Animal Poetry
Spring is in the air! As you soak up the wonderfully warm weather take a moment to feel the inspirational power of nature and wildlife. Watch the fantastic flight of a hawk overhead; observe the wonderful colors of prairie grasses; listen to the sigh of the breeze through the trees. Take a walk through a nature area or your backyard. Find a place to sit and watch, listen, feel, smell the natural world around you. When you return from your walk write a poem about your experience. Let Project WILD’s “Animal Poetry” guide you as you create your own nature poetry. Nature and wildlife have inspired countless artists and poets – let them inspire you!

Young Child Extension
Take children on a nature walk. Ask them to share what they see, feel, smell, and hear. When you return to the classroom have them draw pictures about their walk or write (or dictate to a teacher) a poem about their experience. Finish by reading poems about birds and nature.

Book List
Grades PreK-2
Bradman, S., and S. Wintringham. 2002. Wild and Wonderful: Poems about the Natural World. Hodder Headline.
Harrison, M., and C. Stuart-Clark. 1992. The Oxford Book of Animal Poems. Oxford University Press.
Hass, R. and P. Michael. 2008. River of Words: Young Poets and Artists on the Nature of Things. Milkweed Editions.
Heard, G., and J.O. Dewey. 1997. Creatures of the Earth, Sea, and Sky: Poems. Boyds Mills Press.
Paladino, C. 1993. Land, Sea, and Sky: Poems to Celebrate the Earth. Little, Brown & Company.
Ryder, J., and D. Nolan. 1990. Under Your Feet. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.
Sidman, J., and B. Prange. 2005. Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Vanderhorst, M.J. 2007. Pictures and Poems: Introducing young people to NATURE in a poetic way!. Authorhouse.
Worth, V., and S. Jenkins. 2007. Animal Poems. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Yolen, J. and J. Stemple. Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People. Boyds Mills Press.

Grades 3-5
Bradman, S., and S. Wintringham. 2002. Wild and Wonderful: Poems about the Natural World. Hodder Headline.
Fleischman, P., and E. Beddows. 1992. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. HarperCollins Publishers.
Hamerstrom, F. 1985. Walk When the Moon Is Full. Crossing Press, Inc
Harrison, M., and C. Stuart-Clark. 1992. The Oxford Book of Animal Poems. Oxford University Press.
Hass, R. and P. Michael. 2008. River of Words: Young Poets and Artists on the Nature of Things. Milkweed Editions.
Heard, G., and J.O. Dewey. 1997. Creatures of the Earth, Sea, and Sky: Poems. Boyds Mills Press.
Hoberman, M.A., L. Winston, and B. Fortin. 2009. The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature, Science, and Imagination. Sourcebooks, Incorporated.
Kalman, B., C. Curtis, and M. Jupp. 1982. Animals in Danger: Poems from No Man’s Valley. Random House Children’s Books.
Nicholls, J. 1998. Earthways, Earthwise: Poems on Conservation. Oxford University Press, USA.
Sidman, J., and B. Prange. 2005. Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Vanderhorst, M.J. 2007. Pictures and Poems: Introducing young people to NATURE in a poetic way!. Authorhouse.
Yolen, J. and J. Stemple. Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People. Boyds Mills Press.

Grades 6-8
Bradman, S., and S. Wintringham. 2002. Wild and Wonderful: Poems about the Natural World. Hodder Headline.
Fleischman, P., and E. Beddows. 1992. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. HarperCollins Publishers.
Fletcher, R.J. 1997. Ordinary Things: Poems from a Walk in Early Spring. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Harrison, M., and C. Stuart-Clark. 1992. The Oxford Book of Animal Poems. Oxford University Press.
Hass, R. and P. Michael. 2008. River of Words: Young Poets and Artists on the Nature of Things. Milkweed Editions.
Hoberman, M.A., L. Winston, and B. Fortin. 2009. The Tree That Time Built: A Celebration of Nature,
Science, and Imagination. Sourcebooks, Incorporated.
Kalman, B., C. Curtis, and M. Jupp. 1982. Animals in Danger: Poems from No Man’s Valley. Random House Children’s Books.
Nicholls, J. 1998. Earthways, Earthwise: Poems on Conservation. Oxford University Press, USA.
Yolen, J. and J. Stemple. Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People. Boyds Mills Press.
Grades 9-12
Bosselaar, L., and E. Hiestand. 2000. Urban Nature: Poems About Wildlife in the City. Milkweed Editions.
Collins, B., and D. Sibley. 2009. Bright Wings: An Illustrated Anthology of Poems about Birds. Columbia University Press.
Felstiner, J. 2009. Can Poetry Save the Earth?: A Field Guide to Nature Poems. Yale University Press.
Harrison, M., and C. Stuart-Clark. 1992. The Oxford Book of Animal Poems. Oxford University Press.
Hass, R. and P. Michael. 2008. River of Words: Young Poets and Artists on the Nature of Things. Milkweed Editions.
Hollander, J. 1994. Animal Poems (Everyman’s Library). Knopf Doubleday Publishing.
Hyett, B.H. 1996. The Tracks We Leave: Poems on Endangered Wildlife of North America. University of Illinois Press.