Day 26 – How to Create “Book Spine Poetry” for #NationalPoetryMonth and 30 poems in 30 days

Day 26 – How to Create “Book Spine Poetry” for #NationalPoetryMonth and 30 poems in 30 days

Good times! Book Spine Poetry is a fun and intriguing way to “create” or, actually, “find” a poem by arranging and rearranging a stack of books horizontally that show the title on the book spine into something clever that might be a “poem.” Just like creating any poetry, you get to decide if it will be happy or sad, serious or funny, or whatever.

Simply start perusing the titles on your bookshelves, pull out some that have possibilities, and start stacking them up to see what you might discover. Here’s a very quick and rather silly one I pulled together out of some kids’ books:

 

“One Windy Day”                       
“Samantha Learns a Lesson”
“20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”
“Nine True Dolphin Stories”
“All about . . . Dinosaurs”

 

If you need more inspiration, here is a link (these examples are more than ten years old, but they still will give you an idea of what we are doing if you still have questions) from the “School Library Journal” where you can browse through several years of photos of book spine poetry for some inspiration if you need ideas:

http://100scopenotes.com/2014/04/01/2014-book-spine-poem-gallery/ “Spine Book Gallery”

If you take photos of your “Book Spine Poems” (and I think you should), try to line up the titles when you stack them up – we are only interested in the titles for this poetry form. Feel free to post a photo of your “found” poetry creation(s) and post it in our FB group, and elsewhere on social media ~ be sure to link back to this blog post on how to do it so others can join in. So fun!!!

Over the years, I have come up with several “Book Spine” Poems. How many can you put together? My book spine poetry is not particularly profound; well, maybe one or two give “food for thought,” but it’s rather fun putting them together.

Write up the poem by writing a title per line (TITLES ONLY) in the same order that you stacked them up. Take a photo and post both the written version and the photo version. Cheers!!

So, whatcha’ got?

Ok, in no particular order, here are some of mine:

Grandfather Remembers
Confessions of an Unbalanced Woman
Coming Clean
Just the Way I Am

 

The Go-Getter
Landlord
Never Can Say Good-bye
Behind the Scenes

Giant Steps

A Man, A Can, A Plan

Feeding a Giant

Big in Japan

Raw Power

  

I Dare You
The Double Cross
Counting the Cost
Don’t
 

 

 

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they create them, and especially once they post them. Thanks so much!

*** Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog or elsewhere on social media ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO EACH DAY’S SPECIFIC BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.

 

Day 25 ~ How to Write a “Preposition Poem” for #NationalPoetryDay for 30 poems in 30 days

Day 25 ~ How to Write a “Preposition Poem” for #NationalPoetryDay for 30 poems in 30 days

When I taught 4^th grade, I used to offer a king-size candy bar of their choice to students who could memorize 90 prepositions and recite them in front of the class. Sorry, no candy bars for you, unless you buy one for yourself. I love propositions. And there are MORE than 90 of them. They show relationships between different parts of a sentence, such as where, when, or how something happens. They bring clarity, and I love clarity!! They generally are found in the middle of a sentence, but for today’s poem, we will use them to start each line.

There is no need to count words or syllables; just begin each line with a preposition. No need to rhyme, either, unless you choose to.

Here is an example, lame, but an example nonetheless, and below it is a list of 70 basic prepositions to get you started:

Daydreamer

Considering my natural curiosity,
Regarding everything, I often climbed a tree,
Beside my childhood home,
Next to the garage, where
From our rooftop, I could see,
Beyond the neighborhood,
Over the horizon,
To Universal Studios,
Next to the Hollywood Freeway,
Near enough for us to walk to it,
From our foothills home,
Excluding the need to pay for parking.

Told you it was lame, and I took a few liberties, especially with the last line LOL, but you get the idea. Cheers!!

Whatcha’ got? (I tried to put the list in columns, but Blogger was having none of that). ..

·        aboard

·        about

·        above

·        across

·        after

·        against

·        along

·        amid

·        among

·        anti

·        around

·        as

·        at

·        before

·        behind

·        below

·        beneath

·        beside

·        besides

·        between

·        beyond

·        but

·        by

·        concerning

·        considering

·        despite

·        down

·        during

·        except

·        excepting

·        excluding

·        following

·        for

·        from

·        in

·        inside

·        into

·        like

·        minus

·        near

·        of

·        off

·        on

·        onto

·        opposite

·        outside

·        over

·        past

·        per

·        plus

·        regarding

·        round

·        save

·        since

·        than

·        through

·        to

·        toward

·        towards

·        under

·        underneath

·        unlike

·        until

·        up

·        upon

·        versus

·        via

·        with

·        within

·        without

(Image by Fabian from Pixabay)

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work and the creative work of others.

Day 24 ~ Let’s Write a Tree Poem for Arbor Day for #NationalPoetryMonth and 30 poems in 30 days!

Day 24 ~ Let’s Write a Tree Poem for Arbor Day for #NationalPoetryMonth and 30 poems in 30 days!

 

Today, the last Friday of the month of April is National Arbor Day. So, let’s write poems about trees. Use any format or no format at all, your choice.

Pretty much everyone is familiar with this poem by Joyce Kilmer. This poem is six couplets strung together. Remember? Couplets are two-lined poems with rhyming endings. But choose any form we have done already, or one you find online, or just free verse, but let’s glorify some trees today! Cheers!!

TREES

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree
A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
 But only God can make a tree.

                                                             © 1913 Joyce Kilmer

 

 (© 2016 Mixed media tree by Stephanie Abney)

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they post them. Thanks so much!

Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO THIS BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work and the creative work of others.

Day 23 ~ How to Write Acrostic Poems for #NationalPoetryMonth and 30 poems in 30 days!

Day 23 ~ How to Write Acrostic Poems for #NationalPoetryMonth and 30 poems in 30 days!

 

Acrostic Poems are one of the easiest to write. They are often assigned to schoolchildren. Pick any word and write it down the left-hand side of your paper. Use the letter to write one word per line, or to start a thought or phrase until you have come up with something for each letter in the word. No need to worry about rhyming or counting syllables or anything. Each line can be whatever length you choose, from one word to a phrase, or an actual sentence. Easy-peasy, or it should be. 😊 Ha ha. It’s easy to overthink anything and make it harder. But let’s see where this poetry format takes us today.

 

Here’s one I wrote today as an example:

 

Poems we write

Open our hearts

Enliven our souls

Make readers wonder . . . and

Show the world who we are.

 

                                © 2026 Stephanie Abney

 

Here’s a quick example of one word per letter for “MOTHER” ~

 

Magical

Optimistic

Teacher

Happy

Energetic

Remarkable

 

One of the reasons I enjoy having us write an acrostic poem nearly every year is so I can share the story of Fiona’s poem. You may have heard this story before, but I can NEVER tell or hear it too often!! So cute!

 

Fiona’s Snake Poem:

 
In 2016, I went to China to teach English at an “English Camp” during their winter break. I have shared this before, but I really can’t let this poetry form pass without sharing this delightful experience once again. I had a 14-year-old student named “Fiona.” I explained how to write an acrostic poem and suggested to the students that they choose a favorite animal for their poem. I gave additional details, and they got busy. Soon they were showing me their poems. They did a wonderful job. Then Fiona turned in her poem:

Snow is falling down.
No one wants to stay outside.
A little girl stands at my front door.
Knocks it with a little cry.
Early afternoon, she falls asleep in my room.

 
I read it and told her that it was a lovely poem, but it had nothing to do with a snake. She replied, “But I wrote ‘S-N-A-K-E’ down the left-hand side.” So I explained that the poem also needed to be ABOUT a snake if that was the word she chose. Fiona said, “Okay,” took the paper back, added a few words, and turned it back in…

Here is what she added to that last line following “Early afternoon, she falls asleep in my room … and then she turned into a snake.”

I loved it!! Love her!! I laughed so hard. It is a

cherished memory. And now, you can enjoy it too. 

Cheers!!
 

(Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay)

Whatcha’ got?

 

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work, and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they create them, and especially once they post them. Thanks so much!

*** Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog or elsewhere on social media ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO EACH DAY’S SPECIFIC BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.

Day 22 ~ “Synonym or Antonym Poem” for “30 Poems in 30 Days" #NationalPoetryMonth

Day 22 ~ “Synonym or Antonym Poem” for “30 Poems in 30 Days" #NationalPoetryMonth

Synonym and/or Antonym Poetry:

These are simple yet POWERFUL poems. They incorporate a couplet, are only three lines long (and the first line is ONLY a one-word title), and can really be quite profound.

INSTRUCTIONS:

LINE 1: Choose any word. Write that word in capital letters on the first line. (This is your title AND your opening line).

LINE 2: Choose around 3-5 synonyms OR antonyms and list them below your one-word first line, and they become your second line. If none come to mind, just look them up in a thesaurus or at "SYNONYMS" ~ a resource for synonyms AND antonyms. 

Remember ~ don’t just go off and list a bunch of adjectives about your subject (title) – these NEED to be EITHER all synonyms OR all antonyms of your title (or darn close), but “happy” and “creative” would not fit the bill. Does that make sense??

LINE 3: THEN, on the third line, come up with a descriptive phrase about the word. 

And yep, the ending words of both lines 2 & 3 need to rhyme. 

Here’s an example I wrote about 6 years ago that uses synonyms – I really like it:

IMMIGRANT
Pioneer, settler, foreigner, outsider, newcomer.
Welcome. I, too, walk to the beat of a different drummer.

                                                   © 2017 Stephanie Abney

 

And here are two examples that use antonyms: 

DISTRACTION

Observation, stillness, concentration, clarity, attention
The ability to see the big picture in its full dimension.

                                                                         © 2026 Stephanie Abney

(photo from Troy T on Unsplash)

DISCOURAGEMENT
Anticipation, elation, confidence, encouragement, hopefulness.
A change of perspective leads from sadness to happiness.

                                                © 2023 Stephanie Abney

Here are a few nifty, helpful online resources: 

https://www.synonyms.com/ ~ resource for)

"Rhyme Zone" ~ plug in a word, hit search and it kicks out a list of rhyming words (this one is the easiest to use, I think, because the other one gives you thousands of choices and that  that’s too long to sort through and can be overwhelming. So, whichever you like…

https://www.rhymezone.com/

"Rhymer" ~ pretty cool – even has six options on how to rhyme: end rhymes (rhyme ending words), last syllable rhymes, double rhymes (like walking/talking), triple rhymes (have the same vowel sounds in the third-to-last syllable and all following sounds (explanation, destination, imagination), beginning rhymes (scenery/cedar) and first syllable rhymes (carrot/caring).

https://www.rhymer.com/

 

PLEASE REMEMBER ~ any poetry found on this blog, written by me, is my personal property and may not be used without my permission, other than sharing it as an example in a lesson or to read it to someone. The same goes for any poems that are shared in the comments of this blog or elsewhere online as a result of this challenge. They are the creative property of the person who writes them. These poems are their original work and no one may use them without their permission. It is understood that they own the copyright to them as soon as they create them and especially once they post them. Thanks so much!

*** Also, if you choose to post your poems on your own blog or elsewhere on social media ~ that’s awesome. But PLEASE don’t just copy and paste my daily instructions, but rather post your poem on your blog or your FB wall or wherever AND LINK BACK TO EACH DAY’S SPECIFIC BLOG POST for others to come here to read the instructions. I’ve spent considerable time researching the poetry forms and writing them up to share with you. Thanks for respecting my work.