NPM Day 10: Lee Bennett Hopkins, The Poetry King!

My book spine poem for NPM 2017:

She walks in beauty

A jar of tiny stars

Awakening the heart

Open the door

House of light 

Pass the poetry, please!

For day 10 of my alphabetic stroll through poetry, I give you (drum roll, please!) the king of poetry, Lee Bennett Hopkins.  I love these words of tribute offered by Renee LaTulippe at The Spotlight on NCTE Poets post on Lee:  "This installment brings us to a prolific and celebrated educator, poet, author, and anthologist who has dedicated his life to the advocacy of children’s poetry, to the benefit of us all."  

One of the first professional poetry books that I ever purchased was Pass the Poetry, Please!  I've returned to it again and again and always learned something new and fun from its pages.  My second edition copy is hardback and autographed, so I've resisted purchasing the third edition for just that reason.  However, while preparing to write this post and looking at some of the preview pages offered by Amazon, I could resist no longer.  When I compared the table of contents between the two editions, I could see that I not only wanted, but needed the third edition.  Even as I write, the 3rd editon (revised, enlarged, and updated) is on its way to my mailbox.  And speaking of new editions, perhaps it's time for a 4th edition!   Here are just a few of my personal favorites from the king of poetry, Lee Bennett Hopkins!

 

Favorite picture book anthologies

by Lee Bennett Hopkins

from my own shelves:  

Good Books, Good Times

I Am the Book

Jumping Off Library Shelves

Manger

School Supplies

Wonderful Words

Favorite professional book by Lee Bennett Hopkins:

Pass the Poetry, Please!

Favorite interviews with Lee Bennett Hopkins:

Renee LaTulippe at NoWater River:

Spotlight on NCTE Poets

Michelle H. Barnes at Today's Little Ditty: 

Spotlight on Lee Bennett Hopkins + DMC Challenge

Reading Rockets:

Let's talk about poetry with Lee Bennett Hopkins

Favorite quote from Lee Bennett Hopkins:

"When bringing poetry and children together – PLEASE – just bring them together. They do not need to answer endless senseless questions or stomp verse into the ground surrounded by a bevy of activities. Do children really have to be asked how they know Miss Muffett wasn’t married? That a lovely verse about a city has to be followed up doing research on population? That a poem about math has to be followed by a discussion on the law of relativity? NO! Read the poem – and quite simply, shut up!" (from Reading Rockets interview "Lets talk about poetry with Lee Bennett Hopkins)