Poetry by Children: Soft Hay Will Catch You

Bibliography:

Lyne, Sandford. 2004. Soft Hay Will Catch You: Poems by Young People. Ill. Monks, Julie. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0689834608

Review:

Soft Hay Will Catch You was complied by poet and educator Sandford Lyne. The book is a direct result of his “barter trip” to teach the students of Lawrence Public Schools (Kansas) about poetry. On a trip home after his mother’s death, Lyne connected with a cousin who was a schoolteacher. She and several others convinced him to help design a five-year program to introduce poetry to all the children in LPS. The collection contains one hundred poems by children ages 8-18. The poems in the book are divided into six topics: poems about the search for self, poems about solitude and loneliness, poems about home and family, poems about the soul’s journey and the circle of life, poems about awakenings and discoveries and poems about our connection to place. The book also contains acknowledgements, a table of contents and an index of all the poets represented in the book. The poems are written by students in grade 3-12 with a focus on grades 5-7. Readers (both young and old) will be surprised at the depth of feelings presented in these poems. Written in free verse, the poets use strong images and strong emotional connections to express themselves. Illustrator Julie Monk used oil paints to create the primitive folk style art that compliments all of these poems.

Poem Selection:

This book is perfect for sharing with students. A lot of time students do not feel like kids can write poetry like they read in books. Sharing this book is a great way to show them that students as young as 8 have been published. As I read through this book one poem caught my attention. It is called “Rumors.” It is all about the feeling of being included in the gossip of older kids and feeling good about it –until you find out it is about you.

Rumors

It is summer.

I look over at the older boys

by the creaky bench.

I go over to them

and hear them telling secrets.

I ask them to tell me one.

The boys say yes.

I have a bunch of joy run through me.

Then all the joy goes away.

The rumor is about me.

--Aaron D. Berndston, Grade 4