A Child's Book of Poems

Classic and fun children's poetry along with Gyo Fujikawa's beautiful illustrations make a fun foray into rhymes for young ones.

The illustrations are so precious, and the verses are beyond the typical poems of childhood. Really elegant poetry that you should absolutely read aloud to your children, and which they may treasure for many years later once they’re independently reading. Each poem has an illustration so your child may enjoy identifying each one by the art work, and the art style is so gentle, innocent, and soothing. This little collection feels timeless, so I’m really excited to give this as a gift. I wrote in the book already, drawing a heart in the table of contents (there’s also an index at the back) next to the titles of my favorites that I hope the new Mama will share with baby. ❤️

If you were lucky enough to grow up reading Gyo Fujikawa's books, you'll remember the beautiful, whimsical illustrations. This book compiles a lot of classic poems that older folks might remember learning in school. Regardless, they are wonderful to read to your child. Reading aloud is important for their development in so many ways! And every time you look at the illustrations, you'll see something new. It's just magical! This book was way ahead of its time with illustrations showing a diverse group of children, animals, urban and rural landscapes. If you're on the fence just get it! And always remember to read "A Boy's Song" with your own child's name whether they are a boy or girl.

Well bound and beautiful book! I bought this with the intention of using it for homeschooling my children. Poetry is a wonderful way to encourage vocabulary and analytical skills. There are long poems for study and short poems for memorization. Many classic poems and many poems I’ve never come across before. Every other page is black and white then colored. Quite an impressive collection. One review mentioned an offensive poem. I don’t believe it’s worth skimming past this treasure trove. Sometimes those sort of things can be tactfully used to teach how people used to feel about others and why that is not appropriate.

This is a wonderful collection of poems, including quite a few classics like The Owl and the Pussycat, Wynken, Blynken and Nod, and also Tennyson, Wordsworth, Longfellow, Dickinson and even a few lines of Shakespeare. I think it would be best for older preschool age kids (at least 2 years old) through mid-late elementary-age kids (5th grade or so). The illustrations alternate, black and white one one page (two open pages) then color on the next which I find visually engaging, good for younger kids but broken up enough to not strike older kids as too babyish. I am very happy with this purchase, it is exactly what I was looking for!

I was looking for "real" poetry in a book intended for children. In other words, poems by known authors which would be appreciated by adults, but with themes and forms suitable for children, with pleasing rhythms and imagery, presented with attractive illustrations. The example in my mind was "The Daffodils" (aka "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud") by William Wordsworth. This book is pretty good, and even includes "The Daffodils." If it included only the best of its content, I'd give it 5 stars. Lots of good selections and sweet illustrations. I could skip some of the odd doggerel and weird themes. Fortunately my son seems to have some taste (and perhaps picks up on our dampened enthusiasm) and doesn't ask for the lesser stuff repeatedly. He enjoys this poetry collection (at age 2), and so do we.

Children love to play 'stage'. Ours used to act out these poems. They are now grown and I found on Amazon a new copy of this old, but still wonderful, book. Enjoy!!

Gorgeous illustrations with lovely, classic poetry that brings meaning and beauty to a child's everyday experiences. The poems in this book feature childhood experiences including swinging, a rainy day, animals, watching clouds, the end of a school day, etc., as well as silly poems and wise verses. Gyo Fujikawa is recognized as one of the earliest mainstream children's illustrators to include children of many races of children in her work. This makes an excellent gift!

I like this poem collection which has good pictures and it's nature themed book. Like it very much.

A Beautiful book of poems!

beau, poétique, livre en anglais, délicat, images colorées et noires et blanches, pour les amoureux de la littérature anglaise qui veulent le transmettre (cet amour) à leurs enfants.

Beautiful poetry book for children, lovely illustrations, bought for 10 yr old

Pictures are indeed pretty, but this book must be for 10+ children, clearly not for the little ones. Some rhymes are not even rhymes, so I can't even read it to my kid without boredome. Not the best poem book I've ever read for sure.