Book Recommendations: National Poetry Month

In honor of April being National Poetry Month, here are some poetry books you can read yourself or read with your kid!

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein (1974)

This collection of poems brings satirical humor to difficult topics. While published decades ago, the poems remain timeless and are still read worldwide.

A Stick is an Excellent Thing by Marilyn Singer (2012)

These poems are all about the wonder and fun of playing outside. This collection is meant to be read aloud, with joy and laughter abound.

I Am the Seed that Grew the Tree by Fiona Waters (2018)

Fiona Waters showcases short and long poems detailing nature's wonders, with a poem for each season of the year. The words and illustrations match to bring a beautiful flow to the book.

Poetry for Kids: Emily Dickinson, edited by Susan Snively (2016)

This collection features poems by the famous poet, Emily Dickinson. While some of her poems may seem challenging to children, the book helps by putting the definition of more complicated words at the bottom of each poem. This book will help children to learn more challenging words while also exposing them to poems by a classic poet.

(Click the book titles to check them out on our catalog!)

Win it Wednesday: The Passover Mouse

Every Wednesday we will give away a new book. For a chance to win, just fill out the form at the bottom of the page and you'll be entered into a drawing. The drawing will run from Wednesday through 11:59 PM Sunday. Winners will be announced on Mondays. (Note: you must be a Fresno County resident to be eligible for Win it Wednesdays.)

The Passover Mouse

By Joy Nelkin Wieder

It's the morning before the start of Passover, and all the villagers have swept their homes clean of leavened bread, in keeping with the traditions of the holiday. Suddenly, a small mouse steals a piece of bread and tears through the town, spoiling everyone's hard work. But just when it seems as if the townsfolk will never be ready for their Seder, the little mouse's actions unwittingly bring everyone together, to work as a group to save the holiday.

Jewish families at Passover will embrace this rollicking, funny, and ultimately inspiring story—based on an original tale from the Talmud—that weaves together the themes of community, kindness, charity, and forgiveness. It's sure to become a modern holiday classic that's shared year after year among the generations.

Congrats Adriel S.! You're this week's Win-it-Wednesday winner! 

April is Poetry Month

The 26th Annual Poetry Contest is on the way! 

Submit your poems between April 1st and April 30th. Poems will be judged by talented, local professionals and our winners will be celebrated at an in-person Awards Ceremony in June. Visit fresnolibrarypoetry.org for more information.

Monthly Early Literacy Activities Calendar: April

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library- Now in Fresno County

Free books for children under the age of 5! Sign your children up to receive a free book once a month until their 5th birthday. Visit lfcfresno.org/DPIL for more.

Win it Wednesday: Rez Dogs

Every Wednesday we will give away a new book. For a chance to win, just fill out the form at the bottom of the page and you'll be entered into a drawing. The drawing will run from Wednesday through 11:59 PM Sunday. Winners will be announced on Mondays. (Note: you must be a Fresno County resident to be eligible for Win it Wednesdays.)

Rez Dogs

By Joseph Bruchac

Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation—she’s there for a visit when, suddenly, all travel shuts down. There’s a new virus making people sick, and Malian will have to stay with her grandparents for the duration.

Everyone is worried about the pandemic, but Malian knows how to keep her family safe: She protects her grandparents, and they protect her. She doesn’t go out to play with friends, she helps her grandparents use video chat, and she listens to and learns from their stories. And when Malsum, one of the dogs living on the rez, shows up at their door, Malian’s family knows that he’ll protect them too.

Told in verse inspired by oral storytelling, this novel about the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the ways in which Indigenous nations and communities cared for one another through plagues of the past, and how they keep caring for one another today.

Congrats, Jana S.! You're this week's Win-it-Wednesday winner!

Win it Wednesday: We Move the World

Every Wednesday we will give away a new book. For a chance to win, just fill out the form at the bottom of the page and you'll be entered into a drawing. The drawing will run from Wednesday through 11:59 PM Sunday. Winners will be announced on Mondays. (Note: you must be a Fresno County resident to be eligible for Win it Wednesdays.)

We Move the World

By Kari Lavelle

Meet some of the world’s most beloved movers, shakers, scientists, activists, dreamers, and doers from the past and present who model what every childhood first can lead to! Neil Armstrong, Misty Copeland, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and more were once kids—they grew up to lead us to the moon, dance in the ballet, and break barriers.

From first steps to solving puzzles and learning the alphabet, all the small things are only the beginning: they can lead to future activism and innovation that just might change the world!

Congrats, Renae O.! You're this week's Win-it-Wednesday winner!