I’ve been interested lately in getting more poetry to read with my daughters as they grow up. We really enjoy reading together, my 3-yo likes poems a lot, and I’m hoping to keep that up. So, everyone post your favorite poetry books for children! Tell a little about them and also whether they have nice illustrations, please. I’ll start off:
The rattle bag, coll. by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes. Lots of classic and not-so-classic poems, arr. alphabetically by title. No illus.
The golden treasury of poetry, coll. by Louis Untermeyer. One of my favorites growing up, with a nice section of creepy, gory story-poems. Lots of good pictures, too.
A great big ugly man came up and tied his horse to me and Marguerite, go wash your feet, Wallace Tripp. Collections of nonsense poems, with really great illustrations. Sadly out of print.
Come hither, coll. by Walter de la Mare. We got this out of the library recently, and though it can get very faery-sweet, it’s got plenty of good stuff too. Huge, though, and no illus. to speak of.
The children’s bells by Eleanor Farjeon. I’m very fond of Farjeon, but this is the only book of poetry by her I’ve seen (there are several). My daughter really liked the magical alphabet (A is for abracadabra, V is for Valhalla!) and the seasonal poems. Drawings for page headings.
Oh, and especially please tell me your favorite edition(s) of Lear.
I love the big Random House Book of Poetry for Children, which was edited by Jack Prelutsky and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. A great variety of poems, grouped roughly by category and wonderfully illustrated. My childhood copy is so tattered I had to buy another.
Jack Prelutsky’s books are great, and I learned to read from Shel Silverstein’s books.
The Random House book is a good jumping-off point for discovering what and who you like—can’t recommend it highly enough.
My kids loved Maurice Sendak’s “Nutshell Library”, which includes “Chicken Soup With Rice,” “Alligators All Around,” “One Was Johnny,” and “Pierre (A Cautionary Tale).” I have video of my older daughter, aged three, reading “Chicken Soup With Rice” aloud to herself in bed, laughing uproariously.
My childhood favorite was “The Tall Book of Make-Believe” edited by Jane Werner with beautiful illustrations by Garth Williams. It has poems and stories. Poems I remember from it are The Swing, The Land of Counterpane, Mr. Nobody, The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat, The Mermaid and Winken, Blinken and Nod. And great stories like Susan’s Bears, Bad Mousie and The Village of Cream Puff(?).
It’s out of print and, if you can find one, a used copy will run you over $100. Maybe you can get it at the library though. I managed to get a copy for my niece back in 1992 when they printed a run. Now I have to check and see if my library has it because I want to read it again.
Shel Silverstein was the master when I was younger:
Where the Sidewalk Ends A Light in the Attic Falling Up
Jack Prelutsky is very good, and his books are very reminiscent of Silverstein’s:
A Pizza the Size of the Sun The New Kid on the Block Something Big Has Been Here It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young
Collections edited by Prelutsky:
The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury
*The Random House Book of Poetry for Children *
Jeff Moss, one of the founders of Sesame Street, has some very good books for kids, with a mixture of lyric and free verse, some serious and some silly:
A collectionof JRR Tolkien’s poetry has been put together and illustrated forchildren. IIRC It’s title is something like “Farmer Giles”. It includes Tom Bombodil’s rhyme, and Sam Gamgee’s Oiliphant (From Lord of the Rings) and a lot more. It has been a loooong time since I read it, sorry can’t remember more details.
I loved Once Upon a Rhyme (101 poems for children) edited by Sarah Corrin and published by faber and faber (puffin publish it in the UK).
It has a lot of old favourites like Macavity the Mystery Cat, excerpts from ‘Little Hiawatha’, and various others both funny and serious, long and short with nice illustrations
The Oxford Book of Children’s Verse, edited by Peter and Iona Opie. And The Oxford Book of Children’s Verse in America, edited by Donald Hall.
No illustrations, but absolutely wonderful selections…including lots of stuff not actually written for children, but perfect for out-loud reading, like Carl Sandburg’s “Soup”…as much fun for an adult as for the kids.