The old King of Dorchester has his very own orchestra and his fiddles and his flutes are the finest in the land. A fun poem by James Reeves that teaches children about the musical instruments of an orchestra. (duration - 3 minutes) An episode from Journey with Story, a storytelling podcast for kids.

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In 2013, I was named the Children’s Poet Laureate. Awarded by the Poetry Foundation every two years, and now called the Young People’s Poet Laureate, the aim of this award is to raise awareness that young people have a natural receptivity to poetry and are its most appreciative audience, especially when poems are written specifically for them.

A “laureate” is a person who has been honored for achieving distinction in a particular field, and a “poet laureate” is a poet whose work is officially recognized and awarded.

Because I love the sound of language, I noticed that the word “laureate” sounds a lot like some other words such as “lariat” and “Laurie ate” and thought it would be fun to write a poem using one of these other words in place of “laureate.” This poem is the result, and I hope you enjoy it.

The Story of Laurie

Perhaps you shouldn’t read this story.
 It isn’t sweet and hunky-dory.
 It isn’t even just okay,
 or nice or kind in any way.
 In fact, it’s gruesome, grim, and gory,
 and all about a girl named Laurie.

 See, Laurie is a cannibal.
 She’ll eat no plant nor animal.
 She’ll eat no vegetable nor fruit,
 no leaf, no seed, no sprout, nor shoot.
 And if you offer fish or fowl
 she’ll stare at you and start to growl.

 It’s not that Laurie’s mean or mad.
 She simply thinks that beans are bad.
 She says, “No thanks” to chips and cheese,
 bologna, carrots, parsley, peas,
 bananas, bagels, sauerkraut,
 arugula and rainbow trout.

 She doesn’t care for Christmas roast,
 or pie or pumpernickel toast,
 or rigatoni, ravioli,
 mustard, custard, guacamole,
 pickles, yogurt, sirloin steak,
 or even candy bars and cake.

 She’ll never feed on frozen food.
 And any entree, steamed or stewed,
 from any package, box, or bag,
 is guaranteed to make her gag.
 It’s not part of her diet plan;
 the only thing she eats is Man.

 I truly hope I never meet
 with Laurie, for I know she’ll eat
 my feet, my legs, my arms, my head,
 and then, of course, I’ll end up dead.
 And that’s the one thing I would hate:
 To be the poet Laurie ate.

 --Kenn Nesbitt

The post The Story of Laurie – Podcast Episode appeared first on Kenn Nesbitt's Poetry4kids.com.

In this special live episode we learn about poetry and writing with Poetry Guy Ted Scheu, Rajnii Eddins, and we hear your poems! Get your pencils ready; we’ll be doing some fun writing exercises as well. You can listen to But Why live at vpr.org and call-in every Friday at 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time through June 19, 2020. This program is part of a collaboration with the Vermont Agency of Education to bring interactive educational opportunities to students while schools are closed.

TRANSCRIPT | EDUCATION RESOURCES

It’s all about poetry and body image and standing up for yourself. It’s the National Book Award winning novel "The Poet X" by Elizabeth Acevedo. Readers from Charles Hart Middle School in Washington, DC talk about the book with host Kitty Felde. Actress Monica Vigil from THE FINA MENDOZA MYSTERIES podcast is celebrity reader. Writer Elizabeth Acevedo talks about why she writes.

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