Poetry That Begs the Question: "Oh, No! Where Are My Pants?"

Poetry doesn’t have to be all lovey-dovey like “roses are red, violets are blue…” As David Lubar wrote in his young adult novel, Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie, “There are as many types of poems as there are types of food. As many flavors, you might say. To claim you don’t like poetry because you hate ‘mushy stuff’ or things you don’t immediately understand is like saying you hate food because you don’t like asparagus.”

April is National Poetry Month, but don’t relegate poems to just once a year – share all kinds of poetry all year long! One of my go-to poetry books for kids is Oh, No! Where Are My Pants? and Other Disasters: Poems edited by Lee Bennett Hopkins with pictures by Wolf Erlbruch. These “disaster” poems range from funny to poignant, and your kids will find at least one to which they can totally relate.

For example, here’s one titled “Oh, No!” by Katie McAllaster Weaver:

“Hello apple!
Shiny red.

CHOMP. CHOMP.

Hello worm.
Where’s your head?”

and here’s part of one called “My Friend is Gone” by Lillian M. Fisher:

“A hug, a tear, and you are gone.
Your swing is missing from the lawn.
Your house is silent, dark and lone.
Your window says no one is home.”

Poetry is meant to be read aloud, so read Oh, No! Where Are My Pants? and Other Disasters: Poems to your kids and then choose one or two of your favorite poems to read aloud again. Talk with your kids about why you liked that particular poem. Encourage your kids either to choose a poem to practice reading or to write a disaster poem of their own. Your kids will find that poetry isn’t just mushy love stuff, and if you like this book of poems, we have plenty more at the Orion Township Public Library.

For more book recommendations and activities, please visit: kristenremenar.com.