I Created My Own Book Spine Poem and So Can You (And Your Students/Patrons)!

April is coming up. April is National Poetry Month. April is the time for book spine centos (see above). It makes a great program for kids (or former kids). So . . .
Here are my tips for creating a book spine cento:
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
- Check out the book spine poem gallery for inspiration. This is always a big help.
- Get to a place with plenty of books. A library works nicely. Or a large home collection.
- 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.
- Have a pencil and paper with you to write down titles that stand out – you can start arranging the poem on paper. This also helps so that you don’t have to take a bunch of books off the shelf before you have your poem set.
- Once your poem is close to finished, don’t be afraid to use the library catalog (if available) to look up titles with specific words or phrases that fit.
- Take the books off the shelf, stack ’em up, and take a picture. Amaze your friends.
Additional Resources:
Sorted Books by Nina Katchadourian
Filed under: Articles
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
ADVERTISEMENT
SLJ Blog Network
A Good Story Well Told: The Story Craft Podcast You Need In Your Life Right Now
Hikaru in the Light!, vol. 1 | Review
30 Contenders? Our Updated Mock Newbery List
When Book Bans are a Form of Discrimination, What is the Path to Justice?
See You Saturday at Teen Lit Con in Minnesota!
ADVERTISEMENT
My students all have iPads, so they go around with their browsing sticks and take close-ups of individual spines. They crop the pictures and then arrange them in an app to make a poem. Cuts down on books to put away! They love it! Thanks for the idea years ago!