Posts Tagged ‘poems’

Take a trip with New Haven Reads staff around the world to hear poems and books written by BIPOC authors. Each day this we week will be posting a new reading from a staff member along with a fun activity that goes along with the reading.

Friday 02.19.21

The Turtle with an Afro
by Carlotta Penn
Read by Audra

Carlotta Penn founded Daydreamers Press, a multicultural education company focused on children’s book publishing and diversity programming.

Thursday 02.18.21

I Ask My Mother to Sing
by Li-Young Lee
Read by Aimee

Li-Young Lee was born in Djakarta, Indonesia in 1957 to Chinese political exiles. He arrived in the United States in 1964 and eventually attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he began to develop his love for writing.

Activity
Think about the following question:
Where do you think this poem takes place?

Wednesday 02.17.21

Rice From Heaven
by Tina M. Cho
Read by Amanda

Tina M. Cho has written over 200 guided reading books, lesson plans for educational publishers, and two picture books. She wrote Rice from Heaven to teach children about empathy and kindness along with issues in North Korea.

Activity
Enjoy a word search with key words from the story and a map of Korea to color.

Tuesday 02.16.21

Still I Rise
by Maya Angelou
Read by Mary

Activity
Think about the following questions:
-Where does your voice come: your family, your culture, your beliefs, your friends, your experiences?
-What would you like to use your voice for now and in the future?

Monday 02.15.21

Caged Bird
by Maya Angelou
Read by Natosha

Maya Angelou was an American author, actress, screenwriter, dancer, poet and civil rights activist. She is best known for best known for her 1969 memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made literary history as the first nonfiction bestseller by an African American woman.

Activity
Learn How to Make an Origami Bird