Introducing Poetry to Kids (3:47)

I saw you toss the kites on high

And blow the birds about the sky…

That’s the beginning of a Robert Louis Stevenson poem, The Wind, written for children. Maybe you read it when you were a child. Reaching and teaching children through poetry is hardly a new idea, but who is doing it today, and what could your role be in introducing children to this kind of art and language? Sylvia Vardell says, you can open up a whole world to kids through poetry. Vardell is a poetry expert and anthologist. She talks to Rachel about some of her favorite poets writing for young people today, and for adults, too. Sylvia Vardell is the co-author of The Poetry Friday Anthology and is a Professor at Texas Woman’s University in the School of Library and Information Studies. She also teaches courses in literature for children and young adults.

YA Author (13:07)

Next, Rachel visits with young adult and middle grade author, Robison Wells, about his journey as a novelist. Wells is known for stories often packed with action and high drama. He is the award-winning author of Blackout, Deadzone, Variant, Feedback, Dark Energy, and Airships of Camelot. He lives in the Rocky Mountains in a house not too far from elk pastures.

 

School Libraries (21:58)

We finish up the show with Kirsti Kirkland, librarian at Provost Elementary in Provo, Utah. She talks to Cole Wissinger, a member of our Worlds Awaiting team, about the variety of ways – from school reading contests to classroom and library activities – that she uses to motivate students to want to read.