Write Your Own Haiku for Kids Review

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing sent me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Have you heard of a haiku? A haiku is a simple poem that is usually three lines and about nature. They were started in Japan. They seem to be coming up in my life in many different places lately. Hazel's class is working on writing them and there was one in Ship of Dolls. Then there is today's book, Write Your Own Haiku for Kids, by Patricia Donegan. 

Traditionally a haiku is 17 syllables. Usually there is five syllables in the first and last lines and seven in the middle one. This book gives a bit of history as well as what a haiku is and then gives the seven steps to writing a haiku.

Then there are five projects to try. Each has the kid writing a haiku. The first project as well as the steps share many haiku examples. Donegan emphasizes not to stress about the syllables as much as the flow. Here are some I wrote.

a touch of purple
against the white snow on ground
spring is arriving

yellow daffodils
wave at me in the warm breeze
bunny hops away 

brown mud everywhere
touches of green bursting on trees
warmth will come soon

soft warm black and white
sitting on me blocking computer

Fluffy on me while I'm at computer

purrs loudly at me

sweetness in the air
tiny purple blowers bloom
bees buzz all around 

Hazel and I worked on writing haiku together. She wrote these. 

sleds go up and down
snowball fights are raging too
angels in the snow

little thorny plants
sweet, plump, juicy berries
for my hungry tummy 

We have been having so much fun working on these. I cannot wait to try some of the other projects with her. Have you ever written a haiku? They are fun to write and read! Be sure to check out this fun book to get you started.