Life's Literacy Lessons: Poems for Teachers

"This collection of poems was written to honor literacy educators for all that they do." So writes teacher and poet Steven L. Layne, who for years has delighted audiences by performing his poems at conferences and publishing them in The Reading Teacher. Layne has gathered 40 of his favorite poems about literacy and teaching into this unique collection that will touch the heart of anyone who has ever been a classroom teacher.

The poems in Life's Literacy Lessons range from serious to hilarious as Layne takes poetic license with the stuff of teachers' daily lives: beginning readers; grammar, spelling, handwriting, and composition instruction; adolescent literacy issues; reading aloud; and standards and teachers. A "story behind the poem" accompanies each piece, so that readers can understand the poem's inspiration.

As Layne states in the book's preface, "Discovering the truth of personal experience inside a simple poem engenders a wonderful bond of community." The honesty and wit in this collection will undoubtedly strengthen the bond of community among teachers of all grade levels.