Saras Selection

of the
Best Childrens Poems

























Table of Contents
1. Some People - by Rachel Field,
Random House Book of Poetry
2. Trees Sara Coleridge,
The Classic Book of Best-Loved
Childrens Poems
3. Sea Shell Amy Lowell,
The Classic Book of Best-Loved
Childrens Poems
4. Minnie and Winnie Alfred, Lord
Tennyson,
The Classic Book of Best-Loved
Childrens Poems
5. By the Water Christina Rossetti, The
Classic Book of Best-Loved Childrens
Poems
6. Sledding by Spencer Bassette, 5
th

grader,
A Poem for Every Day
7. Bed in Summer Robert Louis Stevenson,
A Poem for Every Day
8. The Squirrel Anonymous,
A Poem for Every Day
9. Mix a Pancake Christina Rossetti,
A Poem for Every Day
10. Two People by Eve Merriam,
Random House Book of Poetry
11. Have You Ever Seen? by Anonymous,
Random House Book of Poetry
12. The Library by Barbara A. Huff,
Random House Book of Poetry
13. Hope is the Thing With Feathers
Emily Dickenson,
A Family of Poems
14. Some Opposites Richard Wilbur,
A Family of Poems
15. The Little Turtle Vachel Lindsay,
A Family of Poems
16. April Rain Song Langston Hughes,
A Family of Poems
17. Afternoon on a Hill Edna St. Vincent
Millay,
A Family of Poems
18. Keep a Poem in Your Pocket Beatrice
Schenk de Regniers,
A Family of Poems

Introduction:
This selection of poems consists of
poems that I enjoyed reading as I read
several from many different books. Why
did I enjoy them? There was an element of
relatability within each one. How I was able
to relate to the poems came in many forms
and for many different reasons. Some
remind me of my favorite places, things and
experiences while others remind me of
relationships with my friends and family.
Another characteristic that makes these
poems appealing to me is the fact that
reading and understanding each of them
seems effortless. The lines are cohesive
and flow together beautifully. I also find
myself drawn to poems that rhyme, and the
majority of these do. Poems that rhyme
sound better to my ears and give poems a
subtle tune, which also makes them more
enjoyable for me. A sense of humor
incorporated into a poem is also very
appealing to me. Humor can be created
through rhyming, word choice, or simply
the subject of the poem can be funny too. I
also like that these poems are decent in
length. I dont typically like poems that are
either too short or very long and rambling.
These poems provide enough detail and
substance to be good enough to catch your
attention, but not too long or short to
discourage you from it. I also really like
acrostic poems, which spell out a word with
the first letter in each line. I think these are
great for kids to learn vocabulary and
spelling by focusing on the letters of the
word itself to describe it. Lastly, these
poems were selected because they cover a
variety of topics and deal with them in an
appealing and exciting way. Poetry for
children should cover a variety of subjects
and interests, because students will find
different topics to be appealing to them.

1. Some People

Isnt it strange some people make
You feel so tired inside,
Your thoughts begin to shrivel up
Like leaves all brown and dried!

But when youre with some other ones,
Its stranger still to find
Your thoughts as thick as fireflies
All shiny in your mind!

Rachel Field

2. Trees

The Oak is called the kind of trees,
The Aspen quivers in the breeze,
The Poplar grows up straight and tall,
The Peach tree spreads along the wall,
The Sycamore gives pleasant shade,
The Willow droops in watery glade,
The Fir tree useful timber gives,
The Beech amid the forest lives.

Sara Coleridge

3. Sea Shell

Sea Shell, Sea Shell,
Sing me a song, O Please!
A song of ships, and sailor men,
And parrots, and tropical trees,

Of islands lose in the Spanish Main
Which no man ever may find again,
Of fishes and corals under the waves,
And seahorses stabled in great green caves.

Sea Shell, Sea Shell,
Sing of the things you know so well.

Amy Lowell

4. Minnie and Winnie

Minnie and Winnie
Slept in a shell.
Sleep, little ladies!
And they slept well.

Pink was the shell within,
Silver without;
Sounds of the great sea
Wandered about.

Sleep, little ladies!
Wake not soon!
Echo on echo
Dies to the moon.

Two bright stars
Peeped into the shell.
What are they dreaming of?
Who can tell?

Startled a green linnet
Out of the croft;
Wake, little ladies!
The sun is aloft.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

5. By the Water

There are rivers lapsing down
Lily-laden to the sea:
Every lily is a boat
For bees, one, two, or three:
I wish there were a fairy boat
For you, my friend, and me.

Christina Rossetti

6. Sledding
S peeding down a hill,
L ow on my sled,
E ating the flakes that fly in my mouth,
D igging my gloves in the snow,
D riving myself through trees,
I n and out in and out,
N ow up a high jump,
G ripping my sled.

Spencer Bassette

7. Bed in Summer

In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see
The birds sill hopping on the three,
Or hear the grown-up peoples feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?

Robert Louis Stevenson

8. The Squirrel

Whisky Frisky,
Hippity Hop,
Up he goes
To the tree top!

Whirly, twirly,
Round and round,
Down he scampers
To the ground.

Furly, curly,
What a tail,
Tall as a feather,
Broad as a sail.

Wheres his supper?
In the shell,
Snappy, cracky,
Out it fell.

Anonymous

9. Mix a Pancake

Mix a pancake,
Stir a pancake,
Pop it in the pan;
Fry the pancake,
Catch it if you can.

Christina Rossetti

10. Two People

She reads the paper,
while he turns on TV;
she likes the mountains,
he craves the sea.

Hed rather drive,
shell take the plane;
he waits for sunshine;
she walks in the rain.

He gulps down cold drinks,
she sips at hot;
he asks, Why go?
She asks, Why not?

In just about everything
they disagree,
buy they love one another
and the both love me.

Eve Merriam

11. Have You Ever Seen?

Have you ever seen a sheet on river bed>
Or a single hair from a hammers head?
Has the foot of a mountain any toes?
And is there a pair of garden hose?

Does the needle ever wink its eye?
Why doesnt the wing of a building fly?
Can you tickle the ribs of a parasol?
Or open the trunk of a tree at all?

Are the teeth of a rake ever going to bite?
Have the hands of a clock any left or right?
Can the garden plot be deep and dark?
And what is the sound of the birchs bark?

Anonymous

12. The Library

It looks like any building
When you pass it on the street
Made of stone and glass and marble,
Made of iron and concrete.

But once inside you can ride
A camel or a train,
Visit Rome, Siam, or Nome,
Feel a hurricane,
Meet a king, learn to sing,
How to bake a pie,
Go to sea, plant a tree,
Find how airplanes fly,
Train a horse, and of course
Have all the dogs youd like,
See the moon, a sandy dune,
Or catch a whopping pike.
Everything that books can bring
Youll find inside those walls.
A world is there for you to share
When adventure calls.

You cannot tell its magic
By the way the building looks,
But theres wonderment within it,
The wonderment of books.

Barbara A. Huff

13. Hope is the Thing with Feathers

Hope is the thing with feathers
The perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all

And sweetest in the Gale is heard
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm

Ive heard it in the chilliest land
And on the strangest Sea
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb of Me.

Emily Dickinson

14. Some Opposites

The opposite of standing still
Is walking up or down a hill,
Running backwards, creeping, crawling,
Leaping off a cliff and falling,
Turning somersaults in gravel,
Or any other mode of travel.

The opposite of a doughnut? Wait
A minutes while I mediate.
This isnt easy. Ah, Ive found it!
A cookie with a hole around it.

What is the opposite of two?
A lonely me, a lonely you.

The opposite of a cloud could be
A white reflection in the sea,
Or a huge blueness in the air,
Caused by a clouds not being there.

The opposite of opposite?
Thats much too difficult. I quit.

Richard Wilbur

15. The Little Turtle

There was a little turtle.
He lived in a box.
He swam in a puddle.
He climbed on the rocks.

He snapped at a mosquito.
He snapped at a flea.
He snapped at a minnow.
And he snapped at me.

He caught the mosquito.
He caught the flea.
He caught the minnow.
But he didnt catch me.

Vachel Lindsay

16. April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you.
lEt the rain beat upon your head with silver
liquid drops.
Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk.
The rain makes running pools in the gutter.
The rain plays a little sleep-song on our roof
at night

And I love the rain.

Langston Hughes

17. Afternoon on a Hill

I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sin!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.

I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.

And when the lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!

Edna St. Vincent Millay

18. Keep a Poem in Your Pocket

Keep a poem in your pocket
and a picture in your head
and youll never feel lonely
at night when youre in bed.

The little poem will sing to you
the little picture bring to you a dozen
dreams to dance to you
at night when youre in bed.

So
Keep a picture in your pocket
and a poem in your head
and youll never feel lonely
at night when youre in bed.
Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
Bibliography

Kennedy, Caroline, and Jon J. Muth. A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children. New
York: Hyperion/Hyperion for Children, 2005. Print.
Mattingly, Virginia, and Nicky Cooney. The Classic Book of Best-loved Children's Poems.
Philadelphia: Courage, 1997. Print.
Moger, Susan, and Susan Moger. A Poem for Every Day. New York: Scholastic, 2006. Print.
Prelutsky, Jack, and Arnold Lobel. The Random House Book of Poetry for Children. New York,
NY: Random House, 1983. Print.