A Writing Kind of Day: Poems for Young Poets

by Ralph Fletcher

Boyds Mills Press publishes a wide range of high-quality fiction and nonfiction picture books, chapter books, novels, and nonfiction

Genres: Poetry, Childrens, School, Picture Books, Writing, Middle Grade, Teaching

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Ralph Fletcher is a friend of young writers and readers as well as writing teachers. He has written or co-authored many books for writing teachers includng Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide, Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Lessons for the Writer's Notebook, Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices, and Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing. Ralph has worked with teachers around the U.S. and abroad, helping them find wiser ways of teaching writing.

Ralph's many books for students include picture books (Twilight Comes Twice, Hello Harvest Moon, and The Sandman), novels (Fig Pudding, Flying Solo, and Spider Boy), poetry (A Writing Kind of Day and Moving Day), and a memoir, Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid. His novel Uncle Daddy was awarded the Christopher medal in 2002. He has also written a popular series of books for young writers including Poetry Matters, Live Writing, and A Writer's Notebook. Ralph lives with his family in New Hampshire. He is a strong environmentalist who believes we all must work together to live in a more sustainable way. His other passions include travel, good food, dark chocolate, growing orchids, and sports.

Reviews

[Celia Buell (semi hiatus)]

A Writing Kind of Day is a collection of poems from the perspective of an elementary or middle school boy learning to write poetry and experimenting with the unconventional places his words can take him. This book is written in a kid's voice, and it introduces poetry to the reluctant writer in the way a child might approach poetry: cautiously at first, with questions about right or wrong ways to write, and then eventually falling into the groove of poetry and appreciating the art of writing. The poems in this book can be read consecutively as a story, but they also work independently.

I would recommend as a read aloud for K-2 or as independent reading for 3-5.

Read my full review on my Goodreads account for children's books

[Matthew JEFF]

I love this book because it talks about things I can relate to in different ways. Some of them i can think of fun and some i can think of scary my favorite one is

[Celia Buell]

A Writing Kind of Day is a collection of poems from the perspective of an elementary or middle school boy learning to write poetry and experimenting with the unconventional places his words can take him.

This book is written in a kid's voice, and it introduces poetry to the reluctant writer in the way a child might approach poetry: cautiously at first, with questions about right or wrong ways to write, and then eventually falling into the groove of poetry and appreciating the art of writing. The poems in this book can be read consecutively as a story, but they also work independently. My favorite one, and the one that seems to be the turning point of the book, is Squished Squirrel Poem, questions through a child's voice whether poetry and its subjects have to be traditionally pretty. This piece, and this book as a whole, contain a large message of self-discovery.

Although many students in kindergarten through second grade couldn't necessarily read this themselves, it would make a good read aloud, and poems such as Squished Squirrel Poem could be individually copied and put in prominent areas of the classroom. Older elementary students would be able to read this on their own and make their own meaning out of the poems. It is also a good book at all levels for practicing meaningful connections, especially for the poems that primarily address writing what you know in life.

[Samarah]

Poetry
4th-5th grade

The first thing that stood out to me when opening this collegection of poems is that all of the pictures are in balck in white. Honestly I can not tell if that was done for a special reason or if the author (who is also the illustator) just wanted to do it. I love how some of these poems are silly while others are more emotional and serious. I feel like this shows that an author can do both and that a poem can be both. This was such a nice collection of poems that made me laugh, cry, and giggle. It made me think about life and my own life. I would have to say that I love it.

[Tessa Duncan]

A book of poetry that focuses on his family and life experiences. Ralph Fletcher works in stories about his family, including his grandmother who suffered from Alzheimer's. The poem Memory Loss talks directly about his grandma and her struggle. Bill of Sale talks about slavery and the horrors around selling children. A must buy.

[Royce B]

I sort of liked the book because it was fun and funny. This book would probably be 4th grade and up because there are words hard to understand. There were poems that rhyme and poems that didn't rhyme. Each author had their own idea which made each poem unique. Happy Reading!!!

[Maudie]

Genre:Poetry
Grade:2-4
This book is filled with a lot of poems about the authors grandma and his life and all the emotions he felt at the time. This is a good way to introduce poetry to kids. They are easy to understand and short enough for kids to read without getting lost.

[Morgan Castro]

This poetry book covers a number of different topics including family and school while also mentioning literary devices that are helpful for writing poems. I would recommend this book for children in 2nd grade and up.

[Don]

This was an interesting short collection of random poems. Geared toward young poets, the book showed that you can make a poem out of nearly any subject and it was an enjoyable quick read.

[J & J]

This wasn't what I had in mind but for the intended audience, I'd give it a 3.5

[Annburnett]

Really like the poetry in this book. Good read for everyone.

[Liz Garden]

A great collection to use with students! And since it's a cold, wet day...it's a good day to read poems and write some!

[Vanessa]

Great little poetry book!

[Emily Kinsman]

12/2
Poem
1st-4th
I don't usually like poetry but this book is filled with all kinds of them! Written and decorated differently, I was very entertained through the book! Very cute and silly!

[Kris]

This introduces a bunch of different styles of poetry and demonstrates that poetry can be written on a wide array of topics. Great for the intended audience.

[Kim]

Beautiful, sweet poems for children.

[Evelyn]

Enjoyed reading this book of poetry, and it made me think of my own students, and how I might add to their thinking.

[Joey]

I like how some of the poems are having conversations and respond to others.

[Katie]

Genre: Poetry

Number of pages: 32

Grade level/age: 3rd-8th grade

Theme: writing process

Summary:
This is the day to write! Ralph Fletcher takes his readers on a journey to discover the process of writing poems. Expressing that poems do not always have to rhyme; but they can. They do not always have to be funny, they can be serious too.

Personal Response:
At first, I did not like this book. I thought that the words in his poems did not play with each other enough to be considered a poem. However, after reading it again, I realize that poems don't always have to be light-hearted or rhyme. Poetry is often a way to express your feelings.

Classroom Use:
This book contains so many different types of poems that it is difficult to pick my favorite. But, while I was looking on the internet for some activities that I could do with the class, I came across this website. It has a list of sentences that are alliterations. http://www.proteacher.com/cgi-bin/out... Check it out!

[Srb]

This book is written as a collection of poems that almost tells the story of a boy throughout the course of a day. Although it isn't for certain that it is one day, it starts with a beginning of day poem and finishes with a nighttime poem, so one could assume that the events could have all occurred in the course of a single day.

I think this book is powerful for students because they can explore different elements of poetry through the eyes of a peer writing poetry. They can learn about white space, line breaks and even simile and metaphors through the eyes of a young middle school child. I would definitely recommend this book to share with students about to take part in writing their own poetry. It can serve as an example of how to incorporate their own lives into the poems they write.

[Esther Choi]

This poetry book teaches how to write poetry from nothing. It goes over parts of speech, writer’s block, five-paragraph essays, metaphor, the creative process, etc. All the poems in this book have multiple layers of meaning. Some were written about the most random things. The message of the author is that anything can be poetry. It would be really good to use with students in 5th and 6th grade when they are learning that poems don't always have to rhyme, and that anything with emotion and feeling can be poetry.

Interest Level: 4-6
Grade Level Equivalent: N/A
Guided Reading Level: N/A
Lexile: N/A
Genre: Poetry
Theme: Poetry, creative process, figurative language, parts of speech, writing with meaning

[Beth]

Fabulous poetry collection. I love how the poems in this book are about writing poems and the joys and frustrations that come from it. Definitely a collection I would love to add to my classroom library.

[Relyn]

I discovered Ralph Fletcher through a book called Grandpa Never Lies. I used it to teach visualizing because his words were so lyrical. As I explored more of his work, I discovered that he is a poet. I've been enjoying his work so much and am eager to share it with my students.

[Laura]

This book helps students get into the art of writing poetry. From this book students can get ideas and see actual poems written. They can learn about different styles of poetry and they can realize that you can write a poem about anything really.

[Bethe]

Great collection of poems, many on the process of writing poems and the usage of figurative language. Particularly poignant are the poems about his grandma an the snow angel. Hungry For Poetry, The Wordpecker, and Venus Flytrap Rap made me laugh. Wish this book was still available from the vendor.

[Joanna Liska]

I can't wait to use this with young poets!!! Thank you Ralph!

[Ms. Brown]

Thoughtful, funny, sad. These poems make me want to write my own!

Ralph Fletcher is my new favourite poet.

[Ryan]

Great for figurative language and close reads for poetry.

[Jimmy]

What I loved about these poems was how Fletcher made them seem like they were written by a young child. He's made a living just focusing on kids and poetry. His positive reputation is well deserved.

[Alexa]

Loved it! I don't often read poetry books, but this was really good! Proves you can write a poem about just about anything