Ten Books for National Poetry Month (plus a weekly poetry challenge)

  April is a mere five days away, and that means it’s almost National Poetry Month! To help you get a kick start to celebrating poetry throughout April, we’ve put together an assortment of book recommendations. You’ll find a little bit of everything in this list of ten books: poetry collections, picture book stories told in poems, biographies of poets, even a novel in verse! We hope this list is just the beginning of a month of reading, discussing and doing (that is, writing ) poetry! We have a month long celebration planned in which we challenge our readers and the children in their lives to read, discuss, and write four different types of poems—one challenge per week. You can join the weekly poetry fun by subscribing to our newsletter , visiting the website regularly for updates, following us on Instagram (@readdiscussdo), or all of the above! To read : Choose a book from this list or any poetry book. To discuss : Do you usually like poetry? Why or why not? Can you think of a poem y

Ten Book Nook Ideas for Siblings or Friends

by Marci Whitehurst

Is there anything that can possibly make reading better?

A story takes us on adventures, whisks us to new places, introduces us to different people—but it can be even better when we share it.

Siblings are built-in friends and sharing a book with a sibling is built-in joy. Our family also loved reading with cousins and neighbors. Creating a reading nook or spot to share a story can be twice the fun. Here are ten fun book nook ideas to try with a buddy:

1. Pillow Palace. Find a corner, a couch, or any interesting place and create a stash of pillows—enough for each kid. Settle in with a good book!

2. Set up a tent. If you have a tent, pitch it in the living room or family room—or if it’s warm enough, outside.

3. Blanket fort. Stretch a blanket over a coffee table or across chairs to build a fort. Settle in together for a good book. Bring a flashlight for extra fun.

4. Popcorn reading! Siblings take turns reading—a page or a chapter—it’s up to you!

5. Boxes. Make a box car or a train. This is great for younger readers. We once did this with laundry baskets—it was like a drive-in movie, only for reading.

Photo credit: Jamie Reimer and Hands on as We Grow®

6. Hidey-Hole. Find a spot to hide and snuggle in with a good book together.

7. Set up a snack for read-alouds. If an adult or one sibling is reading, the other kids can snack while listening. Make sure to wash hands before becoming the next reader. You could also put hot cocoa in a spill proof cup.

8. Bookcase snuggles. Put a yoga mat (or a big blanket) on the floor in front of a bookcase. Each kid picks a book off the shelf to read—or maybe two or three!

9. Flashlight night. They say reading in the dark is bad for the eyes, but a good flashlight provides plenty of light. If siblings hold flashlights for each other, it can be a lot of fun.


10. Car reading! If you have kids that do not get car sick while reading, settle in for traveling with a stack of books. Otherwise, books on CD or streaming are a great option for traveling.

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