Poetry is something I sort of grew into. When I was in school, it was a nuisance that kept turning up in Reading and English classes. The only poem I ever liked was "Jabberwocky". (Though somehow I managed to get bits of poems stuck in my memory.) The rest was boring confusion--iambic pentameters and all that. In my adult years, however, I grew to appreciate the poetic word as I let hymn lyrics and psalms sink into my heart and mind. So when I picked up this book as part of my homeschooling reading, I was delighted. "If you think poetry is dull and difficult," the cover claims, "open this book -- and think again!" I thought that if I only had this book in high school, I would have had a much higher opinion of poetry. Well, I then opened the book... and had to think again. the book isn't bad. You really should check it out. But while it's clear writing and light hearted illustrations do a good job of presenting the world of poetry, it is a textbook after all. Eventually Ms. Elizabeth gets to the iambic part and my eyes glazed over. Oh, well. I'm trusting that all the good poems packed into the book will help my kids get over all the analysis sections. And if not, well, I can always hope that they'll grow to appreciate poetry, just like I did.
--J. ( )