About Children's Poetry
"Whe
n Ralph Waldo Emerson said that poetry “teaches us the power of a few words” he pinpointed the gift that simple poetry gives to young readers. Verse—free or more formally constructed, including everything from couplets, cinquains, and quatrains to haiku or jump-rope jingles, limericks, and song lyrics—all can introduce young readers, and those who are not yet readers to the wonders of rhythmic language. It is language they can appreciate and respond to with ease.
There is probably no hard definition of poetry for children; one is not necessary. But in their introduction to The Oxford Book of Children's Verse (1973) Iona and Peter OPIE differentiated between poetry originally written for children and poetry that, like FAIRY TALES, became theirs through use and adoption. The Opies, renowned anthologists and literary historians, noted that before the mid-eighteenth century there was little written for children that was not exhortative; to be for a child poems had to be edifying. Writing that “verse for children tends to be intimately related to the period in which it was written” they added that “Wordsworth's ballads link the eighteenth century to the new awareness of children in the nineteenth century.” As I reread those words the twenty-first century is upon us. Poetry for everyone, young and old, appears to be everywhere." -- "Poetry In Children's Literature." Continuum Encyclopedia of Children's Literature. London: Continuum, 2005. Credo Reference. Web. 28 September 2012.
Photo by Anonymous (http://www.zeller.de/) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Selected Titles
Below are some of the children's poetry anthologies available in the library collection. Find more here
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One Hundred Years of Poetry for Children
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This is a reflective and beautifully put-together anthology of poems to stimulate the emotions, whether evoking the comforting silence of true friendship, the thrill of sea tempests in the night, the power of hunger, or the joy of the first stirrings of love. Divided into seven themed sections(mystery, animals, childhood, people, scene, war, and love), it includes many classics by authors such as Walter de la Mare, G.K. Chesterton, Dylan Thomas, Ogden Nash, Michael Rosen, Eleanor Farjeon, T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, E.E. Cummings, Roger McGough, and Philip Larkin.
Call Number: JUV PN6109.97.O6 2007ISBN: 9780192763501Publication Date: 2007-03-05 -
The 20th Century Children's Poetry Treasury
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"Until this century, most children's poetry was either syrupy sweet or overblown and didactic, and tended to talk down to its readers. Contemporary children's poets have thrown all that condescension and moralizing out the window, and write with today's real child in mind." - from the Introduction by Jack Prelutsky Here in one gloriously illustrated volume are 211 wonderful poems that represent the best this century has to offer. From sibling rivalry, school, monsters, food, and just plain silliness, to such ageless themes as the seasons, Who am I?, and the many moods of childhood, this is a collection that begs to be read aloud and shared with the whole family. The poems, from every decade of this century, showcase 137 famous poets. Selected by Jack Prelutsky, America's leading children's poet, and illustrated by award-winning watercolorist Meilo So, this useful and beautiful gift is a splendid way to end the century -- or start a new one. Truly a book that families will cherish long after the millennium excitement is over, The 20th-Century Children's Poetry Treasury is a joyous companion volume to the best-selling The 20th-Century Children's Book Treasury. This book has been selected as a Common Core State Standards Text Exemplar (Grades K-1, 2-3, Poetry) in Appendix B.
Call Number: JUV PS586.3.T27 1999ISBN: 0679893148Publication Date: 1999-09-28 -
Oxford Book of Poetry for Children
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A companion volume to the newly-published My First Oxford Book of Stories, this new anthology is designed to introduce children ages 4 to 7 to the captivating beauty of fine poetry. John Foster--a popular editor of poetry anthologies for children--has collected both traditional and modern poems here, allowing children to share old favorites and discover new ones. The 88 verses are grouped thematically under six headings: Creatures (animal poems), Weather and Seasons, Fantastical and Nonsensical, Beside the Sea (beach/sea poems) From Dusk till Dawn (bedtime poems), and Out and About (nature poems). Let your children get their first taste of the classics, like Byron's "The Wild, the Free," Eleanor Farjeon's "Bedtime," Robert Louis Stevenson's "Where Go the Boats?" and D.H. Lawrence's "Little Fish." Reread the poems of your own childhood, from John Updike's "January" to Edward Lear's "The Owl and the Pussy Cat." And find plenty of new favorites, such as Adrian Mitchell's "Mesopotamia," Charles Causley's "High in the Heaven," Ted Hughes's "Roger the Dog," and Spike Milligan's "Silly Old Baboon." Expect to see the dogeared covers of this wonderful collection on your bookshelf through children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.
Call Number: JUV PN6109.97.B54ISBN: 9780531015377Publication Date: 1964-01-01
