Talking Like the Rain: A Read-to-Me Book of Poems

by X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M Kennedy, Jane Dyer (Illustrator)

A collection of poems and illustrations celebrating the lives of children includes works by A. A. Milne, Edward Lear, Robert Louis Stevenson, and many new voices and is divided into sections on Day and Night, Just for Fun, and others.

Genres: Poetry, Childrens, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Classics

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Lisa of Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great collection of silly, laugh-out-loud poems!

This is one of the books in James Mustich's 1,000 Books To Read Before You Die book. It was specifically recommended as a Read Aloud Book for Your Family.

Naturally, I had to read this book aloud to my family. And they loved it! There were many requests for this book around the dinner table.

Not all poetry is stiff and stuffy, serious, and boring.

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[Lynn Pribus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Included in 1000 BOOKS TO READ BEFORE YOU DIE. It's a large, thin book with BEAUTIFUL illustrations, but the collection of poems is puzzling. I tried to imagine myself reading it to great granddaughter Evie and just couldn't.

Many were Really Old Poems with an archaic vocabulary of words she not only wouldn't know, but would never have occasion to use should she learn them. Some poems in the collection are fun or clever or just nicely rhyme-y, but others just sort of exist without wit or fun or joy.

Oh, well. Another checked off. Not that our 5-county library system as all of the listed books.

[Marta E C R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not love this book more! Both the choice of poems and the lovely illustrations are wonderful. Some of the poems I remember from my own childhood and some I have learned as songs. I have learned to love poetry as an older adult, after not liking it much at all before then. Now I read poetry every day, out loud to myself. Sometimes I still don’t understand or like any given poem, but there are so many gems out there that fill my soul with joy and wonder. I found this book a week ago while taking care of my 3-year-old granddaughter, and started reading it (out loud, of course) to myself, and sometimes to her. She has enjoyed several of the poems very much. I am delighted to be able share my love of poetry with her.

[Lois · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations were lovely but the poetry selection was pretty blah.

[Ariel Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be more useful in an at home setting. There were some poems that could be used in classrooms such as First Snowflake by N. M. Bodecker. It talks about snow, so it would be a great poem to read when learning about snow, or even during the first snow of the year! Another really good one would be One Year by N. M Bodecker also. This one would be used more during the teaching of the months of the year.

This poem book had many great pictures, and the set up was awesome. It put poems alike on the same pages. All the ones about snow on a page, all the ones about bedtime on another. It was a great book to sit down and read while doing nothing else. I really enjoyed the poems, and all the different authors that were not Shel Silverstein (that's all the poetry I've read before now!)

[Hafidha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have had this book for a year or so but finally finished reading all the poems ... it's a good collection for reading aloud to young children, in a slim but large soft cover format. The illustrations are apt and vivid. I especially enjoy the animal poems, my 5yo likes it when I read them aloud 2-4 times while she acts them out. That's actually one really great way to enjoy poetry - acting it out as it's being read. I find this is one I keep going back to.

[Susanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most wonderful collections of classic poems for children--and for adults. So many of my favorites are found on these beautifully-illustrated pages. This was one of three go-to poetry books throughout our 21 years of home education, and I still find myself opening it to peruse the poems myself.

One of the loveliest books for a children's library--I can't recommend it highly enough!!

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe it's "for kids", but the artwork is truly first class, and the poem selections are excellent and well organized thematically. It would be a perfect gift for a parent, a child, or just poem lovers.

[Jordan Bramblett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really cute book! I really enjoyed reading the poems in this book. The illustrations are awesome and appropriate for the poems. I've always loved poetry and find that younger children like it as well. It is very useful when teaching them rhyming words.

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Collection of poetry directed to children I have found yet. I also like the illustrations. This book is often read at the beginning of nap time with many selections fitting the slow soothing pace needed to calm little minds into dreamland.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of poetry for children. Lovely watercolor illustrations. Fun to read aloud (and memorize together some day!)

[Suzette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that made me love poetry. I read it on the front porch on a rainy day with my 6yo son by my side. We blew bubbles into the rain.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our favorite collection of poems for children.

[Leiba Ragoo-Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great mix of poetry from various poets that puzzles, makes you smile and pull in to want to read more.

[Cal Fromm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely compendium of poetry of all sorts-- joyful, sorrowful, silly, serious, and everything in between.

This was a childhood favourite of mine!

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to say it was refreshing to read a book of children's poetry. This is a large book (9.5x12.5), verging on unwieldy but also big enough for both an adult and child to see if the child was on the adult's lap. It has lovely illustrations throughout with some pages having only one poem and others having multiple poems. It's 81 pages and contains 123 poems from a variety of poets both well known outside children's poetry (Maxine Kumin, William Stafford, Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, John Ciardi, Nikki Giovanni) and those known to write for children. The poems are grouped according to the themes of play, families, just for fun, animals, rhymes, magic, weather, time, and day & night. Like many poetry anthologies, it has an index of poets and an index of titles.

I'm not sure why I became curious about the state of children's poetry earlier this year but I put a few on my wishlist and I'm now glad I did. The combination of word play, nonsense and seeing wonder in the mundane was good for my over-serious soul. Over the course of this book, I became curious about the children's poetry of Dennis Lee and N.M. Bodecker.

Here's the first bit of Bodecker's "Mr. Slatter":
Ormsby Slatter
(crusty hatter)
made his hats
of brittle-batter.
These (as they
were most delicious,
scrumptious, and
indeed nutritious)
sold like hot cakes
through the town
till the rain
came pouring down


Dennis Lee's "The Coat" in its entirety:

I patched my coat with sunlight.
It lasted for a day.
I patched my coat with moonlight,
But the lining came away.
I patched my coat with lightning,
And it flew off in the storm.
I patched my coat with darkness:
That coat has kept me warm.


Norma Farber's "Manhattan Lullaby":

Lulled by rumble, babble, beep,
let these little children sleep,
let these city girls and boys,
dream a music in the noise,
hear a tune their city plucks
up from buses, up from trucks,
up from engines wailing fire!
up ten stories high and higher,
up from hammers, rivets, drills,
up tall buildings, over sills,
up where city children sleep,
lulled by rumble, babble, beep.

I'm in a bit of a quandry about whether to keep this book. I could see reading it again. It's sort of a quick adult palate cleanser, an injection of inner child. However, it's so large, and some parent in my community--or teacher in the school system--could get more use out of it than I will. We'll see. I've got other children's poetry books on my list. Maybe one of them will serve the purpose in a more compact form.

[Tandava Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The selection of poetry is fine but didn't particularly wow me. I was pleased to see Milne's "Disobedience" included, though, and there were a couple others new to me that I liked. The illustrations are very nice.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is beautifully illustrated, but I found the selections uneven. Thanks to my beloved older siblings, the gold standard for me will always be "The Illustrated Treasury of Children's Literature," edited by Margaret Martignoni.

[Cj Rey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grandma prep.

[Dawn]

Beautiful poems and illustrations !

[Kassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally not the audience for this book but it’s on 1000 Books to Read Before You Die.

[Talea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great mix of classic poetry and silly poems. My class loved listening to them.

[Tao Zheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember this book from elementary school. The artwork and poems brings back memories.

[Lindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of poetry for young children is selected by X.J. Kennedy and Dorothy M. Kennedy and charmingly illustrated in bright watercolours by Jane Dyer. The poets range from Emily Dickinson to Dennis Lee to Christina Rossetti to Langston Hughes and Robert Louis Stevenson.

All of the poems are short and have been chosen to share the beauty and rhythm of language. Some are fun and snappy, like the two lines that make up the entirety of "The Wapiti" (Ogden Nash): "There goes the wapiti / Hippety-hoppity."

Others are more lyrical, inspiring a child's imagination:
"a cold little / raindrop / in her winter nightgown" from "First Snowflake" (N.M Bodecker)
"stars come out / with silver keys / to open up the night" from "Taking Turns" (Norma Farber)
"Far away, on the world's dark rim / He howls, and it seems to comfort him." from "The Wolf" (Georgia Roberts Durston)

This would be an excellent gift for a 2nd, 3rd or 4th birthday. Like a collection of Mother Goose rhymes, it is a book to reread with a child many times.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This poetry book was recommended by J. Patrick Lewis (one of my favorite author of kid poetry). This collection contains some well-known classics (i.e. The Owl and the Pussycat) and plenty of lesser known poems that equally as great.

Poems are divided into sections: play, families, just for fun, birds/bugs/beasts, rhymes and songs, magic and wonder, wind and weather, calendars and clocks, day and night. Watercolor illustrations bring elements from each poem to life and make each page one worth lingering on. An index of authors and an index of titles help readers revisit favorite poems.

Overall, a solid collection with excellent artwork and a beautiful introduction that explains the collection's title. This would make an great gift book for a young child and it's definitely a top-notch read for National Poetry Month.

[Samantha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I used a few of these poems for our text set presentation. I really liked that the title comes from an excerpt in "Out of Africa". Other than the title and a select few of the poems, I didn't care for the book.

[Morgen Shambaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to read to your kids when you only have a couple minutes or even if you just have a thirty seconds. The poems are short and sweet. There are many classics but also poems I had never heard.

[Child960801 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good transition poetry book. The illustrations are done in a more realistic style and the poems are longer. However, there are still lots of short ones and lots of rhyme. Good for the kids as they get older.

[Risa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for the "Read a Book to Someone Aloud" category of the Book Riot 2016 Read Harder Challenge. The poems were often uninspiring (even granting that they were selected with an eye toward what young children might like to hear), but the illustrations were consistently inspired.

[Rachel Flan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and catchy book of Poems. They are short and easy to read-a-loud or to practice reading.