My Poetry Book Kids' Poetry Challenge - Week 5 - "Purple"

Welcome to the last of five "My Poetry Book" Kids' Poetry Challenge post link-ups! Thanks to all who have participated in the challenge so far this month. We've very much enjoyed sharing some of our favorite poems and reading all your linked up posts. We hope you'll continue to explore poetry together with your family throughout the year.

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We're ending the month in royal style, with a poem titled "Purple" by Nikki Grimes. Purple is the color associated with royalty, and it's also my daughter's favorite color. Given her fondness for purple it's really no surprise that she likes Grimes' poem about a girl named Danitra Brown who wears purple every day (she even wears purple underwear).

"Purple" is one of thirteen poems in Grimes' book, Meet Danitra Brown. The friendship-themed poems in the book are written from the viewpoint of Danitra's Brown best friend Zuri. Whether a jump rope rhyme, secrets or bike riding -- these childhood experiences interwoven with a few complex issues are ones that each reader can identify with, especially young girls. Grimes breathes real life into her verses and turns the everyday into extraordinary. Her ability to connect with young readers from all backgrounds is one of the reasons her poems are so special. According to the end page, Nikki Grimes calls "writing her first love and poetry her greatest pleasure." Her enthusiasm shows in her poems, and she possesses the unique potential to inspire even seemingly reluctant children into becoming poets themselves.

Related Links:
Nikki Grimes's Website
Floyd Cooper's Website



An excerpt from "PURPLE"
by Nikki Grimes

... But her mom has told her stories about queens in Timbuktu.
And it seems they all wore purple -- never red or green or blue.
Now, she might just be a princess. After all, who's to say?
So just in case, she'll dress in purple each and every day!

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Instead of drawing this week, my daughter decided to write a few lines poetry about different colors. See, I told you Grimes has a way of arousing the poet within! Here are a few of my daughter's poems:


PURPLE
Purple is exciting.
Purple is great.
Purple makes you happy.
I just love -- PURPLE!

BLUE
Blue makes you sad.
Blue makes you cry.
Smile in the end,
Blue will end.

WHITE
White is too bright
I hope it's not a fright
It makes your eyes go dark
But I don't care because it's light.

Today's illustration is from my daughter's artwork archive. She drew the picture last fall before attending a wedding. The bride in this picture is not wearing the traditional white but instead is pictured in a lovely purple/green dress.




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Each week in April we hope you'll consider reading a poem (any poem, not just the one we have featured) with your child and then encourage your child to create an illustration based on the poem. This type of creative activity helps your child more thoroughly understand the poem and interpret it in his or her own way. If you would like to participate, please refer the original Kids' Poetry Challenge post and read the guidelines.

***Note: A few readers have mentioned that their child does not really like drawing or is not old enough to draw anything recognizable. If you prefer, please feel free to just post a favorite poem you shared with your child this week. Remember to only post a portion of the poem to avoid copyright issues.

We've tried to make it very simple for everyone to participate. Reading a poem together only takes a few minutes. The link-up will remain open all week long. Post the picture and accompanying text any day of the week and, if you have the time, stop by and visit the other participants' posts.



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This week's Poetry Friday is hosted by Tabatha Yeatts. Head over to her blog for more poetry posts and consider joining the Poetry Friday link-up. Link up your Friday book posts at Little Sprout Books' Feed Me Books Friday and JDaniel4's Mom Read Explore Learn.

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