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Hand-picked books for more purposeful living

Welcome, book lover! You've reached the home of hand-picked suggestions lists you can share with family and friends, plus ideas on why and how to ask for books in lieu of cards or presents.
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Suggestion lists are hand-picked selections for sharing with family and friends when you request books in lieu of cards or gifts. Share this list.

Poetry books

Poetry

In contrast to the attitude many adults take toward poetry, young children are wonderfully receptive to the form. The lyrical and rhythmic elements naturally appeal to them. Plus, exposure to rhyming words and a rich vocabulary is immensely helpful for developing reading skills.

To help foster a love of poetry, cultivate a daily or weekly family ritual. Center your reading around afternoon “teatime” (no tea required!) or bedtime. Or just read a single poem to kids each morning or night while they bathe or brush their teeth. Any way you manage it, you’ll be strengthening family bonds and nurturing a love of poetry with each session. And they’re never too young to start!

Here are books of poetry new and old, on topics ranging from animals and nature, to the silly, whacky and even mundane. Some are by a single author, like Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic A Child’s Garden of Verses; many are anthologies, offering a ton of bang for buck.

  • The Tree Is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems & Stories from Mexico With Paintings by Mexican Artists selected by Naomi Shihab Nye

    The Tree Is Older Than You Are

    View on Amazon
  • Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children’s Poems edited by Donald Hall

    Oxford Illustrated Book of American Children’s Poems

    View on Amazon
  • Falling Up by Shel Silverstein

    Falling Up

    by Shel Silverstein

    View on Amazon
  • When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne

    When We Were Very Young

    by A.A. Milne

    A collection of poems for children from the author of Winnie-the-Pooh, these will appeal to all ages because of Milne’s sophisticated understated humor.

    View on Amazon
  • Where Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

    Where the Sidewalk Ends

    by Shel Silverstein

    I remember my neighbor-babysitter reading Shel Silverstein's poetry to me as a child. “Sick” caught my fancy. I also recall perceiving my parents were less impressed by that slightly naughty poem than I was.

    View on Amazon
  • A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

    A Light in the Attic

    by Shel Silverstein

    View on Amazon
  • A Child's Book of Poems

    A Child’s Book of Poems

    View on Amazon
  • Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne

    Now We Are Six

    by A.A. Milne

    Another collection of enchanting poems by Milne, some featuring Winnie-the-Pooh!

    View on Amazon
  • Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry With a Beat edited by Nikki Giovanni

    Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry With a Beat

    View on Amazon
  • National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry

    National Geographic Book of Animal Poetry

    View on Amazon
  • All the Small Poems and Fourteen More by Valerie Worth

    All the Small Poems and Fourteen More

    by Valerie Worth

    As the title suggests, this volume combines four previously published collections of small poems, plus 14 more. The poet focuses mostly on the simple delights to be found in a backyard or pasture.

    View on Amazon
  • Favorite Poems Old and New selected by Helen Ferris

    Favorite Poems Old and New

    by Helen Ferris

    Selected by Helen Ferris. More than 700 entries from a variety of poets arranged into intriguing categories such as “On the Way to Anywhere” and “Almost Any Time is Laughing Time.” Excerpts from the Bible interspersed throughout (though regrettably without chapter and verse citations), as well as many poems with Christian references.

    View on Amazon
  • National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry

    National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry

    View on Amazon
  • A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms

    A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms

    View on Amazon
  • A Child's Garden of Verses

    A Child’s Garden of Verses

    by Robert Louis Stevenson

    I read this with my kindergarteners, and I’m looking forward to reading through this again with my preschooler next year. It’s a beautiful collection of poems with topics and viewpoints young children can relate to. It was originally published in 1885, but don’t be tempted to think it’s lost its relevance. Some of the language is a little old-fashioned, true, but there’s also a wonderful innocence that comes from that bygone era which can’t be recaptured by modern writers.

    View on Amazon
  • The Llama Who Had No Pajama by Mary Ann Hoberman

    The Llama Who Had No Pajama

    by Mary Ann Hoberman

    Bright illustrations, some of which careen and crawl around the text, will be a hit with kids. Many, but not all, of these short contemporary poems are observations and explorations of animals and their diverse traits.

    View on Amazon

Filed Under: Babies, Kids, Suggestions Tagged With: Babies, Classics, Kids, Poetry

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