Advanced Children's Literature: Poetry

HERE’S A LITTLE POEM: A VERY FIRST BOOK OF POETRY. Collected by Jane Yolen & Andrew Fusek Peters. Illustrated by Polly Dunbar. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2007.

Excellent Read-aloud with verse from familiar childhood poets Langston Hughes, Eve Merriam, Mary Ann Hoberman, Michael J. Rosen, Margaret Wise Brown, Jack Prelutsky, Nikki Grimes, Paul Janeczko, Rosemary Wells, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Delightful and imaginative colored drawings, some bright, some muted, large type and plenty of “white space” although this space is actually colored. Many times an 8 line poem will take up a double page spread. This volume proves a perfect book for any young person or anyone who loves a young person. This writer found some favorites both familiar and new; “Piggy Back,” “Cat Kisses,” and Gertrude Stein’s “I Am Rose.” Amazing, who knew, you feminist poet you! Both beautiful and fun to read, look at, and hold. As one would suspect most poems include traditional rhyme and meter as opposed to free verse. The book is a very good collection for participation, repetition, and memorization. Recommended for all libraries, homes, and classrooms!