Display Case: National Poetry Month @ Fresno State Library

Exquisite : the poetry and life of Gwendolyn Brooks Before Gwendolyn Brooks became the first Black person to win the Pulitzer Prize, she was a little girl who dared to dream. Gwendolyn grew up surrounded by fine poetry. From an early age, she memorized the poems her father read to her and soon began to pen her own.

Maya's song This gorgeous picture book introduces young readers to the life and work of Maya Angelou, whose words have uplifted and inspired generations of readers. The author of the celebrated autobiography I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya was the first Black person and first woman to recite a poem at a presidential inauguration, and her influence echoes through culture and history.

Alias Anna : Zhanna Arshanskaya: a biography in verse : a true story of outwitting the Nazis An inspirational nonfiction novel-in-verse about Zhanna Arshanskaya, a young Ukrainian Jewish girl using the alias Anna, whose phenomenal piano-playing skills saved her life and the life of her sister, Frina, during the Holocaust-from award-winning author Susan Hood, with Zhanna's son, Greg Dawson

Quiet fire : Emily Dickinson's life and poetry Emily Dickinson is revered as one of America's greatest and most original poets. Quiet Fire presents the life and art of Dickinson through the poet's own letters and poems

Hope is an arrow : the story of Lebanese American poet Kahlil Gibran Before Kahlil Gibran became the world's third-best-selling poet of all time, he was Gibran Khalil Gibran, an immigrant child from Lebanon with a secret hope to bring people together despite their many differences.

In the spirit of a dream : thirteen stories of American immigrants of color Many immigrants of color set out across continents, oceans, and borders, travelling to the United States in pursuit of opportunity: scientists, athletes and artists have succeeded, bringing fame to America.

Pablo Neruda : poet of the people Describes the life and times of the Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet.

A portrait in poems : the storied life of Gertrude Stein & Alice B. Toklas Poems, paintings and Paris all come to life in this enchanting picture book biography of Gertrude Stein.

How I discovered poetry The author reflects on her childhood in the 1950s and her development as an artist and young woman through fifty poems that consider such influences as the Civil Rights Movement, the "Red Scare" era, and the feminist movement.

The poet slave of Cuba : a biography of Juan Francisco Manzano Juan Francisco Manzano was born in 1797 into the household of wealthy slave owners in Cuba. He spent his early years at the side of his owner's wife, entertaining her friends. His poetry was his outlet, reflecting the beauty and cruelty of his world. Written in verse.

When green becomes tomatoes A book of poetry moving through the seasons

Thanku : poems of gratitude This poetry anthology, edited by Miranda Paul, explores a wide range of ways to be grateful (from gratitude for a puppy to gratitude for family to gratitude for the sky) with poems by a diverse group of contributors, including Joseph Bruchac, Margarita Engle, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Naomi Shihab Nye, Charles Waters, and Jane Yolen.

Whoo-ku haiku : a great horned owl story The story of a family of great horned owls told in haiku poetry

Beastly Verse Beastly Verse aims to help return the wonder of poetry to children's lives through sixteen exquisitely illustrated poems, four of which have the surprise and pleasure of being foldouts. Consisting of playful as well as powerfully memorable poems, Beastly Verse transports the reader into a richly worded world of tigers, hummingbirds, owls, elephants, pelicans, yaks, snails, and even telephones!

The popcorn astronauts : and other biteable rhymes Take a bite out of the calendar with this cheerful collection of delicious seasonal poems, each one an ode to a favorite food!

Marshmallow clouds : two poets at play among figures of speech A freewheeling romp through the world of imagery and metaphor, this quietly startling collection of thirty poems, framed by the four elements, is about art and reality, fact and fancy.

Yuck, you suck! : poems about animals that sip, slurp, suck This appealingly icky poetry collection presents animals that suck-quite literally! From the mosquito to the elephant to the lamprey, discover how and why these animals sip, slurp, and suck

Mirror mirror : a book of reverso poems A collection of short poems called reversos which, when reversed, provide new perspectives on the fairy tale characters they feature.

Hello, Earth! : poems to our planet We walk on Earth's surface every day, but how often do we wonder about the incredible planet around us? From the molten cracks below to the shimmering moon above, Hello, Earth! explores the wonders of the natural world.

Echo echo : reverso poems about Greek myths Read one way, each poem tells the story of a familiar myth; but when read in reverse, the poems reveal a new point of view! Readers will delight in uncovering the dual points of view in well-known legends, including the stories of Pandora's box, King Midas and his golden touch, Perseus and Medusa, Pygmalion, Icarus and Daedalus, Demeter and Persephone, and Echo and Narcissus.

Firefly July : a year of very short poems A selection of short American poems dealing with the four seasons and the different weather events and animal patterns that can occur within each.

Flutter & hum : animal poems = Aleteo y zumbido : poemas de animales All sorts of animals flutter and hum, dance and stretch, and slither and leap their way through this joyful collection of poems in English and Spanish.

Lion of the sky : haiku for all seasons A collection of poems celebrates the four seasons, including spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold Discover how animals stay alive in the wintertime and learn about their secret lives happening under the snow.

Thinker : my puppy poet and me Thinker isn't just an average puppy--he's a poet. So is his owner, Jace. Together they turn the world around them into verse. There's just one problem: Thinker has to keep quiet in public, and he can't go to school with Jace. That is, until Pets' Day. But when Thinker is allowed into the classroom at last, he finds it hard to keep his true identity a secret.

Runny Babbit returns : another billy sook Collects poems and drawings that feature Runny and other woodland characters speaking his topsy-turvy language.

Delicious! : poems celebrating street food around the world A collection of poems about street food and food trucks around the world.

Lullaby (for a Black mother) A poem by an African American author of the Harlem Renaissance about a mother's love for her child is paired with color illustrations. Its sweet, lulling rhythm celebrates a bedtime ritual and the bond between a mother and child.

A hundred thousand welcomes Introduces scenes of hospitality and the word for "welcome" in more than twelve languages and cultures.

Dear treefrog With magical, concise and perceptive poems, Newbery-Honor winning author Joyce Sidman captures the life of a tree frog in an intimate and moving way.

Change sings : a children's anthem As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes - big or small - in the world, in their communities, and, most importantly, in themselves.

Leap! A startled little flea triggers a domino effect of surprised jumps in a grasshopper, a bunny, a dog and other animals in a circular story poem that combines engaging action words with mixed-media collage art.

Remember Picture book adaptation of US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo's iconic poem, Remember

A story about Afiya Some people have dresses for every occasion but Afiya needs only one. Her dress records the memories of her childhood, from roses in bloom to pigeons in flight, from tigers at the zoo to October leaves falling.

The thing about bees : a love letter Children are introduced to different kinds of bees, "how not to get stung," and how the things we fear are often things we don't fully understand.

The death of the hat : a brief history of poetry in 50 objects Poetry, scholars claim, is one of the oldest living art forms. This collection traces the canon from the Middle Ages - when poets may have written about a sword, a candle, or a bookworm - to the current day, when their subjects might be cocoa or a birthday card.

I'm just no good at rhyming and other nonsense for mischievous kids and immature grown-ups An illustrated collection of comically irreverent rhyming poems for readers of all ages, ranging in topic from avocados and anacondas to zombies and zebras (dressed like ghosts)

Emma dilemma : big sister poems The highlights and low points of a sibling relationship are insightfully evoked in short and simple poems, some funny, some touching, and all resonant with emotional truth.

Lemonade, and other poems squeezed from a single word Part anagram, part rebus, part riddle - this brand new poetic form turns word puzzles into poetry.

In your hands A prayer from mother to son that he will always be in safe hands

Blue sky white stars A stirring poetic tribute to the beauty and wonder of America's symbols, history, landscape

Every thing on it : poems and drawings The second original book to be published since Silverstein's passing in 1999, this poetry collection includes more than one hundred and thirty never-before-seen poems and drawings completed by the cherished American artist and selected by his family from his archives.

They call me Güero : a border kid's poems Twelve-year-old Güero, a red-headed, freckled Mexican American border kid, discovers the joy of writing poetry, thanks to his seventh grade English teacher.

Voices of the people Through poems that capture the essence of each person's life, acclaimed Native American writer Joseph Bruchac introduces readers to famous indigenous leaders from The Peacemaker in 1000 A.D. to modern day dancer Maria Tallchief and Cherokee chief Wilma Mankiller. Each poem is illustrated by a modern-day tribally enrolled artist.

The firefly letters : a suffragette's journey to Cuba Draws on little-known Cuban history to tell a stirring story in poetry. Based on the diaries and letters of Swedish suffragist Fredrika Bremer, who spent three months in Cuba in 1851, the story focuses on oppressed women, the privileged as well as the enslaved, in three alternating free-verse narratives.

And we rise : the Civil Rights Movement in poems A powerful, impactful, eye-opening journey that explores through the Civil Rights Movement in 1950s-1960s America in spare and evocative verse, with historical photos interspersed throughout.

Inheritance : a visual poem In her most famous spoken-word poem, award -winning author and poet Elizabeth Acevedo celebrates the beauty and meaning of natural Black hair, her words vibrantly illustrated by artist Andrea Pippins. This powerful book embraces all the complexities of Afro-Latinidad-the history, pain, pride, and powerful love of that inheritance.

Voices of justice : poems about people working for a better world A bold, lyrical collection of poems with gorgeous illustrations that highlight some of the most celebrated activists from around the world

Cast away : poems for our time Poet Naomi Shihab Nye shines a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to refugees

Dreams from many rivers : a Hispanic history of the United States told in poems A middle grade verse history of Latinos in the United States, told through the voices of many and varied individuals ranging from Juan Ponce de León to modern-day sixth graders

Woke : a young poet's call to justice A collection of poems by women that reflects the joy and passion in the fight for social justice, tackling topics from discrimination to empathy, and acceptance to speaking out.

Rain With illustrations depicting scenes from all over the globe, this haiku collection will enchant both nature lovers and budding poets.

Out of wonder : poems celebrating poets Presents a collection of 20 poems written in tribute to well-known poets from around the world.

Bravo! : poems about amazing Hispanics Bold, graphic portraits and beautiful poems present famous and lesser-known Latinos from varied backgrounds who have faced life's challenges in creative ways

A place inside of me : a poem to heal the heart In this powerful, affirming poem by award-winning author Zetta Elliott, a Black child explores his shifting emotions throughout the year. Summertime is filled with joy -- skateboarding and playing basketball -- until his community is deeply wounded by a police shooting. As fall turns to winter and then spring, fear grows into anger, then pride and peace.

On the horizon From two-time Newbery medalist and living legend Lois Lowry comes a moving account of the lives lost in two of WWII's most infamous events: Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. With evocative black-and-white illustrations by SCBWI Golden Kite Award winner Kenard Pak

Sail away : poems A celebration of mermaids, wildernesses of waves, and the creatures of the deep through poems by Langston Hughes and cut-paper collage illustrations by multiple Coretta Scott King Award-winner Ashley Bryan.

Ain't burned all the bright jason reynolds, using three longggggggg sentences, and jason griffin, using three hundred pages of a pocket-size moleskine, have mind-melded this fierce-vulnerable-brilliant-terrifying-whatiswrongwithhumans-hopefilled-hopeful-tender-heartbreaking-heartmaking manifesto on what it means not to be able to breathe, and how the people and things at your fingertips are actually the oxygen you most need

Niños : poems for the lost children of Chile With one poem for each child, this collection explores the hopes of the thirty-four children disappeared and killed during Augusto Pinochet's regime in Chile.

Burying the moon A beautifully illustrated novel in verse about a young Indian girl who tackles the taboos around sanitation in her village. This beautifully illustrated novel in verse shines a light on how a lack of access to sanitation facilities affects girls and women in many parts of the world.

Go show the world : a celebration of Indigenous heroes Using rhyming lyrics from a previously written rap song, Midewin author, Manitoba politician, and creator Kinew tells the stories of diverse Indigenous heroes both historical and contemporary from the U.S. and Canada

No voice too small : fourteen young Americans making history No Voice Too Small celebrates the young people who know how to be the change they seek.

The one thing you'd save If your house were on fire, what one thing would you save? Newbery Medalist Linda Sue Park explores different answers to this provocative question in linked poems that capture the diverse voices of a middle school class.

Look at this blue : a poem Look at This Blue insists upon a reckoning with and redress of America's continuing violence toward Earth and its peoples, as Hedge Coke's cataloguing of loss crescendos into resistance

Balladz A new poetry collection from Pulitzer and T. S. Eliot Prize winner Sharon Olds.

The poet X : a novel Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, Xiomara Batista has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. She pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers--especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, who her family can never know about.

You don't have to be everything : poems for girls becoming themselves Created and compiled just for young women, You Don't Have to Be Everything is filled with works by a wide range of poets who are honest, unafraid, and skilled at addressing the complex feelings of coming-of-age, from loneliness to joy, longing to solace, attitude to humor.

Every month is a new year: celebrations around the world A collection of original poems about New Year celebrations throughout the year and around the world. Includes an introduction about worldwide New Year celebrations plus a map, information about calendars, New Year greetings in many languages, additional factual information about the celebrations, and author's sources

A thousand times you lose your treasure A poetic meditation on historical, personal, and cultural pressures pre- and post-"Fall-of-Saigon" with verse biography on the poet's mother, Diệp Anh Nguyễn, a stunt motorcyclist in an all-women Vietnamese circus troupe. Multilayered, plaintive, and provocative, the poems in A Thousand Times You Lose Your Treasure are alive with archive and inhabit histories. By turns lyrical and unsettling, Hoa Nguyen's poetry sings of language and loss; dialogues with time, myth and place; and communes with past and future ghosts.

One last word : wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance In this collection of poetry, Nikki Grimes looks afresh at the poets of the Harlem Renaissance -- including voices like Langston Hughes, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and many more writers of importance and resonance from this era -- by combining their work with her own original poetry. Using "The Golden Shovel" poetic method, Grimes has written a collection of poetry that is as gorgeous as it is thought-provoking. This special book also includes original artwork in full-color from some of today's most exciting African American illustrators, who have created pieces of art based on Nikki's original poems. Featuring art by: Cozbi A. Cabrera, R. Gregory Christie, Pat Cummings, Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Ebony Glenn, Nikki Grimes, E.B. Lewis, Frank Morrison, Christopher Myers, Brian Pinkney, Sean Qualls, James Ransome, Javaka Steptoe, Shadra Strickland, and Elizabeth Zunon. A foreword, an introduction to the history of the Harlem Renaissance, author's note, poet biographies, and index makes this not only a book to cherish, but a wonderful resource and reference as well

Shout: a poetry memoir When she was thirteen years old, Anderson was a shy, bookish girl who was raped by a boy she trusted. She has since become known for the unflinching way she writes about, and advocates for, survivors of sexual assault. Inspired by her fans and enraged by how little in our culture has changed in the years since, she has written a poetry memoir that shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she's never written about before.

On the wing An illustrated collection of poems introduces young readers to fifteen different types of birds.

The year of goodbyes : a true story of friendship, family and farewells The author's mother's 1938 autograph book filled with inscriptions from family and friends is the inspiration for a collection of narrative poems about life in Nazi Germany for a Jewish family trying to escape the horrors.

Walking on earth & touching the sky : poetry and prose by Lakota youth at Red Cloud Indian School Collects poetry written by Lakota students at Red Cloud Indian School in South Dakota on such topics as the history of oral tradition, the struggles of everyday life, and their personal connections to the natural world.

Ubiquitous: celebrating natue's survivor Poems and factual information about some of the creatures that live on Planet Earth.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy A fresh perspective of young men of color depicting thirteen views of everyday life: young boys dressed in their Sunday best, running to catch a bus, and growing up to be teachers, and much more. Each of Tony Medina's tanka is matched with a different artist including recent Caldecott and Coretta Scott King Award recipients.

Hey Black Child A lyrical, empowering poem that celebrates black children and seeks to inspire all young ones to dream big and achieve their goals

Legacy : women poets of the Harlem Renaissance From Children's Literature Legacy Award-winning author Nikki Grimes comes a feminist-forward new collection of poetry celebrating the little-known women poets of the Harlem Renaissance-- paired with full-color, original art from today's most talented female African-American illustrators. Taking inspiration from the unsung women poets of the era, Grimes uses the "Golden Shovel" poetry method to create original poems drawn from the words of ... groundbreaking women writers. Set alongside the original works, Grimes's all-new poetry pays tribute to the unique heritage of these women and their spiritual connection to nature, illuminating female self-expression in the early twentieth century, reinvented with contemporary relevance and context. Featuring artwork by some of today's most exciting Black women: Vanessa Brantley-Newton, Cozbi A. Cabrera, Nina Crews, Pat Cummings, Laura Freeman, Jan Spivey Gilchrist, Ebony Glenn, Xia Gordon, April Harrison, Vashti Harrison, Ekua Holmes, Cathy Ann Johnson, Keisha Morris, Daria Peoples-Riley, Andrea Pippins, Erin Robinson, Shadra Strickland, Nicole Tadgell, Elizabeth Zunon.

The raven : a spectacular pop-up presentation of Poe's haunting masterpiece Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven is one of the most widely recognized poems in the English language. When it first appeared in the New York Evening Mirror in 1845, the poem made Poe an overnight sensation. Multi-award winners David Pelham and Christopher Wormell bring Edgar Allan Poe's classic poem vividly to life in this stunning dimensional presentation.

A place inside of me : a poem to heal the heart There is a place inside of me / a space deep down inside of me / where all my feelings hide. In this powerful, affirming poem by award-winning author Zetta Elliott, a Black child explores his shifting emotions throughout the year. Summertime is filled with joy -- skateboarding and playing basketball -- until his community is deeply wounded by a police shooting. As fall turns to winter and then spring, fear grows into anger, then pride and peace. In her stunning debut, illustrator Noa Denmon articulates the depth and nuances of a child's experiences -- through grief and protests, healing and community -- with washes of color as vibrant as his words. Here is a groundbreaking narrative that can help all readers, children and adults alike, talk about the feelings hiding deep inside each of us.

Apple : skin to the core : a memoir in words and pictures The term 'Apple' is a slur in Native communities across the country. It's for someone supposedly 'red on the outside, white on the inside.' Eric Gansworth is telling his story in Apple (Skin to the Core). The story of his family, of Onondaga among Tuscaroras, of Native folks everywhere. From the horrible legacy of the government boarding schools, to a boy watching his siblings leave and return and leave again, to a young man fighting to be an artist who balances multiple worlds. Eric shatters that slur and reclaims it in verse and prose and imagery that truly lives up to the word heartbreaking

Runway: The Daring Escape of Ona Judge An elegant, unforgiving poem narrating Ona Judge's self-emancipation from George Washington's household

Martin rising: requiem for a king Martin Rising is a stunning, poetic presentation of the final months of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s life - told in a rich embroidery of visions, color, musical cadence, deep emotion, and multiple layers of meaning. Against a backdrop of the sanitation workers' strike in Memphis, Tennessee, the book builds to its rousing crescendo as King delivers his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech - where his life's commitment to peaceful activism and his dream of equality ascend to their highest peak. The Pinkneys' powerful and spiritual look at King's legacy celebrates the courage and moral conviction of a man who changed the course of history forever. And even in the face of searing tragedy, he continues to inspire, transform, and elevate all of us who share his dream.

Voice of freedom : Fannie Lou Hamer, spirit of the civil rights movement "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired." Despite fierce prejudice and abuse, even being beaten to within an inch of her life, Fannie Lou Hamer was a champion of civil rights from the 1950s until her death in 1977. Integral to the Freedom Summer of 1964, Ms. Hamer gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention that, despite President Johnson's interference, aired on national TV news and spurred the nation to support the Freedom Democrats.

Sakamoto's swim club : how a teacher led an unlikely team to victory The true story of science teacher Soichi Sakamoto, who formed a champion swim club consisting of the Hawaiian and Japanese children of impoverished sugarcane workers in the 1930s. Without a proper pool to swim in, Sakamoto trained his team in irrigation ditches and coached the kids to swim against the natural current, building up the swimmers' strength and endurance. The team overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles and surged onto the national swimming scene, dominating events both in the United States and across the world. Almost lost to history, the sugar ditch kids' story is an inspiration to athletes around the world.

Voices of the People Through poems that capture the essence of each person's life, acclaimed Native American writer Joseph Bruchac introduces readers to famous indigenous leaders from The Peacemaker in 1000 A.D. to modern day dancer Maria Tallchief and Cherokee chief Wilma Mankiller. Each poem is illustrated by a modern-day tribally enrolled artist.

Hard-boiled bugs for breakfast : and other tasty poems More than 100 funny new poems from Jack Prelutsky, the nation's first children's poet laureate, in a wide array of poetic forms, from haiku to concrete poems and everything in between, and hilariously illustrated in black-and-white on every page