Poetry Books for Children + Poetry Unit Study

In this diverse collection, a companion to her New York Times #1 best-seller A Family of Poems, Caroline Kennedy has chosen more than a hundred poems that speak to all of us: the young and young at heart, readers new to poetry and devoted fans.

These poems explore deep emotions, as well as ordinary experiences.

They cover the range of human experience and imagination.

Divided into sections about nature, sports, monsters and fairies, friendship and family, this book is full of surprises. 

Poetry Speaks to Children reaches into the world of poetry and pulls out the elements children love: rhyme, rhythm, fun and, every once in a while, a little mischief.  

More than 90 poems, for children ages six and up, celebrate the written word and feature a star-studded lineup of beloved poets.

Including: Roald Dahl; J. R. R. Tolkien; Robert Frost; Gwendolyn Brooks; Ogden Nash; John Ciardi; Langston Hughes; Sonia Sanchez; Seamus Heaney; Canada’s best-loved children’s poet, Dennis Lee; Rita Dove; Billy Collins; Nikki Giovanni and X. J. Kennedy.

On the accompanying CD, 50 of the poems are brought to life — most read by the poets themselves — allow the reader to hear the words as the poets intended.

Shel Silverstein’s masterful collection of poems and drawings is at once outrageously funny and profound.

It is a place where you wash your shadow and plant diamond gardens, a place where shoes fly, sisters are auctioned off, and crocodiles go to the dentist. 

Sit back and savor a superb collection of more than sixty poems by a wide range of talented writers, from Margaret Wise Brown to Gertrude Stein, Langston Hughes to A. A. Milne.

Greeting the morning, enjoying the adventures of the day, cuddling up to a cozy bedtime — these are poems that highlight the moments of a toddler’s world from dawn to dusk.

Carefully gathered by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters and delightfully illustrated by Polly Dunbar, Here’s a Little Poem offers a comprehensive introduction to some remarkable poets, even as it captures a very young child’s intense delight in the experiences and rituals of every new day.

Part of the Poetry for Young People series, this book features 25 poems that introduce Robert Frost to young people.

The Random House Book of Poetry for Children was recognized upon its publication in 1983 as an invaluable collection — a modern classic — and it has not since been surpassed.

Five hundred poems, selected by poet and anthologist Jack Prelutsky, are divided into broad subject areas such as nature, seasons, living things, children, and home.

Finally in paperback, a timeless collection celebrating the joys of poetry for children of all ages — an indispensable introduction to literature and life that brings together essential classic children’s poems with the best of modern and contemporary international poetry.

Here is a delightful look at childhood, written by master poet and storyteller Robert Louis Stevenson.

In this collection of sixty-six poems, Stevenson recalls the joys of his childhood, from sailing boats down a river, to waiting for the lamplighter, to sailing off to foreign lands in his imagination.

Tasha Tudor’s watercolor paintings evoke a simpler time in the past, and celebrate two of the things she loves most — children and nature.

Her talents are the perfect match for these inspiring poems, making this a handsome gift edition that will be cherished by families for generations.

Poetry can have both a rhyme and a rhythm. Sometimes it is obvious; sometimes it is hidden.

Either way, make no mistake, poetry is as vibrant and exciting as it gets.

And when you find yourself clapping your hands or tapping your feet, you know you’ve found poetry with a beat!

Like Poetry Speaks to Children, the New York Times Bestselling classic poetry book and CD that started it all, Hip Hop Speaks to Children is meant to be the beginning of a journey of discovery.