Jennifer Lambert

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You are here: Home / Homeschool / Favorite Poetry Books for Kids

Favorite Poetry Books for Kids

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March 1, 2018 By Jennifer Lambert 17 Comments

I love poetry.

I am raising my kids to be linguists, to love language and words and sounds and rhythms.

I read to them while they were being knitted in my womb. I read aloud to them daily and the oldest one is in college.

Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood. ~T.S. Eliot

I don’t teach poetry.

I don’t even teach English.

I don’t want to ruin the magic. We read it and sometimes discuss it. We ooh and aah over some of it. We giggle and act it out. We sing it.

The purpose of poetry is to enjoy it, not tear it apart or dissect it. I occasionally point out an example of a literary term or ask them to notice something special about a particular word, line, or poem.

Analyzing poetry is fine for high school or college, but not for small children.

Poetry is the place where language in its silence is most beautifully articulated. Poetry is the language of silence… It is interesting to look at your language and the words that you tend to use to see if you can hear a stillness or silence. One way to invigorate and renew your language is to expose yourself to poetry. In poetry your language will find cleansing illumination and sensuous renewal.

John O’Donohue, Anam Ċara

Poetry should be fun.

Poetry should be recited, performed, read aloud, acted out with costumes, laughed at, cried with, sung, shouted, whispered…read outside under trees while watching clouds and listening to the wind.

The Poetry of earth is never dead.

John Keats

We read lots and lots of poetry with our literature during our history cycles.

  • Year 1
  • Year 2
  • Year 3
  • Year 4

We also like to keep up with poet laureates for US and UK and other contemporary poets: Joy Harjo, Simon Armitage, Amanda Gorman.

Favorite Poetry Books for Kids

The Random House Book of Poetry for Children by Jack Prelutsky


The Random House Book of Poetry for Children offers both funny and illuminating poems for kids personally selected by the nation’s first Children’s Poet Laureate, Jack Prelutsky. Featuring a wealth of beloved classic poems from the past and modern glittering gems, every child who opens this treasury will finda world of surprises and delights which will instill a lifelong love of poetry. Featuring 572 unforgettable poems, and over 400 one-of-a-kind illustrations from the Caldecott-winning illustrator of the Frog and Toad series, Arnold Lobel, this collection is, quite simply, the perfect way to introduce children to the world of poetry.

This is a great poetry collection to get started.

Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young by Jack Prelutsky


“No one better recognizes the essence of the child-poetry connection than poet and anthologist Jack Prelutsky…Here are more than 200 little poems to feed little people with little attention spans to help both grow. Marc Brown’s inviting illustrations add a visual dimension to the poems, which further engage young imaginations.” The poems are by 119 of the best-known poets of the 20th century.

The 20th Century Children’s Poetry Treasury 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.

Poems to Learn by Heart by Caroline Kennedy

There’s a poem to celebrate every moment in life-whether it’s hitting a home run, watching a sunset, or laughing with your best friend. A poem is a gift of the heart that can inspire, reassure, or challenge us. Memorize it-share it-it’s yours forever.

These are just fun.

Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People by Jane Yolen

What colors do you see in nature – the green of a fern, the brown of a desert, the gray of a lifeless tree? Look closer. You’ll find more than meets the eye. Is that a white flower, or a star that fell in the forest? Is that an orange sunset, or a piece of fruit that’s ripe for eating? Is that a blue sky, or the slate on which a bird writes?

We love every single book by Jane Yolen. She has exquisite nature poetry books and celebrations for all sorts, in addition to fantasy and dinosaurs.

Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings by Shel Silverstein

You’ll meet a boy who turns into a TV set, and a girl who eats a whale. The Unicorn and the Bloath live there, and so does Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout who will not take the garbage out. It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist.

All of Silverstein’s books are delightful. I loved them as a kid and now my kids love them!

Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventures in Poetry and Color by Mary O’Neill

Poetry about the colors of the spectrum, has become a modern children’s classic.

Rootabaga Stories by Carl Sandburg

Welcome to Rootabaga Country – where the railroad tracks go from straight to zigzag, where the pigs wear bibs, and where the Village of Cream Puffs floats in the wind. You’ll meet baby balloon pickers, flummywisters, corn fairies, and blue foxes–and if you’re not careful, you may never find your way back home!

Fold Me a Poem by Kristine O’Connell George

Join a young boy as he creates a world filled with origami creatures of all shapes and sizes out of an array of brightly colored paper. From roosters waking up and buffalo pawing the tablecloth to cheetahs racing lions and moths that yearn for butterfly colors, here is a glimpse into the vibrant imagination of a child.

Old Elm Speaks: Tree Poems by Kristine O’Connell George

This tree across the stream is a trickier bridge than it might seem…Deceptively simple verses reveal what trees think about and what they say to one another, as well as how they look and all the things they do for us. Humor and an unerring ear for the sounds of language make these poems an irresistible read-aloud; the luminous oil paintings evoke a country setting and the children who enjoy it through the year.

Julie Andrews’ Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton

Featuring a wide range of beloved classics from William Shakespeare, Emily Dickenson, and Robert Frost to playful poems by Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein, this is the perfect collection for families to share throughout the years. Julie and Emma additionally contribute a number of their own poems and reveal the stories behind some of their family favorites. James McMullan’s stunning watercolor paintings bring each page to glorious life with his spectacular vision and artistic point of view.

The Collection, now featuring a brand-new cover design, is packaged with a special CD featuring mother and daughter alternately recording twenty-one poems, some of which are recited together. This special keepsake anthology is one that readers of all ages will return to and treasure.

We have a slight obsession with Julie Andrews. We are not ashamed.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost

There are more animals to find among the trees, and the kindly figure with his “promises to keep” exudes warmth as he stops to appreciate the quiet delights of winter. The handsome new vellum jacket will attract new and old fans as it evokes a frost-covered windowpane.

We love reading poetry aloud. We love writing limericks and fun poems of our own.

I love reading poetry to my kids.

There are whole series of about 12 poetry books – Poetry for Young People. Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson, William Wordsworth, and Walt Whitman are just lovely.

I read to my kids from Shakespeare and Norton’s literature anthologies. I haven’t bought any kids collections’ of poems. We often check out fun poetry books from the library.

My favorite poets are TS Eliot, WH Auden, Seamus Heaney, Sylvia Plath…

Do you enjoy poetry?

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Comments

  1. Lauren says

    March 5, 2018 at 3:33 pm

    I love this. For all practical purposes I am raising a non-reader and it breaks my heart. Thanks for the inspiration. Visiting from the God-sized dreams link-up. laurensparks.net

    Reply
  2. Donna Reidland says

    March 5, 2018 at 5:10 pm

    I think most kids enjoy poetry and that enjoyment can be cultivated (or killed by making it a drudgery as too often happens in school). What a great list of books to do just that! I’m always pinning your lists for gift ideas for my grandchildren and others.

    Reply
  3. Candace says

    March 5, 2018 at 8:13 pm

    I would like to add poetry to our homeschool day. I will look for these books at our local library. Thanks for this list!

    Reply
  4. Jennifer says

    March 5, 2018 at 9:35 pm

    Lovely, thank you!
    Jennifer

    Reply
  5. Mary Geisen says

    March 6, 2018 at 2:04 pm

    You recommended some of my favorite poetry books. As a teacher, who is now retired, I read Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, and Jane Yolen to my students. I love Julie Andrews so I am sure her book would be a treasure. Poetry is such a great gift to give to your kids.

    Reply
  6. Global says

    March 6, 2018 at 5:43 pm

    Thanks, James A. Tweedie. If I’m not mistaken,it was George Bernard Shaw who sneered at Parry’s music, saying among other things that “Blest Pair of Sirens” was not as great as the poem it set to music. Shaw despised all three of the top English composers of the time (who all respected each others work). He said in effect that they were a mutual admiration society. Thanks for enlightening me about Frederick Charles Maker being the composer of “Rest” as the music for Whittier’s poem. I was raised outside the Anglican tradition and Maker’s setting was indeed the one I knew. It is as you say quiet and thoughtful. My father loved poetry and among his tip top favourite poems was Whittier’s “Snowbound.” He quoted short passages from it occasionally though more often he recited the entire “The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers” by Felicia Dorohea Hemans. He always delivered the final lines in a hortatory, ecstatic voice: What sought they thus afar? Bright jewels of the mine? The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?— 35 They sought a faith’s pure shrine! Ay, call it holy ground, The soil where first they trod: They have left unstained what there they found,— Freedom to worship God.

    Reply
  7. Sara @ Magical Mama Blog says

    March 7, 2018 at 4:46 pm

    Where the sidewalk ends was one of my favorites as a kid! Thank you for reminding me to grab it for my little girl!
    #fortheloveofblog

    Reply
  8. jessi's design says

    March 7, 2018 at 6:35 pm

    I’m hoping to score Miss A lots of new books for her upcoming birthday! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  9. Rebecca Jones says

    March 8, 2018 at 11:32 pm

    I write poetry and have been working on children’s books myself, hopefully, children will read them , when the time is right in God’s plan.

    Reply
  10. Mother of 3 says

    March 9, 2018 at 10:34 pm

    We love Robert Frost and Shel Silverstein. Poetry can be so much to just read and enjoy. That’s how I tend to teach it too.

    Reply
  11. Christin says

    March 10, 2018 at 1:55 am

    This is such a great list! I definitely want to incorporate more poetry with my kids. This is a list I will be referring to for poetry books! And l love acting out the poems as a way to make poetry reading fun!

    Reply
  12. DGDRONE says

    March 10, 2018 at 11:15 am

    Thankyou for your concerns!

    Reply
  13. Gayl says

    March 10, 2018 at 9:00 pm

    Poetry is such a wonderful way to express ourselves in word pictures. I have always loved poetry and shared it with my children. Now I write a lot of poetry and love to encourage others to try. I have not heard of some of your book suggestions and they sound interesting. I love Julie Andrews, too! Another book I liked is a little older but has some wonderful poems. It’s called Favorite Poems Old and New: Selected for Boys and Girls.
    Thanks for sharing at the #LMMLinkup. Blessings to you!

    Reply
  14. April J Harris says

    March 12, 2018 at 6:00 pm

    I love poetry! It’s such a great way to expand your horizons, and memorizing poetry is great for people of all ages. You’ve shared some wonderful books here. I am particularly interested in the one by Julie Andrews and her daughter. Thank you so much for bringing this post to the Hearth and Soul Link Party, Jen!

    Reply
  15. Kelly Edwards says

    March 13, 2018 at 8:47 pm

    Think I need to read these as I generally dislike poetry! Probably stems from having to read a lot of war poems at school. All a bit bleak obviously. Thanks for linking up to #fortheloveofBLOG

    Reply
  16. Amy @ The Quiet Homemaker says

    March 15, 2018 at 3:01 pm

    Thank you so much for this wonderful resource! I am looking at the Julie Andrews on now! I love her. I love Where the Sidewalk Ends as well, so funny!

    Thank you so much for linking up with #livelivewell!

    Blessings,

    Amy

    Reply

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