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A Poetry Anthology By: Hannah Gosnell

Table of Contents:
Introduction . Paper Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 24 25 26 27 Back-to-School Blues

Dont Worry if Your Job is Small . If We Didnt Have Birthdays Just Me People. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing .

Talking in Their Sleep A Was an Apple Pie The Moon . The Star Smells . . The Months . . . . .

The Anxious Farmer The Butterflys Ball . Slug File . . . .

Dogs and Cats and Bears and Bats Why Run? . Bibliography .

Introduction
In this anthology the chosen poems represent some of the better qualities that should be included in childrens poetry. These poems were chosen due to their ability to reach out to any child, they are not just written purposefully for just boys or just girls. Some of these qualities include but are not limited to: learning something, being relatable, entertaining, an easy read, has the absence of harshness, and giving examples of things that are socially acceptable or wanted. There are many other good qualities that childrens poetry can have but these are the six that I have considered and decided matter a great deal. We try to mold our children as early as possible starting with the typical nursery rhymes. Even when children grow old they can still remember nursery rhymes and what they stand for (what lesson they learned). That is why the learning in childrens poetry is always an important feature. If we teach our children lessons in a fun way they will remember it hopefully for the rest of their lives. For example, we teach our children the A, B, Cs using rhyming. Children better understand and connect with things when they are relatable. Childrens poetry often talks about children and what they go through in their daily lives. Using generalization in poems helps because it is not reaching out to only one specific type of child instead it reaches out to all of them. A second quality that adds to this is an entertainment factor. If the poem is not entertaining in some way the child will most likely not be interested in it. The use of imagination and having things happen in different, unexpected ways makes the poems more interesting. A third quality that ties into being relatable is if the poem is an easy

read. By keeping poems short and using simple words it can be better understood by a larger quantity of children. Two qualities that adults care about are that there is an absence of harshness or scariness and that there are messages of things that are socially acceptable or wanted. In the past there have been poems that use harshness to teach lessons. In todays society it is not acceptable for a parent to spank their child let alone read them something that could scar them in some way. A social factor could be reading nature poems so that children will find a love for nature and then grow up to do the right thing such as not litter. Another example would be a poem such as Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star because it gets the child to think about things that are bigger than them and maybe when they grow up they will have a broader perspective on life. One poem that shares some of these qualities is If We Didnt Have Birthdays by Dr. Seuss. This poem exhibits each of the six qualities that I have talked about. Children learn that birthday mean more than just getting presents and eating cake. It is relatable because everyone has a birthday but also entertaining in the way that the message is delivered. The poem is an easy read because it uses simply vocabulary and rhythm. There is absolutely nothing harsh or scary about the poem and it is a socially acceptable fact in the way that it is teaching kids that they are unique and should be happy to be themselves. This poem is a perfect example of childrens poetry.

Back to School Blues by Bobbi Katz from A Kick in the Head 2005
Just wiggling my toes in my brand new shoes. Guess Ive got a case of the back-to-school blues. Shiny new notebook with nothing inside it. Feeling kind of scared trying to hide it. Whats waiting for me behind a classroom door? A brand new teacher Ive never seen before! Maybe shes a good one. Maybe shes bad news. Im just a-wiggling, just a-jiggling got those back-to-school blues.

Paper Dreams by Bobbi Katz from A Kick in the Head 2005

Neatly stacked in separate piles, we wait for the shape of a stencil the press of a pencil the snip snip of silver scissors. We wait to become lacy snowflakes fat santas pointy Christmas trees White, red, green now we are just paper. We wait quietly on a dark shelf, dreaming quietly dreaming of becoming snip

Dont Worry if Your Job is Small by Anonymous from The Random House Book of Poetry for Children 1983

Dont worry if your job is small, And your rewards are few. Remember that the mighty oak, Was once a nut like you.

If We Didnt Have Birthdays by Dr. Seuss from The Random House Book of Poetry for Children 1983

If we didnt have birthdays, you wouldnt be you. If youd never been born, well then what would you do? If youd never been born, well then what would you be? You might be a fish! Or a toad in a tree! You might be a doorknob! Or three baked potatoes! You might be a bag full of hard green tomatoes. Or worse than all that Why, you might be a WASNT! A Wasnt has no fun at all. No, he doesnt. A Wasnt just isnt. He just isnt present. But you You ARE YOU! And, now isnt that pleasant!

Just Me by Margaret Hillert from The Random House Book of Poetry for Children 1983
Nobody sees what I can see, For back of my eyes there is only me. And nobody knows how my thoughts begin, For theres only myself inside my skin. Isnt it strange how everyone owns, Just enough skin to cover his bones? My fathers would be too big to fit Id be all wrinkled inside of it. And my baby brothers is much too small It just wouldnt cover me up at all. But I feel right in the skin I wear, And theres nobody like me anywhere.

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Changing by Mary Ann Hoberman from The Random House Book of Poetry for Children 1983

I know what I feel like; Id like to be you And feel what you feel like And do what you do. Id like to change places For maybe a week And look like your look-like And speak as you speak And think what youre thinking And go where you go And feel what youre feeling And know what you know. I wish we could do it; What fun it would be If I could try you out And you could try me.

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People by Charlotte Zolotow from The Random House Book of Poetry for Children 1983

Some people talk and talk and never say a thing. Some people look at you and birds begin to sing. Some people laugh and laugh and yet you want to cry. Some people touch your hand and music fills the sky.

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Talking in Their Sleep by Edith M. Thomas from A Book of Nature Poems1969

You think I am dead, The apple tree said, Because I have never a leaf to show Because I stoop And my branches droop, And the dull gray mosses over me grow! But Im still alive in trunk and shoot; The buds of next May I fold away But I pity the withered grass at my feet.

You think I am dead, The quick grass said, Because I have parted with stem and blade! But under the ground I am safe and sound

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With the snows thick blanket over me laid. Im all alive and ready to shoot, Should the spring of the year Come dancing here But I pity the flowers without branch or root.

You think I am dead, A soft voice said, Because not a branch or root I own! I never have died But close I hide In a plumy seed that the wind has sown. Patiently I wait through the long winter hours; You will see me again I shall laugh at you then, Out of the eyes of a hundred flowers.

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A Was an Apple Pie by Old Alphabet Rhyme from Poems for the Childrens Hour 1945
A was an apple pie; B bit it; C cut it; D dealt it; E ate it; F fought for it; G got it; H had it; J joined it; K Kept it; L longed for it; M mourned for it; N nodded at it; O opened it; P peeped in it; Q quartered it; R ran for it; S stole it; T took it; V viewed it; W wanted it; X, Y, Z, and Amperse And All wished for a piece in hand

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The Moon by Eliza Lee Follen from The Cambridge Book of Poetry for Children 1916
O, look at the moon! She is shining up there; O mother, she looks Like a lamp in the air. Last week she was smaller, And shaped like a bow; But now shes grown bigger, And round as an O. Pretty moon, pretty moon, How you shine on the door, And make it all bright On my nursery floor! You shine on my playthings, And show me their place, And I love to look up At your pretty bright face. And there is a star Close by you, and maybe That small twinkling star Is your little baby.

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The Star by Jane Taylor from The Random House Book of Poetry for Children 1983

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark, Lights the traveler in the dark Though I know not what you are, Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

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The Months by Sara Coleridge from The Cambridge Book of Poetry for Children 1916
January brings the snow, Makes our feet and fingers glow. February brings the rain, Thaws the frozen lake again. March brings breezes loud and shrill, Stirs the dancing daffodils. April brings the primrose sweet, Scatters daisies at our feet. May brings flocks of pretty lambs, Skipping by their fleecy dams. June brings tulips, lilies, roses, Fills the childrens hands with posies. Hot July brings cooling showers, Apricots and gillyflowers. August brings the sheaves of corn, Then the harvest home is borne. Warm September brings the fruit, Sportsmen then begin to shoot. Fresh October brings the pheasant, Then to gather nuts is pleasant. Dull November brings the blast, Then the leaves are whirling fast. Chill December brings the sleet, Blazing fire and Christmas treat.

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Smells by Kathryn Worth from The Random House Book of Poetry for Children 1983
Through all the frozen winter My nose has grown most lonely For lovely, lovely, colored smells That come in springtime only.

The purple smell of lilacs, The yellow smell that blows Across the air of meadows Where bright forsythia grows.

The tall pink smell of peach trees, The low white smell of clover, And everywhere the great green smell Of grass the whole world over.

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The Anxious Farmer by Burges Johnson from A Book of Nature Poems 1969
It was awful long ago That I put those seeds around; And I guess I ought to know When I stuck em in the ground. Cause I noted down the day In a little diary book, Its gotten losted somewhere and I dont know where to look.

But Im certain anyhow Theyve been planted most a week; And it must be time by now For their little sprouts to peek. Theyve been watered every day With a very speshul care, And once or twice Ive dug em up to See if they were there.

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I fixed the dirt in humps Just the way they said I should; And I crumbled all the lumps Just as finely as I could. And I found a nangle worm A poking up his head, He maybe feeds on seeds and such, And so I squished him dead.

A seeds so very small, And dirt looks all the same; How can they know at all The way they ought to aim? And so Im waiting round In case of any need; A farmer ought to do his best for Every single seed!

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The Butterflys Ball by William Roscoe from The Cambridge Book of Poetry for Children 1916
Come, take up your hats, and away let us haste To the Butterflys Ball and the Grasshoppers Feast; The Trumpeter, Gadfly, has summoned the crew, And the revels are now only waiting for you. So said little Robert, and pacing along, His merry Companions came forth in a throng, And on the smooth Grass by the side of a Wood, Beneath a broad Oak that for ages had stood, Saw the Children of Earth and the Tenants of Air For an Evenings Amusement together repair. And there came the Beetle, so blind and so black, Who carried the Emmet, his friend, on his back. And there was the Gnat and the Dragon fly too, With all their Relations, green, orange, and blue. And there came the Moth, with his plumage of down, And the Hornet in jacket of yellow and brown; Who with him the Wasp, his companion, did bring, But they promised that evening to lay by their sting. And the sly little Dormouse crept out of his hole, And brought to the feast his blind Brother,

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the Mole, And the Snail, with his horns peeping out of his shell, Came from a great distance, the length of an ell. A Mushroom their Table, and on it was laid A water dock leaf, which a table cloth made. The Viands were various, to each of their taste, And the Bee brought her honey to crown the Repast. Then close on his haunches, so seldom and wise, The Frog from a corner lookd up to the skies; And the Squirrel, well pleased such diversions to see, Mounted high overhead and lookd down from a tree. Then out came the Spider, with finger so fine, To show his dexterity on the tight line. From one branch to another his cobwebs he slung, Then quick as an arrow he darted along. But just in the middle oh! Shocking to tell, From his rope, in an instant, poor Harlequin fell. Yet he touched not the ground, but with talons outspread, Hung suspended in air, at the end of a thread. Then the Grasshopper came, with a jerk and a spring, Very long was his leg, though but short was his wing; He took but three leaps, and was soon out of sight,

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Then chirpd his own praises the rest of the night. With step so majestic the Snail did advance, And promised the Gazers a Minuet to dance; But they all laughed so loud that he pulled in his head, And went in his own little chamber to bed. Then as Evening gave way to the shadows of Night Their Watchman, the Glowworm, came out with a light. Then home let us hasten, while yet we can see, For no Watchman is waiting for you and for me. So said little Robert, and pacing along, His merry Companions returnd in a throng.

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Slug File by Avis Harley from A Kick in the Head 2005

Home Address: Shady Lawn Working Hours: dusk til dawn Hobbies/Sports: likes to climb Special Skills: making slime Occupation: midnight thief Favorite Food: salad leaf Color Choice: veggie green Height and Weight: long and lean Next of kin: Mollusc Clan Appetite: gargantuan

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Dogs and Cats and Bears and Bats by Jack Prelutsky from The Random House Book of Poetry for Children 1983
Mammals are a varied lot; some are furry, some are not; many come equipped with tails; some have quills, a few have scales. Some are large, and others small; some are quick, while others crawl; they prance on land, they swing from trees; theyre underground and in the seas. Some have hooves, and some have paws; some have fangs in snapping jaws; some will snarl if you come near; others quickly disappear. Dogs and cats and bears and bats, All are mammals, so are rats; Whales are mammals, camels too; Im a mammalso are YOU!

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Why Run? by Norah Smaridge from The Random House Book of Poetry for Children 1983 Jane wont touch a caterpillar, Marys frightened of a mouse, Sally shrieks and runs for Daddy When a moth flies in the house. Pams afraid of shiny beetles, Spiders make Melinda squirm, Susan nearly has HYS TER ICS If you chase her with a worm! Arent they foolish to be frightened? Fancy making such a fuss Over harmless creepy crawlies Who are scared to death of US.

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Bibliography
Janeczko, Paul B., and Christopher Raschka. A Kick in the Head: An Everyday Guide to Poetic Forms. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2005. Print. Prelutsky, Jack, and Arnold Lobel. The Random House Book of Poetry for Children. New York, NY: Random House, 1983. Print. Bouton, Josephine. Poems for the Childrens Hour. New York, NY: Platt &Munk, 1945. Print. Grahame, Kenneth, and Maud Fuller, comps. The Cambridge Book of Poetry for Children. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1916. Print. Cole, William, and Robert Andrew Parker. A Book of Nature Poems. New York: Viking, 1969. Print. Silverstein, Shel. Where the Sidewalk Ends: The Poems & Drawings of Shel Silverstein. New York: Harper and Row, 1974. Print.