What Makes a Children's Poem? (cont.)

Keep a kid’s vocabulary in mind. In poetry, you have to use the right word, and you’ll know the right word when you try it out. You should never not use a word because of its reading level. But if you find your poem of 82 words has 17 words that the average 5th-grader has never heard of, it’s probably not a poem for kids. There’s nothing wrong with using words kids don’t already know. That can be intriguing and mysterious and make your poem better. But if lots of words are words kids don’t know, reading it will be drudgery instead of adventure. And your poem might be perfect—for adults.

Capture a single moment. Most poems for kids capture one single moment or image. If your poem feels like a meditation on the many moods of the elm tree in your yard, or you’re describing a relationship through several different meetings, it’s probably a poem for adults. There are children’s poems that tell stories, and they are usually metric and rhyming—and funny. “Book Lice,? a poem for two voices from Paul Fleischman’s Newbery-winning Joyful Noise, tells the story of a relationship between two book lice. But it’s funny and delightful and kids certainly love it.

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