Did you know that April is National Poetry Month? Some people celebrate by carrying a poem in their pocket to share with others. My favorite experience with poetry was when my English teacher gave each student a bag of words that we arranged to make poems. Little did we know that those words were actually taken from different poems. It was fun to compare our poems to the original. Try it yourself and share what you create in the comments!
In the following books teens struggle with grief or loss, and poetry allows them to express their sorrow and work through their pain. In And We Stay, Emily's ex-boyfriend commits suicide and she is sent to a boarding school in Amherst, Massachusetts, the hometown of Emily Dickinson. Emily escapes through writing poetry and reading the works of Dickinson.
And We Stay is available in other formats.
James' depression and abusive parents leads him to seek help from both Walt Whitman's poetry and an imaginary pigeon he names Dr. Bird. Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets is heavy with pain and grief, but still manages to find the humor in life.
Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets is available in other formats.
It makes sense that Sam retreats into his hoodie and disengages at school after his mom abandons him, in Jumped in. When his teacher pairs him up with the seemingly toughest guy in class for a poetry project he is anything but excited, but it might turn out to be just what he needs.
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