The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems

by Carol Ann Duffy (Introduction), Jackie Morris (Illustrator)

Overview

"One of those rare books that can stand on a bookshelf from birth through high school graduation" — Kidslitinformation.com

Inspire a lifelong love of language—and give kids a head start in school!—with this outstanding poetry collection. To improve reading comprehension, luminous watercolor paintings illustrate the 70 famous poems, which are arranged by life stages and cover a wide range of common human experiences. From Shakespeare to Stevenson and Milton to Moore, iconic English-language poetry comes alive in this breathtaking gift book that they'll never outgrow. Features an introduction from UK Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782854272
Publisher:	Barefoot Books
Publication date:	09/01/2018
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	364,899
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Carol Ann Duffy is an acclaimed poet and playwright whose work is known and loved all over the world. She is the first woman to have held the position of Poet Laureate in Britain. Carol Ann lives in Manchester, UK, with her daughter, Ella.

Jackie Morris has written and illustrated many books and has won international acclaim for her work. She trained as an illustrator at Bath Academy of Art, England and now lives in Pembrokeshire, Wales with her two children.

Editorial Reviews

"One of those rare books that can stand on a bookshelf from birth through high school graduation" — Kidslitinformation.com

 

From the Publisher

Gr 3 Up
An appealing assortment of 74 classic poems that touch on childhood, animals and the natural world, love, war, and the stages of life. The selections range from standard children's fare, such as Robert Louis Stevenson's "Bed in Summer" and "The Land of Counterpane," to more mature works, such as John Donne's "Meditation XVII." Many have been widely anthologized, among them Walter de la Mare's "Tartary," Eleanor Farjeon's "Cats," William Wordsworth's "Daffodils," and Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken." Overall, this is a sumptuously packaged collection, with many large, double-paged illustrations. Morris's watercolors on hot-pressed paper are romantic and spirited. There are many excellent collections of classic poetry for children available, including Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark's The Oxford Treasury of Classic Poems (1998) and James R. Berry's Classic Poems to Read Aloud (Kingfisher, 1995). This one is somewhat shorter than those volumes, but its attractive design brings a fresh perspective to these poems and makes them accessible to a wide range of readers.
—Marilyn TaniguchiCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Stately figures and scenes in luminous colors provide rich backdrops for 74 English poems selected as much for their sonorous language as for their familiarity. Morris arranges her choices in, by and large, organic order, opening with Kathleen Raines' mesmerizing "Spell of Creation," closing with Tennyson's "Poet's Song," and in between, letting Blake, Shakespeare and Byron, Poe and Elizabeth Barrett Browning rub shoulders with the likes of Eleanor Farjeon and Walter de la Mare, Auden and Yeats with Ogden Nash and Rachel Field. Aside from a startlingly bloodthirsty ballad by Thomas Love Peacock, the entries are eloquent observations that range in tone from reverent to droll, on growing, loving, seeing beneath surfaces and living in the world. Animals put in appearances too, from Blake's Tyger to Milne's "Furry Bear." Extending even to the endpapers, the flood of words and images in this sumptuous volume creates an uplifting experience for the eye and ear both. An ideal collection to give or to share. (indexes) (Poetry. 10-12, adult)

Kirkus Reviews