April is National Poetry Month!
One of my favorite children’s poets, Jack Prelutsky has a new poetry app, The New Kid on the Block – interactive storybook of poems! It’s based on his book, The New Kid on the Block and includes a collection of eighteen poems that will make you laugh out loud! The app was created by Wanderful Interactive Storybooks and Living Books.
To begin your poetry adventure, click on either “Read to Me” or “Let Me Play.” Scroll through the
selection of poems, then pick a poem! Jack Pretlusky will be your guide. To select a poem, click on the arrows. To play inside a poem, click “Let me play.” While you’re deciding, Jack Pretlusky will sing you a poem about an alligator. This will make you smile.
One of the key components in a good book app is the ability to clearly see and hear the words. The New Kid on the Block app does this and more! In this poetry book app, you can tap on any word to hear it speak. When you’re listening to the poem, each word is highlighted so you can follow along with the reader. For example in Forty Performing Bananas, you can click FORTY and the word forty is read out loud with dancing bananas!
Explore Jack Prelutsky’s website
Two more poetry apps:
- iF Poems: 270 classic poems and audio readings
- Poetry Foundation: Hundreds of your favorite poems on the go!
For more poetry ideas check out a few poetry websites and past ALSC poetry blog posts:
- ALSC poetry blog posts
- Sylvia Vardell’s blog, Poetry for Children
- This year’s Children’s Poet Laureate, Ken Nesbitt!
This month’s blog post is by “Poetry Paige,” ALSC Digital Content Task Force. We would love to hear from you. Please email us at digitalcontenttaskforce@gmail.com or add a comment below.