I'd Like a Story by X.J. Kennedy

I'd Like a Story by X. J. Kennedy from Good Times, Good Books! selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illustrated by Harvey Stevenson, Harper Collins Publishers, 1990.

Intro: use for an older class who is going to work on a research project using references found in a library, both print and electronic. Encourage students to discuss pros and cons of searching in books vs. search engines on the Web.

Read poem:

I'd like a story of
Ghosts on gusty nights,
Wild island ponies galloping
With manes that wave like kites,
A book that knows the lowdown
On what to feed giraffes,
A book of nutty nonsense
That's nothing much--just laughs--

A book to read to find out
How basketball stars shoot,
Why dinosaurs all died out,
What do computers compute,
Which sail a mizzen sail is,
Can Martians really be,
Who heavy a blue whale is,
Weighed side by side with me--

A book to curl in bed with,
To browse in by a brook--
Anytime!
Anyplace!
I'd like any book!

Extension: Use questions in poem to create a 'treasure hunt' from books and search engines on computers. Challenge students to find answers to questions in poem.