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Poetry for Children

First off, these aren't just for kids. A good poem has universal appeal, and if it captures a child's imagination it ought to capture an adult's as well. The main difference between "poems for kids" and "poems for adults" is that the former are easier to understand and enjoy at face value.

T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland goes over heads because it's full of allusions and analogies only the well-read are likely to get, whereas Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein is self-contained (though there's plenty more going on beneath the surface for older readers to appreciate). And who can argue that John Donne is easier to understand than A.A. Milne?

Of course, "at face value" doesn't mean there are no hidden meanings in children's poetry. It just means kids don't have to pick them up to be impacted by the poem. At the same time, teaching them to do so from a young age with the poetry they love will give them a huge advantage when they're older and encounter Milton, Frost, and Yeats.

Poetry intended for young readers is often marked by what some consider a juvenile rhyme scheme. Yet organizing thoughts and words in a metrical pattern and making it seem effortless isn't the work of some "kiddie writer," but of a master.

Kindling in children a love of poetry (not just rhymes) is essential for helping them reach their full imaginative potential. Stories are important, but poems impart a sense of wonder and an attitude of curiosity and investigation that mere prose can never accomplish. If Keats could transport grown men and women to other realms, why would we think Grahame, Carroll, or Stevenson couldn't do exactly the same thing for kids?

Readers often forget that poetry is intended to be read aloud. While children can have plenty of fun curled up on the couch with their favorite book of poems (probably mouthing each word silently as they read, deaf to the rest of the world), reading aloud with them opens their ears to the beauty of language, its cadences, its mysticism and enchantment. It'll probably do the same thing for you.

Which brings us back to the first point: poetry for children is also poetry for adults. Nowhere else is the ethos of childhood so perfectly rendered than in poems of this kind, where the happiness, terror and innocence of the young is brought to full light not just in the images and words themselves, but in the very way they're structured on the page and spoken out loud. If you feel lost or dead to the world of childhood, read some of the poetry written to and for kids before adulthood squelches any youthfulness of soul you have left.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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All the Small Poems and Fourteen More
by Valerie Worth
from Sunburst Book
Lyrical Poetry for Preschool-4th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.99 $5.00 (5 in stock)
Anna's Garden Songs
by Lena Anderson
from Scholastic Reference
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Arroz Con Leche
by Lulu Delacre
Bilingual from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Big Ball of String
by Marion Holland
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
Casey at the Bat
by Ernest L. Thayer & Patricia Polacco
from Putnam Juvenile
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
Casey at the Bat
by Ernest L. Thayer & Patricia Polacco
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eve Garnett
from Puffin Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Children's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes
by Linda Bleck
Reprint from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Classic Poetry
by Michael Rosen & Paul Howard
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$15.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Cornstalks: A Bushel of Poems
by James Stevenson
from Avyx, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (4 in stock)
Cotton Sailboats
by Edith Witmer
from Rod & Staff Publishers, Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Dream Keeper And Other Poems
by Langston Hughes
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-9th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Erie Canal
by Peter Spier
from Doubleday & Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Favorite Poems of Childhood
by Christina Rossetti, Edward Lear, Emily Dickinson, Eugene Field, Lewis Carroll, Robert Louis Stevenson, Sarah Josepha Hale
from Dover Publications
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.00 $2.50 (2 in stock)
Frog Went A-Courtin'
by John Langstaff
from HMH Books for Young Readers
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
God's Servant, Job
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$9.99
Grass Sandals
by Dawnine Spivak
from Atheneum
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hailstones and Halibut Bones
by Mary O'Neill, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
from Doubleday & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hailstones and Halibut Bones
from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Hiawatha
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
1st edition from Puffin Books
Poetry for 4th-8th
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$8.99
It's Raining Pigs and Noodles
by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by James Stevenson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Joyful Noise
by Paul Fleischman
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1989 Newbery Medal winner
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.99
Knock at a Star
by X. J. Kennedy and Dorothy M. Kennedy
from Little, Brown & Company
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Lavender's Blue
by Kathleen Lines
New from Oxford University
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
London Bridge Is Falling Down!
by Peter Spier
from Young Readers Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Mouse of Amherst
by Elizabeth Spires, Illustrated by Claire A. Nivola
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
My America
by Lee Bennett Hopkins
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement Moore, illustrated by Jan Brett
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Night Before Christmas - Coloring Book
by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by John O'Brien
81st edition from Dover Publications
for 3rd-5th grade
in Literary & Fantasy Coloring Books (Location: COL-LIT)
$4.99
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
by T. S. Eliot
from Harcourt
for 7th-Adult
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Owl and the Pussycat
by Edward Lear, illustrated by Jan Brett
from PaperStar Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Oxford Book of Children's Verse in America
by Donald Hall, ed.
from Oxford University
for 2nd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children's Poems
by Donald Hall
from Oxford University
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$12.95
Pizza the Size of the Sun
by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by James Stevenson
Reprint from Greenwillow Books
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Poem Stew
by William Cole
from HarperCollins
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Poems and Prayers for the Very Young
by Martha Alexander
from Random House
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Poetry for Young People: Langston Hughes
by Langston Hughes
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Poetry for Young People: Lewis Carroll
Poetry for Young People
by Lewis Carroll
Illustrated from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Poetry for Young People: Rudyard Kipling
by Rudyard Kipling
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Poetry for Young People: Samuel Taylor Coleridge
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Poetry for Young People: William Carlos Williams
by William Carlos Williams
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Poke in the I
by Paul Janeczko
from Candlewick Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.99 $5.50 (2 in stock)
Rooster Crows
by Maud & Miska Petersham
Fir from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Kindergarten-4th grade
1946 Caldecott Medal winner
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.99
Sea Beggar's Son
by F. N. Monjo, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
from Inheritance Publications
for 2nd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Snowy Day
by Ezra Jack Keats
from Puffin Books
Poetry for Kindergarten-2nd grade
1963 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Something Big Has Been Here
by Jack Prelutsky
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Star-Spangled Banner
by Peter Spier
from Yearling
American History for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$10.99
Tale of Custard the Dragon
by Ogden Nash, Lynn Munsinger,
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Under the Sun and the Moon and Other Poems
by Margaret Wise Brown
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Visit to William Blake's Inn
by Nancy Willard
1st edition from Harcourt Children's Books
for 1st-4th grade
1982 Newbery Medal, 1982 Caldecott Honor Book
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.99
Weather
by Lee Bennett Hopkins
First Edition from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
White Snow, Bright Snow
by Alvin Tresselt
from William Morrow & Company
Poetry for 1st-3rd grade
1948 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
White Snow, Bright Snow
by Alvin Tresselt, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
Poetry for 1st-3rd grade
1948 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
You Read to Me, I'll Read to You
by John Ciardi
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.95 $4.00 (1 in stock)
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