Poetry 

Poetry is a type of literature in which the sound and meaning of language are combined to create ideas and feelings.

• Nursery rhymes provide many children with their first contact with literature. These short, simple poems are one of the oldest forms of children's literature. For hundreds of years, adults have entertained children and children have entertained themselves by reciting these rhymes. Some nursery rhymes, including "Itisket, Itasket," were created long ago as parts of children's games. Others, including "Old King Cole" and "Little Jack Horner," may have been based on real people and events. Nursery rhymes can also help children learn the days of the week, the months of the year, the alphabet, and how to count.  Mother Goose rhymes are famous.
• Nonsense verse, appeals to children because it deals with illogical and silly characters and situations.  Edward Lear of England composed many books of delightful nonsense verse, beginning with A Book of Nonsense (1846). Lear's best-known nonsense poem is "The Owl and the PussyCat".  The American poets David McCord and Jack Prelutsky have written many popular collections of amusing poems as well as serious poetry.   Much of the best humorous poetry deals with children and animals. A. A. Milne of England wrote two such collections of verse--When We Were Very Young (1924) and Now We Are Six (1927). Many of the poems in these collections concern Christopher Robin, the author's young son. Dr. Seuss wrote some nonsense poetry.
• Poetry about Real Stuff.   Some poetry describes the feelings of children and how they see the world around them. For example, Robert Louis Stevenson of Scotland portrayed the world of children of the late 1800's in his classic collection of poems, A Child's Garden of Verses (1885). Gwendolyn Brooks of the United States dealt with the modern world of African American children in Bronzeville Boys and Girls (1956). Poets like Myra Cohn Livingston and Aileen Fisher write with freshness and insight about the way the world looks from the viewpoints of children. Examples include Livingston's Birthday Poems (1989) and Fisher's Rabbits, Rabbits (1983).  Other poetry tells about nature, animals, or events.  
• Narrative poetry tells stories. There are two chief kinds of narrative poems: (1) epics and (2) ballads.     

1. Ballads tell shorter stories about a particular person.  Early ballads were sung or recited by wandering minstrels.  Clement Clarke Moore is generally considered the author of "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" (1823). This poem, which begins " 'Twas the night before Christmas," remains a familiar part of the Christmas holiday season in the United States. "Casey at the Bat" (1888), a ballad by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, has become part of the folk literature of baseball. The ballad describes how "mighty" Casey struck out in the last inning, thus failing to win a baseball game for his Mudville team.

2. Epics are long poems that describe the deeds of heroes in battle or conflicts between human beings and natural and divine forces. 

• Lyric Poems. Haiku. Lyric poetry means any short poem.  The haiku, a Japanese form, is one of the shortest types of lyric poetry. In Japanese, the haiku consists of 17 syllables arranged in three lines. The first line has 5 syllables, the second 7, and the third 5. Some English translations of haiku try to capture their effect rather than imitate their form.

Poetry Collections:

Brooks, Gwendolyn. Bronzeville Boys and Girls. Illus. by Ronni Solbert. Harper, 1956. Simple poems about the experiences and feelings of black children in big cities. Intermediate readers. 


Fleischman, Paul. Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. Illus. by Eric Beddows. Harper, 1988. Eloquent poems about insects to be read aloud by two people. Newbery Medal winner. Intermediate readers. 

Hall, Donald, ed. The Oxford Book of Children's Verse in America. Oxford, 1985. A broad range of poetry for children, accompanied by a scholarly preface and notes. All ages. 

Lear, Edward. The Complete Nonsense Book. Illus. by the author. Dodd, 1962. Limericks, nonsense poems, and humorous story poems by a famous English comic poet and artist of the 1800's. Intermediate readers. 

Livingston, Myra Cohn. Let Freedom Ring: A Ballad of Martin Luther King, Jr. Illus. by Samuel Byrd. Holiday Hse., 1992. Strong paintings share the directness, vigor, and emotion of a biographical poem about the famous African American leader. All ages. 

McCord, David. All Day Long. Witty, simple poems. Young readers. 

Merriam, Eve. A Poem for a Pickle: Funnybone Verses. Illus. by Sheila Hamanaka. Morrow, 1989. A high-spirited volume of humorous poetry. Young readers. 

Milne, A. A. When We Were Very Young. Dutton, 1952. Now We Are Six. Dutton, 1955. Both illus. by Ernest H. Shepard. Two classic collections of verse about children and their world. Young readers. 

Prelutsky, Jack. The Dragons Are Singing Tonight. Illus. by Peter Sis. Greenwillow, 1993. Humorous poems about dragons are imaginatively illustrated. Intermediate readers. 

Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Child's Garden of Verses. Illus. by Alice and Martin Provensen. Golden Pr., 1951. A classic collection of short poems about the everyday world. Young readers. 

Yolen, Jane. Animal Fare. Illus. by Janet Street. Harcourt, 1994. Nonsense verse about such inventive animals as the Anteloop, Blimpanzee, and Camelephant. Intermediate readers.

Nursery Rhymes:

Dozens of handsomely illustrated nursery rhyme books are available. They include The Mother Goose Treasury (1966), illustrated by Raymond Briggs; The Helen Oxenbury Nursery Rhyme Book (1987), edited by Brian Alderson and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury; and The Oxford Book of Nursery Rhymes (1990), compiled by Zena Sutherland and illustrated by Faith Jaques. 

Additional Information on the Poetry Genre from Internet Public Library.

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Updated 01/10/05