Poet Laureate

July 15, 2011

Hi Everybody!

As a lover of children's books (and especially poetry for children), I was wondering who was selected as Children's Laureate here in the U.S. and also the U.K.

The current Children's Laureate in the U.K. is Julia Donaldson. She was born in 1948, grew up in London, and attended Bristol University, where she studied Drama and French. In addition to writing, she spent time working in publishing, as a teacher, and performing songs and street theatre with her husband. A few of her most popular books are:

• The Gruffalo
• Room on the Broom
• The Snail and the Whale

If you want to find out more about her, you can try any of the following web sites:

• Children's Laureate
• Julia Donaldson's official website
• The Gruddalo - official website

The current Children's Poet Laureate in the U.S. is J. Patrick Lewis. He grew up in Gary Indiana, received a B.A. from Saint Joseph's College, an M.A. from Indiana University, and a PhD in economics from Ohio State. Before he became a full-time writer in 1998, he had taught business, accounting, and economics at Otterbein College. Some of his books include:

• The Shoe Tree of Chagrin
• A Hippopotamusn't

If you would like to know more about Mr. Lewis you can try:

• J. Patrick Lewis: Children's Poet & Author
• Poetry Foundation

FYI... The U.K. has several past Children's Laureates including: Quentin Blake, Anne Fine, Michael Morpurgo, Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Rosen, and Anthony Browne. In the U.S. past Laureates include: Jack Prelutsky (one of my personal favorites) and Mary Ann Hoberman.

I hope you will enjoy reading some fun children's poetry!

Amy Jo : )
Blue Springs South Branch