My grandmother would like a book of the old poetry she read/recited as a child. She is now 98, so that would put the target era around the 20’s. She is from the Houston, Texas area. So far my searches in bookstores and on the internet haven’t netted much of anything. Anyone have any suggestions of anthology type books or maybe prolific children’s poets of the time?
Can you be more specific – does your grandmother remember any of the poems she recited, or maybe a topic?
The first poet that came to my mind is Eugene Field – he was active in the late 1800s and wrote “Little Boy Blue,” “Wynken, Blynken, and Nod,” “Jest 'fore Christmas,” and other poems specifically for children.
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The golden treasury of songs and lyrics. Chicago, New York, Scott, Foresman and company, 1919.
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The Book of humorous verse, compiled by Carolyn Wells.
New York : G. H. Doran, 1920. -
Favorite poems by the world’s famous poets.
New York, Dodge publishing company, 192-? -
The golden treasury, selected from the best songs and lyrical poems in the English language and arranged with notes.
New York, The Macmillan company, 1920. -
One thousand poems for children: a choice of the best verse old and new, edited by Roger Ingpen.
Philadelphia : G.W. Jacobs, 1920. -
My book of stories from the poets (paraphrases)
New York, Funk & Wagnalls company, 1920. -
The golden staircase; poems and verses for children, chosen by Louey Chisholm.
New York, G. P. Putnam’s sons, 1920. -
Rhymes of a child’s world; a book of verse for children, by Miriam Clark Potter.
Boston, The Four Seas Company, 1920. -
The Children’s garland of verse, gathered by Grace Rhys.
New York : E.P. Dutton & Co., 1921. -
The melody of childhood, by Lydia Avery Coonley Ward.
New York, James T. White & Co., 1921. -
The home book of verse, American and English, 1580-1920.
New York, H. Holt and Company, 1922. -
Rainbow gold; poems old and new selected for boys and girls, by Sara Teasdale.
New York, The Macmillan Company, 1922.
These aren’t the books your gramma had in the 1920s, but they will have many if not all of the poems she remembers:
The Oxford Book of Children’s Verse in America
Victorian Parlour Poetry (this one is a little on the campy side…“The boy stood on the burning deck…” “Lips that touch liquor shall never touch mine…” etc.)
A lot of the books I listed above can be found from various sellers via the Froogle search engine (froogle.google.com).
Don’t know when it became popular, but it appears it was first published in 1906: A Child’s Garden of Verses. There are many modern editions available.
GT
Google the anthology called Best Loved Poems of the American People. It’s sure to have your gran’s favorites in it.
As a child I had “A Child’s Garden of Verses” and loved it. It made poetry very accessible to a young child.
StG
I’m sure one of these will work very well. Thanks much.
I remember my mother gave me two small anthologies that had been her mother’s or aunt’s. One was Silver Pennies,, originally published in 1926. I’m not sure if our copy was a first edition, but the description on the linked page fits:
The table of contents can be found here.
I don’t recall the name of the other volume, but it contained Henry Van Dyke’s America For Me, so it dated back to between 1909 (when the poem was written) and 1933 (Van Dyke was still alive when the book was published, as his year of death was not listed, although the year of his birth was mentioned).
The book from my youth in late 50’s/ early 60’s was a reprint. IT HAD THE POEM CASABIANCA IN IT (“THE BOY STOOD ON THE BURNING DECK…”) AND A STRIKING ILLUSTRATION WITH THAT POEM OF A BLOODY HAND COMING OUT OF A SWIRLING DARK GREEN SEA.
THAT IS THE EXACT BOOK I AM LOOKING FOR!! IT IS A COLORFUL UNUSUALLY ILLUSTRATED CHILDREN’S POETRY BOOK.PLEASE EMAIL ME AT starlitdreams2@yahoo.com if you have any info about this book.
THANK YOU!!
HAS ANYONE SEEN THAT BOOK AND KNOW ITS NAME AND AUTHOR
That’s probably the Golden Treasury of Poetry, collected by Louis Untermeyer and illustrated by Joan Walsh Anglund. The link goes to the old cover, which you might recognize, but it’s still in print today.
The poem with the hand in the sea is “The Inchcape Rock.” Made a big impression on me as a kid.