KARLA KUSKIN
I love the children’s poetry of Karla Kuskin.
Most of it is exuberant and lively…
and perfect for sharing with young children.
Her works were seminal in my development as a children’s poet.
Karla Kuskin’s ANY ME I WANT TO BE
is one of my favorite poetry books.
After reading it, I fell in love with mask poems.
My elementary students loved the poetry in this book, too.
In the poems, Kuskin speaks in the voices of a tree, snow,
night, a lion, a dragon, a snake, shoes,
and even a strawberry:
I liked growing.
That was nice.
The leaves were soft.
The sun was hot.
I was warm and red and round.
Then someone dropped me in a pot.
Being a strawberry isn’t all pleasing.
This morning they put me in ice cream.
I’m freezing.
From Scholastic:
From No Water River:
From the Cooperative Children’s Book Center:
From Poetry for Children:
From Live Your Poem:
From Wild Rose Reader:
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