Submitted by Jean Kreiling
A poetry recitation event named “Poetry by Heart” was recently held in the Cranford Public Library’s Raddin Room. Sponsored by the Friends of the Cranford Public Library and helped by the children’s librarian, Lauren Antolino, the goal of the program was for children to memorize and recite a poem. One of the Friends told the children, “A wonderful thing happens to you when you memorize a poem. It stays with you for life.” To demonstrate this, she recited “The Owl and the Pussy Cat,” a poem she had learned as a child. Two adults then recited poems which they had learned years ago.
The program was introduced by ninth grader Anna Lancelotti who spoke about poetry and read a poem of her own composition named “The Spider.” Several children then recited poems which they had memorized. Karly Ohngemach recited “Overdues” by Shel Silverstein, Luigi Lancelloti recited “Slow Sloth’s Song” by Jack Prelutsky, Maddie Dennis recited “The Battle” by Shel Silverstein, Celeste DelGuercio recited “The Wind” by Christina Rossetti, Cheyenne Cora recited “Stranger Things” by Millie Bobby Brown, and Aashritha Jinagra read “Librarian” a poem which she had composed.
Afterwards, a game was played in which the children tried to guess the missing rhyming words in limericks. They also decorated a banner with the poems they had memorized which is now hanging in the library’s Raddin Room. The program concluded with pizza, lemonade and promises by the children that they would return next year when the Friends of the Cranford Library once again sponsor “Poetry by Heart.”
Visit the Cranford Library at: cranfordlibrary.org/
(above, l-r) Luigi Lancelloti, Maddie Dennis,Celeste DelGuercio, Cheyenne Cora, Karly Ohngemach, and Aashritha Jinaga.
