One Book I Love: Countdown to Summer

During summer, I’m counting the days until school begins again, but for most kids, it’s the opposite. Prolific, wonderful poet J. Patrick Lewis knows that and has created a new collection called Countdown to Summer: A Poem for Every Day of the School Year (Little, Brown 2009).

This collection has a poem for every single school day. Most of the poems are funny/silly, but they do cover a wide range. Here are a few of my favorites: 180 A Sixth Grader Sees the Future In a billion years, A.D., Our sun will shine for none to see. The sea will miss each passing ship; The sky will hover over zip. Those blazing stars will start to cool, And I won’t have to go to school. In a billion years from now– Or maybe more, but anyhow, The earth may shrivel up and die. The universe? Pi in the sky. The future, spinning, may have spun, And I might have my homeword done. –J. Patrick Lewis, all rights reserved 143 Proposed Amendment to the Constitution The President and Vice-President of the United States shall be required to take the Fourth Grade Standardized Achievement Test so that No President or Vice-President shall be left behind. –J. Patrick Lewis, all rights reserved 43 April Fool’s They say you’re the picture of pretty, You’re as warm as the heat from the sun, You’re the lock and the key to the city, You’re the beef in the hamburger bun! They say you’re the pick of the litter, They say that you’re such a good egg! But, kid, have you stopped to consider Someone might be pulling your leg?! –J. Patrick Lewis, all rights reserved

This fun collection (with its sometimes adult in-jokes, like the NCLB poem) doesn’t talk down to kids and offers an irreverent take on a ton of different topics. How fun to read one poem a day in any elementary or even middle school classroom. And a teacher could pair this with Days to Celebrate, a terrific anthology created by Lee Bennett Hopkins, for a double dose of daily fun!

For a few full reviews on this book, see Elaine Magliaro’s Wild Rose Reader , Kelly Fineman’s Writing and Ruminating (We both picked 143 to share–I swear I had Post-It noted that one long before reading your review, Kelly!), and Sylvia Vardell’s Poetry for Children.

And on a side note, SCHOOL STARTS TODAY! HALLELUJAH!!!