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A Year Full of Poems
Now children may
Go out of doors,
Without their coats,
To candy stores.
The apple branches
And the pear
May float their blossoms
Through the air,
And Daddy may
Get out his hoe
To plant tomatoes
In a row,
And, afterwards,
May lazily
Look at some baseball
On TV.
--from " May " by John Updike
From January to December, Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark trace all the months of the year in this rich collection of poems for children. Eight to twelve poems are chosen for each month to capture the essence of a particular time and season. Narrative poems, very short poems, funny
poems, sad poems--each month offers quite a variety, chosen especially for children aged 9 to 14.
February boasts poems by Sara Teasdale and Walter de la Mare. April offers Langston Hughes and Tennyson. John Updike is a contributor to May and August. And the other months are made particularly memorable with poems from Emily Bronte, Longfellow, D. H. Lawrence, Rupert Brooke, Emily Dickinson, and
many others. The poems are illustrated by a variety of artists in an open and easy-to-read format that blends the poetry with the artwork. Included are an index of authors and artists, and of titles and first lines.
The lavish design and the thoughtful, diverse selection of poems make this an ideal resource for classroom and library, a special gift for a young poet, or the perfect choice for beginning or adding to a child's first personal library.
Go out of doors,
Without their coats,
To candy stores.
The apple branches
And the pear
May float their blossoms
Through the air,
And Daddy may
Get out his hoe
To plant tomatoes
In a row,
And, afterwards,
May lazily
Look at some baseball
On TV.
--from " May " by John Updike
From January to December, Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark trace all the months of the year in this rich collection of poems for children. Eight to twelve poems are chosen for each month to capture the essence of a particular time and season. Narrative poems, very short poems, funny
poems, sad poems--each month offers quite a variety, chosen especially for children aged 9 to 14.
February boasts poems by Sara Teasdale and Walter de la Mare. April offers Langston Hughes and Tennyson. John Updike is a contributor to May and August. And the other months are made particularly memorable with poems from Emily Bronte, Longfellow, D. H. Lawrence, Rupert Brooke, Emily Dickinson, and
many others. The poems are illustrated by a variety of artists in an open and easy-to-read format that blends the poetry with the artwork. Included are an index of authors and artists, and of titles and first lines.
The lavish design and the thoughtful, diverse selection of poems make this an ideal resource for classroom and library, a special gift for a young poet, or the perfect choice for beginning or adding to a child's first personal library.
144 pages, Paperback
First published November 14, 1991
4 people are currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
Michael Harrison
247 books4 followersMichael Harrison has written four teenage novels and has edited many highly-acclaimed poetry anthologies.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 11, 2012
This is the poetry book I remember best from childhood. My sister and I returned to it again and again whenever we covered poetry at school. The poems are collected to reflect the twelve months of the year and the characteristics of the seasons. Some of the poems are by well-known poets, others less well-known, but all really capture the characteristics, moods and events we associate with the seasons. No matter when you take this book out in class, there's bound to be at least one poem that captures what's going on outside the window - or what's going on inside the classroom!
January 16, 2021
This isn’t “a year of poems” in the sense of “a poem a day,” but rather divided into sections by month, with everything in each section being very seasonal to that time of year. So while it was an okay selection of poems, thematically it got a bit dull. The illustrations, though, contributed by about a dozen different artists in different styles, are really very good.
August 13, 2019
A collection of various poems, exploring the seasons of the year, this is a lovely way of putting poetry together, and it is lovely to have a progression and journey through various authors and styles whilst sticking to a main theme throughout.
October 13, 2019
Some long, some short and all relating to the months and seasons
October 5, 2020
A great collection of poems for each month of the year.
August 4, 2022
Very enjoyable read
November 5, 2020
The structure of the poetry book is focused on all the months of the year. In each month there are poems that depict the true meaning of what takes place within the month, for instance any celebrations, the way the weather changes and the environmental habitat for animals. This is a fundamental reason to why I found the book enjoyable. It gives a true insight to what takes place in each month. So, this is a useful piece of literature to show and use with children to engage in a level of understanding at what takes place around them.
For each poem there is a different author, this offers as an introductory flavour to understand what type of writer they are. I thought that this was interesting to see, because it shows the wide variety of writing styles when writing on the same subject matter. This is a useful insight to inform children, because on some scale there is no right or wrong style of writing, it is a creative topic where the sky is the limit.
Additionally, when thinking about the style of author’s writing they used different structures to write their poems. This I thought was intriguing to see, because there was never a same pattern used. The authors used a variety of rhyming schemes, narrative formats and writing styles. So, the book engaged with all different types of preferences regarding the type of literature. An example is that if someone prefers a strict rhyming pattern they would rather read ‘Windows’ by Russel Hoban compared to reading ‘Spring Is’ by Bobbi Katz. Even so, it is clear for the reader to make connections with authors who wrote in similar formats.
The message in the poetry book is based on appreciating the world and the time we spend within it. Each poem elaborates on the beauty and the fun at what takes place within the months of the year. An example is a poem featured in the July section talks about rain in the summer and how marvellous it can be. This level of positivity is important to share with children, because it allows them to alter their perspective on what they may perceive as being negative. As well, this idea and message of appreciating the world is reinforced in the colour and illustrations that are used. This is able to capture a reader’s interest and I think it is important to cross link subjects. In that children are able to incorporate art into English, so that a student can fully elaborate and express what they mean in their writing.
The targeted reading age can be used for older and younger years. In that every child at whatever age range can have a type of reading experience with the book, be it read to them or read independently. There is a wide range of vocabulary, where there are both simple and complex aspects to the level of language. In particular, the use of the illustrations can guide the reader to think about the poem’s message.
For each poem there is a different author, this offers as an introductory flavour to understand what type of writer they are. I thought that this was interesting to see, because it shows the wide variety of writing styles when writing on the same subject matter. This is a useful insight to inform children, because on some scale there is no right or wrong style of writing, it is a creative topic where the sky is the limit.
Additionally, when thinking about the style of author’s writing they used different structures to write their poems. This I thought was intriguing to see, because there was never a same pattern used. The authors used a variety of rhyming schemes, narrative formats and writing styles. So, the book engaged with all different types of preferences regarding the type of literature. An example is that if someone prefers a strict rhyming pattern they would rather read ‘Windows’ by Russel Hoban compared to reading ‘Spring Is’ by Bobbi Katz. Even so, it is clear for the reader to make connections with authors who wrote in similar formats.
The message in the poetry book is based on appreciating the world and the time we spend within it. Each poem elaborates on the beauty and the fun at what takes place within the months of the year. An example is a poem featured in the July section talks about rain in the summer and how marvellous it can be. This level of positivity is important to share with children, because it allows them to alter their perspective on what they may perceive as being negative. As well, this idea and message of appreciating the world is reinforced in the colour and illustrations that are used. This is able to capture a reader’s interest and I think it is important to cross link subjects. In that children are able to incorporate art into English, so that a student can fully elaborate and express what they mean in their writing.
The targeted reading age can be used for older and younger years. In that every child at whatever age range can have a type of reading experience with the book, be it read to them or read independently. There is a wide range of vocabulary, where there are both simple and complex aspects to the level of language. In particular, the use of the illustrations can guide the reader to think about the poem’s message.
October 7, 2011
I did not enjoy this collection of poems. I think the biggest problem for me is that a lot of the poems felt really forced. It was as if the school assignment was "write a poem about Fall" Also, the rhythms and rhymes just didn't scan well for me. They didn't click into place.
There were a couple of poems that I did like. I enjoyed The Frozen Man because of the arrangement of sentence fragments on the page. I like MARCH ingorders: Winter has been sacked; for negligence; ; It appears he left; the sun on all day. It's a cute little comment on the approach of spring. I also liked Summer and I liked September. They were both longer, more traditional poems with a rhyme scheme and stanzas.
Things that I hate in poetry:
Enjambments - when the line break is in an odd spot and it is awkward or jarring.
"Rhymes" that don't actually rhyme - warm/harm. Really?
Lack of rhythm
Thanks anyway, this collection of poetry is not for me.
There were a couple of poems that I did like. I enjoyed The Frozen Man because of the arrangement of sentence fragments on the page. I like MARCH ingorders: Winter has been sacked; for negligence; ; It appears he left; the sun on all day. It's a cute little comment on the approach of spring. I also liked Summer and I liked September. They were both longer, more traditional poems with a rhyme scheme and stanzas.
Things that I hate in poetry:
Enjambments - when the line break is in an odd spot and it is awkward or jarring.
"Rhymes" that don't actually rhyme - warm/harm. Really?
Lack of rhythm
Thanks anyway, this collection of poetry is not for me.
October 31, 2013
Genre: Poetry
Awards: none
Grade Level: K-2
Comments: I would use this book in my younger classroom. This book would be used all year, and not just in a poetry unit. At the beginning of each month I would read the poems for that month. Then the students would have an activity related to the poem, it would be a writing activity. I would have them reflect after hearing the poem then write about their favorite thing to do in the specific month.
Awards: none
Grade Level: K-2
Comments: I would use this book in my younger classroom. This book would be used all year, and not just in a poetry unit. At the beginning of each month I would read the poems for that month. Then the students would have an activity related to the poem, it would be a writing activity. I would have them reflect after hearing the poem then write about their favorite thing to do in the specific month.
October 17, 2013
Genre: Poetry
Grade: k-2
Award(s): None
This book allows students to venture poetry throughout the whole year. The amazing thing about this book is that it can be used throughout many other subjects besides poetry. It reflects the months of the year and the seasons. For a follow-up activity I would have the students to create their own poem based on the time of year and or the topic or theme of the month.
Grade: k-2
Award(s): None
This book allows students to venture poetry throughout the whole year. The amazing thing about this book is that it can be used throughout many other subjects besides poetry. It reflects the months of the year and the seasons. For a follow-up activity I would have the students to create their own poem based on the time of year and or the topic or theme of the month.
October 31, 2013
Genre: Poetry
Awards: none
Grade Level: K-2
This poetry book could be used in the classroom year round. For each month I would designate a specific day that we would read the poems for that month. This could lead me into a discussion about that particular month, seasons that we will experience, and what holidays we will celebrate. For a follow up activity, I will have the students each month write a short poem about the weather we are experiencing that day.
Awards: none
Grade Level: K-2
This poetry book could be used in the classroom year round. For each month I would designate a specific day that we would read the poems for that month. This could lead me into a discussion about that particular month, seasons that we will experience, and what holidays we will celebrate. For a follow up activity, I will have the students each month write a short poem about the weather we are experiencing that day.
Currently reading
December 11, 2013This book is full of poems that would be great to read to your class throughout the year.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews