(June 29, 2009)-In celebration of National Poetry Month this past April, Sourcebooks teamed up with independent booksellers around the country to hold poetry contests with kids ages 7 to 10.
As a publisher, Sourcebooks is determined to change the face of poetry, and they're doing just that, by creating unique and innovative books like Poetry Speaks to Children and Hip Hop Speaks to Children, and the forthcoming The Tree That Time Built, with children's poet laureate Mary Ann Hoberman and Linda Winston. "We are committed to making poetry more available, more accessible, and more popular for readers of all ages," says Dominique Raccah, CEO and publisher of Sourcebooks.
Each participant was to write a poem using one of four suggested categories (silly, rhyming, hip-hop, or non-rhyming), and were given examples of a hip-hop poem by Nikki Giovanni (from the New York Times bestselling book, Hip Hop Speaks to Children) and a silly animal poem by renowned children's poet Kenn Nesbitt (from My Hippo Has the Hiccups).
CONGRATULATIONS to winners Lucy Zimmerman (age 10), who submitted her silly poem, "Pink Giraffe," through Anderson's Bookstore (Naperville, IL), and Frances Aldana (age 9), whose hip-hop poem about her best friend was submitted by Books & Books (Coral Gables, FL).
The winning poets and participating bookstores and will receive in-person visits by Nikki Giovanni or Kenn Nesbitt, who will present the winner with a personal signed copy of their book and perform a reading.
"We are absolutely over-the-moon excited that Frances' poem won," says Debra Linn, events and marketing coordinator at Books & Books. "We had so much fun with our in-store and in-school poetry workshops for this contest, that winning seems like too much good fortune. And the fact that we get a visit from our dear Nikki Giovanni-well, that's just an embarrassment of riches."
