Poetry Speaks to Children (Poetry Speaks Series)

by Elise Paschen, Billy Collins (Editor), Dominique Raccah (Editor)

Overview

New York Times Bestseller!

In the tradition of Poetry Speaks, the anthology named a Best Book of 2002 by School Library Journal, and praised by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer as "a volume to delight longtime lovers of poetry and to spark new love for poetry, especially among the young," Sourcebooks MediaFusion is proud to introduce the joy of the written and spoken word in Poetry Speaks to Children.

Parents, educators, librarians, and poetry enthusiasts have wondered for years how to get children really interested in poetry. Until now, there hasn't been a collection of poems and poets that spoke directly to that elusive audience. Poetry Speaks to Children cracks through that barrier by packaging the best poems by the best authors along with a CD-making the engrossing and often mischievous verses come alive in the voices of many of the creators.

Poetry Speaks to Children reaches into the world of poetry and pulls out the elements children love: rhyme, rhythm, fun and, every once in a while, a little mischief.

More than 90 poems, for children ages six and up, celebrate the written word and feature a star-studded lineup of beloved poets, including: Roald Dahl; J. R. R. Tolkien; Robert Frost; Gwendolyn Brooks; Ogden Nash; John Ciardi; Langston Hughes; Sonia Sanchez; Seamus Heaney; Canada's best-loved children's poet, Dennis Lee; Rita Dove; Billy Collins; Nikki Giovanni and X. J. Kennedy.

On the accompanying CD, 50 of the poems are brought to life—most read by the poets themselves—allow the reader to hear the words as the poets intended.

Hear Gwendolyn Brooks growl her rhyming verse poem "The Tiger Who Wore White Gloves, or, What You Are You Are" with verve and inflection-relaying the story of the striped cat who "rushed to the jungle fair for something fine to wear," much to the hoots of his jungle peers. Amid jeers, sneers and sighs, the tiger eventually learns to be comfortable in his own striped skin (or fur as it were!).

Follow Ogden Nash as he tells of the brave little Isabel, who "didn't worry, didn't scream or scurry" when confronted with a ravenous bear, a one-eyed giant or a troublesome doctor. Her clever solutions to problems ("She turned the witch into milk and drank her") will keep even the most reluctant readers interested.

Listen to James Berry, who quells a little girl's anxieties about her color by celebrating the marriage of "night and light," emphasizing how all colors are necessary in nature, in "Okay, Brown Girl, Okay."

Turn the page and tune in . . . kids won't be the only ones hooked!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402203299
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	11/01/2005
Series:	Poetry Speaks Series
Edition description:	With CD
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	599,880
Product dimensions:	10.88(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.53(d)
Age Range:	4 - 12 Years

About the Author

Editor Elise Paschen is the author of Infidelities, winner of the Nicholas Roerich Poetry Prize, and Houses: Coasts, and her poems have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies. A graduate of Harvard University, she holds M.Phil. and D.Phil. degrees in twentieth century literature from Oxford University. Former Executive Director of the Poetry Society of America (1988-2001) and co-founder of "Poetry in Motion," a nationwide program that places poetry in subways and buses, she is the co-editor of Poetry Speaks, Poetry in Motion, and Poetry in Motion from Coast to Coast. Dr. Paschen teaches in the Writing Program at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and she lives in Chicago with her husband and two children.

Series Editor Dominique Raccah is founder, president, and publisher of Sourcebooks, a leading independent publisher outside of Chicago. Today Sourcebooks publishes nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. She is the series editor of Poetry Speaks and the Sourcebooks Shakespeare.

Advisory Editors Billy Collins is the author of many volumes of poetry including The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems, Nine Horses, Sailing Alone Around the Room, and Picnic, Lightning. His poems have appeared regularly in The Best American Poetry. He is a Distinguished Professor of English at Lehman College (City University of New York). He served as United States Poet Laureate (2001-03) and is currently the poet laureate of New York State. A poet, lecturer, and educator, Nikki Giovanni has written more than two dozen books, including Quilting the Black-Eyed Pea, Racism 101, Blues For All the Changes, and Love Poems. The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection, a spoken-word CD, was a finalist for a Grammy Award in 2003. She is a three-time winner of the NAACP Image Award for Literature; she has also received the Langston Hughes award for Distinguished Contributions to Arts and Letters and The Rosa Parks Woman of Courage Award. She has been voted Woman of the Year by Essence, Mademoiselle, and Ladies' Home Journal. She is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech, where she teaches writing and literature.

X. J. Kennedy is the author of Nude Descending a Staircase (winner of the Lamont Award of the Academy of American Poets) and The Lords of Misrule, which won the Poets' Prize, and other poetry books, as well as numerous works for children. With his wife, Dorothy, he edited Knock at a Star: A Child's Introduction to Poetry. Among his many awards is the National Council of Teachers of English Year 2000 Award for Excellence in Children's Poetry. Formerly the poetry editor of The Paris Review, Kennedy has taught at the University of Michigan, the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, Wellesley College, the University of California-Irvine, the University of Leeds, and Tufts. Mr. Kennedy lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, with his wife. Illustrators Judy Love says: "I currently live in a turn of the century house in Belmont, MA, with two cats, Fluffy and Jeremy, a parakeet called Tweed and a half dozen unnamed fish. I am very lucky to have two wonderful sons, Matt (21) and Tom (17), who are both accomplished artists. We enjoy going to museums and art shows together and whenever I need advice about one of my illustrations I can ask for their help. My life is full of art, music, theater, and friends. I can usually be found in my studio, perched on a high stool, drinking a huge mug of tea, listening to a book on tape and madly sketching while I try to keep Fluffy from walking all over my drawing I've wanted to be an illustrator for as long as I can remember. Luckily I had parents that thought that this was a great idea, too. When I was eight years old my mother gave me a book of poetry with space around each verse to add a picture. Here I am almost fifty years later doing the same thing!"

Wendy Rasmussen has been drawing since the first time she could hold a crayon. She had a very creative father who told her stories and encouraged her to draw and inspired tales of trolls and other folklore. In fourth grade she wrote an essay called "Why I Want to Be an Illustrator When I Grow Up." An eye for detail comes from her love of science (she has a degree in Biology and a minor in Art) and her imaginative animals come from her father's fables. She lives in a remote area in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where she is surrounded by wildlife that is a constant inspiration for her work. Her companions are two black labs and a cat, all of whom have served as models, whether they know it or not!

Paula Zinngrabe Wendland comes from a long line of artists; both of her parents are artists and her sister is a sculptor. She enjoys illustrating folk tales the most because her intense colors and stylized figures fit well with the imaginative tales. Her hobbies include figure skating, ceramics, designing crafts, and gardening. She has a redheaded husband, a daughter named Clara who is 12 years old and writes poetry, and a son, Nathan, age 9, who is a Jedi-wannabe and knows more about dinosaurs than anyone else Paula knows. She has a grumpy black cat named Schwartz.

Table of Contents

Publisher's Note

Introduction

The First Book, Rita Dove

The Quarrel, Maxine Kumin

Letter to Bee, Emily Dickinson

Hurt No Living Thing, Christina Rossetti

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, Robert Frost

Wolf, Billy Collins

The Tiger Who Wore White Gloves, Gwendolyn Brooks

from "The Adventures of Isabel," Ogden Nash

On a Flimmering Floom You Shall Ride, Carl Sandburg

El Chicle, Ana Castillo

The Dentist and the Crocodile, Roald Dahl

Bear Song, Kay Ryan

Jabberwocky, Lewis Carroll

Sneeze, Maxine Kumin

Mrs. Mitchell's Underwear, Dennis Lee

Okay, Brown Girl, Okay, James Berry

Vowel Owl (Roger),John Hollander

Magic Words, Anonymous Inuit Poet, translated by Edward Field

The Unwritten, W. S. Merwin

Crayons: A Rainbow Poem, Jane Yolen

Gas, C. K. Williams

Knitted Things, Karla Kuskin

from Macbeth, William Shakespeare

Frodo's Song in Bree, J. R. R. Tolkien

Eagle Poem, Joy Harjo

The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Langston Hughes

I Rise, I Rise, Anonymous Osage Poet

Verses from "The Elephant's Child," Rudyard Kipling

Alphabets, Part 1, Seamus Heaney

John Smith and his Son, John Smith,Wallace Stevens

About the Teeth of Sharks, John Ciardi

Dinosaur Diets, Jane Yolen

My Sister Saw a Dinosaur, Mary Ann Hoberman

Joey, Brad Leithauser

Rabbit, Mary Ann Hoberman

At Last, James Stevenson

Epigram Engraved on the Collar of a Dog Which I Gave to His Royal Highness, Alexander Pope

Balloons, William Jay Smith

Hide and Seek, Robert Graves

Every Time I Climb a Tree, David McCord

The Reason I Like Chocolate, Nikki Giovanni

Trips, Nikki Giovanni

Mommies, Nikki Giovanni

Lineage, Margaret Walker

Snowmen ,Agha Shahid Ali

Good Luck Gold, Janet S. Wong

The Secret Song, Margaret Wise Brown

Why?, James Stevenson

The Question, Karla Kuskin

First Grade, William Stafford

Crying, Galway Kinnell

Art Class, X. J. Kennedy

How to Paint a Donkey, Naomi Shihab Nye

Daddy Fell Into the Pond, Alfred Noyes

Working with Mother, Myra Cohn Livingston

A Faery Song, W. B. Yeats

The Unicorn, Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Paul Muldoon

The Lion and the Lily, Elizabeth Spires

hist whist, E. E. Cummings

The Ghost and Jenny Jemima, Dennis Lee

from "The Raven," Edgar Allan Poe

Sheep Party, John Fuller

Jamaican Song, James Berry

Halfway Down, A. A. Milne

Count to Ten and We'll Be There, Rita Dove

opposite poem 4, Richard Wilbur

opposite poems 7 and 20, Richard Wilbur

from "The Tale of Custard the Dragon," Ogden Nash

Good Hot Dogs, Sandra Cisneros

Lies, All Lies, William Cole

Which is the Best?, James Stevenson

Casey at the Bat, Ernest L. Thayer

The Testing Tree, Part 1, Stanley Kunitz

Skating in the Wind, Kristine O'Connell George

A Poem for Jesse, Sonia Sanchez

To P.J., Sonia Sanchez

Valentine, Donald Hall

Summer, W. D. Snodgrass

Winter, W. D. Snodgrass

The Sun has a Tail, Emanuel di Pasquale

Knoxville, Tennessee, Nikki Giovanni

I Am Cherry Alive, Delmore Schwartz

The Tyger, William Blake

Conversation with a Mouse, Robert Bly

On Turning Ten, Billy Collins

How to Stay Up Late, X. J. Kennedy

Flashlight, X. J. Kennedy

Maturity, X. J. Kennedy

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, Eugene Field

Little, Dorothy Aldis

Two in Bed, Abram Bunn Ross

Brother, Mary Ann Hoberman

The Land of Counterpane, Robert Louis Stevenson

from "The Bed Book," Sylvia Plath

The Coming of Teddy Bears, Dennis Lee

Editorial Reviews

"This entertaining dip into many archival recordings will likely be a family treasure" — Publishers Weekly STARRED

"Beautifully illustrated... the accompanying CD is the real treat" — Family Circle

"...one of the most anticipated audio-poetry releases of the fall" — The Wall Street Journal

"...an excellent introduction to a whole lot of poetry, from Shakespeare to Nikki Giovanni, from Kipling to Naomi Shihab Nye. The poems are short and long, rhymed and not, famous and little-known. Every single one of them is appealing.... The accompanying CD is a wonder...Sure to please teachers, parents and children who might not yet know how much they need poetry, and how much they will love it." — Kirkus Reviews

"For density and pleasure on many levels, try this reading, seeing and hearing experience. Adults as well as children are the audience here." — The Chicago Tribune

" As a producer I get many books across my desk –Poetry Speaks to Children stood out from the rest. It is a fantastic book for kids! I have even read it to my little boy and he loves hearing the soothing poetry. The included CD is an added bonus to an otherwise delightful book. A must have for parents to introduce their kids to poetry." — Rick O'Connor, producer, "The Steve Cochrane Show" on WGN AM Chicago

"....humorous when required to be and affecting.... always eye-catching and appealing for its intended audience" — The Globe and Mail

"Poetry Speaks to Children would make a fabulous addition to any home school library." — Christian-parenting-source.com

"The book is so engaging that my students love reading and rereading the poems again and again." — Earlychildhoodliteraturereview.blogspot.com

"The artwork in this hardcover book is perfect, making the pages come alive and the poems visually appealing to children and adults alike. Whether you're listening to the CD in the car or snuggling on the couch during read-aloud time, Poetry Speaks to Children is sure to please." — Eclectichomeschool.org

"Poetry Speaks To Children is a beautifully illustrated, hard-back book and CD set. It spent ten weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. This delightful collection is full of significant poems from a variety of eras, and it's poetry that can be loved and appreciated by children. Not "children's poetry", necessarily, just poetry they will be able to follow. The editors did an outstanding job. Included is poetry from ee cummings, Emily Dickinson, William Shakespeare, W.B. Yeats, Edgar Allan Poe, Eugene Field...and many, many more. " — rocksinmydryer.typepad.com

"Poetry Speaks to Children is an indulgence for anyone to enjoy – parent or child, teacher or student. And not only is this wonderful collection put together in a beautiful book, but we get to hear 50 of the 95 poems read by their authors on the included audio CD." — 5minutesformom.com

"The publisher's introduction says it's strongly visual, full of storytelling, packed with sound (a CD is included, with 52 poems from 36 poets, many recorded for the first time), ageless, and a mix of classic poetry with some new ones - all correct." — John Mark Minitries

From the Publisher

Poetry Speaks, the popular 2001 poetry-anthology-with-CD for adults, has inspired an offspring: Poetry Speaks to Children edited by Elise Paschen, illus. by Judy Love and others. The volume features 95 poems by 73 poets including W.B. Yeats, Richard Wilbur, Ogden Nash and Nikki Giovanni. The works of 52 of these poets are read on the accompanying CD, most in the authors' own voices (Robert Frost, Langston Hughes and Roald Dahl among them). This entertaining dip into many archival recordings will likely be a family treasure as well as a welcome classroom or library resource. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3-8-A fine, basic collection. Approximately half of the 97 selections are read or performed on the accompanying CD. The book provides a mix of adult writers (Rita Dove, Seamus Heaney, and Billy Collins, among others) and those whose work is specifically for children, such as X. J. Kennedy and Mary Ann Hoberman. Topics include childhood, animals, nonsense poems, and humor (including C. K. Williams's "Gas," which dwells on the fact that "FARTING IS FORBIDDEN!"). The three illustrators have captured the different tones of the selections, from a comic portrait of the Jabberwock slayer wearing a colander and wielding a plunger and the wailing children in William Stafford's "First Grade," to the moving paintings of a girl with flowers echoing the natural images of James Berry's "Okay, Brown Girl, Okay." The CD gives children the opportunity to hear several of the poets, such as Robert Frost reading "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and Langston Hughes reading "The Negro Speaks of Rivers." They hear a variety of accents and dialects-an Irish lilt, New England inflections, or James Berry's lilting Jamaican-British voice. Readers of Roald Dahl's books will enjoy hearing him read "The Dentist and the Crocodile," and fans of "The Lord of the Rings" books and movies will appreciate hearing Tolkien read "Frodo's Song in Bree." Joy Harjo frames her "Eagle Poem" with a haunting vocalization that echoes its serious tone.-Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

This is jolly and good, a fine thing in an anthology. It serves as an excellent introduction to a whole lot of poetry, from Shakespeare to Nikki Giovanni, from Kipling to Naomi Shihab Nye. The poems are short and long, rhymed and not, famous and little-known. Every single one of them is appealing. There's all of "Casey at the Bat" and "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod"; there are poems about farting and about underwear; there's Billy Collins's existential musing on turning ten and Maxine Kumin's poem about a sneeze. The accompanying CD is a wonder: Langston Hughes introducing his own "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and Tolkien himself reading one of Frodo's songs. Joy Harjo near-chants her "Eagle Poem," and Poetry Alive! performs a few selections with a bit of musical accompaniment. The illustrations are earnest and cheerful, although they suffer a bit from being by several hands: There isn't one style or focus. Sure to please teachers, parents and children who might not yet know how much they need poetry, and how much they will love it. (Poetry. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews