Holiday Poetry

Ready, set, boo! It’s Halloween night, and there is one house on the block that offers more than just tricks or treats. If you stop by, you might be greeted by two of the friendliest ghosts you could ever meet, and they are dying for someone to stay and play a game with them. Meet Peek and Boo, two lovable characters who invite you into their home for some "not too scary" Halloween fun. But beware, there are many surprising things to see and do inside. If you are brave enough to stay and play, you might meet a lot of others here too.

Enjoy this classic piece, which has also been recorded with a musical interpretation in the narrator's Ring Out Wild Bells collection.

This story is a seasonal treat, a modern, lyrical retelling of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. Eb is a spoiled child who really is not one for caring, and he certainly hates sharing. He is watched over by a very special guardian - the family’s ancient longcase clock, who is bestowed with magic. His name is Grandfather Time. On Christmas Eve, Grandfather Time decides he must teach the boy a lesson.

A poetic and inspiring tribute to the beauty and wonder of America's history, landscape, and symbols. With wonderfully spare, deceptively simple verses, Sarvinder Naberhaus has composed a lyrical celebration of the iconic imagery of our nation, beginning with the American flag. Each spread depicts a richly evocative tableau, from the view of the Statue of Library at Ellis Island to civil rights marchers banded together, to a spacecraft at Cape Canaveral blasting off. This book is an ode to America then and now, from sea to shining sea.

Acclaimed author Joyce Sidman has received multiple awards for her books of poetry, including a Caldecott Honor for Red Sings from Treetops. Itself a Newbery Honor, Book, Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night features several spellbinding poems about “the feast of sound and spark” that awakens with the raccoons, snails, owls, and crickets each night after sunset.

Annie and Willie's Prayer was written by Sophia P. Snow in 1884 and has since become a family tradition for many. It's a heartwarming story of how two children help teach their father the true meaning of Christmas.

In "Christmas Eve", a family prepares for some special visitors. "Surfin' Santa" is a poem set in the lovely island of Hawaii. "Christmas Means" is about the true meaning of the holiday spirit. And, in "Santa's Secret"...well, the Jolly Ole Elf is a little grumpy. Find out why!

A young girl receives a fright when her father brings home a new Halloween decoration. As the story progresses, she learns more about the "monster" in the box and her own body, and comes to grips with her fears. An amusing story for Halloween, rendered in clever rhyme and beautifully illustrated by Dan Monroe.

The Halloween Lullaby was originally published in the NoHo Valley News in 1997 and in the Los Angeles club magazine 4- Front. It is also published in the anthology Speculative Poets of Texas 2015. Archived in the UCLA Library of Special Collections.

Hanukkah is a very busy time! Join the young rabbi as she makes festive preparations - spinning the dreidel, cooking a tasty meal, lighting the menorah, and more - in this cumulative, rhyming story reminding listeners of the Hanukkah miracle of long ago! Learn about Hanukkah’s festivities and rituals, and about the Jewish holiday itself.

Join a silly collection of dancing animals, all dressed in scary skeleton costumes, in a rhyming tale about the bones in your body and how to shake them all about! This Halloween story, a fun adaptation of the song “Dem Bones”, uses repetitive rhyming to inspire children to join in and shake along!

Cheery rhyming text from Lisa Wheeler invites listeners to celebrate Valentine's Day in true dino style. Raptor and Leso decorate card boxes at school, the Ptero twins shop for the perfect box of chocolates, and Maia has crushes on . . . everyone! There's something for everyone to enjoy in this humorous and heartwarming look at the sweetest holiday of the year!

Follow along as dinos travel over the river and through the woods to join together with family. They enjoy favorite activities, including a corn maze, a televised parade with giant balloon creations, and of course a football game! The dinos share in not one but two feasts - one for the carnivores and another for the veggie-saurs. Join in the fun as the dinos find much to be thankful for on this special holiday!

Mama set another place. Papa found an extra seat. Hannah squeezed to make more space, Thrilled to have a guest to greet. Uh-oh! As the sheep family Passover seder begins, more and more guests show up!

In this fourth story of the series, Frizzy, one of Santa's Izzy Elves, styles the hair of Christmas dollies, but misses them dreadfully when Santa takes them away on Christmas Eve. (She suffers from S.A.D.: Seasonal Affection Distress.) Frizzy decides she needs to change her job so she doesn't get so attached to the toys she works on. She starts making something completely different, but soon finds that her plan isn’t going to work out exactly as she intended!

Blizzy, Tizzy's "favorite lass," is the only elf who notices that Tizzy is missing on Christmas morning. When she starts questioning all her friends about when they saw him last, and where Tizzy could possibly be, however, they think she is just being a "worrywart." What Blizzy REALLY is, however, is very, very clever, and she alone figures out the mystery!

A father shares with his family what he learned from Santa's visit the night before.

Dizzy has worked all year right next to his friend, Tizzy, and heard all about his Great Adventure. The trouble is, Dizzy wants to have an adventure, too! When he sneaks aboard Santa's sleigh, he finds all the adventure he's dreamed of with two little boys, Stuart and Drake. They share a wild joy ride and plenty of fun in this third Santa's Izzy Elves story.

Christmas is a time for giving—not falling down chimneys! Santa’s favorite time of the year is the night before Christmas. Delivering wondrous gifts and making children happy brings warm feelings to his heart. But when he loses his balance on a roof and tumbles down a chimney on his butt, then on his head, he is faced with an incredible dilemma....

Enjoy these 10 Christmas pieces by celebrated authors. The experience includes music and a range of lively and touching characters. Add a little poetry to your Christmas!