Children's Poetry

We will read poetry of some of the best children's poets as students work on their own poems. Explore the magic of the poetry of Mother Goose, Robert Louis Stevenson, Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Shel Silverstein, Roald Dahl and Dr. Seuss as you develop our own voice as a children's poet.

Week One:
Students will read assigned classic poems and will also have the opportunity to suggest their own favorite children's poets for discussion.

Week Two:
We will discuss what makes for effective children's poetry. This will include issues such as appropriate level of vocabulary and the importance of rhythm and rhyme. Again, we will look at classic children's poems as models Students will write their own work and share it for peer review.

Week Three:
We will continue to workshop the poetry of students as we discuss the importance of concrete imagery and poetic devices in children's poems.
Again, there will also be classic children's poetry to read.

Week Four:
Students will work more and more toward finding their own poetic voice in a style appealing to children.


Instructor: Brooke Baldwin

About The Instructor: Brooke Baldwin received her education from Smith and her M.A. from Yale, she focused on essay writing. Her master's degree is in American Studies, which includes American literature. While a graduate student, she served as a teaching assistant in several writing-intensive sections of American Studies classes. For over twenty years she taught writing at the middle and high school level.

As a grad student, she had several articles published in academic journals. She has published articles and pamphlets about the anti-apartheid movement. She joined Fan Story as adewpearl in August, 2008 and became the site's second ranked poet that year. In 2009 she became poet of the year.