ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book draws on poetic language theory, discussing how poetry as a verbal art differs from prose. It details the methodological approach with particular emphasis on a poetic-interpretive approach to capture the complexity of the child poet. The book highlights how the poetic features in children's poems honored the poems' subjects and moods. It offers vignettes of children's poetry performances. The vignettes demonstrate how the act of reading an original poem for an audience influenced children as poets and literacy learners. The book describes what children's performed school poems do in order to achieve children's purposes for specific audiences. It provides a reconceptualization of children's poetry writing and performances, extending what we know about childhood writing to the specific genre of poetry. It also offers pedagogical invitations and classroom possibilities.
