Susan, of Chicken Spaghetti, coordinated nominations for the Poetry category. Twenty-six books made the long list, featuring verse on everything from Blackbeard to Jazz. Here are the nominated titles:
Poetry
The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems
compiled and illustrated by Jackie Morris; various authors
Barefoot Books
Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant and Other Poems
written by Jack Prelutsky; illustrated by Carin Berger
Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins
Blackbeard: The Pirate King
written by J. Patrick Lewis; various illustrators
National Geographic Children’s Books
Busy in the Garden
written by George Shannon; illustrated by Sam Williams
Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins
Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow
written by Joyce Sidman; illustrated by Beth Krommes
Houghton Mifflin
Castles: Old Stone Poems
written by J. Patrick Lewis and Rebecca Kai Dotlich; illustrated by Dan Burr
Boyds Mills Press
Dear Mr. Rosenwald
written by Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrated by Gregory Christie
Scholastic
Flamingos on the Roof
written and illustrated by Calef Brown
Houghton Mifflin
Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich
written and illustrated by Adam Rex
Harcourt Children’s Books
The Friendly Four
written by Eloise Greenfield; illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
HarperCollins
Got Geography!
selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins; various authors; illustrated by Philip Stanton
Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins
Handsprings
written and illustrated by Douglas Florian
Greenwillow Books/ HarperCollins
Hey There, Stink Bug!
written by Leslie Bulion; illustrated by Leslie Evans
Charlesbridge
I Heard It From Alice Zucchini: Poems About the Garden
written by Juanita Havill; illustrated by Christine Davenier
Chronicle Books
Jazz
written by Walter Dean Myers; illustrated by Christopher Myers
Holiday House
The Man in the Moon-Fixer’s Mask
written by JonArno Lawson; illustrated by Sherwin Tjia
Boyds Mills Press
Meow Ruff: A Story in Concrete Poetry
written by Joyce Sidman; illustrated by Michelle Berg
Houghton Mifflin
Mites to Mastodons: A Book of Animal Poems
written by Maxine Kumin; illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
Houghton Mifflin
Once Upon a Tomb: A Collection of Gravely Humorous Verses
written by J. Patrick Lewis; illustrated by Simon Bartram
Candlewick Press
One Odd Day
written by Doris Fisher and Danny Sneed; illustrated by Karen Lee
Sylvan Dell
Rhyme & Punishment
written by Brian P. Cleary; illustrated by J.P. Sandy
Milbrook Press/Lerner
There Is a Flower at the Tip of My Nose Smelling Me
written by Alice Walker; illustrated by Stefano Vitale
HarperCollins
Tour America: A Journey Through Poems and Art
written by Diane Siebert; illustrated by Stephen T. Johnson
Chronicle Books
What a Day It Was at School!
written by Jack Prelutsky; illustrated by Doug Cushman
Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins
When the Horses Ride By: Children in the Times of War
written by Eloise Greenfield; illustrated by Jan Spivey Gilchrist
Lee & Low Books
Wing Nuts: Screwy Haiku
written by Paul B. Janeczko and J. Patrick Lewis; illustrated by Tricia Tusa
Little, Brown, & Company Books for Young Readers
Yellow Elephant: A Bright Bestiary
written by Julie Larios; illustrated by Julie Paschkis
Harcourt Children’s Books