Birds on a Wire by J. Patrick Lewis and Paul B. Janeczko

Birds on a Wire by J. Patrick Lewis and Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Gary Lippincott, Wordsong (Boyds Mills Press Inc.), 2008, ISBN 978-1-59078-383-2
From the book jacket: "This portrait of a day in an American village is told in the ancient poetic form known as renga (meaning 'linked verse'), in which one poet writes a verse and another poet responds to that, then the first poet adds another verse, and so on. Like a line of railroad cars, each verse links somehow with the one preceding it, but not with the others. THIS means that each new stanza takes the story in a completely different direction as each poet comes up with a clever way to connect a new verse."
The writing possibilities are endless! Reminds me of the writing exercise where you give the students a prompt, then have them write for a period of time (just a few minutes) or a few sentences, then pass it to the next student for them to carry on!
By the way, the illustrations in this book are beautiful.
If using this book with older elementary, teachers will probably need to guide students through the process, as this particular poem is rich and complex. The last stanza is rich: "burglar-night steals a jewel tray of stars".
J. Patrick Lewis is quite prolific: see his books at his website.

Antarctic Antics by Judy Sierra

Antarctic Antics: A Book of Penguin Poems, by Judy Sierra, illus. by Jose Aruego & Ariane Dewey, Gulliver Books, 1998, ISBN 0-15-201006-8
Publisher's Summary: A collection of poems celebrating the habits and habitat of emperor penguins.
I just love Judy Sierra and her "prankish picture books" (from the back cover of this book), especially when they involve animals!
This would be a good book to use when actually studying penguins (as opposed to studying poetry) because it is based on the real life and habits of the Emperor penguin. Because the poems are really just informational text put in free-style poetry form, they are not as cute and sing-songy as some poems for younger children. It is, however, a cute and different way of taking in information.

Here's a Little Poem, collected by Jane Yolen

Here's a Little Poem: a very first book of poetry, collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrated by Polly Dunbar, Candlewick Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7636-3141-3
Publisher's summary: (This book) gathers poems from various parts of the English-speaking world, including Great Britain, the Caribbean, Australia, and the US. Contains more than 60 poems by...writers from Margaret Wise Brown to Langston Hughes. The collection depicts a toddler's day from dawn to dusk.
Great collection of sing-songy poems that young children will love.

A favorite of Lisa__ in New York is "The No-No Bird":
I'm the no-no bird,
That's right, that's me.
I live up in the Tantrum Tree.

I'm the no-no bird,
I won't say why
I stamp my feet
And shout and cry.

I'm the no-no bird!
I sulk and sing
No! No! No!
To everything.
---by Andrew Fusek Peters

Sounds just like a cranky toddler doesn't it?!

Spot the Plot by J. Patrick Lewis

Spot the Plot: A Riddle Book of Book Riddles by J. Patrick Lewis, illustrated by Lynn Munsinger, Chronicle Books, 2009, ISBN 978-0-8118-4668-4
"The sky shook, the wind tossed..me in the air. Toto-ly lost." Remind you of a book? That's the premise behind this clever collection of riddles. All are designed, of course, to get you to think of a book you may have read (hopefully!). Some are well known, such as Peter Rabbit and Cinderella, and others might require a little more reading experience, such as Ferdinand the Bull and Pinocchio. Included is one of my favorites from early childhood: the one about the rabbit who can't go to sleep til he says goodnight to the _____. Answers are given in the back, if you really need them.
Good for a year end read-aloud.
Sylvia Vardell has a great write-up about this book and other Riddle Poems on her blog: Poetry for Children. Credit goes to Deborah Sloan's blog, The Picnic Basket, for this link to Sylvia Vardell.