This is a delightful collection of poems and a must-have reference book that deserves a fitting place beside the dictionary and thesaurus on any study desk.
The famous poets in these pages include Wordsworth, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Keats, Shelly, Emily Dickinson and many more. There’s a poem by Queen Elisabeth I, classic rhymes and carols too.
The shortest poem in this collection is by Robert Louis Stevenson, called Happy Thought.
The world is so full of a number of things,
I’m sure we should be as happy as kings.
While most of the poems in this collection are suitable for older kids, the Nonsense Poetry section and Rhymes And Riddles captured Tomu’s interest. We found ‘An Alphabet Poem’ by Edward Lear amusing and fun to read over and over!
A
A was once an apple pie,
Pidy
Widy
Tidy
Pidy
Nice insidy
Apple Pie!
It was nice to read all five verses of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Tounge twisters are so entertaining and we enjoyed reading Peter Piper (Anonymous) and Betty Botta by Carolyn Wells.
The book is divided into 11 categories and contains 111 poems.
What sets this anthology apart, is that each poem has a foreword describing the poet and poetry technique. The prologue ends with thought-provoking questions to delve deeper into the poem.
At the back, I was thrilled to find a glossary of poetic devices with examples pointing to poems in the book. There is an index of titles and authors and an index of first lines too.
Filled with timeless verse, this is a wonderful book and a helpful resource.
Suggested age: Read aloud to 5+. Read by self 8+. Recommended for a confident reader.
