Growing a Reader: Kids' Books, Tips and More

Create your own book spine poem at the library!

Do you read poetry with your kids? Today's the perfect day to start, as tomorrow (March 21st) is recognized as World Poetry Day.

Since poetry is rooted in oral history, it's great fun to read it aloud and play with sounds and rhyme. The rhyming game that my daughter and I love to play at home is simple: we take turns saying a word, and the other person says a word that rhymes with it. For example, she might say "bug", and I'll say "hug".

Because my daughter is only 3, I accept sounds that rhyme, even if they aren't words, like using "fot" to rhyme with "dot". But if you're playing with older kids, this is a great time to break out the dictionary to confirm if the word is valid or not. Want to stump them? Ask them to find a word that rhymes with bulb. Heh, heh, heh.

The library has many delightful books of poetry for children. Here are some of my favourites:

Writing and creating poetry is an easy way to encourage creativity and freedom of expression. Kids can use library books to inspire their own book spine poems by stacking and arranging books so that when reading the book titles, they become a poem. With millions of items to choose from, the possibilities are endless!