43. You're a Poet: Ways to Start Writing Poems. Sean Taylor. Illustrated by Sam Usher. 2025. [March] 72 pages. [Source: Library] [nonfiction, poetry, 5 stars]
First sentence: It was bright. It was warm. And Piglet's mom said it would be a good day to go for a walk up the hill.
Premise/plot: You're A Poet wears many hats. You're a Poet IS a fictional story starring a young pig, Piglet, who discovers through the help of his family that he is a poet, that he has a gift for words. It isn't just one fictional story but a series of stories. So one could say perhaps that in some ways it is a chapter book as well. You're a Poet is a nonfiction book teaching children HOW to write their own poems. The fictional stories are the jumping off point. But step by step instructions follow each story. These bonus activities are for children and don't always use the technical poetry terms, however, they are for the most part meaty activities.
My thoughts: This one would be a good fit, in my opinion, for elementary aged students. I don't necessarily see it as a read aloud as is, though one could just read the fictional stories. I take that back--slightly. I think if teachers are teaching a poetry unit, then I think they could read the story and share/teach/do the activity perhaps breaking up the book over a series of lessons. OR a teacher could have this one in the classroom for students to read on their own. I talk about school instruction, but I am not excluding homeschool environments. (That is never my intent).
© 2025 Becky Laney of Young Readers
