Poetry Friday – Sheree Fitch

Sheree Fitch is a Canadian poet/writer who has written lots of lovely poetry collections for kids (and many other things too!)  Two of her best known children’s poetry books are There Were Monkeys in my Kitchen and Sleeping Dragons All Around. If You Could Wear My Sneakers is a collection with an interesting – and teacher-appealing concept.  Every poem in the book is an interpretation of one of the articles from the UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child.  There’s even a quiz at the end of the collection to get kids to match particular poems to the appropriate article from the convention.

While I think some of the poems do not offer a clear enough link to the article from the convention that they are meant to express, many of the poems offer a strong starting place for kids to begin thinking about the rights that they deserve.  Naturally, this ties in beautfully for teachers in numerous curricular areas.  It could be a super launch for a poetry writing experience where kids work together to create their own “book of rights” expressed in verse.

Here’s an excerpt from one of the poems:

           The Stinky Truth

“What do you think?
Do you think that I stink?”
Said the skunk
“Do you think that I smell?”
“Well, I think that you stink
But I think for a skunk
That you smell
Incredibly
Well.”

For the rest, check out Fitch’s book.  Also, see Just One More Book’s interview with Sheree from a while back, for more about her and her work.