Welcome to Poetry Friday hosted at Violet Nesdoly Poems.
If you teach middle-grade readers or treasure the book A Snowy Day, you will love this tribute poem.
A Poem for Peter, by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Lou Fancher and Steve Johnson tells the story of Ezra Jack Keats and how he became the beloved children’s author of A Snowy Day. Told as a “collage poem,” it layers bits of his story like a tapestry with Peter, the boy in the red snowsuit. The story of Jack and Peter are woven together in verse and illustration. Keats’ immigrant story and the structure of this verse narrative is a worthy study for readers and writers.
There are so many pages that took my breath away.
But when it snowed,
oh when it snowed!
Nature’s glittery hand
painted the world’s walls a brighter shade.Snow made opportunity and equality
seem right around the corner.
Because, you see, Snow is nature’s we-all blanket.
When Snow spreads her sheet, we-all glisten.
When Snow paints the streets, we all see her beauty.Snow doesn’t know who’s needy or dirty
or greedy or nice.
Snow doesn’t choose where to fall.
Snow doesn’t pick a wealthy man’s doorstep
over a poor lady’s stoop.
That’s snow’s magic.
You can listen to NPR’s story on A Poem fo Peter here: https://www.npr.org/player/embed/503861046/503955043
To Read To Write To Be 