SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Pearl's & Ruby's
  • Politics in Practice
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • *Best New Books*
    • Annual Best Lists
  • Reviews
    • One Star Review
    • Nonfiction
    • Toon Reviews
  • Articles
    • Authors
    • Link Du Jour
  • Covers
    • Covering the Newbery
    • Cover Curiosity
    • Unfortunate Covers
  • News
    • Books on Film
    • Morning Notes
  • Newsletter

March 3, 2011 by Travis Jonker

Let the Countdown to National Poetry Month Commence!

March 3, 2011 by Travis Jonker   10 comments

April is National Poetry Month, or as I call it ’round these parts, National (Book Spine) Poetry Month. I actually do the air parentheses and everything. Last year, inspired by the amazing work of Nina Katchadourian, I tried my hand at creating a book spine cento. Here were the results:

SCROLL TO KEEP READING THIS POST

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

I also encouraged all comers to give it a shot as well, and was amazed by what I saw.

Click here to view the book spine poetry gallery

Let’s kick off National Poetry Month in style. Create your own book spine poem, snap a picture, and send it my way (scopenotes (at) gmail (dot) com) or post it to your blog and let me know. Starting tomorrow, I’ll post one of my book spine centos every Friday for the month of March. On Friday, April 1st, I’ll post a gallery with all of the entries I receive from you.

Here are my tips for creating a book spine cento

  1. Check out last year’s book spine poem gallery for inspiration.
  2. Get to  a place with plenty of books. A library works nicely. Or a large home collection.
  3. Start looking at titles, and see what strikes you. Arrange and rearrange in your head. The best part of this type of poetry is the fact that you don’t know where you’ll end up.
  4. Have a pencil and paper with you to write down titles that stand out – you can refer back to them later.
  5. Don’t be afraid to use the library catalog to look up titles with specific words or phrases that fit.

Do you want to try book spine poetry with your students during April? I’ll post a second gallery on April 1st exclusively for student poems, and add to it for the entire month.

Click here to view last year’s awesome student book spine poetry gallery

So create your own, send it my way, and see your work in these here pages on April 1st.

I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Filed under: Articles

SHARE:

Read or Leave Comments
book spine poetrynational poetry monthpoetry

About Travis Jonker

Travis Jonker is an elementary school librarian in Michigan. He writes reviews (and the occasional article or two) for School Library Journal and is a member of the 2014 Caldecott committee. You can email Travis at scopenotes@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter: @100scopenotes.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Posts

ADVERTISEMENT

SLJ Blog Network

A Fuse #8 Production

Publisher Preview: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers (Fall 2025)

by Betsy Bird

Good Comics for Kids

Don’t Cause Trouble | Review

by J. Caleb Mozzocco

Heavy Medal

Our Mock Newbery List is Up to 52 Titles

by Steven Engelfried

Politics in Practice

When Book Bans are a Form of Discrimination, What is the Path to Justice?

by John Chrastka

Teen Librarian Toolbox

Here Have Some New YA Thrillers

by Riley Jensen

The Yarn

How Colby Sharp Celebrates Reading with Students

by Colby Sharp

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles on SLJ

Calista Brill and Nilah Magruder Tell All About 'Creaky Acres,' Their New Middle Grade Graphic Novel

My School Visit was Cancelled. I Fought Back and Won. | Opinion

Author A. A. Vacharat on YA Debut ‘This Moth Saw Brightness’ | 5 Questions and a Rec

Tiffany D. Jackson Empowers Teens Through Gripping Page-Turners

Author Leon Egan on YA Debut ‘Lover Birds’ | 5 Questions and a Rec

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Margie Culver says

    March 3, 2011 at 3:28 pm

    This is a fantastic idea. I can’t wait to use it with my classes in April Of course I will be practicing right away. 🙂

    • Travis says

      March 3, 2011 at 3:45 pm

      Great to hear it – I think your students will really enjoy book spine centos. A very low learning curve with often great results. I look forward to seeing their work!

  2. Cecilia says

    March 5, 2011 at 8:45 pm

    Writing these (I guess it isn’t really writing–arranging?creating?)is rapidly becoming addictive.

  3. Robyn Hood Black says

    March 11, 2011 at 9:48 am

    Absolutely too much fun. I will have to share this will fourth graders in an upcoming poetry-themed school visit. :0)

    • Travis says

      March 11, 2011 at 9:52 am

      Thanks Robyn – this is a great form of poetry for kids.

  4. Erica says

    March 13, 2011 at 10:37 pm

    Here’s my book spine post: http://sassyshelver.blogspot.com/2011/03/book-spine-poetry.html Feel free to add the pictures to your gallery.

    • Travis says

      March 13, 2011 at 11:36 pm

      Thanks for giving it a try Erica – well done. And add them I shall.

  5. Daniella F., Grace D., Tara C. says

    May 23, 2011 at 8:17 am

    The lost Princess of Oz
    Disappearing Acts
    Go and Come Back
    Then Again, Maybe I Won’t

    This poem is about a princess who does not want to be a princess anymore. So she ran away and was going to come back, but then decided not to.

Trackbacks

  1. The Meandering Lane by Lindsey Lane says:
    April 1, 2011 at 8:43 am

    […] Jonker at 100 Scope Notes is kicking off National Poetry Month by posting a gallery of Book Spine poems. I have to say these […]

  2. Building Castles With Threadbare Sheets « Amanda's Wrinkled Pages says:
    April 4, 2011 at 11:41 am

    […] For an extra dollop of inspiration, parents, teachers, and word-loving folks may want to check out this great link for creating book spine poetry. […]

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

  • Author/Illustrator Blogs

    • Erin Stead Illustration
    • Hey, Rabbit!
    • James Preller's Blog
    • MATTHEWCORDELLBLOGS
    • Mo Willems Doodles
    • The Scop
  • Book Blogs I Like

    • A Book and a Hug
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • A Kids Book a Day
    • A Year of Reading
    • Abby (the) Librarian
    • Awful Library Books
    • Becky’s Book Reviews
    • Better Book Titles
    • Book-A-Day Almanac
    • Bookends
    • books4yourkids.com
    • bookshelves of doom
    • Bottom Shelf Books
    • Calling Caldecott
    • Caustic Cover Critic
    • Chad C. Beckerman
    • Charlotte’s Library
    • Cheryl Rainfield
    • Chicken Spaghetti
    • CHILDREN’S ILLUSTRATION
    • Collecting Children’s Books
    • Cybils
    • EarlyWord
    • educating alice
    • Finding Wonderland
    • For Those About to Mock
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Good Show Sir
    • GottaBook
    • Great Kid Books
    • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
    • Hi Miss Julie!
    • Jen Robinson’s Book Page
    • Kidsmomo
    • Maria T. Middleton Design
    • Nerdy Book Club
    • Neverending Search
    • Nine Kinds of Pie
    • One Book, Two Books, Old Books, New Books
    • Out of the Box
    • Oz and Ends
    • PlanetEsme
    • Read Roger
    • Reading Rants!
    • Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast
    • sharpread
    • ShelfTalker
    • so tomorrow
    • The Children's Book Review
    • The Miss Rumphius Effect
    • Uncovered Cover Art
    • Waking Brain Cells
    • Watch. Connect. Read.
  • Library Blogs

    • ALSC Blog
    • Blue Skunk Blog
    • librarian.net
    • LISNews
    • Stephen's Lighthouse
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Tame The Web: Libraries and Technology
    • Unshelved
  • Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    This coverage is free for all visitors. Your support makes this possible.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books 2024
    • 2024 Stars So Far
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Pearls & Rubys
    • Politics in Practice
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • Reasons to Love Libraries
    • 2025 Youth Media Awards
    • Defending the Canon:SLJ & NCTE Review 15 Banned Classics
    • Refreshing the Canon Booklist
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Read Free Poster
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2025


    COPYRIGHT © 2025