Interactive Program for Kids in Honor of National Poetry Month

SPRING

How pleasing –

not

to be

freezing.

            By Prince Redcloud

April is National Poetry Month.  Now, there are those among us who hear the word “poetry” and immediately shudder as they recall the anguish of having to analyze the meaning of a poem as a student. For those folks, the idea of celebrating poetry might seem strange indeed. If you count yourself among those who claim to not like poetry, grab your school-aged children and head over to the Des Plaines Public Library this month and help us celebrate the fun of poetry by participating in our Poetry Scavenger Hunt!

You’ll find 50 poems printed on colorful posters displayed throughout the Youth Services Department on the second floor of the library. For the first part of the scavenger hunt, children are asked to find 24 poems and record the name of the poem, the author, and the first line of the poem. When that task is successfully completed, each child will win a pen (for writing their own poetry, of course). 

The second part is a little more challenging – children are asked to answer 12 questions with the name of a specific poem that is on display. The prize for successfully completing this part of the hunt is a “Write Now!” notebook in which they may write their own poetry! Poems will be on display throughout the month of April.

After completing this challenge, you may wish to select one of the many poetry books we have on display and head back to our Poet Tree Corner to quietly share some favorite new poems with each other.