Fun Time

A Short Anthology of Childrens Poetry

Courtney Britt - October 6, 2015

An illustration for the French National Railway Company by Tom Haugomat

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

Table of Contents
Introduction 3
The Nightnoise Gladiator by Richard Michelson 5
Bed in Summer by Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson 6
Fireflies by J. Patrick Lewis 7
Time to Rise by Robert Louis Stevenson 8
Monday! by David L. Harrison 9
Book Report by Douglas Florian 10
Hate to Wait by Douglas Florian 11
Mr. Carumba by Douglas Florian 12
The Folk Who Live in Backward Town by Mary Ann Hoberman 13
Norman Nortons Nostrils by Colin West 14
Eat-It-All Elaine by Kaye Starbird 15
Adventures of Isabel by Ogden Nash 16
Herbert Glerbett by Jack Prelutsky 17
My Little Sister by William Wise 18
A Bird Came Down the Walk by Emily Dickinson 19
The Lion by Roald Dahl 20
Its Dark in Here by Shel Silverstein 21
Caterpillars by Aileen L. Fisher 22
Kitty Caught a Caterpillar by Jack Prelutsky 23
Butterfly Cloth by Victoria Forrester 24
Bibliography 25

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

Introduction
Childrens poetry is nearly endless, but quality childrens poetry, although widely
available, is not nearly as plentiful. It is important to use great childrens poetry to help spark
an interest in literature for those who dont like it and to inspire those who already do. The
best childrens poems rhyme and have good rhythm, are easy going and too lesson-focused,
and are engaging and relatable.
Poems that rhyme and have good rhythm arent just fun for kids to read and recite, but
they also help students to widen their vocabulary and learn about stressed and unstressed
syllables. The best way to teach both is simply with exposure. Memorization of lists do add to
their vocabulary, but learning new words through reading is much more effective because its
not such a chore for them. On the other hand, learning about the emphasis on syllables and
how rhythm works, is primarily done through practice rather than memorization. Regularly
reading poems that have a set rhythm, helps students to pick up on where emphasis is placed
in words and when letters are pronounced with different emphasis in different words.
Another important aspect of childrens poetry is its tone and focus. It is important that
poems arent overly serious or lesson-focused. Poetry, much like visual art for children,
should be a sort of release to experience both by looking and reading and also by creating for
themselves. Every other area of literature for children is structured enough: using real words,
following proper grammatical convention and so on. Poetry especially for older children
moving past picture books should be a genre where they can have plain fun. Similarly, it

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

shouldnt be primarily focused on teaching a moral lesson. Children are inundated with these
rules. It is important that they have areas of release.
Most importantly of all, though, is that poems are engaging to the students. If the poem
is boring, too difficult, or they cant relate, children will get frustrated and disconnect from
the work which will significantly diminish what they learn from it. For it to be engaging it
must be relatable. As lovely as a romantic sonnet may be, it is doubtful that a ten year-old
will be but so interested in it. The language should be understandable, the content relevant,
and the attitude fun.
For example, My Little Sister by William Wise exhibits all of these qualities. The ends
of every other line rhyme, eat with neat and know with go, and with the exception
of the first two lines, each line has 4 syllables giving it a really consistent rhythm. Each
quatrain has sixteen syllables, so theyre divided up equally throughout. Also, the content of
the poem is not aimed at teaching a lesson; its just a cute poem to which any child with a
younger sibling can relate. The words are all very understandable, so its something that a
young child would probably be able to enjoy.
Its poems like this that children could sit down to read and have a really good time
with, and with guidance, they can learn new vocabulary and a lot about how the English
language works.

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT


The Nightnoise Gladiator
by Richard Michelson
When the radiator hisses,
when the hall stairs creak and moan,
when theres something downstairs raining
but its not the telephone;
When the back door lock is squeaking,
when you think you hear a knock,
when theres something upstairs ticking
and its not Grandfathers clock;
When the refrigerator rattles,
when the window curtain swish,
when the bathroom sink drip-drips, drip-drips
I close my eyes and wish
I had a Nightnoise Gladiator.
There is nothing he enjoys
more than eating till hes gobbled up
his enemy: Night Noise.

The 20th Century Childrens Poetry Treasury, page 15

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

Bed in Summer
by Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson
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 still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's 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

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, page 115

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

Fireflies
By J. Patrick Lewis
An August night
The wind not quite
A wind, the sky
Not just a sky
And everywhere
The speckled air
Of summer stars
Alive in jars.

The 20th Century Childrens Poetry, page 13

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

Time to Rise
Robert Louis Stevenson
A birdie with a yellow bill
Hopped upon the window sill,
Cocked his shining eye and said:
Aint you shamed, you sleepy-head?

Classic Poems to Read Aloud, page 7

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

Monday!
David L. Harrison
Overslept
Rain is pouring
Missed the bus
Dad is roaring
Late for school
Forgot my spelling
Soaking wet
Clothes are smelling
Dropped my books
Got them muddy
Flunked a test
Didnt study
Teach says
I must do better
Lost my money
Tore my sweater
Feeling dumber
Feeling glummer
Monday sure can be
A bummer

The 20th Century Childrens Poetry Treasury, page 68

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

Book Report
by Douglas Florian
The worst book of all
That Ive ever read
Annoyed me so much that
I fell out of bed.
It gave me a headache
And made me throw up.
It was a disaster,
a failure,
a flop.
My palms started sweating.
My poor heart would race.
And forty-three times I found
Id lost my place.
It rumbled my stomach.
It rattled my brain.
And surely tomorrow
Ill read it again.

Poem Depot Aisles of Smiles, page 5

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Hate to Wait
by Douglas Florian
Ive been waiting in line
For some ten years or more,
And my hair has grown gray
And my feet are quite sore.
My backbone is frozen.
My knees are all stiff.
And Im starting to feel
Like I fell off a cliff.
The line moves so s l o w l y ,
Like watching grass grow,
Or seeing pain dry, but even more slow.
Ive wait here patiently
Some ten years or more,
But I cant remember
What this line is for.

Poem Depot Aisles of Smiles, page 76

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Mr. Carumba
by Douglas Florian
Mr. Carumba is so very wide,
He takes up six seats when he goes for a ride.
For him its a challenge to fit through a door.
He does wear one belt, he wears twenty-four.
And just like a beach ball, he rolls down the stairs.
Hes already broken one hundred five chairs.
When he walks on sidewalks he leaves behind cracks.
And seven source meals are him merely snacks.
The shadow he casts sometimes covers two states.
He uses great satellite dishes as plates.
He wears a big circus tent for a top hat.
He eats with a pitchfork and drinks from a vat.

Poem Depot Aisles of Smiles, page 91

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The Folk Who Live in Backward Town

by Mary Ann Hoberman
The folk who live in Backward Town
Are inside out and upside down.
They wear their hats inside this heads
And go to sleep beneath their beds.
They only eat the apple peeling
And take their walks across the ceiling.

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, page 154

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Norman Nortons Nostrils

by Colin West
Oh, Norman Nortons Nostrils
Are powerful and strong;
Hold on to your belongings
If he should come along.
And do not ever let him
Inhale with all his might,
Or else your pens and pencils
Will disappear from sight.
Right up his nose theyll vanish;
Your future will be black.
Unless he gets the sneezes,
Youll never get them back!

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, page 144

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Eat-It-All Elaine
by Kaye Starbird
I went away last August
To summer camp in Maine,
And there I met a camper
Called Eat-it-all Elaine.

One morning, berry-picking,

Although Elaine was quiet,

A bug was in her pail,

She liked to cause a stir

And though we thought for certain

By acting out the nickname

Her appetite would fail,

Her camp-mates gave to her.

Elaine said, Hmm, a stinkbug.

And while we murmured, Ooh,

The day of our arrival

She ate her pail of berries

At Cabin Number Three

And at the stinkbug, too.

When girls kept coming over

To greet Elaine and me,

The night of Final Banquet

She took a piece of Kleenex

When counselors were handing

And calmly chewed it up,

Awards to different children

Then strolled outside the cabin

Whom they believed outstanding,

And ate a buttercup.

To every thinking person

At summer camp in Maine

Elaine from that day forward,

The Most Outstanding Camper

Was always in command.

Was Eat-it-all Elaine.

On hikes, shed eat some birch-bark

On swims, shed eat some sand.
At meals shed swallow prune-pits
And never have a pain,
While everyone around her
Would giggle, Oh, Elaine!

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, page 153

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

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Adventures of Isabel
by Ogden Nash
Isabel met an enormous bear,
Isabel, Isabel, didnt care;
The bear was hungry, the bear was ravenous,
The bears big mouth was cruel and cavernous.
The bear said, Isabel, glad to meet you
How do, Isabel, now Ill eat you!
Isabel, Isabel didnt worry,
Isabel didnt scream or scurry.
She washed her hands and she straightened her hair up,
Then Isabel quickly ate the bear up.
Once in a night as black as pitch
Isabel met a wicked old witch.
The witchs face was cross and wrinkled,
The witchs gums with teeth were sprinkled.
Ho ho, Isabel! the old witch crowed,
Ill turn you into an ugly toad!
Isabel, Isabel didnt worry,
Isabel didnt scream or scurry.
She showed no rage and she showed no rancor,
But she turned the witch not milk and drank her.

Isabel met a hideous giant,

Isabel continued self reliant.
The giant was hairy, the giant was horrid,
He had one eye in the middle of his forehead.
Good morning, Isabel, the giant said,
Ill grind your bones to make my bread.
Isabel, Isabel, didnt worry,
Isabel, didnt scream or scurry.
She nibbled the zwieback that she always fed off,
And when it was gone, she cut the giants head
off.
Isabel met a troublesome doctor,
He punched and he poked till he really shocked
her.
The doctors talk was of coughs and chills
And the doctors satchel budged with pills.
The doctor said unto Isabel,
Swallow this, it will make you well.
Isabel, Isabel didnt worry,
Isabel didn't scream or scurry.
She took those pills from the pill concocter,
And Isabel calmly cured the doctor.

Classic Poems to Read Aloud, page 120

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

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Herbert Glerbett
by Jack Prelutsky
Herbert Glerbett, rather round,
swallowed sherbet by the pound,
fifty pounds of lemon sherbet
went inside Herbert Glerbett
With that glob inside his lap
Herbert Glerbett took a nap,
and as he slept, the boy dissolved,
and from the mess a think evolved
a think that is a ghastly green,
a thing the world had never seen,
a puddle thing, a gooey pile
of something strange that does not smile.
Now if youre wise, and if youre sly,
youll swiftly pass this creature by,
it is no longer Herbert Glerbett.
Whatever it is, do not disturb it.

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, page 138

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My Little Sister
by William Wise
My little sister
Likes to eat.
But when she does
Shes not too neat.
The trouble is
She doesnt know
Exactly where
the food should go!

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, page 127

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

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A Bird Came Down the Walk

by Emily Dickinson
A bird came down the walk:
He did not know I saw;
He bit an angle-worm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw.
And then he drank a dew
From a convenient grass,
And then hopped sidewise to the wall
To let a beetle pass.

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, page 20

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The Lion
Roald Dahl
The lion STOOOOOP adores to eat
A lot of red and tender meat,
And if you ask the lion what
Is much the tenders of the lot,
He will not say a roast of lamb
Or curried beef or deviled ham
Or crispy pork or corned beef hash
Or sausages or mutton mash.
Then could it be a big plump hen?
He answers no. What is it then?
Oh, lion dear, could I not make
You happy with a lovely steak?
Could I entice you from your lair
With rabbit-pie or roasted hare?
The lion smiled and shook his head.
He came up very close and said,
The meat I am about to chew
Is neither steak nor chops, ITS YOU.

The 20th Century Childrens Poetry Treasury, page 81

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

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Its Dark in Here

by Shel Silverstein
I am writing these poems
From inside a lion,
And its rather dark in here.
So please excuse the handwriting
Which may not be too clear.
But this afternoon by the lions cage
Im afraid I got too near.
And Im writing these lines
From inside a lion,
And its rather dark in here.

Classic Poems to Read Aloud, page 142

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

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Caterpillars
by Aileen L. Fisher
What do caterpillars do?
Nothing much but chew and chew.
What do caterpillars know?
Nothing much but how to grow.
They just eat what by and by
Will make them be a butterfly,
But that is more than I can do
However much I chew and chew.

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, page 17

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

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Kitty Caught a Caterpillar

by Jack Prelutsky
Kitty caught a caterpillar,
Kitty caught a snail,
Kitty caught a turtle,
by its tiny turtle tail,
Kitty caught a cricket
with a sticky bit of thread,
she tried to catch a bumblebee,
the bee caught her instead.

The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry, page 146

FUN TIME - COURTNEY BRITT

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Butterfly Cloth
Victoria Forrester
How fragile
Floats the butterfly
A banner barely cloth.
Woven of sterner stuff
It seems,
The tapestry of moth

The 20th Century Childrens Poetry Treasury, page 6

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Works Cited
Berry, James, comp. Classic Poems to Read Aloud. Illus. James Mayhew. New York: Kingfisher, 1995.
Print.
Florian, Douglas. Poem Depot: Aisles of Smiles. New York: Penguin Group, 2014. Print.
Haugomat, Tom. An illustration for the French National Railway Company. Digital image. Behance.
Adobe, 10 June 2014. Web. 2 Oct. 2015.
Martin, Bill, comp. The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry. Illus. Michael R. Sampson. New York:
Simon & Schuster for Young Readers, 2008. Print.
Prelutsky, Jack, comp. The 20th Century Children's Poetry Treasury. Illus. Meilo So. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 1999. Print.

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