Side by Side: Poems to Read Together

by Lee Bennett Hopkins, Hilary Knight (Illustrator)

A collection of poems especially chosen to be read aloud, by authors ranging from Lewis Carroll and Robert Louis Stevenson to Gwendolyn Brooks and David McCord.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 1988

About the author

Lee Bennett Hopkins was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2017. He holds a Guinness Book of Records citation for compiling the most anthologies for children. He has also received the Christopher Award, the Regina Medal, and the National Council of Teachers of English Excellence in Poetry for Children Award. He lives in Florida.

For more information, please see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Ben...

Reviews

[GoldGato · Rating 4 out of 5]

Earlier this month, thanks to a changed work schedule, I was working from home when I heard a scratching at the front door. It was noontime and my indoor cat went running to the door and started scratching back. I opened the door and there was an emaciated, tiny, ginger kitty with a broken ear. This strange being wasted no time and walked right by me as though it owned the entire house. It quickly located the cat feeding area and next thing I knew, the stray cat had made himself at home. His extremely poor state meant he was either dying or needed some food or both. After some expensive visits to the vets, it turned out he was in his last days and my house became a hospice. I named him Macavity.




I mention this story because from his very first night, he demanded comfort and didn't want to be by himself in his little room after the lights turned out. The only thing I could think of to get him comfortable was to read to him. This was the book I took from the shelf. He sat on my lap as I started reading.

The night is long
But fur is deep.
You will be warm
In winter sleep.

The food is gone
But dreams are sweet
And they will be your winter meat.

For two weeks, every night, I read this book of simple poems to Macavity the Hospice kitty. I re-arranged my routine to suit his, still hopeful that he would pull through, somehow, some way. He didn't, the vet was right, and when he died, I read his book of poems again. Though I only knew him for two weeks, I thanked him for choosing my home and for getting me to read these poems out loud.

For these are words that should be spoken, simple enough for any family member to remember. Even if that family member is a stray, emaciated ginger cat with a broken ear.

The cave is dark
But dreams are bright
And they will serve
As winter light.

Sleep, my little kitty, sleep.

Book Season = Year Round (disturb your routine)

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely collection of well-known classics and newer poems as well. The illustrations add greatly to the enjoyment of readers. Loved this book as a little one and still do.

[Megan Bernhard]

Side by Side: Poems to Read Together is a collection by various poets collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins. I found myself easily gliding through the collection with a smile on my face and thinking of events that I could relate to the poems and use in the classroom. The poems over many different topics such as holidays and seasons. Characters, such as animals and humans, were used throughout the collection to teach the reader lessons such as the alphabet and numbers and also common themes such as friendships and family. I think this collection of poetry met the criteria for poetry. The poems had real rhymes and I was able to create very vivid pictures in my mind from the small stories the poems told. There is a wide variety of insight throughout Side by Side and it gives the reader a chance to learn about many things in a soothing manner. I was able to enjoy these poems and they sparked the child in me with excitement about reviewing simple things such as letters and numbers in a new way. This collection is very appropriate for awareness of occasions. Parts of the book are sectioned into seasons and it can really be used as a teaching tool in the classroom. I see myself using this collection to introduce poetry at certain times during the school year and then having my students create their own replicas of what they read.

[Dani Heller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book for my poetry selection because it has a variety of different poems inside. All of the poems are about different subjects and they are short and easy to read. This collection of poems would be great to share with a Kindergarten, 1st or 2nd grade class, although I think that adults would like to read them just as much! The rhyming words along with the colorful and vivid pictures make this book fun to look through. My favorite poem was called "Five Little Monsters" by Eve Merriam. It was about some little monsters stirring pudding with a wooden spoon! Many of the poems are silly and I think that young readers would enjoy this book.

[Liz Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and would highly recommend it for children of all ages up to 9 or 10. Younger children might not fully understand the poems but they would love the illustrations and have a small idea of the storylines. The book has poems that are older and some poems that are newer. Being a future teacher, I may be biased about the rating of this book. Not only do I thoroughly enjoy poetry in all forms, but especially poetry written specifically for children. This book was unique because it was divided into seasons, which could be used in the classroom to go along with lessons. There were also other themes that could be used for teaching, such as, the alphabet. It has poems of all lengths, short and a little bit long. And has many different characters, animals, and humans. The illustrations are colorful, detailed, beautiful, and calming. They were one of my favorite parts of the book. Overall, this book has many wonderful features and I would recommend it for use in the classroom and at home.

[Sara Stelmach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always loved nursery rhymes and poetry from when I was a child so I was so excited to read “Side by Side” by Lee Bennett Hopkins. This book includes many poems from different authors with amazing full color illustrations.The front cover draws you with a sweet looking old lady animal who is reading to young kids that seem to love the book. Each poem has a corresponding illustration that are very well done and colorful. The poems were all about different things like animals, people, ABC’s and holidays! It’s nice to have a nice mix of poems with a variety of subjects. My favorite poem in the mix was “ Over the River and Through the Wood” which is a classic. I really enjoyed reading this poem because I heard it a lot when I was younger. I also really enjoyed the illustrations that came with it. I would definitely recommend this book for kindergarteners and first graders.

[Hayden Delgado · Rating 4 out of 5]

This poetry book had a very cute and fun twist to poetry that I think kids of all grade level could enjoy. This book included poems on just about everything. From seasons, to holidays, weather, days of the week, the months of the year, and more. This is a great story for any gender, and would be appropriate for grades 1st-3rd or 4th grade because of the shorts poems in the book, and some of the longer ones included as well. Kids who read this book will not only work on their reading skills, but also working on their own poetry and learning about synonyms. This is a very good poem book that should be included in all classrooms because it gives students a choice from a wide range of stories they can choose to read all in one book.

[Mendell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Side by Side is a wonderful collection of poems perfect for a class read along with children. Through its pages are some of history's best works from writers like Eve Merriam, Myra Cohn Livingston, and many more. It includes some beautiful illustrations that are sure to capture the attention of you and your young students. What I loved most about Side by Side was the poem it features from Langston Huges who happens to be one of my favorite poems. If I were a teacher, I'd likely use this book to begin introducing poetry to my students as a form of expression. In my opinion, this book is perfect for children in 2nd and 3rd grades.

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

This charmingly illustrated book of poems for children contains narratives for every mood. Gwendolyn Brooks, The House that Jack Built, David McCord, Mr Finney's Turnip, Seven rabbits who walk on the road and tumble one by one down the mole hole, Robert Louis Stevenson, The Walrus and the Carpenter...

The animals went in ten by ten,
If you want any more, you can read it again.

[JoAnn Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Mom loves the pictures and poems. She reads them over and over.

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many nursery rhymes, some poems. I will pass this one along to a new home

[Madison Daub · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book for my poetry book. I liked this book because it had a wide variety of poems in it. The cover of the book was also really cute with the old lady on the front porch and the young children. The book has poems about counting, animals, seasons , holidays and just different stories. I think you can always find a poem in this book that can relate to something that you are trying to teach to your class. The creative words are fun for children and even older readers. The poems are sweet and realistic and can help to teach a lot of lessons in the classroom or just during everyday life. I think these poems are really good for reading aloud to a classroom. K-3 would really enjoy all the poems and I think they would all be able to relate some how to the poems. The illustrations in the book are also very colorful and bright and make the children really excited to read more. I enjoyed this poetry book and I think it would be great to read to children.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was immediately drawn to this book of poems because of the front cover. The cover of the book was also really cute with the old lady on the front porch and the young children. I liked this book because it had a wide variety of poems in it. The book has poems about counting, animals, seasons, and holidays. This variety of poems will be great when I begin teaching because the poems in this book can connect to many different lessons. The creative words are fun for children and even older readers. K-3 would really enjoy all the poems because the poems are fun and the students can relate to them. The illustrations in the book are also very colorful, bright, and entice the reader. My favorite poem was called "Five Little Monsters" by Eve Merriam, which is about little monsters stirring pudding with a wooden spoon! I enjoyed this poetry book and I think it would be great to read to children in the classroom.

[Sara Schwarzwalder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been a huge fan of poetry, but this collection of poems I really enjoyed. There seems to be a poem for everything in this book: Easter, raining, picnics, monsters, lullabies and more. It was cute how each poem had a picture to go along with it because sometimes poetry can be intimidating to younger kids and these short but sweet poems with the pictures make it seem easier to read. Some of my favorites were Birds and Beasts, To July, and Over the River and Through the Wood. I liked many of the poems included because they had great rhythm that made it more into a song. This book also included many great classic stories told through poetry including Noah's Ark and A Visit from St. Nicholas. I would love to have this book in my classroom and be able to share these poems with the students from time to time. Poetry is a great way to learn about writing mechanics and these poems are pleasing to a young audience.

[Haley Dowty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Side By Side: poems to read together collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins with illustrations by Hilary Knight is a wonderful collection of poems. I like how some of the poems are really short while others are long. These poems are a perfect bunch for children. They are about all things children love (animals and fun life experiences to name a few). These poems are perfect to read aloud to one child or a whole classroom. The illustrations are beautiful as well. They tell the story of each poem that helps the young reader or listener truly see what is being read. I think this would be a great book to use in a classroom that is beginning to talk about poetry. There are all kinds of different types of poems that children can model in their own writing. It would also be a fun book to pick one out of everyday to read as a fun treat for the class. I highly recommend this book of poems to all.

[Paul Hankins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alas, this collection from 1988 is out of print, but, if you can find it, this is probably one of the very best collections of children's poetry put together by Lee Bennett Hopkins. And what's more, this one is illustrated by Hilary Knight (and what whimsical, gorgeous illustrations await throughout, spread across pages, crawling up margins, dancing through verses--this one is a feast for the eyes).

The collection includes works by

Edward Lear
Robert Lewis Stevenson
Langston Hughes
and Robert Frost (who models the mentoring process)

and

Eve Merriam
Myra Cohn Livingston
David McCord
and Aileen Fisher

Again, if you can find this one out there, it is a MUST HAVE with Mr. Hankins highest ONE BOOK/FOUR HANDS distinction.

[Kaytlyn Rosynek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of poems had a variety of different subjects and meanings. I thought the collection of poems could have had a better title, considering what poems were actually inside, but overall I enjoyed the poems that were included. The poems were about several different holidays, animals, and events in one's life. I thought the illustrations added to the story throughout the poetry because the illustrations told a story by themselves. Each new page made me wonder what the next page would be about because of the variety within. I could see this collection of poems used in my own classroom, whether it be to introduce a lesson on what one of the poems was about, or just to talk about the different characteristics of the animals.

[Katelyn Spyhalski]

This book is a collection by various poets collected by Lee Bennett Hopkins. I found myself easily gliding through the different poems, most I found very pleasing. The poems were over many different topics ranging from holidays to the different seasons and much much more. There were many characters both animals and humans, shown throughout the poems, most being used to teach lessons. There were some about the alphabet and numbers but most were about family and friendship. The poems had good rhyme and made it easy for me to create images in my head, which made me think this would help students create imagery too. I am not that into poetry as a reader, but I enjoyed these different poems because they made it easy for me to visualize students reading them and being very interested.

[Alyssa Gergins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This poetry book had so many different poems that any child is bound to like one of them. There is a wide variety of really difficult poems such as Poor Old Lady and really easy to read poems such as the ABC song and Counting poem. This book has beautiful illustrations that are lively and entertaining. it is also very colorful and I love how the picture will be everywhere on the page. One of my favorite poems from this book was called To July. I loved the wording and the rhyming that goes along with it. Every poem in this book is entertaining and fun for children of all ages. I would definitely recommend to have this in my future school library.

[Kaitlin Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hopkins's Side By Side was a delightful read, this collection of poems cover many topics and characters, like animals, monsters, humans, seasons, and holidays. Side By Side would be a great book to bring into a classroom because of the lessons children can learn. One can easily related some of these poems to what they are teaching in their classroom. The illustrations are very fitting to the poems as you go through the collection. The vividly colored illustration along with the rhyming would be very entertaining for young children. Knight does a fantastic job with the cover of this book because it is what pulls your attention to it and makes you curious to see what it is about.

[LLash · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Side By Side: poems to read together" by Lee Bennett Hopkins is a fantastic book for elementary students. This book is filled with poems: story poems, counting rhymes, verses about seasons, holidays and animals. The title "Side By Side" describes exactly as it is. It can easily be read aloud to your students or it even allows them to sit side by side and read through some poems together. I enjoyed reading this thoroughly, and I guarantee that in the future my students will, too.

[JMRL]

A collection of poems especially chosen to be read aloud, by authors ranging from Lewis Carroll and Robert Louis Stevenson to Gwendolyn Brooks and David McCord.

Find at JMRL: http://bit.ly/1S5IW6y

[Child960801 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and fun, well chosen poems. We really like this one.