Children's Poetry

 

    A Child's Introduction to Poetry by Michael Driscoll is exactly that. This book gives an overview of many famous poems, complete with a short biography about the author and simple explanations of the poem itself (Driscoll, 2003). These poems include many famous names such as The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe, an excerpt from Paradise Lost by John Milton, A Red Red Rose by Robert Burns, and more. Truly all you would need to introduce a young child to the world of poetry (Discoll, 2003). 

    This book definitely falls under the poetic genre, but also the non-fiction genre (Galda, 2017). Alongside the numerous poems contained, it has biographies of the authors that wrote the poems to help children get a better grasp of the work. The illustrations are representational art, as they all depict either authors, characters from the poems, locations, or other realistic items (Galda, 2017). 

    One motivational activity for children could be to review the different kinds of poems and have them listen for rhyme schemes and other poetic influences in the poem being read. They could also be instructed on how to write a poem in a similar style. Some conversations around the works could go as follows:

Teacher: Did any of you take notice of the rhyme scheme while I was reading, and can anyone tell me which kind of poem this was? Your options are haiku, limerick, sonnet, ballad, or narrative. 

Students: {various answers}

OR:

Teacher: Who can tell me the THEME of this poem? Your options are love, death, nature, and fear. 

Students: {various answers}

    This book provides an excellent introduction to poetry for children. It covers most major literary works in the genre and provides background on the authors, which many other poem books for children (or adults, for that matter) do not do. The book includes a CD that can be played instead of someone reading aloud, and a number of genres of poems are covered. The book has a wide range, and there are a number of other books in the series. The author, Michel Driscoll, has a degree in English with a focus on poetry from a well-known college (Driscoll, 2003). I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing this book, and I'd say it's good for all ages, not just children. 

REFERENCES:

1. Driscoll, Michael. "A child's Introduction to Poetry". Black Dog and Leventhal, 2003. 

2. Galda, Lee. "Literature and the Child". Cengage, 2017. 

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