The best thing about this book is the clever introduction of poetry terms and themes without being intimidating. Sure, the kids are writing ABCB quatrains, but they aren't afraid! Onomatopoeia, haikus, metaphors, similies...they are all in there. Only the kids think they are writing poems about having a million dollars, things they like to eat and all other such fun kid stuff.
The book is not dumbed down in the least. The proper poetic terms are introduced and explained clearly. What makes this book so great is that with each explanation is a step-by-step guide so kids can write their own poems in that same style. For example, when learning about a Diamonte-style poem, the explanation of Diamonte is a simple four sentences long, followed by two example poems. Next the kids write their own Diamonte-style poem following the writing guide such as "for Line 1 and 7 think of two interesting words that are opposites" then "for Line 2 think of words that describe the noun in Line 1" and so on.
The book is written for grades 3-6 but my teenager is also going through this book with us. Poetry Patterns by Evan-Moor is a workbook that your kids can write in. Since I borrowed this book from my friend though, we are using notebook paper for writing the poems and creating a poetry notebook. Hopefully, this year is also creating some budding poets too!
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