Books like If I Were in Charge of the World and Other Worries

Personal Reaction: I liked this book, I thought that it was very similar to Shel Silverstein's poetry that I read as a kid. It is written as the thoughts that kids have about their world and growing up so I feel like it is more easily relatable to them.I would use this book for the beginning of a poetry unit for 2nd-4th grade. The book is split into different categories, some are just split based on what object the poems in that section are about and some sections are split based on the type of poem. This book has lyric poems, fairytales, and even some nonsense and narration poems. I would use it to introduce a poetry lesson and read a different one from each section to begin to talk about the widely different categories of poems that there are and the characteristics that separate them. Aside from how the book is organized, each poem uses a good amount of figurative language and different aspects such as repetition and rhythm which help establish a flow to the poems. Of course there is also the use of other elements of poetry such as rhyme, both contrived and natural just depending on the poem. Throughout the poetry unit I would continue to read a couple different poems everyday to begin to show students the different sounds to each poem and increase their understanding and enjoyment of poetry.