etheree featured a video conversation with Heidi Mordhorst and Jone MacCulloch about their teaching artist experiences. She also noted her National Poetry Month activities, including Ethical ELA VerseLove prompts and a wood-duck poem, and mentioned the Kidlit Progressive Poem’s surprising Poetry Slam turn. In This Photo Wants to be a Poem: Bayou Ducklings, Margaret shared observations from a canoe trip, including Muscovy ducklings, and a playful cascade-inspired poem draft. Her “Slice of Life” reflection, Slice of Life: Literary Life on the Bayou, celebrated New Iberia’s 10th Books along the Teche Literary Festival and the joy of a writing community.
Sarah Ziman
Sarah Ziman had a wonderful time with young poets at Nancy Reuben Primary School, sharing and creating collaborative poems. Her post, Young poets at Nancy Reuben Primary School, recounted how students imagined what a poet looks like, wrote odes to special people, and explored Kennings across different year groups.
Shaun Jex
Shaun Jex introduced readers to a playful “blue poo” poetry game, inspired by Tom Angleberger’s Dino Poet: Pen Pals. His post, Blue Poo? Who knew?!?, invited readers to create their own two-word rhymes like “Short wart” and “Tail flail,” and also plugged his poetry collection, A Catalog of Curious Creatures.
Steam Powered Poetry
Heidi B. Roemer shared an informative post, Student Video: Name That Seed!, explaining the various fascinating ways plants disperse their seeds, from winged seeds soaring through the air to those that float across oceans.
The Poem Farm
And finally, Amy Ludwig VanDerwater continued her daily National Poetry Month project at The Poem Farm, focusing on poems inspired by sounds and listening. In posts like listen – day 18, listen – day 17, listen – day 16, listen – day 15, listen – day 14, listen – day 13, and listen – day 12, Amy shared her handwritten index-card poems, keeping a new notebook of sounds she notices. She invited readers to join her by writing a poem each day in April, offered short poetry lessons, reflected on using the Merlin bird-identification app, listening to body sounds, and how sounds shape voice and memory. She also touched on the tactile pleasures of old-fashioned buttons and typing, explained assonance, and pointed readers to community roundups and resources.
- Weekly Children’s Poetry Roundup – Saturday, April 18, 2026 - April 18, 2026
- On the Street There’s a House - April 13, 2026
- Weekly Children’s Poetry Roundup – Saturday, April 11, 2026 - April 11, 2026
