Salting the Ocean

Nye, Naomi Shihab (comp.) Salting the Ocean: 100 Poems by Young People. ill. Ashley Bryan. Harper Collins, 2000. ISBN 0688161936

100 poems, by 100 kids, in grades 1 through 12. While that might seem like a lot of numbers, this books is filled with lots of words. These are poems that children can relate to. The language is simplistic, but intense in many spots. The poets write about everything in their lives, from family problems to where they live, and even about themselves. The moods of the poems range from happy, to serene, to mad. Even the style is varied. While many are free-verse, there are a few that are concrete. Overall, this is a great book to get kids reading poetry and even inspired to write some of their own.

I would use this book as an introduction to writing poetry for upper elementary and middle school students. This would be after already having read several different types, styles, and moods of poetry. This would show students that they can write poetry and possibly even get published. I would read several and then let them loose with their creativity. One of the poems I would read would be the following untitled poem.


Questions are boxes wrapped in paper.
When you remove the bright ones from the pile
you can see the simpler ones...the ones holding the
decoratives ones up. When you open
the simplest boxes, you get the
best gifts.

-Valerie Marie Vick