the magic of a poem…a list of five poetry books for young children

I had so much fun looking for poetry collections for National Poetry Month in April, I couldn’t help but post some more.

Reading poetry with children is a splendid way to sharpen our senses, taste the deliciousness of words and patterns and rhythms, and simply enjoy interesting wonder-fying thoughts. Whether they’re funny or beautiful or sad, poems enrich us.

These five books cater to the very young, with short poems and outstanding  artwork.

A Child’s Book of Poems, collected and illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa

Whatever Gyo Fujikawa illustrated is worth the having, and this collection of poems is packed with her captivating work.

Both her line drawings and her paintings usher us into an enchanting, blissful world of beauty and nature, imagination and playfulness, kindness and contentment. Her multi-racial children, their pleasing bustle, and the emotions found in their faces and postures, win us over, make us pour over each small drawing, and cause us to imagine ourselves in the place of the child on the page. Each tiny detail she tucks in is long remembered.

This collection of poems contains the most classic poetry of today’s list of five, and perhaps the largest number of poems. There are poems from William Blake, Robert Browning, Lewis Carroll, Emily Dickinson, Kate Greenaway, Keats, Longfellow, Shakespeare, Stevenson, Tennyson, Wordsworth, and quite a few from Christina Rossetti, among many other well-known poets. The pages are prolifically illustrated, some with double page, full color enchantments, some with numerous, masterful, ink drawings. 

This is such a beautiful book, and will suit children ages 3 to 12 very nicely. 

Here’s a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry, collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrated by Polly Dunbar

This package of delight for toddlers lives up to its name — it’s a fantastic choice for a first book of poems.

Bursting with vivacious color, charmingly capricious children, and buckets of happiness, it will draw children in like a candy store window.

Polly Dunbar’s illustrations are adorable and winsome and happy. Every single page sings out with love, and lovely multi-racial families, and sunshine and fair weather, yet there is a lovely distinction to the pages — each one is unique and enticing, making it a cinch for children to recognize the page with their favorite poem.

The poems, printed in colorful letters and friendly type,  are geared for the youngest of listeners. It’s a wonderful selection, arranged as we walk through the day from morning wake-up until bedtime, by some of the best and dearest children’s poets — Dorothy Aldis, Aileen Fisher, Nikki Grimes, Mary Ann Hoberman, Margaret Mahy, A.A. Milne, and a host of others. Playful, silly, and sweet — I really love this book.

To Baby With Love — collected and illustrated by Jan Ormerod

I am a huge Jan Ormerod fan, and the little fellow in his stripey sleeper on the cover of this book is a clue as to why. What a charming baby, in such a comfy pose, with plumpness in all the right places!

This slim volume is another happy choice for the very youngest listeners — even under-twos will love it.  It holds just five poems! You can read the whole book, and then read it again…and again. The poems, simple and familiar,  are What Are We to Do?, Two Little Dicky Birds, Chickens, Five Little Ducks, and Turtle. 

There’s often only one line of a poem on a  page, so Ormerod drenches these tiny treasures in rapturous color and bold designs. I think you have never met a more winsome piglet or proud mama hen, not to mention the expressive children. Warm, bold,  cheerful — that’s the feel of this charming little book. It would make a great baby shower gift, if you can find a copy.

Poems for the Very Young, selected by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Bob Graham

Bob Graham’s loose, humorous, home-ly, style makes me smile instantaneously. So, having his jolly illustrations profusely gamboling about  this book gives it a splash of good humor right off the bat.

Michael Rosen has selected a delightful group of poems for the very young — preschool and up — including a great deal of playful, funny or nonsensical pieces that children adore.

Between the two of them, then, this is the most lighthearted book in today’s list, with dogs and toys and bedlam and chocolate smears and spilled milk and a collision or two spilling from the pages. There are quite a few poems here, all short and to the point.

A great choice for the liveliest of listeners, who will identify readily with these rambunctious playfellows, and laugh, and beg for more. My children loved hearing funny poems when they were small. They make a mighty pleasant start to a day, or a bad day better. Instant sunshine.

My Very First Mother Goose, edited by Iona Opie, illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Mother Goose is essential children’s literature. These  marvelous bits of our culture, the rhythms and word play, the famous and beloved characters, the shocking tales, the nonsense, the ease with which a teensy rhyme can be learned by heart to use while slogging through tiresome tasks or what-have-you — all of this is bundled up in Mother Goose.

This selection of nursery rhymes was pulled together by Iona Opie, who I guess knew more about our folklore and nursery rhymes than just about anyone else on the planet.

Rosemary Wells’ iconic illustrations make this nice, stout volume radiate with color, burst with vitality, cajole with charm.  Who but Rosemary can draw such adorable bunnies and mice and kittens and pigs, outfit them in such dashed adorable wardrobes, and make them gush with personality?! She is a wonder.

Toddlers will be entranced by the pictures on these nice, big pages as they hear over and over and over the tale of Humpty Dumpty, the cat and the fiddle, Jack Horner, and Little Boy Blue. There are quite a few rhymes that will be unfamiliar to you as well. Immense fun!

Here are Amazon links for these magical worlds of poetry:
A Child’s Book of Poems
Here’s A Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry
Jan Ormerod’s to Baby with Love
Poems for the Very Young
My Very First Mother Goose

Read Full Post »

poetry friday

The Reading Mother
by Strickland Gillilan

I had a mother who read to me
Sagas of pirates who scoured the sea,
Cutlasses clenched in their yellow teeth,
“Blackbirds” stowed in the hold beneath.

I had a Mother who read me lays
Of ancient and gallant and golden days;
Stories of Marmion and Ivanhoe,
Which every boy has a right to know.

I had a Mother who read me tales
Of Gelert the hound of the hills of Wales,
True to his trust till his tragic death,
Faithfulness blent with his final breath.

I had a Mother who read me the things
That wholesome life to the boy heart brings–
Stories that stir with an upward touch,
Oh, that each mother of boys were such!

You may have tangible wealth untold;
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.
Richer than I you can never be–
I had a Mother who read to me.

Read Full Post »

poetry friday

Seeds
by Walter de la Mare

The seeds I sowed –
For weeks unseen –
Have pushed up pygmy
Shoots of green;
So frail you’d think
The tiniest stone
Would never let
A glimpse be shown.
But no; a pebble
Near them lies,
At least a cherry-stone
In size,
Which that mere sprout
Has heaved away,
To bask in sunshine,
See the Day.

I found this poem in a lovely old book called The Book of the Seasons: An Anthology, made and decorated by Eve Garnett. She was a British author and illustrator, and we have thoroughly enjoyed her children’s novels and her sweet pencil drawings over the years.

This book has classical poetry, both  full poems and excerpts, that are rich in language, and prolifically illustrated by Garnett. It’s a quiet book, filled with deep appreciation for the natural world as it passes through the seasons. 

I see there are a few used copies for sale on Amazon. Here’s the link:A Book of the Seasons

Elizabeth Steinglass is hosting Poetry Friday today, so visit her blog for links to many terrific posts on poetry.

Read Full Post »

poetry friday…go outside and play!

A Stick is an Excellent Thing: Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play, by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Barreling
by Marilyn Singer

This hill is small.
The grass feels fluffy.
Mama says it’s called a knoll.
We’re glad our clothes
are old and scruffy.
When we go down,
we never stroll –
we roll!

As you probably know, I am committed to non-electronic pastimes for children and especially unstructured play outdoors. Today’s poem comes from a book of poems all about outdoor play, so of course I love it!

Marilyn Singer’s poems are happy, brief, snatches that capture the abandonment, energy, imagination,  and delights intrinsic to old-fashioned outside fun. Swinging and hanging upside down from the monkey bars, jumping rope and rolling down a grassy hill, walking

Inga and Erik with their house of twigs and stones, English Lake District.

ever so carefully along the edge of a curb, making soup out of seed pods and mud —  priceless activities, yet mostly free of charge; awakening body and soul and mind rather than dulling them. I love the subject matter and the simple joy in each poem, as well as the variety in style and formatting.

LeUyen Pham’s illustrations are always gorgeous. These are done in pencil and ink, with digital color in summer-y sunlit greens and evening dusky purples. Every page bursts with joy! Happy, playful children of multiple races, in urban and rural settings, leap and dash and splash and squat and somersault, thoroughly enjoying freedom and friendship.

It’s a small collection, readable in just one sitting, and just dandy for preschoolers and up. Read some poetry, and be inspired to unplug, power off, exit game,  and get moving in the great outdoors.

Here’s an Amazon link:A Stick Is an Excellent Thing: Poems Celebrating Outdoor Play

This week, the Poetry Friday round-up is hosted by Laura Salas at Writing the World for Kids, so visit her page to find lots of links to more poetry and ideas than you can wrap your mind around!

Read Full Post »

poetry friday…Aileen Fisher

Aileen Fisher

Aileen Fisher is a favorite poet of mine.

I discovered recently that she grew up in Iron River, Michigan, a small mining town in the Upper Peninsula. My parents-in-law lived on a lake just a few miles out from Iron River for many years, and our family happily drank in the beauty of this area every time we visited them. The woods in springtime are carpeted with showy white trillium blossoms, and in autumn the maples and pines are a stunning mix of fiery oranges and dusky greens. Snow piles up deeply in winter, and lakes and ponds sparkle on the cool-ish summer days.

Aileen rambled about this countryside as a little girl in the early 1900s, so it is little wonder that she fell in love with the natural world. As an adult, she settled herself amid the beauty of Colorado ranchland. I drove through this area just this past fall and gaped at the grandeur and glory of mountains and valleys — incredible.

Fisher’s sense of wonder and delight in nature comes through often in her poems. A down-to-earth woman who claimed she never forgot how it felt to be a child, she drew on her vast reserves of wisdom, wonder, and observation of the ordinary, then forged her thoughts into little gems with great child-appeal.

There’s a fabulous profile of Aileen written by Lee Bennett Hopkins in 1978, on the occasion of Fisher receiving the N.C.T.E. Excellence in Poetry for Children Award, which you can read here. 

Of the many volumes of Aileen Fisher’s poetry, the collection I chose today was compiled by asking schoolchildren to pick their favorite poem of hers, which is a marvelous idea. The book is called I Heard a Bluebird Sing, edited by Bernice E. Cullinan, with illustrations by Jennifer Emery. Besides the poems,  Cullinan includes brief chats by Fisher  about her life,  which crop up at the outset of each section. I also enjoyed reading the observations children made about her poetry during the selection process. “She wonders a lot,” one of them said. Music to my ears!

Here’s one poem from the dozens in this book, that is filled with wondering:

Butterfly Wings
by Aileen Fisher

How would it be
on a day in June
to open your eyes
in a dark cocoon,

And soften one end
and crawl outside,
and find you had wings
to open wide,

And find you could fly
to a bush or tree
or float on the air
like a boat at sea…

How would it BE?

Here’s an Amazon link for this book, in the hopes that many children come to enjoy the pleasures of Aileen Fisher’s poetry:  I Heard a Bluebird Sing

And the Poetry Friday Round-up, full of so many wonderings by lovely people, is hosted this week by Irene Latham at Live Your Poem, so visit her page to find gobs of poetry links.

Come back on Monday for five books to celebrate Earth Day!

Read Full Post »

poetry friday…a meal of the stars

Today’s poem is from A Meal of the Stars: Poems Up and Down, by Dana Jensen, illustrated by Tricia Tusa.

If you read the title of the book carefully, you will get a clue to help you read this untitled poem:

again

hatch

to

songs

and

birds

and

eggs

and

spring

for

wait

can’t

boughs

tree

highest

the

in

nest

the

long

winter

all

Did you get it?!

This tall, thin book of poetry holds fifteen poems, all written in this format — one word lines, no capitalization, nearly no punctuation, no titles — some of which are to be read top-to-bottom as usual, while others, like this one, are read bottom’s-up! Such fun! Very few words mean beginning readers could tackle these and experience the joy of reading higgledy-piggledy! What a treat, when everything normally marches in such an orderly, left-to-right fashion.

Heights are the common denominator in the poems’ ideas, from ferris wheels to kites to stars,  each entry comprised of just one wisp of a thought. As we lean our heads back and gaze up  in our imaginations, so the poem climbs in a slender line up the page. Delightful! The poems, their riddlish form, and the artwork, give this book a frolicsome, happy air.

Tricia Tusa’s watercolor and ink illustrations have a lilting, summer breeze, lemon pudding,  feel.  Her perspectives capturing the sort of aerial, highrise content of the poems do a lovely job of reinforcing that s-t-r-e-t-c-h-y feeling of the whole package.

Just the ticket as we shake off the cocooning of winter and welcome spring with outstretched arms (well…we’re getting closer, anyhow, up here in the North!).. After reading these, I bet your kids would enjoy writing their own upside-downside poems as well.

Always love to plug a Minnesota author! Dana is from Minneapolis, and this is his first book.

For a truly inspiring feast of poetry and marvelous ideas for exploring poetry with children, check out the Poetry Friday round-up, which is being hosted this week by Diane Mayr at Random Noodling.

And here’s the Amazon link for Dana and Tricia’s topsy-turvy book!  A Meal of the Stars: Poems Up and Down

Read Full Post »

poetry friday…featuring Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes

As April is National Poetry Month, I’m highlighting a book each week, rather than only a poem,  in the hopes that you will find some new sources of poetry treasures to feast on.

I’m dusty Bill
from Vinegar Hill
Never had a bath
and never will.

****

Diddlety, diddlety, dumpty,
the cat ran up the plum tree;
Half a crown
to fetch her down,
diddlety, diddlety, dumpty.

These are two lesser-known ditties among the sixty-plus nursery rhymes in Salley Mavor’s Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes. The rhymes in this collection are as old as ever, and just listen to the waltzing and fox-trotting of those delicious words! Very young children really miss out if not introduced to the delights of rhythm and wordplay through our age-old rhymes. Preschoolers feel deeply the happiness that comes from knowing-by-heart and reciting these tiny poems.

And…wow! Salley Mavor has lavishly illustrated this collection with absolutely jaw-dropping textile art. Oh my dear goodness!!! Every page is like a new enchanting world. All of the pieces are hand stitched using naturally-dyed wool felt. The colors of fabric and thread are exquisite; the variety of stitches creating patterns and tendrils and vines, strewing flowers upon tiny pinafores and rising in nubbly wool on a lamb…un-be-liev-a-ble! Each little doll is hand crafted with little wooden heads, floss hair, heartachingly-charming clothing, some wearing acorn caps or dainty bonnets. There are sheep and cows, babies and buggies, cobblers and pie-makers — all three-dimensional. Tucked into the scenes as well are tiny treasures Mavor has collected — a teensy seashell, glinting beads, driftwood roofs, a bit of wood for a fishing pole.

I am gobsmacked, pure and simple! Every scene is a gift of beauty and creativity for us to pore over and marvel over. What a feast for the imagination! Thank you Salley, for the years of time and dedication to your art form that you poured into this. 

You can see more of this amazing artist’s work at her website here.

And read a 2010 interview (that’s when this book was published), plus see beautiful details of her work at Seven Impossible Things.

I’ve just begun participating in Poetry Friday Round-Up which is a collection of poetry-saturated blog posts by children’s literature bloggers, pulled together each Friday. Their creativity is truly amazing. If you want ideas for poetry in your homes or classrooms, be sure to check out this week’s round-up here.

 

And another blog-friend of mine, always bursting with fresh, creative posts on children’s lit and yummy food, is working on a round-up for the whole month of April. That link is here.

And here’s the Amazon link for the book: Pocketful of Posies: A Treasury of Nursery Rhymes

Read Full Post »

poetry friday

These Three
by X.J. Kennedy

These three on Friday
Lay cloudy, dark and still:
Shadow
Of three crosses
On cold Golgotha Hill.

These on Easter morning
Burst forth in bloom:
Setting-egg.
Tulip bulb.
Good Lord’s tomb.

(Taken from Easter Poems, selected by Myra Cohn Livingston, illustrated by John Wallner)

Read Full Post »

a list of…five Easter titles, plus one more

Previously, I’ve reviewed five titles for Easter, and as they remain the best ones I’ve encountered, I thought I’d simply direct you to them once again.  Those links are at the end of today’s blog.

Though not exactly an Easter book, I do have one more title you might check out for celebrating Easter as a holy day. Later this week, I’ve got another eggs-citing list of books for the Easter season.

Let the Whole Earth Sing Praise, inspired by Old Testament Scripture, illustrated by Tomie dePaola

Sun and Moon, Stars and Comets in the Heavens. Praise God. Selecting “verses and language” from the Benedicite and Psalm 148, Tomie dePaola has set  praise-filled phrases dancing across the pages of this small, effervescent book.

The text is hand-lettered, expressing a lovely, childlike quality, the imprecise lines refreshingly naive, the all-capital-letters singing out with a strong voice. 

The delightful illustrations are done in a folk art style inspired by the Otomi people of Mexico.  Joy and beauty, energy and creative exuberance, course through these beautiful, colorful designs. This is a book that makes me glad just leafing through its few short pages.

It’s not an Easter story, per se, but it would make a very jubilant Easter morning choice.

The following titles are reviewed here:

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

At Jerusalem’s Gate: Poems of Easter

The Story of Easter

Easter

The Glorious Impossible

And here are Amazon links for all these titles:
Let The Whole Earth Sing Praise
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Full-Color Collector’s Edition)
At Jerusalem’s Gate: Poems of Easter
The Story of Easter (Trophy Picture Books)
Easter
The Glorious Impossible [Illustrated with Frescoes from the Scrovegni Chapel by Giotto]

Read Full Post »

poetry friday

The Wind
by Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you;
But when the leaves hang trembling
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I;
But when the trees bow down their heads
The wind is passing by.

Read Full Post »