Happy Poetry Month - A review of Classic Poetry

Dear Friends, 

Happy April and happy Poetry Month.

   When I was little, my father used to read to me. He had such a beautiful reading-aloud voice that I would sit and listen, taking in every syllable. One of the things that he liked to read to me was poetry. I had a collection of classic poetry, and we had such a marvelous time exploring the language in the poems of Robert Louis Stevenson, Walter de la Mare, Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, and others. 

   When my daughter was little I bought her the book that I have reviewed below, and she and I shared the same wonderful experiences. I reconnected with old friends, and made new ones, and to this day we will quote lines from some of the poems to each other, even though she is now an adult, living far away. 

Classic Poetry   

Selected by Michael Rosen

Illustrated by Paul Howard 

Poetry

For ages 8 and up

Candlewick, 2009, 978-0763642105

In this day and age so many of us expect to be constantly entertained when we read. We like titles that have a fast-paced plot, ones that will keep us engaged all the way through the book. We are less willing to explore words and the images and emotions that they describe or conjure up. Because of this tendency, we often miss out on some wonderful stories, and we completely bypass poetry. Reading poetry can take a little more work; it is a little more demanding than a simple narrative. At the same time, poetry can give us a wonderfully rich literary experience.

   For this book Michael Rosen, one of Britain’s Children’s Laureates, has selected classic poetry written by some of the world’s most wonderful English language poets. Some of the poets will be known to the reader, like William Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll, while others will become new friends.

   For each poet Rosen has written a short biography, and so this book is “not only a book of classic poetry; it is also a book of classic poets.” For some of the poets Rosen has chosen more than one poem, and this will help the reader get a richer picture of what the poet cared about.

   In addition to reading poems about Ozymandius, the Mock Turtle, Paul Revere’s Ride, The Jumblies, and much more, readers can read the poet’s biographies, looks at portraits of them, and admire the art that Paul Howard has created to accompany the poems.

   This is a title that young and nor-so-young readers will dip into again and again, and it is a book that they will surely enjoy for many years to come.

Poetry Friday with a review of Mother Goose’s Pajama Party

For many parents the Mother Goose nursery rhymes are the first poems that they explore with their children. Over time Little Miss Muffet, the cow that jumped over the moon, and Wee Willie Winkie all become members of the family. In today's poetry title these characters and others from the Mother Goose rhymes come together to attend a special event hosted by none other than Mother Goose herself!

Mother Goose’s Pajama Party 

Danna Smith

Illustrated by Virginia Allyn

Poetry Picture Book

For ages 4 to 6

Random House, 2015, 978-0-553-49756-4

One night Mother Goose flies out into the night sky on the back of her goose companion. In sparkles she leaves a message in the starlit sky inviting her friends to come to her house at half past eight for a story time.

   The moon is the first to see the message and she shows it to the cow, who then goes on to tell Dish who passes on what she has been told to Spoon. Spoon then tells Cats about the invitation and Cat, being the musician that he is, “fiddled a tune.”

   Mother Goose’s invitation is passed on from character to character, from Jack-a-Dandy to Wee Willie Winkie, and from Georgie Porgie to Little Bo-Peep. Finally Nimble Jack, with his candlestick, leads the way to Mother Goose’s house with all the other nursery rhyme characters following him. Along the way they collect the crooked man and the cooked mouse and they walk along “the final crooked mile,” until they come to Mother Goose’s door promptly at eight o’clock.

   What follows is a wonderful evening that is full of treats that the guests and the hostess alike enjoy.

   Written in wonderful rhyming verse, this picture book brings together some of the most well-known nursery rhyme characters, who take little children on a memorable bookish adventure that is full of joy, warmth, and finally comfort.

   At the back of the book children will find the fifteen nursery rhymes that feature the characters that they met in the book.

Poetry Friday with a review of After the bell Rings: Poems about After-School Time

When I was in elementary school I can remember feeling that time seemed to slow down during the last lesson of the day. That last bell seemed to take forever to ring. When it rang I knew I was free, until the next school day began.

Today's poetry title explores those almost-out-of-school and free-of-school times.

After the bell Rings: Poems about After-School Time
Carol Diggory Shields
Illustrations by Paul Meisel
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Penguin, 2015, 978-0-8037-3805-8
For children, the moment when the last bell rings at the end of a school day is a special time. After that bell rings they will be free at last, and all kinds of activities await them. Before the bell rings they are “Like horses at the starting gate,” watching the minute hand tick, ticks around the clock face. It feels as if “the clock on the wall has stopped.” They are not the only ones who are happy when the bell rings. Their teacher is also glad that her work day is coming to a close, and for her too the last two minutes before the bell rings “are the slowest of all.”
   Once they are free, children head off for home to play video games, practice their musical instruments, and battle with homework assignments. They have a snack, read a book, send text messages and hang out with friends.
   There are so many things to do, but kids can become bored all the same. If this happens, children must never, ever mention that they are bored because if they do they will end up mowing the law for Dad or sweeping for Mom.  If children do get bored the trick is to “look busy and don’t show it” and make sure that they “Don’t let your parents know it!”
   This amusing poetry picture book takes readers into the lives of children after they are released from school. The poems come in many forms, including one that is made up of a series of text messages that fly between two children. We hear from a boy whose sister’s violin playing is making his life a misery, and another whose mother catches him playing a video game when he should be doing his homework. Then there is the girl whose afternoons and Saturdays are so booked up that all she wants to do on Sunday is to “just take a nap.”
   Children and their grownups will surely enjoy this clever trip into those wonderful after-school hours when children, if they are lucky, get to do at least some of the things that they dreamed of doing when they were sitting in class.

Poetry Friday with a review of Changes: A child’s first Poetry Collection

Young children are often wonderfully receptive to poetry. There is something about the rhythm of verse that appeals to their ears. In today's poetry title readers will find a collection of beautifully rhythmic poems that perfectly capture the adventures, images, and sensations that children experience as the seasons go by.

Changes: A child’s first Poetry Collection
Charlotte Zolotow
Illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 3 to 6
Sourcebooks, 2015, 978-1-4926-0168-5
Charlotte Zolotow was a prolific writer who wrote more than ninety published books for young readers, two of which won Caldecott Honor awards. For four decades, in her capacity as an editor-publisher at HarperCollins, she worked with wonderful writers such as Laura Ingalls Wilder, Maurice Sendak, and Arnold Lobel. In this wonderful collection, twenty-eight of her poems are brought together to offer young children a beautiful journey through the seasons. They are being published in what would have been Charlotte’s centenary year, and therefore they serve as a fitting tribute both to her and to her “ability to frame the largest, boldest truths for the smallest, newest readers.”
   The collection begins with a poem called Change, which explores the joys of “Celebrating the Seasons.” We see how one season flows into another, a process that is full of change and wonder, and yet in the end, when the year comes full circle, the only thing that has really changed is us. We have grown up and grown older.
   Next we begin our journey with poems about spring. We see a river winding through a meadow and experience the spring wind which “comes gently after the rain / smelling of spring and growing things.” We lie in the grass and see a small bird flying over the trees. We meet some violet sellers and celebrate the simple beauty of crocuses and pansies.
   In summer we share a moment with a child who is watching a honey bee. That “shimmering clear / making the sky seem very near” moment is his to relish and enjoy. We see how blue is a true summer color, the color of “the sea at noon,” bluejays, blueberries, larkspurs and “the sky itself.” We experience the essence of time spent by the sea, and meet two denizens of summer; a fly and a beetle.
   Autumn is a time when “the light long summer / is grown old.” It is a time of falling colorful leaves, of school days, and Halloween costumes. Following close on its heels comes winter with its snow and frozen rivers. “Black and still” trees are stark and beautiful, and now when toes feel the cold, we remember the summer sun.
   Paired with sweet illustrations that capture the magic of the seasons, these wonderful poems will delight readers, young and old alike.

April is National Poetry Month - A review

I gave my daughter this book for Easter and ended up liking it so much that we both decided that I should review it.

Classic Poetry: An Illustrated Collection

Selected by Michael Rosen

Illustrated by Paul Howard

For ages 8 and up

Poetry

Candlewick Press, 2009, 978-0-7636-4210-5

In this day and age so many of us expect to be constantly entertained when we read. We like titles that have a fast-paced plot, one that will keep us engaged all the way through the book. We are less willing to explore words and the images and emotions that they describe or conjure up. Because of this tendency, we often miss out on some wonderful stories, and we completely bypass poetry. Reading poetry can take a little more work, it is a little more demanding than a simple narrative. At the same time, poetry can give us a wonderfully rich literary experience.

   For this book Michael Rosen, Britain’s Children’s Laureate, has selected classic poetry written by some of the world’s most wonderful English language poets. Some of the poets will be known to the reader, like William Shakespeare and Lewis Carroll, while others will become new friends.

   For each poet Rosen has written a short biography, and so this book is “not only a book of classic poetry; it is also a book of classic poets.” For some of the poets Rosen has chosen more than one poem, and this will help the reader get a richer picture of what the poet cared about.

   In addition to reading poems about Ozymandius, the Mock Turtle, Paul Revere’s Ride, The Jumblies, and much more, readers can read the poet’s biographies, looks at portraits of them, and admire the art that Paul Howard has created to accompany the poems.

   This is a title that young readers will dip into again and again, and it is a book that they will surely enjoy for many years to come.