Concrete Poetry for Children

Definition

“A form of poetry in which the arrangement of the letters, the words, or the layout of the lines is such that the meaning is enhanced by the visual presentation” (Latrobe 45). 

Burg, Brad. Outside the Lines: Poetry at Play. Illus. Rebecca Gibbon. New York: Putnam, 2002. (Available at Concordia Library)

Florian, Douglas. Omnibeasts: Animal Poems and Paintings. Orlando: Harcourt, 2004. Curriculum 811 F635o. Contains a selection of concrete poems.

Franco, Betsy. Mathematickles! Illus. Steven Salerno. New York: McElderry, 2003. Curriculum 811.54 F8251m

Graham, Joan Branfield. Flicker Flash. Illus. Nancy Davis. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Curriculum 811.54 G738f

Graham, Joan Bransfield. Splish Splash. Illus. Steve Scott. New York: Ticknor, 1994. Curriculum 811.54 G738s. Contains a selection of concrete poems.

Grandits, John. Blue Lipstick: Concrete Poems. New York: Clarion, 2007. Curriculum 811 G753b

Grandits, John. Technically, It’s Not My Fault: Concrete Poems. New York: Clarion, 2004. Curriculum 811 G753t

Janeczko, Paul B., ed. A Poke in the I. Illus. Chris Raschka. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2001. Curriculum 811.008 P761

Lewis, J. Patrick. Doodle Dandies: Poems That Take Shape. Illus. Lisa Desimini. New York: Atheneum, 1998. Curriculum 811.54 L674d

Smith, Charles R. Diamond Life: Baseball Sights, Sounds, and Swings. New York: Orchard, 2004. (Available at Concordia Library). Contains a selection of concrete poems. 

Works Cited

Grandits, John. “Concrete Poetry and Visual Learning.” Book Links May 2005: 39-42.

Latrobe, Kathy Howard, Carolyn S. Brodie, and Maureen White. The Children’s Literature Dictionary. New York: Neal Schuman, 2002.

Compiled by Carol H. Sibley, Curriculum Librarian, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, Minnesota 3/07, revised 1/08. Based partially on an article by John Grandits published in Book Links, May 2005.