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I did not grow up reading poetry. Other than memorizing a poem in 2nd or 3rd grade, I don’t really remember studying much poetry in school. Since I started homeschooling, I have discovered quite a few great poetry books for kids. While we don’t do formal poetry studies, it is nice to grab a book of poems to read aloud to my children so they can get a taste of the rhythm and rhyme that poetry has to offer.
Shel Silverstein has long been a family favorite! My daughter checks these books out repeatedly. His poetry is quirky and funny and sometimes even odd. His books are classics in our opinion.
Who doesn’t love a little Winnie the Pooh? My kiddos do, and these books of poetry by A. A. Milne were childhood favorites. The poems are short and sweet and a perfect introduction to poetry.
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children is a wonderful book of poems with lots of full-color illustrations. There are multiple poems on each page. My daughter loved reading these poems over and over again. There is a great poetry unit study for this book over at Homeschool Share. We used this a few years ago, and it is very well done.
Poetry for Young People is a lovely series of books written for students in grades 3-9 {some poets are geared more toward the older end of this range}. Each book is short – about 50 pages. They begin with a short biography of the poet, and then the focus is on the poetry. The poems are beautifully illustrated to help bring the poems to life.
This book offers a sweet introduction to poetry for little ones. The poems are short. The illustrations are bright and vibrant. There is a unit study for this book, too, on the Homeschool Share site.
We especially loved this poetry book because of the CD. It allowed us to actually hear the rhythm and rhyme of each poem. Most of the 50 poems read aloud on the CD are read by the poets themselves. How neat for the kids to hear the voice of the author reading his or he own works.
Do you have a favorite poetry book geared toward little ones? What would you add to this list?
About Tara Mitchell
How far we’ve come from “The boy stood on the burning deck.”