Hoberman Named Kids' Poet Laureate

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 instill a love of poetry in children.

“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. “Her poems tease young minds even as they please young ears with rhythm and rhyme.”

The author of 45 books, 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 include The Seven Silly Eaters (1980) and The Llama Who Had No Pajama (1998, both Harcourt), a collection of 100 of her favorite poems.

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) 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, taught literature and writing from the elementary through the college level and visits schools and libraries throughout the country, sharing her poems 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.

The two-year term comes with a $25,000 cash prize.