Great Poems

by Belinda Gallagher

Great Poems is an inspiring selection of over 300 classic poems. Including works by well known poets such as William Shakespeare, John Donne, John Keats, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Christina Rossetti, it offers poems to suit everyone. Each poem has an information box with biographical details about the poet providing historical and literary context. Great Poems is a timeless collection to be enjoyed by the whole family.

Genres: Poetry

512 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2009

About the author

Belinda Gallagher is a published author and an editor of children’s books and young adult books. Some of the published credits of Belinda Gallagher include 'Nursery Treasury: Best-loved Nursery Rhymes', 'Fairytales and First Poems', 'Visual Factfinder – Rocks and Fossils' ('Visual Factfinder'), '1000 Facts – Fossils' and '50 Utterly Silly Stories'.

Reviews

[Linda Lipko · Rating 4 out of 5]

While sorting through books purchased a long time ago, I came upon this lovely book of various poems. I smile, thinking of this discovery, I learned as a child. The images are as fresh now, as then!

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod
Eugene Field - 1850-1895

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod one night
Sailed off in a wooden shoe,—
Sailed on a river of crystal light
Into a sea of dew.
"Where are you going, and what do you wish?"
The old moon asked the three.
"We have come to fish for the herring-fish
That live in this beautiful sea;
Nets of silver and gold have we,"
Said Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe;
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew;
The little stars were the herring-fish
That lived in the beautiful sea.
"Now cast your nets wherever you wish,—
Never afraid are we!"
So cried the stars to the fishermen three,
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

All night long their nets they threw
To the stars in the twinkling foam,—
Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,
Bringing the fishermen home:
'Twas all so pretty a sail, it seemed
As if it could not be;
And some folk thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed
Of sailing that beautiful sea;
But I shall name you the fishermen three:
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,
And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed;
So shut your eyes while Mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,
And you shall see the beautiful things
As you rock in the misty sea
Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:—
Wynken,
Blynken,
And Nod.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of poems, with lots of pages, each poem is quite short so someone who reads a lot could probably finish it in a couple of days.

[Gwen Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading familiar poems and remembering how I shared many in school and college

[Ella Neighbours · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this poem book because of the title 'Great Poems' because it made me think that it must have some pretty good poems in it and I wanted to find out if it was all that the title said.

The first poem I read was called Fathers Day. I liked this poem because I thought it it about a young boy wanting to grow up to be like his father and follow in his footsteps. This was nice because it shows how important parents are to their kids, as said in the poem, "someday when I'm all grown up, your what ill want to be". This poem taught me to appreciate my parents more.

Another poem I read from this book was 'The Ant Explorer'. I read this poem because I had read it before and I always liked it. This poem is about the fun and adventurous journey of an ant. It may seem silly but I liked this poem especially because of the upbeat tempo that it has because it makes the poem more exciting as he goes on his adventure. From this ants challenging experience I've learn that you can do anything if you put your mind to it!

The last poem I read is called 'My Shadow'. I loved this poem because reading it is like seeing a whole new perspective on shadows. I love the way Robert Louis Stevenson treats the shadow in his poem like a living person, because it makes the whole thing fun and interesting. For example "My lazy little shadow like an arrant sleepy-head, had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed". I read this book because Robert Louis Stevenson is one of my favorite poets because I know lots of his poems are upbeat and fun.

These poems barely have anything in common, but that's what I liked about the book because sometimes I get sick of reading a book of the same kind of poem. One thing all of these poems had in common were a good tempo for me to read to, and a little bit of fun.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely wonderful selection of fantastic poetry old and new: traditional verse, children's poetry, and everything in between. The artwork in this book is also spectacular. A must have for all poetry lovers and those you would like to be.