A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children

So, on the one hand, I kind of laugh at the idea of Caroline Kennedy getting such prominent name placement on books of poetry that she just compiles... But on the other hand, I really like her taste in poetry, so that seems to offer some justification for the enterprise. I also wonder if this book has been published in a larger format, because with Jon Muth's gorgeous illustrations, I would totally cut out and frame many of these poems. I really love them all, but the illustrations for "Peacockfeather," "Harlem Night Song" (especially "Harlem Night Song"), "The Swing," "Little Tree," "These are the days when Birds come back," and "An Old Silent Pond" are strikingly beautiful. I want to buy this for my niece, and I want to buy one for show more myself. show less

Far and away the best anthology of "poems for children." I call them "poems for children" because they are actually very mature, adult literature -- including authors like Dickinson, Wordsworth, and e.e. cummings, but "child-readable" -- as opposed to being nursery rhymes and the like. This is a superb collection for classroom use, and the illustrations excellently complement the text.

The Poetry for Young People series -- of which I probably have over half the volumes -- surpasses absolutely anything, but the entire PfYP series comprises (at my count) twenty-five volumes. For a single general anthology, though, Kennedy's is irreplaceable.

One suggestion I have is that Kennedy's anthology be combined with Nikki Giovanni's Hip Hop Speaks show more to Children (which I rate 4½****) for its specific African-American content. Giovanni's anthology also contains a CD of readings, though its illustrations are inferior to those in Kennedy's anthology. Kennedy's comprehensive anthology is by no means limited to "dead white males" and is ethnically encompassing, but the specific African-American target of Giovanni's anthology would additionally contribute much to a multicultural curriculum.

Again, for a single general anthology, A Family of Poems is irreplaceable. show less

Well, I was disappointed in the editor's companion book, "Poems to Learn By Heart.' But I love Muth's art in his own books, so I decided to try this. Glad I did. Wonderful diverse selection, enchanting pictures. Many poems were new to me; so refreshing. Of the ones new to me, my favorite poem art is p. 52, "Saint Francis and the Sow" by [a:Galway Kinnell|11368|Galway Kinnell|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1307725091p2/11368.jpg]. Next favorite poem is "Snow in the Suburbs" by [a:Thomas Hardy|15905|Thomas Hardy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1429946281p2/15905.jpg].

I bought this book solely because of the illustrator. My library has several of his books, and my favorite is The Three Questions, based on a short story of the same name by Leo Tolstoy. His watercolors are nothing less than enchanting and match perfectly the text.

After enjoying the paintings, I turned to the poems. Numerous favorites by Frost, Lear, Carroll, Neruda, Yeats, Nash, and Langston Hughes are here. Lear’s “The Owl and the Pussycat” may have been the first poem I memorized.

Once, I was in Paris, France riding the Metro, when a shabbily dressed man stood up and began reciting poetry by Verlaine. When he was finished, he walked around with a cup and a few people dropped in some coins. I thought this was a splendid idea, so show more I stood and recited Owl. I got some applause and bowed. One man offered some coins, I laughed and thanked him, but he insisted. I bought a crepe with apricot butter on the street that night, and it was the best I ever tasted.

This book of poetry will take all readers back to their childhood. 4-1/2 stars because she left out “The Duel” (The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat) by Eugene Field.

-Jim, 8/3/08 show less

This anthology is beautifully illustrated with colorful paintings by Jon Muth. They are truly fine paintings indeed. The collection is divided into several sections: About Me, That’s So Silly, Animals, The Seasons, Seashore, Adventure, and Bedtime.

Some of these poems I recognized because they were part of my childhood or because they're quite well-known; others, though, are delightfully new to me. Happiness, by A.A. Milne is an example of one of these new poems.

I love the idea of learning poems by heart. As an exercise I think we can ask our elementary students to choose a poem to remember and recite. I was asked to do this for a few poems and the result has been that I still remember them. They come back to me on walks or when I show more need them. show less

The book is a perfect collection of great poems for children. There are wonderful illustrations to accompany the poems, this makes for a fun and more engaging way to read. Caroline Kennedy also adds a nice introduction at the beginning of the collection explaining that the poems are some of the Kennedy’s favorites. The watercolors really add to Caroline’s chosen poems and each has a little encouragement to children. This encouragement is one of the reason’s I really enjoyed this collection. .” I think Kennedy’s encouragement and selection of poems really tells children, ‘you can understand poetry.’

I bought this book for my daughter, who is 18 months old, to read at bedtime. She loves this collection! The watercolor pictures are beautiful and expressive and the collection of poetry is wonderful, the poems collected are a nice diversity with appropriate-for-children topics. They are also separated into categories which is convenient when I'm looking for something soothing to read for bedtime. The range of authors is nice as well, many of the classics as well as the unexpected (Tolkien, Milnes). I was surprised and pleased to see this. I'm looking forward to my children growing with this collection.