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March 6, 2012 by Travis Jonker

Wanted: Book Spine Poems

March 6, 2012 by Travis Jonker   10 comments

Yeah, April! You used to be known almost exclusively as the month that brought showers. Seeing as how rain is the universal symbol for “downer”, I can’t imagine you were very pleased with that.

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But now you’re known for something else – April is National Poetry Month. And around this neck of the woods the poetry form of choice is the book spine cento. What’s a cento?

Check out the 2011 Book Spine Poem Gallery to find out.

Or take a look at the work of Nina Katchadourian.

Students, teachers, librarians, book lovers, people who just like stacking things – let’s kick off National Poetry Month in style. Create your own book spine poem, snap a picture, and email it to me (scopenotes (at) gmail (dot) com) or post it to your blog and let me know. On Monday, April 2nd, 2012 I’ll post a gallery with all of the entries I receive, and I’ll add to it for the entire month of April.

Here are my tips for creating a book spine cento.

  1. Check out last year’s book spine poem gallery for inspiration (see link above).
  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.

Give it a try, send it my way, and see your work in these here pages on April 2nd.
I love April.

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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.

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Comments

  1. Barry Mernin (@LarryHermanHK) says

    March 6, 2012 at 8:52 am

    I am SO DOING this with my students.

    VERY VERY COOL!

  2. Travis says

    March 6, 2012 at 3:57 pm

    Great to hear you’re going to give it a shot – I think your students will enjoy it.

  3. Susan says

    March 9, 2012 at 2:24 pm

    What a wonderful idea!

  4. Amy Rudd says

    March 19, 2012 at 11:03 pm

    Hi! Travis!
    I was so inspired by the spine poetry idea that after reading it over the weekend, I went right into the school library today and started hunting for just the right books to put together. I am posting my first go at spine poetry for Slice of Life Challenge 20 of 31.

  5. Amy Rudd says

    March 20, 2012 at 10:02 pm

    http://theamyrudder.blogspot.com/2012/03/this-is-dreamspine-poem.html
    Here is the poem

  6. Mandy Chock says

    March 21, 2012 at 2:21 am

    Hey Travis!

    Now that I am completed addicted to spine poems, there are a few awaiting your approval at my blog:

    Mandy Chock @ The Chockboard

    Cheers!

  7. Mandy Chock says

    March 21, 2012 at 2:23 am

    Now that I am addicted to book spine poems, here are a few for April!

    Mandy Chock @ The Chockboard

  8. Denise Krebs says

    April 10, 2012 at 4:42 pm

    We had a blast writing book spine poetry today. Thanks for your good work! Here is our work. http://krebs.edublogs.org/2012/04/10/book-spine-poems/

    Denise

  9. Linkedin Tips says

    February 4, 2014 at 4:29 am

    This is amazing! And I had to share my joy because I just
    got a new job after I read the Linkedin Tips.

Trackbacks

  1. Sunday Surfing Selection: Prepare for Poetry Month | Going Beyond Survival in a School Library says:
    December 18, 2012 at 6:10 pm

    […] Book Spine Poetry at 100 Scope Notes. Ms. B. did the activity with Grade 1 students! […]

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