Myra Cohn Livingston (1926–1996)

Prolific children's poetry anthologist Myra Cohn Livingston joins forces with Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Stephen Gammell in this collection of seventeen Thanksgiving poems. Fourteen of the poems are original creations, from children's authors like J. Patrick Lewis (The Turkey's Wattle) and Jane Yolen (Pass the Plate), as well as hymn writers like George J. Elvey (Come, Ye Thankful People, Come); two are traditional Native American poems (one Osage, one Navajo); and one is Psalm 100, show more from the King James Bible...

Having read this editor/illustrator pair's subsequent 1989 Halloween Poems collection, I approached Thanksgiving Poems (published in 1985) with some interest. I am a great admirer of Gammell's artwork, whether that be the deliciously creepy illustrations in Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (and sequels), or the more restrained but breathtakingly beautiful work he did in Olaf Baker's Where the Buffalos Begin, which netted him a 1982 Caldecott Honor. That said, while I did enjoy the visuals here, much as I did with the Halloween book, I found the actual poems in this Thanksgiving collection a mixed bag. I didn't mind that many of them were religious in nature, as some other online reviewers have done, as I know the holiday has religious connotations for many people. But often the poems themselves just didn't speak to me. I enjoyed a few, including the marvelous Giving Thanks Giving Thanks by Eve Merriam, which was my favorite of the lot, but on the whole I don't know that I would strongly recommend this one. I think better collections, such as Lee Bennett Hopkins' Merrily Comes Our Harvest In: Poems for Thanksgiving, can be found for those seeking children's poetry for this holiday, and it is such titles that I would recommend instead. show less

Eighteen poems from various authors are presented by editor and contributor Myra Cohn Livingston in this Halloween collection, and paired with the eerie illustrations of Stephen Gammell. Witches, jack-o-lanterns, trick-or-treating, an oblique treatment of the gingerbread house from Hansel and Gretel (this by Jane Yolen) - all these and other subjects are explored in the selections here, whose style varies as much as the subject matter. The Acknowledgements page at the rear of the book show more indicates that while some of the poems were taken from existing publications, a number of them were commissioned especially for this book...

Originally published in 1989, and now out of print, Halloween Poems is a title I stumbled across by accident, while searching for an entirely different book for the season. Having greatly enjoyed Stephen Gammell's deliciously creepy illustrations in Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (and sequels), I was immediately drawn to the cover image, and decided to give this book a try, on the basis of the artwork alone. I was certainly not disappointed in the visuals here, finding them wonderfully spooky, with that surreal grotesquerie that I have come to associate with Gammell's work in this vein. The poems themselves were a mixed bag, some enjoyable, some leaving me indifferent. My favorites were Pumpkin People by John Ridland, about the fairy-like beings which inhabit the inside of a jack-o-lantern for the season, and Incident on Beggar's Night by J. Patrick Lewis, about a little girl who dresses herself in witch's garb, and sails off into the night. Recommended to young readers looking for Halloween poetry, as well as to fans of Gammell's wonderful (but very disturbing) artwork. show less

When You Are Alone/It Keeps You Capone by Myra Cohn Livingston takes its title from the first two lines of one of the many sample poems. The purpose of the book is to help teachers do a better job of teaching children how to write poetry.

Good poetry does three things: it follows a form, it tells a story, and it evokes an emotion. Livingston argues that most teachers at least get the idea of the different forms of poetry and can get kids cranking out poetry that is technically correct but show more lacks heart and soul. The very best in her experience, are also able to get their students to tell a story.

But the emotional piece of poetry is an elusive one. Thematic poems (say, a winter one) will get everyone expecting certain words and images even if they are completely irrelevant for the local collective experience. Livingston taught in the Los Angeles area. Time and time again in the book she brings up the importance of making the poem true to yourself and your situation.

The other important lesson to take away from the book is the amount of work a single poem requires, especially for beginning poets. Getting a poem to fit a form isn't where one stops. It needs revision, testing aloud, and lots and lots of persistence and patience. show less

Sixteen poems and one traditional song are gathered together in this Easter anthology for young readers by prolific children's poet and anthologist Myra Cohn Livingston. Selections from well-known children's authors such as Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Norma Farber, J. Patrick Lewis, and Joan Aiken are included, as are poems from primarily adult authors such as the Russian Alexander Blok and the German Eduard Mörike. Also included is the traditional The Cherry-Tree Carol, which I have always show more thought to be a Christmas song, but which is apparently also an Easter song, in some versions, concluding with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The poems here are accompanied by the artwork of John Wallner...

Published in 1985, Easter Poems is the third holiday poetry anthology I have read, following upon Thanksgiving Poems (1985) and Halloween Poems (1989), that was edited by Livingston. I found it somewhat uneven, being indifferent to some selections, but finding others quite compelling. This tracks, when it comes to my experience of these kind of poetry anthologies. I was tickled to see the Zilpha Keatley Snyder poem, as I am a great admirer of her work, and hadn't been aware of its previously. That said, while her Rabbits Are Nice Neighbors was cute, it didn't truly make an impression. Not so with Norma Farber's The Sun on Easter Day (see below), which I found truly lovely. I found the interior illustrations by John Wallner, done in black and white with the occasional green or purple color wash, quite beautiful, in a vintage fairy-tale kind of way. I wish the cover art, which I found distinctly unappealing, had revealed more of the beauty within, because I can see some being put off by it. In any case, this is one I did enjoy, despite not loving it, and is one parents and guardians might want to check out, if looking for Easter poetry collections for their children. I would also recommend Lee Bennett Hopkins & Tomie de Paola's Easter Buds Are Springing: Poems for Easter, which I think is a somewhat superior collection.

The Sun on Easter Day, by Norma Farber

The way the sun on Easter Day
is dancing in the streets of sky
has put to shame the sluggard stay-
abeds who dull and dozing lie.

Get up! Get up! With harp and flute
make music fit to raise your roofs!
Grasses are leaping at the root.
Lambs are bounding on all four hoofs.

The very stones shake off their weight
and skip as seeds released from cold.
The soil itself, before too late,
blows up a storm of pollen gold.

All creatures rise, like the light,
in joyous motion join as one
to wish the winter gloom goodnight
and hail the dancing Easter sun. show less