A Child's Anthology of Poetry

A Child’s Anthology of Poetry edited by Elizabeth Hauge Sword is an anthology of classical as well as modern international poetry. These particular poems are well chosen since they are intriguing in their depth while remaining simple in their content. For example, “Life Doesn’t Frighten Me” by Maya Angelou uses hyperbole as a literary device to bring down to size many of the fears young children may encounter such as going to a new school or sleeping in the dark. On the other hand, “Mr. Nobody” is a delightful poem about how “Nobody” is always to blame for all the mischief around a home such as broken plates, squeaking doors, and finger marks on the door. In addition, some of the poems are meant to build character show more without being preachy such as in the short poem, “I Shall Not Pass This Way Again” which advocates kindness and good deeds towards a fellowman. The most important element that I found was that many of the poems made me smile as I read about children playing hide and go seek or getting into trouble. This collection is one of those books that the adult reader will enjoy as well as the child who listens.
Ages 6 and Up show less

This is an anthology of poems from the generations. There are a few new poems, but a lot will be recognized by adult readers. The book includes poems from Keats, Frost, Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Maya Angelou, and many others.

I had a similar book when I was younger that I loved and could not stop reading until I had my favorites memorized. I think that generations now will feel the same with this book.

For the classroom, I would have students each choose their favorite poem in the book. They would then act the poem out or just simply do a reading for the class.

from notecard for class in 2004:

Rating: 2 (out of a 3 star system?)

Summary: Collection of poems for children.

grades 4-7

Independent Reading Level (Grades 3-5)

Independent Reading: All ages

Independent Reading Level (Grades 3-5)