Poetry- Poetry for Young People By: Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg is a famous poet of the 1900s. His work is renown, and I even remember reading some of his poetry in my freshman english course here at NC State. This collection of poems, edited by Frances Schoonmaker Bolin and illustrated by Steven Arcella, is appropriate for children in upper elementary and middle school to understand. Most of them are short in length, and the vocabulary is common. It is very difficult to introduce children to poetry, mainly because we do not understand it as adults ourselves. Poetry isn't bound by the same molds that other modes of literature are restricted by. This book has some very short, simple poems that young children can be introduced to build their understanding of the purpose and intent of poetry. Something that was hard for me to learn about poetry was that not everybody had to rhyme or even have a rhythm scheme. The only poetry I was exposed to as an elementary reader was Dr. Seuss. Good examples to use with elementary age children that are found in this book include "Theme in Yellow" and "We Must Be Polite". It is easy for children to imagine and understand what the speaker, Sandburg, is talking about. "Theme in Yellow" is about the life of a Jack-O-Lantern, while "We Must Be Polite" is about using please and thank you, and other good manners, even around strangers. This is also a good book to use because of some of the nature poems. In the fourth grade, social studies focuses in on North Carolinian history. Sandburg spent the last few years of his life writing poetry in North Carolina. It might be a good idea to have children read such poems as " Between Two Hills", "Sheep", "Landscape", or "October Paint", and have them brainstorm where and when in North Carolina might these poems have been set. The poetry found in this collection is both appropriate for elementary school children, and it has connections to other subjects taught in the upper elementary grades.