The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
Jack Prelutsky and Arnold Lobel (ill.)
Prelutsky, Jack; Arnold Lobel (ill.);
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
Random House Books for Young Readers 1983-09-12 (hardcover, 248 pages $19.95)
ISBN 9780394850108 / 0394850106
topics: | poetry | anthology | children
Book Review
Flipping through these pages, one thought strikes me again and again. Somehow, childrens' poets don't seem to get the recognition that serious poets get...
Much of the poetry in this volume is excellent poetry, by any standard. Yes, kids can also understand it, but that does not make it poorer quality poetry by any means.
Of course, some of the poets - Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Ted Hughes are also well-known for their adult poetry. but those who rarely venture out of the children's genre are often under-recognized. Poets like Shel Silverstein and Jack Prelutsky have become quite well-known on childrens' poetry, but too many others - Karla Kuskin, Dennis Lee, Judith Viorst, are somehow set apart.
see Crossing Over:Authors Who Write Both Children's and Adults' Fiction by David Galef (1995) for some discussion on this theme.
The poems : delightful!
in any event, this compilation is an utter delight, both in terms of the text, and the pictures. stick-it-marked, pencil-indexed, heavily tagged, this is definitely one of the most well-thumbed books in my collection.
in terms of density of great poems, this book is hard to beat. It has been endlessly praised ever since it came out 15 years back. Get a copy! Read it to your little friends!! share the pictures with them... since the landmark publication, there have been other kids books, including Prelutzky / So's 20th c. treasury, and while the new anthologies add lesser known poeme, this volume remains the unsurpassed classic collection. so popular is this book, that all the 557 poems are probably available online. of course, the poems are either old or american, but they still work. the colourful and imaginative illustrations are by Arnold Lobel.
Excerpts
Mountain Wind: Barbara Kunz Loots (p.26)
Windrush down the timber chutes between the mountain's knees -- a hiss of distant breathing, a shouting in the trees a recklessness of branches a wilderness a-sway, when suddenly a silence takes your breath away.
Nature: Time of day ; Seasons
Flint : Christina Rossetti 23
An emerald is as green as grass, A ruby red as blood; A sapphire shines as blue as heaven; A flint lies in the mud. A diamond is a brilliant stone, To catch the world’s desire; An opal holds a fiery spark; But a flint holds fire.
Mud : Polly Chase Boyden 28
Mud is very nice to feel All squishy-squash between the toes! I'd rather wade in wiggly mud Than smell a yellow rose. Nobody else but the rosebush knows How nice mud feels Between the toes.
The Muddy Puddle : Dennis Lee 28
I am sitting In the middle Of a rather Muddy Puddle, With my bottom Full of bubbles And my rubbers Full of Mud, While my jacket And my sweater Go on slowly Getting wetter As I very Slowly settle To the bottom Of the Mud. And I find that What a person With a puddle Round his middle Thinks of mostly In the muddle Is the muddi- ness of Mud.
The rain has silver sandals : May Justus 29
The rain has silver sandals For dancing in the spring, And shoes with golden tassels For summer's frolicking. Her winter boots have hobnails Of ice from heel to toe, Which now and then she changes For moccasins of snow.
To walk in warm rain : David McCord 30
To walk in warm rain And get wetter and wetter! To do it again-- To walk in warm rain Till you drip like a drain To walk in warm rain And get wetter and wetter!
The more it snows : A. A. Milne p.30
The more it snows (Tiddly Pom) The more it goes (Tiddly Pom) The more it goes (Tiddly Pom) On snowing. And nobody knows (Tiddly Pom) How cold my toes (Tiddly Pom) How cold my toes (Tiddly Pom) Are growing.
Night comes : Beatrice Schenk de Regniers (p.33)
Night comes looking out of the sky Stars come peeking. Moon comes sneaking silvery-sly. Who is shaking, shivery, quaking? Who is afraid of the night? Not I.
Night : Mary Ann Hoberman (33)
The night is coming softly, slowly; Look, it's getting hard to see, Through the windows, Through the door, Pussyfooting On the floor, Dragging shadows, Crawling, Creeping, Soon it will be time for sleeping. Pull down the shades. Turn on the light. Let's pretend it isn't night.
The night is a big black cat : G. Orr Clark 33
The night is a big black cat The moon is her topaz eye, The stars are the mice she hunts at night In the field of the sultry sky.
January : John Updike 36
The days are short
The sun a spark
Hung thin between
The Dark and dark
Fat snowy footsteps
Track the floor,
And parkas pile up
Near the door.
The river is
A frozen place
Held still beneath
The trees’ black lace.
The sky is low.
The wind is gray.
The radiator
Purrs all day.
Smells : Kathryn Worth (p.39)
Through all the frozen winter My nose has grown most lonely For lovely, lovely, coloured smells That come in springtime only. The purple smell of lilacs, The yellow smell that blows Across the air of meadows Where bright forsythia grows. The tall pink smell of peach trees, The low white smell of clover, And everywhere the great green smell Of grass the whole world over. --Spring : Karla Kuskin 43 I’m shouting I’m singing I’m swinging through trees I’m winging skyhigh With the buzzing black bees. I’m the sun I’m the moon I’m the dew on the rose. I’m a rabbit Whose habit Is twitching his nose. I’m lively I’m lovely I’m kicking my heels. I’m crying “Come Dance” To the fresh water eels. I’m racing through meadows Without any coat I’m a gamboling lamb I’m a light leaping goat I’m a bud I’m a bloom I’m a dove on the wing. I’m running on rooftops And welcoming spring! 1958,
Maytime Magic : Mabel Watts (p. 44)
A little seed For me to sow A little earth to make it grow A little hole, a little pat, A little wish, and that is that, A little sun, a little shower. A little while - And then -- a flower!
Summer : Frank Asch (p. 44)
When it's hot I take my shoes off, I take my shirt off, I take my pants off, I take my underwear off, I take my whole body off, and throw it in the river.
Lazy witch : Myra Cohn Livingston (p. 46)
Lazy witch, What's wrong with you? Get up and stir your magic brew. Here's candlelight to chase the gloom. Jump up and mount your flying broom And muster up your charms and spells And wicked grins and piercing yells. It's Halloween! There's work to do! Lazy witch! What's wrong with you?
Animals
Dogs and cats and bears and bats : Jack Prelutsky 53
[every section starts with a specially-composed poem by prelutsky; this opens the section on animals. ] Mammals are a varied lot; some are furry, some are not; many come equipped with tails; some have quills, a few have scales. Some are large, and others small; some are quick, while others crawl; they prance on land, they swing from trees; they're underground and in the seas. [...] Dogs and cats and bears and bats, all are mammals, so are rats; whales are mammals, camels too; I'm a mammal... so are YOU!
Mice : Rose Fyleman (p. 54)
I think mice Are rather nice. Their tails are long, Their faces small, They haven't any Chins at all. Their ears are pink, Their teeth are whole, They run about The house at night, They nibble things They shouldn't touch And no one seems To like them much. But I think mice Are nice.
To a Squirrel at Kyle-Na-No : William Butler Yeats (p. 55)
Come play with me Why should you run Through the shaking tree As though I’d a gun To strike you dead? When all I would do Is to scratch your head And let you go.
Four little foxes : Lew Sarett (p. 60)
Speak gently, Spring, and make no sudden sound for in my windy valley yesterday I found New-born foxes squirming on the ground -- Speak gently. Walk softly, March, forbear the bitter blow, Her feet within a trap, her blood upon the snow, The four little foxes saw their mother go, Walk softly. Go lightly, Spring, oh give them no alarm; When I covered them with boughs to shelter them from harm The thin blue foxes suckled at my arm, Go lightly. Step softly, March, with your rampant hurricane Nuzzling one another and whimp'ring with pain, The new little foxes are shiv'ring in the rain, Step softly.
Grandpa Bear's lullaby : Jane Yolen (p. 60)
The night is long But fur is deep. You will be warm In winter sleep. The food is gone But dreams are sweet And they will be Your winter meat. The cave is dark But dreams are bright And they will serve As winter light. Sleep, my little cubs, Sleep.
Hey, Bug! : Lilian Moore (p. 72)
Hey, bug, stay! Don't run away. I know a game that we can play. I'll hold my fingers very still And you can climb a finger-hill. No, no. Don't go. Here's a wall - a tower, too, A tiny bug town, just for you. I've a cookie. You have some. Take this oatmeal cookie crumb. Hey, bug, stay! Hey, bug! Hey!
Praying Mantis : Mary Ann Hoberman (p. 73)
That praying mantis over there Is really not engaged in prayer. That praying mantis that you see Is really preying (with an “e”). It preys upon the garter snake. It preys upon the bumblebee. It preys upon the cabbage worm, The wasp, the fly, the moth, the flea. (And sometimes, if its need is great, It even preys upon its mate.) With prey and preying both so endless, It tends to end up rather friendless And seldom is commended much Except by gardeners and such.
CRICKETS : Valerie Worth (p. 73)
Crickets talk in the tall grass All Late summer Long. When summer Is gone, The dry Grass Whispers Alone.
Wasps : Dorothy Aldis (p. 74)
Wasps like coffee. Syrup. Tea. Coca-Cola. Butter Me.
Flea : Roland Young [English actor, 1887-1953] (p. 74)
And here's the happy bounding flea— You cannot tell the he from she. The sexes look alike, you see. But she can tell and so can he.
A wee little worm : James Whitcomb Riley (p. 77)
A wee little worm in a hickory-nut Sang, happy as he could be, "O I live in the heart of the whole round world, And it all belongs to me!"
The Codfish : anonymous (p. 77)
The codfish lays a thousand eggs. The homely hen lays one. The codfish never cackles To tell you when she's done. And so we scorn the codfish While the humble hen we prize Which only goes to show That it pays to advertise.
The Hen : Lord Alfred Douglas (p. 85)
The Hen is a ferocious fowl, She pecks you till she makes you howl. And all the time she flaps her wings, And says the most insulting things. And when you try to take her eggs, She bites pieces from your legs. The only safe way to get these, Is to creep on your hands and knees. In the meanwhile a friend must hide, And jump out on the other side. And then you snatch the eggs and run, While she pursues the other one. The difficulty is to find A trusty friend who will not mind. [Lord Alfred Douglas or Bosie was Oscar Wilde's lover]
Flowers are a silly bunch: Arnold Spilka 92
Flowers are a silly bunch While trees are sort of bossy. Lakes are shy The earth is calm And rivers do seem saucy. Hills are good But mountains mean While weeds all ask for pity. I guess the country can be nice But I prefer the city. Don’t Tell Me That I Talk Too Much Don’t tell me that I talk too much! Don’t say it! Don’t you dare! I only say important things Like why it’s raining where. Or when or how or why or what Might happen here or there. And why a thing is this or that And who is bound to care. So don’t tell me I talk too much! Don’t say it! DON’T YOU DARE!
People upstairs | Ogden Nash (p. 93)
The people upstairs all practice ballet. Their living room is a bowling alley. Their bedroom is full of conducted tours. Their radio is louder than yours. They celebrate week ends all the week. When they take a shower, your ceilings leak. They try to get their parties to mix By supplying their guests with Pogo sticks, And when their party at last abates, They go to the bathroom on roller skates. I might love he people upstairs wondrous If instead of above us, they lived just under us.
Fog : Carl Sandburg (p. 96)
The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.
Where Are You Now? : Mary Britton Miller 98
When the night begins to fall And the sky begins to glow You look up and see the tall City of lights begin to grow – In rows and little golden squares The lights come out. First here, then there Behind the windowpanes as though A million billion bees had built Their golden hives and honeycombs Above you in the air.
Foghorns : Lilian Moore (p. 98)
The foghorns moaned in the bay last night so sad so deep I thought I heard the city crying in its sleep.
Question : anonymous (p. 103)
Do you love me Or do you not? You told me once But I forgot
Hug O'War : Shel Silverstein 102
I will not play at tug o’ war. I’d rather play at hug o’ war, Where everyone hugs Instead of tugs, Where everyone giggles And rolls on the rug, Where everyone kisses, And everyone grins, And everyone cuddles, And everyone wins.
Me : Karla Kuskin 119
“My nose is blue, My teeth are green, My face is like a soup tureen. I look just like a lima bean. I’m very, very lovely. My feet are far too short And long. My hands are left and right And wrong. My voice is like the hippo’s song. I’m very, very, Very, very, Very, very Lovely?”
Every Time I Climb a Tree : David McCord 119
Every time I climb a tree Every time I climb a tree Every time I climb a tree I scrape a leg Or skin a knee And every time I climb a tree I find some ants Or dodge a bee And get the ants All over me And every time I climb a tree Where have you been? They say to me But don't they know that I am free Every time I climb a tree? I like it best To spot a nest That has an egg Or maybe three And then I skin The other leg But every time I climb a tree I see a lot of things to see Swallows rooftops and TV And all the fields and farms there be Every time I climb a tree Though climbing may be good for ants It isn't awfully good for pants But still it's pretty good for me Every time I climb a tree
Marrog : R. C. Scriven (p. 125)
My desk's at the back of the class And nobody, nobody knows I'm a Marrog from Mars With a body of brass And seventeen fingers and toes. Wouldn't they shriek if they knew I've three eyes at the back of my head And my hair is bright purple My nose is deep blue And my teeth are half-yellow, half-red? My five arms are silver and spiked With knives on them sharper than spears. I could go back right now, if I liked- And return in a million light years. I could gobble them all For I am seven foot tall And I'm breathing green flames from my ears. Wouldn't they yell if they knew, If they guessed a Marrog was here? Ha ha they haven't a clue- Or wouldn't they tremble with fear! 'Look, look, A Marrog' They'd all scream - and SMACK The blackboard would fall and the ceiling would crack And the teacher would faint, I suppose. But I grin to myself, sitting right at the back And nobody, nobody knows
I'm nobody! Who are you? : Emily Dickinson (p. 128)
I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too? Then there's a pair of us -don't tell! They'd banish us, you know. How dreary to be somebody! How public, like a frog To tell your name the livelong day To an admiring bog!
Mother Doesn't Want A Dog : Judith Viorst (b. Newark 1931) p. 133
Mother doesn't want a dog. Mother says they smell, And never sit when you say sit, Or even when you yell. And when you come home late at night And there is ice and snow, You have to go back out because The dumb dog has to go. Mother doesn't want a dog. Mother says they shed, And always let the strangers in And do disgraceful things on rugs, And track mud on the floor, And flop upon your bed at night And snore their doggy snore. Mother doesn't want a dog. She's making a mistake. Because, more than a dog, I think She will not want this snake.
I wish I could meet the man that knows : John Ciardi 134
I wish I could meet the man that knows Who put the fly on my daddy’s nose When my daddy was taking a nap today. I tried to slap that fly away So Daddy could sleep. But just as my hand Came down to slap him, the fly jumped AND I hit with a bang – where do you suppose? – SMACK ON THE END OF DADDY’S NOSE! “Ow!” cried Daddy, and up he jumped. He jumped so hard that he THUMP- BUMPED His head on the wall. Well, I tried to say, “See, Daddy, I slapped the fly away.” And I should think he would have thanked me. But what do you think he did? He SPANKED me! “I was just trying to help!” I said. But Daddy was looking very red. “For trying to help, I have to thank you. But for that smack on the nose, I’ll spank you!” And up in the air went his great big hand As he said, “I hope you understand It’s my nose I’m spanking for, not the fly. For the fly I thank you.” And that is why I wish I could meet the man that knows Who put the fly on my daddy’s nose. For when I find him, I want to thank him. And as I do, I want to spank him.
The first tooth : Charles and Mary Lamb 135
Though the house what busy joy, Just because the infant boy Has a tiny tooth to show! I have got a double row, All as white and all as small; Yet no one cares for mine at all. He can say but half a word, Yet that single sound's preferred To all the words that I can say In the longest summer day. He cannot walk, yet if he put With mimic motion out his foot, As if he thought he were advancing, It's prized more than my best dancing.
My Brother : Marci Ridlon 136
My brother’s worth about two cents, As far as I can see. I simply cannot understand Why they would want a “he.” He spends a good part of his day Asleep inside the crib, And when he eats, he has to wear A stupid baby bib. He cannot walk and cannot talk And cannot throw a ball. In fact, he can’t do anything— He’s just no fun at all. It would have been more sensible, As far as I can see, Instead of getting one like him To get one just like me.
Help! : X. J. Kennedy 136
Firemen, firemen!
State police!
Victor's locked in Pop's valise!
Robert's eating kitty litter!
Doctor!
Lawyer!
Baby-sitter!
Leave Me Alone : Felice Holman 136
Loving care! Too much to bear. Leave me alone! Don't brush my hair, Don't pat my head, Don't tuck me in Tonight in bed, Don't ask me if I want a sweet, Don't fix my favorite things to eat, Don't give me lots of good advice, And most of all just don't be nice. But when I've wallowed well in sorrow, Be nice to me again tomorrow.
Rules : Karla Kuskin 137
Do not jump on ancient uncles. Do not yell at average mice. Do not wear a broom to breakfast. Do not ask a snake's advice. Do not bathe in chocolate pudding. Do not talk to bearded bears. Do not smoke cigars on sofas. Do not dance on velvet chairs. Do not take a whale to visit Russell's mother's cousin's yacht. And whatever else you do do It is better you Do not.
I'm really not lazy : Arnold Spilka 127
I'm really not lazy -- I'm not! I'm not! It's just that I'm thinking And thinking And thinking A lot! It's true I don't work But I can't! I just can't! When I'm thinking And thinking And thinking A lot!
Soap : Martin Gardner 138
Just look at those feet!
Did you actually think
That dirt would come off, my daughter,
By wiggling your toes
Around in the sink
And slapping the top of the water?
Just look at your face!
Did you really suppose
Those smudges would all disappear
With a dab at your chin
And the tip of your nose
And a rub on the back of one ear?
You tell me your face
And your feet are clean?
Do you think your old Dad is a dope?
Let's try it again
With a different routine.
This time we'll make use of the soap!
The Sugar Lady : Frank Asch 166
There is an old lady who lives down the hall, Wrinkled and gray and toothless and small. At seven already she’s up, Going from door to door with a cup. “Do you have any sugar?” she asks, Although she’s got more than you. “Do you have any sugar?” she asks, Hoping you’ll talk for a minute or two.
sir smasham uppe - amidst the ruins of a queen anne chair... (illustration by Arnold Lobel)
Sir Smasham Uppe : E.V. Rieu 167
Good afternoon, Sir Smasham Uppe! We're having tea: do take a cup! Sugar and milk? Now let me see- Two lumps, I think?...Good gracious me! The silly thing slipped off your knee! Pray don't apologise, old chap; A very trivial mishap! So clumsy of you? How absurd! My dear Sir Smasham, not a word! Now do sit down and have another, And tell us all about your brother- You know, the one who broke his head. Is that poor fellow still in bed?- A chair - allow me, sir!...Great Scott! That was a nasty smash! Eh, what? Oh, not at all: the chair was old- Queen Anne, or so we have been told. We've got at least a dozen more: Just leave the pieces on the floor. I want you to admire our view: Come nearer to the window, do; And look how beautiful...Tut, tut! You didn't see that it was shut? I hope you are not badly cut! Not hurt? A fortunate escape! Amazing! Not a single scrape! And now, if you have finished tea, I fancy you might like to see A little thing or two I've got. That china plate? Yes, worth a lot: A beauty too...Ah, there it goes! I trust it didn't hurt your toes? Your elbow brushed it off the shelf? Of course: I've done the same myself. And now, my dear Sir Smasham - Oh, You surely don't intend to go? You must be off? Well, come again. So glad you're fond of porcelain!
Alligator pie : Dennis Lee 180
Alligator pie, alligator pie, If I don't get some I think I'm gonna die. Give away the green grass, give away the sky, But don't give away my alligator pie. Alligator stew, alligator stew, If I don't get some I don't know what I'll do. Give away my furry hat, give away my shoe, But don't give away my alligator stew. Alligator soup, alligator soup, If I don't get some I think I'm gonna droop. Give away my hockey stick, give away my hoop, But don't give away my alligator soup.
Jimmy Jet and his TV set : Shel Silverstein 187
I'll tell you the story of Jimmy Jet – And you know what I tell you is true. He loved to watch his TV set Almost as much as you. He watched all day,he watched all night Till he grew pale and lean, From "The Early Show" to “The Late Late Show” And all the shows between. He watched till his eyes were frozen wide, And his bottom grew into his chair. And his chin turned into a tuning dial, And antennae grew out of his hair. And his brains turned into TV tubes, And his face to a TV screen. And two knobs saying “VERT.” and “HORIZ.” Grew where his ears had been. And he grew a plug that looked like a tail So we plugged in little Jim. And now instead of him watching TV We all sit around and watch him.
Poetry : Eleanor Farjeon 196
What is poetry? Who knows? Not a rose, but the scent of a rose; Not the sky, but the light in the sky; Not the fly, but the gleam of the fly; Not the sea, but the sound of the sea; Not myself, but what makes me See, hear, and feel something that prose Cannot: and what it is, who knows?
Something is There : Lilian Moore 200
Something is there
there on the stair
coming down
coming down
stepping with care.
Coming down
coming down
slinkety-sly.
Something is coming and wants to get by.
Three Ghostesses : Anonymous 205
Three little ghostesses, Sitting on postesses, Eating buttered toastesses, Greasing their fistesses, Up to their wristesses, Oh, what beastesses To make such feastesses!
What is Orange? : Mary O'Neill 218
Orange is a tiger lily, A carrot, A feather from A parrot, A flame, The wildest color you can name. Saying good-bye In a sunset that Shocks the sky . Orange is brave Orange is bold It's bittersweet And marigold. Orange is zip Orange is dash The brightest stripe In a Roman sash. Orange is an orange Also a mango. Orange is the music Of the tango. Orange is the fur Of the fiery fox, The brightest crayon In the box. And in the fall When the leaves are tuming Orange is the smell Of a bonfire burning.
The Library : Barbara A. Huff 220
It looks like any building When you pass it on the street, Made of stone and glass and marble, Made of iron and concrete. But once inside you can ride A camel or a train, Visit Rome, Siam or Nome, Feel a hurricane. Meet a king, learn to sing, How to bake a pie, Go to sea, plant a tree, Find how airplanes fly. Train a horse, and of course, Have all the dogs you like, See the moon, a sandy dune, Or catch a whopping pike. Everything that books can bring You'll find inside those walls. A world is there for you to share When adventure calls. You cannot tell its magic By the way the building looks, But there's wonderment within it, The wonderment of books.
A Football Game : Alice Van Eck 221
It’s the might, it’s the fight Of two teams who won’t give in— It’s the roar of the crowd And the “Go, fight, win!” It’s the bands, it’s the stands, It’s the color everywhere. It’s the whiff, it’s the sniff Of popcorn on the air. It’s a thrill, it’s a chill, It’s a cheer and then a sigh; It’s that deep, breathless hush When the ball soars high. Yes, it’s more than a score, Or a desperate grasp at fame; Fun is King, win or lose— That’s a football game.
If once you have slept on an island : Rachel Field 221
If once you have slept on an Island, You’ll never be quite the same; You may look as you looked And go by the same old name You may hustle about in street and shop You may sit at home and sew, But you’ll see blue water and wheeling gulls Wherever your feet may go, You may chat with neighbors of this and that And close to the fire keep, But you’ll hear ship whistle and lighthouse bell And tides beat through your sleep, And you won’t know why and you can’t say how Such a change upon you came, But once you have slept on an island You’ll never be quite the same !
Contents
what surprised me is how many of the poems are by well known poets... to help emphasize the poet, I have moved the poets name to the start in this listing... btw, i couldn't find any online contents - so i had to create these contents by hand...
Nature is...: 21-34
William Blake : Auguries of innocence 22
To see the world in a grain of sand
And a Heaven in a flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
Cecil Frances Alexander : All things bright and beautiful 22
Anonymous : I'm glad the sky is painted blue 22
Mary Britton Miller : The Universe 22
A.M. Sullivan : Measurement 23
Kate Greenaway : On the bridge 23
Christina Rossetti : Flint 23
Lew Sarett : The Wolf cry 24
Margaret Wise Brown : The Secret song 24
Christina Rossetti : Last rites 24
Sara Coleridge : Trees 24
Walter Crane : The Crocus 25
Hilda Conkling : Dandelion 25
Gene Baro : The Ferns 25
John Richard Moreland : Birch trees 25
William D. Sargent : Wind-wolves 26
James Reeves : The Wind 26
Barbara Kunz Loots : Mountain wind 26
Robert Louis Stevenson : Windy nights 27
Christina Rossetti : Who has seen the wind? 27
Elizabeth Coatsworth : Mountain Brook 28
Charlotte Zolotow : River winding 28
Lillian Morrison : Water's edge 28
Polly Chase Boyden : Mud 28
Dennis Lee : The Muddy puddle 28
Amy Lowell : Sea shell 29
Anonymous : The Sea 29
Lilian Moore : Until I saw the sea 29
May Justus : The Rain has silver sandals 29
Elizabeth-Ellen Long : Rain clouds 30
David McCord : To walk in warm rain 30
Elizabeth Coatsworth : Rhyme 30
A.A. Milne : The More it snows 30
Marie Louise Allen : First snow 31
Snow makes whiteness where it falls.
The bushes look like popcorn balls.
And places where I always play,
Look like somewhere else today.
N.M. Bodecker : When all the world is full of snow 31
Robert Frost : Stopping by woods on a snowy evening 31
Walter de la Mare : The Snowflake 32
James Stephens : Check 32
Vachel Lindsay : The Moon's the North Wind's cooky 32
Jane Taylor : The Star 33
Beatrice Schenk de Regniers : Night comes 33
Mary Ann Hoberman : Night 33
Walter de la Mare : Silver 33
G. Orr Clark : The Night is a big black cat 33
Four Seasons 35-51
Sara Coleridge : The Months 36 Anonymous : Four seasons 36 John Updike : January 36 Myra Cohn Livingston : Martin Luther King 37 Nancy Byrd Turner : Lincoln 37 Lilian Moore : Ground hog day 37 Ralph Waldo Emerson : Beyond Winter 38 Shel Silverstein : Valentine 38 Charles G.D. Roberts : Ice 38 Nancy Byrd Turner : Washington 39 Kathryn Worth : Smells 39 Sara Teasdale : February Twilight 39 Susan M. Schmeltz : Paper dragons 40 Frances Frost : Maple feast 40 Dorothy Aldis : When 40 Phyllis McGinley : Daylight saving time 41 Elizabeth Coatsworth : March 41 Anonymous : The March wind 41 Aileen Fisher : Wearing of the Green 41 Marchette Chute : Spring rain 42 Walter R. Brooks : Ode to Spring 42 Joyce Kilmer : Easter 42 Bobbi Katz : Spring is 42 Aileen Fisher : On Mother's Day 43 Karla Kuskin : Spring 43 N.M. Bodecker : Good-by my Winter suite 43 Charlotte Zolotow : A Moment in Summer 44 Anonymous : A Rocket in my pocket 44 Mabel Watts : Maytime magic 44 Frank Asch : Summer 44 Rose Burgunder : Joyful 44 A summer day is full of ease, a bank is full of money, our lilac bush is full of bees, And I am full of honey. Thoams Bailey Aldrich : October 45 Maurice Sendak : October 45 John Updike : August 45 Arthur Guiterman : Harvest home 45 Dorothy Brown Thompson : This is Halloween 46 Myra Cohn Livingston : Lazy witch 46 Rowena Bastin Bennett : Thanksgiving magic 46 Myra Cohn Livingston : 12 October 46 Ivy O. Eastwick : Thanksgiving 47 L. Maria Child : Thanksgiving Day 47 Aileen Fisher : Light the festive candles 48 Eleanor Farjeon : The Children's carol 48 Langston Hughes : Winter moon 48 Oliver Herford : I heard a bird sing 49 Aileen Fisher : Merry Christmas 49 David McCord : From: a Christmas package 49 Clement Clarke Moore : A Visit from St. Nicholas 50
Dogs and cats and bears and bats p.52-70
Stanley Kunitz : The Waltzer in the house 54 Rose Fyleman : Mice 54 Randall Jarrell : The Chipmunk's song 55 William Butler Yeats : To a squirrel at Kyle-Na-No 55 Elizabeth Madox Roberts : The Rabbit 55 J.J. Bell : The Hedgehog 56 Theodore Roethke : The Bat 56 Frank Jacobs : The Bat 56 Theodore Roethke : The Sloth 56 Alan Brownjohn : Camel 57 Charles Edward Carryl : The Camel's complaint 57 Carl Sandburg : Buffalo dusk 58 Jack Prelutsky : The Hippopotamus 58 Lenore M. Link : Holding hands 58 J.R.R. Tolkien : Oliphaunt 59 Georgia Roberts Durston : The Wolf 59 Edna Becker : Beside the line of elephants 59 Lew Sarett : Four little foxes 60 Jane Yolen : Grandpa Bear's lullaby 60 E.V. Rieu : The Lesser lynx 60 Gail Kredenser : Polar Bear 60 Jack Prelutsky : The Lion 61 William Jay Smith : Lion 61 Gretchen Kreps : Leopard 61 William Jay Smith : Seal 62 Rachel Field : The Performing seal 63 Anonymous : The Donkey 63 Lord Byron : The Wild, the free 63 Conrad Aiken : The Mandrill 63 Walter R. Brooks : Ode to the pig: his tail 64 Roland Young : The Pig 64 Herbert Asquith : The Hairy dog 64 Babette Deutsch : A Pig is never blamed 64 Ogden Nash : The Cow 64 Ted Hughes : Roger the dog 65 Irene McLeod : Lone dog 65 James S. Tippett : Sunning 66 Eleanor Farjeon : Bliss 66 Let me fetch sticks, Let me fetch stones, Throw me your bones, Teach me your tricks. Anonymous : I've got a dog 66 Anonymous : His highness's dog 66 William Brighty Rands : The Cat of cats 67 Anonymous : A cat in despondency 67 Anonymous : The Cats of Kilkenny 67 Elizabeth Coatsworth : Country barnyard 68 Eleanor Farjeon : Cats 68 Mary Britton Miller : Cat 68 James Stephens : Little things 69 John Becker : Feather of fur 69 Richard Shaw : Cat's menu 69
The ways of Living Things 71-88
Lilian Moore : Hey, Bug! 72 Christina Rossetti : Hurt no living thing 72 Margaret Wise Brown : Green stems 72 Karla Kuskin : A Bug sat in a silver flower 73 Valerie Worth : Crickets 73 Mary Ann Hoberman : Praying mantis 73 Walter R. Brooks : Ants, although admirable, are awfully aggravating 74 Dorothy Aldis : Wasps 74 Roland Young : The Flea 74 Anonymous : Bug in a jug 74 Marjorie Barrows : The Bug 74 Norma Farber : Oh the toe-tester! 74 Else Holmelund Minarik : When mosquitoes make a meal 74 Kaye Starbird : Cockroaches 75 Eleanor Farjeon : A Dragonfly 75 Robert Frost : Fireflies in the garden 76 Christina Rossetti : Caterpillar 76 Ian Serraillier : The Tickle Rhyme 76 Joan Walsh Anglund : Ladybug 76 Anonymous : The Codfish 77 James Whitcomb Riley : A Wee little worm 77 E.V. Rieu : The Flattered flying fish 77 Jack Prelutsky : Long gone 78 Lord Alfred Douglas : The Shark 78 Dahlov Ipcar : Fishes' evening song 78 Alice B. Campbell : Sally and Manda 79 John Gardner : The Lizard 79 J.J. Bell : The Boa 79 Gail Kredenser : Brontosaurus 79 Byrd Baylor : Desert Tortoise 80 Hilaire Belloc : The Frog 81 Lewis Carroll : The Crocodile 81 Bobbi Katz : Samuel 81 John Travers Moore : The Tree frog 82 Michael Flanders : The Hummingbird 82 Arthur Guiterman : The Polliwog 82 Anna Bird Stewart : Baby talk 82 Ogden nash : The Canary 83 Kenneth Grahame : Ducks' ditty 83 Richard Digance : The Duck 83 Humbert Wolfe : The Blackbird 83 Elizabeth Coatsworth : Sea Gull 84 Frances Frost : The Sandpiper 84 Witter Bynner : The Sandpiper 84 Rachel Field : Something told the wild geese 85 Lord Alfred Douglas : The Hen 85 Frances Frost : Night heron 86 Hilaire Belloc : The Vulture 86 Russell Hoban : The Sparrow hawk 87 Alfred Tennyson : The Eagle 87
City, oh City! p.89-101
Lillian Morrison : Just for one day 90 Mabel Watts : The Riveter 90 Mary Elizabeth Counselman : Gift with the wrappings off 90 Marci Ridlon : City, city 91 Eve Merriam : Sing a song of subways 92 Bobbi Katz : Things to do if you are a subway 92 Arnold Spilka : Flowers are a silly bunch 92 Gwendolyn Brooks : Rudolph is tired of the city 92 Leland B. Jacobs : That May morning 93 Eve Merriam : Umbilical 93 Frank Asch : Sunrise 93 Elizabeth Madox Roberts : The People 93 Ogden Nash : The People upstairs 93 Judith Thurman : Zebra 93 Virginia Schonborg : Crowds 94 Patricia Hubbell : Concrete mixers 94 Mary Britton Miller : They've al gone South 95 Lilian Moore : Pigeons 95 Lois Lenski : Sing a song of people 95 Virginia Schonborg : Stickball 96 Frances Park : A Sad song about Greenwich Village 96 Carl Sandburg : Fog 96 Frank Asch : Alley cat school 96 Marci Ridlon : Open hydrant 96 Langston Hughes : April rain song 97 Rachel Field : City lights 97 Irene Thompson : Rainy nights 97 Langston Hughes : City 98 Claudia Lewis : Frightening 98 Mary Britton Miller : Where are you now? 98 Lilian Moore : Foghorns 98 Felice Holman : The City dump 98 Dick Dorrance : Cockpit in the clouds 99
Children, Children everywhere p.101-117
Shel Silverstein : Hug 0'War 102 Edward Anthony : Advice to small children 102 Anonymous : The Joke 102 Mary Ann Hoberman : Changing 102 Anonymous : Somebody 102 Somebody loves you deep and true If I weren't so bashful, I'd tell you who. Arnold Spilka : I saw a little girl I hate 103 Clyde Watson : Huckleberry, Gooseberry, Raspberry 103 William Jay Smith : Love 103 Anonymous : I love you 103 Anonymous : Question 103 Miriam Chaikin : I hate Harry 104 Arnold Spilka : Puzzle 104 Charles Henry Ross : John, Tom, and James 104 Dennis Lee : Double-barreled ding-dong-bat 104 Clyde Watson : Yip-yap rattletrap 105 Nina Payne : Tag along 105 Mary Mapes Dodge : Ten kinds 105 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow : There was a little girl 105 E.V. Rieu : Two people 105 John Ciardi : Read this with gestures 105 Gelett Burgess : Table manners 106 Charles Henry Ross : Jack 106 Nina Payne : Bubble gum 106 William Cole : Did you? 106 Norah Smaridge : Why run? 106 Heinrich Hoffmann : The Story of Augustus who would not have any soup 107 Kaye Starbird : Eat-it-all Elaine 108 Walter de la Mare : Tired Tim 109 Kaye Starbird : Wendy in Winter 109 Dennis Lee : Tony Baloney 109 Marci Ridlon : Fernando 109 Leland B. Jacobs : Queenie 109 May Justus : Jessica Jane 110 Kathleen Fraser : Follow the leader 110 Dennis Lee : Freddy 110 Lee Bennett Hopkins : Girls can, too! 111 Jack Prelutsky : No girls allowed 111 Anonymous : Little Clotilda 111 Phyllis McGinley : We're racing, racing down the walk 111 E.E. Cummings : maggie and milly and molly and may 112 Kathleen Fraser : Wrestling 112 Kaye Starbird : Measles 113 Martin Gardner : Barbershop 113 Stacy Jo Crossen and Natalie Anne Covell : Wiggly giggles 113 Judith Viorst : Since Hanna moved away 114 Lewis Carroll : A lullaby 114 Eve Merriam : What in the world? 114
Me I am 117-130
Pauline Clarke : My name is ... 118 Walter de la Mare : Me 118 Anonymous : My Father owns the butcher shop 118 Gertrude Stein : I am Rose 118 Karla Kuskin : Me 119 David McCord : Every time I climb a tree 119 Nikki Giovanni : The Reason I like chocolate 119 Mary O'Neill : Mark's fingers 120 Dorothy Aldis : When I was lost 120 Gwendolyn Brooks : Keziah 120 Margaret Hillert : Just me 120 Bonnie Nims : How to get there 121 Osage Indian : A wolf ... 121 Robert Frost : Dust of snow 121 Felice Holman : Sulk 121 Laurence Alma-Tadema : If no one ever marries me 121 Kathleen Fraser : Broom balancing 122 Margaret Hiller : About feet 122 Lillian Morrison : On the skateboard 122 Felice Holman : I can fly 123 Nikki Giovanni : Basketball 123 Karama Fufuka : Basketball star 123 Ruth Krauss : Song 124 Harry Behn : Growing up 124 R.C. Scriven : The Marrog 125 Dorothy Aldis : Everybody says 125 Russell Hoban : Stupid old myself 125 Arnold Spilka : Don't tell me that I talk to much! 126 Jean Conder Soule : Surprises 126 Dr. Seuss : If we didn't have birthdays 126 Myra Cohn Livingston : History 127 Delmore Schwartz : I am Cherry alive 127 Arnold Spilka : I'm really not lazy 127 Karla Kuskin : Winter clothes 128 Emily Dickinson : I'm nobody! Who are you? 128 Eleanor Farjeon : Yawning 128 Michael Patrick Hearn : Rhinos purple, Hippos green 129 Valine Hobbs : One day when we went walking 129
Home! You're where it's warm inside 131
Marchette Chute : The Wrong start 132 X.J. Kennedy : Mother's nerves 132 N.M. Bodecker : John 132 Lilian Moore : Waking 133 Judith Viorst : Mother doesn't want a dog 133 A.E. Housman : Amelia mixed the mustard 133 John Ciardi : I wish I could meet the man that knows 134 Judith Viorst : Some things don't make any sense at all 135 Charles and Mary Lamb : The First tooth 135 Roy Fuller : Bring up babies 135 Christopher Morley : Six weeks old 135 X.J. Kennedy : Help! 136 Karama Fufuka : Lil' Bro' 136 Marci Ridlon : [my brother|My brother] 136 Felice Holman : Leave me alone 136 John Ciardi : The Myra Song 137 Edward Anthony : Let others share 137 X.J. Kennedy : In the motel 137 Karla Kuskin : Rules 137 Bobbi Katz : The Runaway 138 Martin Gardner : Soap 138 John Ciardi : What someone said wehn he was spanked on the day before his birthday 139 Felice Holman : They're calling 139 John Travers Moore : Going up 140 Nancy Dingman Watson : Up in the pine 140 Jane Yolen : Homework 141 Russell Hoban : Homework 141 Louella Dunann : Hot line 141 Michael Rosen : I'm alone in the evening 142 John T. Alexander : The Winning of the TV West 142 Karla Kuskin : The Middle of the night 143 Dorothy Brown Thompson : Our house 143 Eve Merriam : Two people 143
I'm hungry! 145
Arnold Adoff : My mouth 146 William Carlos Williams : This is just to say 146 Anonymous : Tommorrow's the fair 146 Lewis Carroll : Turtle soup 146 Lucia M. and James L. Hymes, Jr. : Oodles of noodles 147 I love noodles. Give me oodles. Make a mound up to the sun. Noodles are my favorite foodles. I eat noodles by the ton. John Ciardi : Mummy slept late and daddy fixed breakfast 147 Russell Hoban : Egg thoughts 147 Shel Silverstein : Pie problem 148 Mary Ann Hoberman : Meg's egg 148 Ogden Nash : Celery 148 Leland B. Jacobs : Taste of purple 148 Nina Payne : Chocolate cake 148 Bobbi Katz : Patience 149 William Wise : My little sister 149 Fay Maschler : Little bits of soft-boiled egg 149 Arnold Adoff : Chocolate, chocolate 149 Spike Milligan : A Thousand hairy savages 150 Anonymous : I eat my peas with honey 150 Maxine W. Kumin : Accidentally 150 Anonymous : I raised a great hullabaloo 150 Jack Prelutsky : Twickham tweer 151 Ralph Bergengren : The Worm 151 Ogden Nash : The Pizza 152 E.V. Rieu : Soliloquoy of a tortoise ... 152 Myra Cohn Livingston : Mr. Pratt 152 William Cole : Sneaky Bill 153
Some people I know 155
Rachel Field : Some people 156 Charlotte Zolotow : People 156 Arthur Guiterman : Routine 156 Alfred Noyes : Daddy fell into the pond 156 Shel Silverstein : Smart 157 Anonymous : One misty, moisty morning 157 Walter R. Brooks : Thoughts on talkers 157 Ted Hughes : My brother Bert 158 Harry Graham : Grandpapa 159 Rose Henderson : Growing old 159 Leroy F. Jackson : Grandpa dropped his glasses 159 Mariana Griswold, Van Ren Rensselaer : Manners 159 Harry Graham : Uncle 159 Mary O'Neill : Miss Norma Jean Pugh 160 Phyllis B. Morden : Godmother 161 Dr. Seuss : Too many Daves 161 Shel Silverstein : The Little boy and the old man 161 Lucia M. and James L. Hymes, Jr. : Tombstone 162 Lillian Morrison : Air traveler 162 Leonard Clark : House for sale 162 William Jay Smith : Jittery Jim 162 Samuel Taylor Coleridge : On a bad singer 162 James Reeves : Doctor Emmanuel 162 Morris Bishop : Hog-calling competition 163 Nancy Byrd Turner : Old Quin Queeribus 163 Edward Lear : There was an old man with a beard 163 Beatrice Curtis Brown : Jonathan Bing 163 Anonymous : Poor old lady 164 Anonymous : Fatty, fatty, boom-a-latty 165 Anonymous : Solomon Grundy 165 James Reeves : Mr. Kartoffel 165 Roald Dahl : Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker 166 Frank Asch : The Sugar lady 166 Edward Gorey : Lord Cray 167 Paul Engle : Together 167 Richard Wilbur : The Opposite of two 167 E.V. Rieu : Sir Smasham Uppe 167
Nonsense! Nonsense p.168--187
Lewis Carroll : Jabberwocky 170
Anonymous : Toot! Toot! 170
Samuel Goodrich : Higglety, pigglety, pop! 170
Higglety, Pigglety, Pop!
The dog has eaten the mop;
The pig’s in a hurry,
The cat’s in a flurry,
Higglety, Pigglety, Pop!
Spike Milligan : On the ning nang nong 171
Christopher Isherwood : The Common cormorant 171
Steven Kroll : McIntosh apple 171
Frederick J. Forster : The Lobsters and the fiddler crab 171
William Roscoe : The Butterfly's ball 172
Edgar Parker : The Contrary waiter 173
Anonymous : Whoops! 173
Anonymous : Way down South 173
Eugene Field : The Duel 174
Edward Lear : The Owl and the Pussy-cat 175
L.J. Bridgman : The Hare and the pig 176
The alligator chased his tail
Which hit him in the snout;
He nibbled, gobbled, swallowed it,
And turned right inside-out.
Mary Macdonald : The Alligator 176
Theodore Roethke : The Lizard 176
Theodore Roethke : The Serpent 176
J.J. Bell : The Shark 177
Anonymous : I had a little pig 177
Richard Digance : The Ants at the Olympics 177
Anonymous : The Animal fair 178
Gelett Burgess : The Purple cow 178
Anonymous : I asked my mother 178
Anonymous : Algy met a bear 178
Michael Flanders : The Walrus 178
Ogden Nash : Adventures of Isabel 179
Dennis Lee : Alligator pie 180
Leroy F. Jackson : Beela by the sea 180
Spike Milligan : You must never bath in an Irish stew 180
Anonymous : Did you ever go fishing? 180
Mervyn Peake : Sensitive, seldom and sad 181
Alexander Resnikoff : Josephine 181
Mary Ann Hoberman : The Folk who live in backward town 181
Lewis Carroll : Father William 182
Dylan Thomas : Johnnie Crack and Flossie Snail 183
Oliver Herford : The Snail's dream 183
Henry S. Leigh : The Twins 183
Edward Lear : The New vestments 184
Jack Prelutsky : Pumberly Pott's unpredictable niece 186
Anonymous : Don't worry if your job is small 186
Edward Gorey : Number Nine, Penwiper Mews 186
Harry Graham : Tender-heartedness 186
Shel Silverstein : Jimmy Jet and his TV set 187
Anonymous : A Young lady of Lynn 187
Jack Prelutsky : Herbert Glerbett 187
Alphabet Stew 188
Anonymous : A Fly and a flea in a flue 190 Jack Prelutsky : The Cow 190 Carolyn Wells : The Tutor 190 Anonymous : Weather 190 Alexander Resnikoff : Two witches 190 Laura E. Richards : Antonio 191 Arthur Guiterman : Habits of the Hippopotamus 191 Jane Yolen : The Buffalo 191 Anonymous : Moses 191 Robert Williams Wood : The Puffin 192 Laura E. Richards : Eletelephony 192 David McCord : Mr. Bidery's spidery garden 192 Anonymous : The Ptarmigan 193 William Cole : Banananananananana 193 Mary Ann Hoberman : Clickbeetle 193 N.M. Bodecker : Sing me a song of teapots and trumpets 193 George A. Strong : The Modern Hiawatha 194 Eve Merriam : Misnomer 194 Anonymous : To Be or not to be 194 Jack Prelutsky : Don't ever seize a weasel by the tail 195 Anonymous : Have you ever seen? 195 Mary Ann Hoberman : Waiters 195 Anonymous : An Atrocious pun 195 Peter Newell : Wild flowers 195 Phyllis McGinley : J's the jumping Jay-Walker 196 Eleanor Farjeon : Poetry 196 Judith Thurman : Lumps 196 Emily Dickinson : A Word 196 Jack Prelutsky : The Yak 197 Mary O'Neill : Feelings about words 197
Where goblins dwell
Walter de la Mare : Some one 200 Harry Behn : Ghosts 200 Lilian Moore : Something is there 200 Walter de la Mare : The Horseman 200 e.e. cummings : hist whist 201 Florence Parry Heide : What's that? 201 Humbert Wolfe : Green candles 201 Eleanor Farjeon : The Witch! The Witch! 202 William Shakespeare : Song of the witches 202 Sylvia Read : Owl 202 Shelagh McGee : Wanted--A witch's cat 202 B.J. Lee : Eight witches 203 Sonja Nikolay : Witches' menu 203 Anonymous : Queen Nefertiti 203 Charles Causley : Colonel Fazackerley 204 W.H. Auden : Song of the Ogres 205 Anonymous : Three ghostesses 205 Jack Prelutsky : The Darkling elves 205 Oliver Herford : The Elf and the Dormouse 206 Jack Prelutsky : The Bogeyman 206 Jack Prelutsky : The Troll 206 Ogden Nash : The Wendigo 207 X.J. Kennedy : Father and Mother 207 William Allingham : The Fairies 207 Ralph Hodgson : The Great Auk's ghost 208 Robert Graves : The Pumpkin 208 Rachel Field : The Seven ages of elf-hood 208 William Jay Smith : Unicorn 209 Monica Shannon : How to tell goblins from elves 209 Hughes Mearns : The Little man 209 Michael Dugan : Gumble 209 Shel Silverstein : Slithergadee 209 James Reeves : The Bogus-boo 210 Jack Prelutsky : Wrimples 210 Miriam Chaikin : Ms. Whatchamacallit thingamajig 211 Palmer Brown : The Spangled pandemonium 211 Jack Prelutsky : The Creature in the classroom 212 Theodore Roethke : Dinky 212 Christopher Morley : The Plumpuppets 213 Monica Shannon : Could it have been a shadow? 213
Land of Potpourri 215-226
Robert Louis Stevenson : Happy thought 216 Patricia Hubbell : Our washing machine 216 William Blake : Introduction to Songs of Innocence 216 Suzanne Douglass : No holes marred 216 Charles Malam : Steam shovel 216 William Jay Smith : The Toaster 217 Russell Hoban : The Tin frog 217 Joanna Cole : Driving to the beach 217 Dorothy Aldis : My nose 217 Sylvia Plath : From: the bed book 217 Carl Sandburg : Arithmetic 218 Christina Rossetti : What is pink? 218 Mary O'Neill : What is orange? 218 Anonymous : To be answered in our next issue 219 Robert Francis : The Base stealer 219 Mary O'Neill : What is red? 219 Elizabeth Fleming : Who's in 219 Barbara A. Huff : The Library 220 Lillian Morrison : The Knockout 220 Edwin A. Hoey : Foul shot 220 David McCord : Yellow 220 Alice Van Eck : A Football game 221 Dorothy Brown Thompson : Maps 221 Rachel Field : If once you have slept on an island 221 Diane Siebert : Train song 222 Edna St. Vincent Millay : Travel 223 Jane Merchant : Flight plan 223 Daniel Whitehead Hicky : To an aviator 223 Patricia Hubbell : Message from a mouse, ascending in a rocket 224 Robert Louis Stevenson : From a railway carriage 224 Robert S. Oliver : The Toad 224 Frederick Winsor : This little pig built a spaceship 225 Langston Hughes : Dreams 225 June Brady : Far trek 225 Claudia Lewis : How strange it is 225 E.V. Rieu : The Paint box 226 Beatrice Schenk de Regniers : Keep a poem in your pocket 226 Zilpha Keatley Snyder : To dark eyes dreaming 226
most popular poets
Prelutsky tends to have more modern american poets, though british voices are also represented, but from an earlier era (Milne, Tolkien, Stevenson). Here are the poets who have more than five poems in the selection, with brief biographies and links. #poems poet
5 Arnold Spilka (1917- ; U Schildren's illustrator / author) (wiki) 5 Bobbi Katz (US children's author and historian) (bio) 5 David McCord (1897-1997, US poet (Boston), Harvard fundraiser) (bio) 5 Dennis Lee (1939- ; canadian poet 5 Dorothy Aldis 5 Elizabeth Coatsworth 5 Eve Merriam (1916-1992 US poet) bio/31 poems poemhunter 5 Felice Holman (1919- ; US children's author) 5 John Ciardi (1916-1986; US poet / etymologist) (bio) 5 Lewis Carroll 5 Lillian Morrison (1917- ; US poet, NYC) (archive bio) 5 Mary O'Neill (1905-1990, US poet, children's author) [raised in "a wonderful barn of a Victorian house in Berea, Ohio", even as a child she wrote and directed plays for her siblings. She attended Case Western and University of Michigan. Started as an advertising copywriter in Cleveland, and gradually had stories published in various magazines. Eventually became a partner in her own advertising agency. Subsequently, devoted time to the Peace Corps, her family and to her books. She taught journalism and writing for several years in Ghana and Costa Rica. Her 1961 book Hailstones and Halibut Bones (ill. Leonard Weisgard) - a series of twenty poems on the sensibility of colours - became widely popular and was translated into several languages including braille.]
E.V. Rieu Karla Kuskin Mary Ann Hoberman 6 E. V. Rieu (1887-1972, UK classicist; Greek translator; poet) (wiki) 6 Karla Kuskin (1932-2009, US children's author and editor) [among my personal favourites] 6 Rachel Field (1894-1942, US children's author) 6 Walter de la Mare 6 William Jay Smith (1918-, US poet, noted also for small comic poems) http://poetryfoundation.org 71 poems 7 Eleanor Farjeon (1881-1865, UK; children's books) wiki 7 Lilian Moore (1909-2004, US children's author, publisher w Scholastic) (nyt obit) 7 Mary Ann Hoberman (1930-, US children's poet) (bio, poems) (authorsite bio) 7 Shel Silverstein (1930-1999, US children's poet / songwriter) (wiki) 15 Jack Prelutsky (1940-, US children's poet) (wiki) 45 Anonymous
amitabha mukerjee (mukerjee [at-symbol] gmail) 2012 Aug 11