Read-Aloud Poems For Young People

by Glorya Hale (editor), Robert Frost (Contribution by), Maya Angelou (Contribution by)

Read along poems for young readers

Genres: Poetry, Childrens

384 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I wanted to make time for more poetry this year, but my attempts to read Sylvia Plath early in the year showed me I'm not ready for mature poetry. I think I found this book at a library sale a few years ago, and being aimed for children, it was the perfect difficulty level for me.

This collection reminded me of some favorite pieces of poetry I encountered in school,  introduced me to some lovely new poems, and had poems from six of the eight poets I had in mind to read this year. I also realized that even though I think of myself as never reading poetry, I actually read it all the time. And some of my favorite literature that I read and sing again and again and again is poetry--children's literature, the Psalms, and hymns.

I dog-eared numerous pages that I hope to revisit frequently and become more and more familiar with.

Here were some of my favorite selections: 

- The Hippopotamus (Jack Prelutsky)
- Mice (Rose Fyleman)
- When Mother Reads Aloud (unknown)
- Afternoon on a Hill (Edna St Vincent Millay)
- I am an American (Elias Lieberman)
- The Purple Cow (Gelett Burgess)
- The Pancake Collector (Jack Prelutsky)
- Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout Would Not Take the Garbage Out (Shel Silverstein)
- Mr. Nobody (unknown)
- May Night (Sara Teasdale)
- The Daffodils (William Wordsworth)
- Nature (H.D. Carberry)
- The House With Nobody In It (Joyce Kilmer)
- The Plumpuppets (Christopher Morley)
- The Unseen Playmate (Robert Louis Stevenson)
- Heritage (Countee Cullen)
- Indian Names (Lydia Huntley Sigourney)
- There is No Frigate Like a Book (Emily Dickinson)
- The Bells (Edgar Allen Poe)
- Sonnet on His Blindness (John Milton)
- If-- (Rudyard Kipling)
- The Road Not Taken (Robert Frost)
- Keep a Poem in Your Pocket (Beatrice Schenk de Regniers)

I read the hardcover book.

[Laura Gilfillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun collection, full of poems that I enjoyed reading aloud to my children, and which they enjoyed listening to. This was the first time I ever sat and read through the whole book all by myself though.

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection, really enjoyed it. Some of the snippets about the authors were as interesting as the poems!

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of poetry for children. An odd poem now and then, but as a whole, this collection is fantastic. Here is one of my many favorites within:

Mother doesn't want a dog.
Mother says they smell,
And never sit when you say sit,
Or even when you yell.
And when you come home late at night
And there is ice and snow,
You have to go back out because
The dumb dog has to go.

Mother doesn't want a dog.
Mother says they shed,
And always let the strangers in
And bark at friends instead,
And do disgraceful things on rugs,
And track mud on the floor,
And flop upon your bed at night
And snort their doggy snore.

Mother doesn't want a dog.
She's making a mistake.
Because, more than a dog, I think
She will not want this snake.

-Judith Viorst

There are a hundred more delights in there (Emily Dickinson, William Wordsworth, William Blake, John Keats, A. P. Herbert, Charles Lamb, Marianne Moore, Lewis Carroll, Longfellow, Edgar A. Guest, George Eliot, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Maya Angelou, Robert Louis Stevenson, etc.)

[Tandava Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent collection, especially if you're going for bulk, but no real particular wow-factor to it. Most of the best poems were the obvious ones that you would expect to see in such a collection, because they're in every collection. Many of the others were unmemorable. Only a few really jumped out at me. But still, an easy way to have 300 kid-friendly poems at your fingertips.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great and extensive collection of poems. There are literally hundreds of poems here. Many of them are great. Many more are good. Some are just ok. Overall, a collection worth having with a great variety of poetry.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good anthology but heavy on older stuff. Which, I get, is because it's an older book. But if you are looking for diversity this isn't for you. Classics yes.

[Emily Farnschlader]

This book has hundreds of poems that are great for children. They are all about topics that children can understand and are entertaining for children to hear. The topics range from animals, family, friends, humor, to stories and many more.
This book would be great to have in an elementary classroom. Students would love to listen to these poems; there would be poems that connect to most units that the students study. They can talk about the clues that help you understand the poems as well as characteristics of poetry. After reading some poems you could ask the students to create their own poems in a similar style. In preschool, reading one or two of these poems would be an engaging way to transition into a new topic and get students listening.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

good early reader for children to share with parents at bedtime