Good Poetry Collections for Kids

[Todd]

So, my son is four and I'm trying to find poems to include with the stories we read him. I'm looking for any suggestions.

So far I've found an old book of A.A. Milne poems (Winnie the Pooh guy). It's nice when I can also enjoy the poem with my son (given that if he likes something we're going to read it 16 billion times).

Here's an example of a Milne poem I really enjoy:

Teddy Bear by A.A. Milne

A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat
Which is not to be wondered at;
He gets what exercise he can
By falling off the ottoman,
But generally seems to lack
The energy to clamber back.

Now tubbiness is just the thing
Which gets a fellow wondering;
And Teddy worried lots about
The fact that he was rather stout.
He thought: “If only I were thin!
But how does anyone begin?”
He thought: “It really isn’t fair
To grudge me exercise and air.”

For many weeks he pressed in vain
His nose against the window-pane,
And envied those who walked about
Reducing their unwanted stout.
None of the people he could see
“Is quite” (he said) “as fat as me!”
Then, with a still more moving sigh,
“I mean” (he said) “as fat as I!”

Now Teddy, as was only right,
Slept in the ottoman at night,
And with him crowded in as well
More animals than I can tell;
Not only these, but books and things,
Such as a kind relation brings—
Old tales of “Once upon a time,”
And history retold in rhyme.

One night it happened that he took
A peep at an old picture-book,
Wherein he came across by chance
The picture of a King of France
(A stoutish man) and, down below,
These words: “King Louis So and So,
Nicknamed ʻThe Handsome’”! There he sat,
And (think of it!) the man was fat!

Our bear rejoiced like anything
To read about this famous King,
Nicknamed “The Handsome.” There he sat,
And certainly the man was fat.
Nicknamed “The Handsome.” Not a doubt
The man was definitely stout.
Why then, a bear (for all his tub)
Might yet be named “The Handsome Cub!”

“Might yet be named.” Or did he mean
That years ago he “might have been”?
For now he felt a slight misgiving:
“Is Louis So and So still living?
Fashions in beauty have a way
Of altering from day to day.
Is ʻHandsome Louis’ with us yet?
Unfortunately I forget.”

Next morning (nose to window-pane)
The doubt occurred to him again.
One question hammered in his head:
“Is he alive or is he dead?”
Thus, nose to pane, he pondered; but
The lattice window, loosely shut,
Swung open. With one startled “Oh!”
Our Teddy disappeared below.

There happened to be passing by
A plump man with a twinkling eye,
Who, seeing Teddy in the street,
Raised him politely to his feet,
And murmured kindly in his ear
Soft words of comfort and of cheer:
“Well, well!” “Allow me!” “Not at all.”
“Tut tut! A very nasty fall.”

Our teddy answered not a word;
It’s doubtful if he even heard.
Our bear could only look and look:
The stout man in the picture-book!
That “handsome” King—could this be he,
This man of adiposity?
“Impossible,” he thought. “But still,
No harm in asking. Yes I will!”

“Are you,” he said, “by any chance
His Majesty the King of France?”
The other answered, “I am that,”
Bowed stiffly, and removed his hat;
Then said, “Excuse me,” with an air,
“But is it Mr. Edward Bear?”
And Teddy, bending very low,
Replied politely, “Even so!”

They stood beneath the window there,
The King and Mr. Edward Bear,
And, handsome, if a trifle fat,
Talked carelessly of this and that. . . .
Then said His Majesty, “Well, well,
I must get on,” and rang the bell.
“Your bear, I think,” he smiled. “Good-day!”
And turned, and went upon his way.

A bear, however hard he tries,
Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which is not to be wondered at.
But do you think it worries him
To know that he is far from slim?
No, just the other way about—
He’s proud of being short and stout.

~~~

Any ideas?

[milo]

Owl and the pussycat

[Leanne]

I have that one ("When We Were Very Young")... its cover is falling off and I don't think too hard about what's staining the pages...

I love "Silly Verse For Kids" by Spike Milligan -- especially "On the Ning Nang Nong":

On the Ning Nang Nong
Where the Cows go Bong!
and the monkeys all say BOO!
There's a Nong Nang Ning
Where the trees go Ping!
And the tea pots jibber jabber joo.
On the Nong Ning Nang
All the mice go Clang
And you just can't catch 'em when they do!
So its Ning Nang Nong
Cows go Bong!
Nong Nang Ning
Trees go ping
Nong Ning Nang
The mice go Clang
What a noisy place to belong
is the Ning Nang Ning Nang Nong!!

[milo]

Originally I wrote panda and the dragon as a childrens book but the illustrator . . . Well, let's just say she's not around.

[Todd]

Thank you guys.

Milo, yes he likes the owl and the pussycat. My wife does always smirk at me when I read:

"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Leanne, that poem was great. I just bought the collection on Amazon.

[Leanne]

Nonsense poems are awesome for kids, because they get a feel for how language works but still have loads of room for their imaginations to go nuts.

Most of my other favourites are Australian, like "The Animals Noah Forgot" by Banjo Paterson.

Old Man Platypus

Far from the trouble and toil of town,
Where the reed beds sweep and shiver,
Look at a fragment of velvet brown -
Old Man Platypus drifting down,
Drifting along the river.

And he plays and dives in the river bends
In a style that is most elusive;
With few relations and fewer friends,
For Old Man Platypus descends
From a family most exclusive.

He shares his burrow beneath the bank
With his wife and his son and daughter
At the roots of the reeds and the grasses rank;
And the bubbles show where our hero sank
To its entrance under water.

Safe in their burrow below the falls
They live in a world of wonder,
Where no one visits and no one calls,
They sleep like little brown billiard balls
With their beaks tucked neatly under.

And he talks in a deep unfriendly growl
As he goes on his journey lonely;
For he's no relation to fish nor fowl,
Nor to bird nor beast, nor to horned owl;
In fact, he's the one and only!

[Todd]

Leanne, I remember you mentioning Peterson. I'll add this after we go through the first collection.

Milo, I remember you posting that Panda/Dragon thread. I'll go pull it out for him.

---

Milo: You had me at Wombat Armor.

[ellajam]

I loved this one as a kid, still do, and there are some beautifully illustrated versions.
The Pied Piper

The children do get stolen away, but I never found it scary.

And don't forget Dr.Suess, the rhymes are fabulous and kids love hearing adults trip over their tongues.

[Todd]

Forgot about that one Ella, thanks.

[Leanne]

A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson -- might be a little outdated now but I loved it when I was a kid.

[Todd]

I have the Stevenson book already. He likes it.

Good thought.

[Keith]

Hey Todd
When my children were young I brought a book back from America that had a simple poetic story it was by Sylvia Andrews and called Rattlebone Rock, some of the lines are cliché and forced. But my kids loved it and I can still recite it today because I read it that many times, so tread carefully and Halloween is just round the corner.

[Todd]

Hi Keith, Thanks! It's going on the list.

[ChristopherSea]

Todd, You have to get Robert Lewis Stevenson's 'A Child's Garden Of Verses'. My favorite childhood poetry book with fantastic illustrations as well! It's delightful and I bought this particular copy again several years ago. Cheers/Chris: http://www.amazon.com/Childs-Garden-Vers...+of+verses

[Blake]

A little late but this is a book I totally wore out as a child:

http://www.harpercollins.com/browseinsid...0688064341

[beaufort]

Not an anthology, but "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site" is great for little boys.

I also like "Ogden Nash's Zoo"

---

Also, when he is a bit older and you are very brave, get him "An Alphabet of Rotten Kids". Too funny.

[billy]

I loved this one as a kid, still do, and there are some beautifully illustrated versions.
The Pied Piper

The children do get stolen away, but I never found it scary.

And don't forget Dr.Suess, the rhymes are fabulous and kids love hearing adults trip over their tongues.

good choice, we have it on site
and 109 other by him
for the newbs on the site, we have a cart load of poetry you can read by substantial authors in our reference section at the bottom of the home page :J:

---

Thank you guys.

Milo, yes he likes the owl and the pussycat. My wife does always smirk at me when I read:

"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Leanne, that poem was great. I just bought the collection on Amazon.

you can get a lot of books here for free.


here you can get Nonsense Drolleries by Edward Lear which contains pussy

[rowens]

I have a book called Poems To Ward Off Suicide For Children.

Here's four poems from it:

My Dog, Thunder

My dog, Thunder,
had thirteen lives, and a cat's eye.
When he died, he landed on his feet.

Me and Susie buried him
above her old man's cockatoo
which we'd buried deeper than Hell.

As old a soul as
any pet ever seems to be,
they always die in the most uneventful ways.

The Clown

He, in fact, told a joke or three,
but that's not why they called him a clown.
If you knew him,
you might do the same.

When he was nine years old,
...he lost his mind in a childish event.

A few doors south of Lenora's house,
he drove his bike into a creek;
and there he stayed for the rest of his life.

He's still there now.

The Valley

Between two mountains
there flowed a stream;
some people said it was a snake,
but those people are gone.

Over the ages,
the stream widened into a river
that flooded the green richness
of the valley.

One couple got lost there;
a search team searched them out
for days and weeks, and then hours.
But like the old snake people:

They were simply gone.


Janet

Janet had five cats,
all were older than her
and
were destined to outlive her.
Janet was born without a mouth.

When she was two years old,
her mother bought her two cats;
when she was three,
she got three more.

Without a mouth,
it was impossible to talk or eat normally
like the other kids at school.
It was so embarrassing when she had to burp out of her nose, everyone noticed,
that it was no big deal
when anyone else burped.

One night, Janet's youngest cat,
the black and red one,
climbed up onto her chest and tried to steal her soul
as she lay sleeping.
That cat was a witch's familiar.

It didn't work,
Janet's soul wouldn't fit through her nose,
it was too thick.

On top of all that,
Janet acquired a morbid case of childhood obesity
and died of diabetes at the age of thirteen.