Mary Ann Hoberman Named Children’s Poet Laureate

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By SLJ Staff -- School Library Journal, 10/13/2008 2:00:00 PM

Mary Ann Hoberman
Photo: Lois Dreyer

Mary Ann Hoberman, a writer whose musical rhymes have captivated children for more than 50 years, was named the nation’s second Children's Poet Laureate, a position that aims to raise the awareness of children’s natural receptivity to poetry, especially when it’s written specifically for them.

“Generations of readers who first discovered poetry in the books of Mary Ann Hoberman remember it not as a dry textbook encounter but as a moment of joyous play,” said John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation, which sponsors the award. The honor is a two-year term and comes with a $25,000 cash prize. “Her poems tease young minds even as they please young ears with rhythm and rhyme. We honor her for a lifetime of writing poetry of lasting value for young readers."

The author of 45 books, all but one of which are in verse, Hoberman, 78, collaborated with her husband, artist Norman Hoberman, on her first four books, including her first book of poems, All My Shoes Come in Twos (Little, Brown, 1957).

Some of Hoberman's best-known titles are A House Is a House for Me (Viking, 1978), illustrated by Betty Fraser; The Seven Silly Eaters (Harcourt, 1980), illustrated by Marla Frazee; and The Llama Who Had No Pajama (Harcourt, 1998), a collection of 100 of her favorite poems. Her verses have been widely anthologized and her books have been translated into several languages.

As a former volunteer with Literacy Volunteers of America, Hoberman has made literacy one of her primary concerns, writing the best-selling You Read to Me, I'll Read to You series (Little, Brown), illustrated by Michael Emberley, to further that aim.

Hoberman, who is the recipient of a National Book Award and the 2003 Poetry for Children Award of the National Council of Teachers of English, has taught literature and writing from the elementary through the college level and visits schools and libraries throughout the country, sharing her poems and talking about poetry and the joys of reading. Her next book of poetry for children, All Kinds of Families!, will be published in August 2009 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

As laureate, Hoberman will give two major public readings for children and their families, teachers, and librarians. She will also serve as an advisor to the Poetry Foundation on children's literature, and may engage in a variety of projects and events to help instill a love of poetry among the nation's youngest readers. The Poetry Foundation made the appointment with input from a panel of experts in the field of children's literature.

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