# Poetry collections for children **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 29, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507 "2003-09-29T17:03:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/1 "2003-09-29T17:03:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/2 "2003-09-29T20:49:01Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Kallessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7993a0/32.png) [@Kallessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kallessa)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/3 "2003-09-30T00:13:59Z")
_A Child’s Garden of Verses_ by Robert Stevenson was a favorite of mine when I was young. ---
**Author:** ![Ptahlis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a8b319/32.png) [@Ptahlis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ptahlis)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/4 "2003-09-30T03:22:24Z")
I loved Shel Siverstein’s books _Where the Sidewalk Ends_ and _The Light in the Attic._ ---
**Author:** ![Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moo_the_Magic_Cow)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/5 "2003-09-30T03:58:22Z")
Nuts, I was going to recommend Shel Silverstein. ---
**Author:** ![InternetLegend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/internetlegend/32/13154_2.png) [@InternetLegend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/InternetLegend)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/6 "2003-09-30T04:06:25Z")
My kids loved Maurice Sendak’s [“Nutshell Library”](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0060255005/ref=ase_mysimon-sr-buybooks/103-3772321-0971849?v=glance&s=books), 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. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2003, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/7 "2003-09-30T23:22:04Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Rita\_Eata\_Pita](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d07c76/32.png) [@Rita\_Eata\_Pita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rita_Eata_Pita)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/8 "2003-10-01T04:24:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ptahlis \* > \*\*I loved Shel Siverstein’s books _Where the Sidewalk Ends_ and _The Light in the Attic._ \*\* And don’t forget _Falling Up_ ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/9 "2003-10-01T05:50:39Z")
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: _Butterfly Jar_ _The Other Side of the Door_ ---
**Author:** ![Primaflora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Primaflora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Primaflora)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/10 "2003-10-01T07:17:37Z")
Roger McGough is terrific as is Michael Rosen. ---
**Author:** ![TelcontarStorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ab097/32.png) [@TelcontarStorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TelcontarStorm)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/11 "2003-10-01T15:38:13Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/12 "2003-10-01T16:05:49Z")
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 Hope this link works: [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0571119131/qid=1065024426/sr=1-8/ref=sr\_1\_8/104-1620543-3331926?v=glance&s=books](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0571119131/qid=1065024426/sr=1-8/ref=sr_1_8/104-1620543-3331926?v=glance&s=books) ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/13 "2003-10-01T18:00:18Z")
_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”](http://www.cs.rice.edu/~ssiyer/minstrels/poems/834.html)…as much fun for an adult as for the kids. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/14 "2003-10-01T21:34:16Z")
If you can find a copy: “Poems of Childhood”, by Eugene Field, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. ---
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2003, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/15 "2003-10-01T23:05:31Z")
You might also want to try [Funny Poetry for Children](http://www.gigglepoetry.com/). My students love going there when they finish their work early. ---
**Author:** ![Fatwater\_Fewl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/4491bb/32.png) [@Fatwater\_Fewl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fatwater_Fewl)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2003, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poetry-collections-for-children/204507/16 "2003-10-02T06:01:26Z")
I’ve always been partial to [Mother Goose](http://trmg.designwest.com/) and [Edward Lear](http://www.nonsenselit.org/Lear/). I think it may have been Mother Goose which instilled in me the joyous fascination I have with words.