Poems Have Roots: New Poems

by Lilian Moore, Tad Hills (Illustrator)

Teaches young readers about the art of writing poetry, describing how to draw on one's own feelings and experiences and explaining in detail how this award-winning poet created her own poetry through the things she herself had pulled from the world.

Genres: Poetry

44 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 1997

About the author

Lilian Moore grew up in New York, received a degree in teaching from Hunter College, and did graduate work at Columbia University. She attended college during the Depression, so job opportunities were few. She worked for the Bureau of Educational Research, helping children who could not read in their Reading Clinic. Ms. Moore was also a reading specialist for the New York Board of Education. She trained teachers and did extensive research into reading difficulties.

She was the editor of Scholastic's first paperback book club, the Arrow Book Club, beginning in 1957. As she said, "Imagine making it possible for these youngsters to choose and buy good books for the price of comics!" She was an editor at Wonder Books, Thomas Y. Crowell, and contributor to Humpty Dumpty magazine.

In addition, Ms. Moore was a founding member of the Council on Interracial Books for Children. Ms. Moore died on July 20, 2004, at the age of 95.

She is best known for her poetry and easy-to-read books.

Reviews

[Rashu · Rating 4 out of 5]

❄️ Where I live it never snows ❄️

I think about
snow that i have
never seen.

I know skis can skim
and sleds can
race
on snowy hills.

I know snow sports
are played
with forts and
snowballs whizzing.

I know snowmen in
clown face stand
in yards, watching
children
make angel wings.

Some things
I
know.

But how does it
feel
to lift your face to
falling snow?


How does it
taste
if you let your tongue
explore?


What is it like
the quietness of
snow
that can hush
a city's roar ?

☃️


Even though there were many beautiful poems, this one caught my heart as i've felt the same way about snow, winter and overall all seasonal change.

[Child960801 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nature poems by Lillian Moore. I read these to the children and we enjoyed them.

[Aayan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book if you just want a book that excites you. Although it was a short read I feel that Lilian Moore did a great job making you think.

For example on pages 16-18 she had me thinking about why it got so dry where they lived. She added perfect description. She made me feel as if I was in each poem. She made it so easy to visualize.

My favorite poem was “conversation” This was a great poem that didn’t make me think as much as it made me wonder. So these two animals are having a conversation. This is common in what we do in our ordinary life’s. They were talking about each other’s advantages and there disadvantages. Humans do this also. Now I am wondering how much things do humans have in common with animals.

There wasn’t a set plot, that is because there is a new plot every chapter. This isn’t my favorite way of reading a book, but it was a new way. I picked this off the shelf and I thought, “Hey, poetry book. I won’t like this but I’ll give it a try.” I was completely wrong. I loved this book. I finished it in 20 min.


Anyway I think this is a great book. It has all you need in a book. It has description, it is entertaining, and it hooks you. What is not to like about it.

[Claire Davis]

This is a poetry book dealing specifically with nature, each page has a differnet type of design or image, and deals with a different element. This is another book that I would be sure to use in a poetry unit.

[Rileigh Grady]

With each page covered in different designs this book is great for nature and the sun rising and setting.