Words of Celebration Poetry Anthology

Savannah Reynolds
October 5, 2015
ENGL 414

Table of Contents
Introduction to Anthologypg.1
Hooray! Hooray! It's New Year's Day pg.4
Ground Hog Day pg.4
Valentine pg.5
To Meet Mr. Lincoln pg.5
I love you More Than Applesauce pg.6
Washington pg.6
Five Little Leprechauns .pg.7
Limerick: St. Patrick's Day pg.7
Here comes Peter Cottontail pg.7
On Mothers Day ..pg.8
Fireworks .pg.8
12 October pg.9
Haunted House pg. 9
Someone ...pg. 10
Horray For Thanksgiving pg.10
Thanksgiving Day pg. 11
A Visit from St. Nicholas pg.12
Santa Clause pg. 13
Bibliography pg. 14

Intro to poetry anthology

There are many qualities that I think make a good childrens poem. The first of which is
descriptive imagery. Whether talking about the setting or even the characters, I think to appeal to
children and therefore be a good childrens poem, the words used need to be detailed and even
somewhat creative. Allowing for a child to picture what is going on in the poem increases their
imagination and appeals to their sense of wonder. Another element that I think childrens poetry
needs to include is rhyme. Rhyme presents a sense of cohesion in poems that children enjoy and
therefore find appealing. Sometimes, children even use the element of rhyme to try to guess
future lines of poems which gets them involved in the literary works. Childrens poems should
also use simple words that are geared toward younger audiences instead of using complicated
larger words that could get children confused or frustrated. One of the appealing elements of
childrens poems is that they are simple and easy to read. In many cases, this allows the children
to be able to read the poems on their own or allows for them to easily become interested in the
poems message instead of having to spend large amounts of time figuring out what words mean.
Another quality that childrens poetry should have is the concept of entertainment. While I do
agree that some poems were created for the purposes of educating, while others were created
only to be fun, I do think that all poems should be entertaining no matter what the reason of
creation is. Childrens poetry, like all types of childrens writing, should keep the child interested
throughout the entire piece of work if they want their message told. By being entertaining, the
author is sure to keep the childs attention. Poems can be entertaining by using fun words, using
literary devices such as similes, metaphors, or personification, or by including fun pictures that
pertain to the poem. Childrens poetry should also include something of interest to children such
as riding a bike, playing outdoors, going to school, or having fun with friends. In order for poetry
to be good and to appeal to children, children have to both understand and care about the topic
being discussed. No child is going to want to read a poem about balancing a checkbook or

calculating the mass of the sun (unless it is written in an entertaining way). Lastly, a quality of
good childrens poetry is rhythm. Rhythm goes along with rhyme as it helps the poem to be
consistent which is very appealing to children. If children are able to know what the poem is
going to do and even interact with the poem they will find it more appealing making it a good
poem. Having some type of beat, almost like a song, entertains children and gives them some
sense of understanding and allows them to enjoy what they are reading.
The poem Hooray! Hooray! It's New Year's Day by Kenn Nesbitt has all six of the
qualities that I think a good childrens poem should have, the first being rhyme. This poem does
have a rhyme scheme and although it is an odd one, the poem does flow well and the rhyme, as
intended, adds humor and appeal to the poem as a whole. Another quality this poem has to make
it a good childrens poem is descriptive words and detail. As if talking about becoming a
kangaroo isnt enough, the narrator tells of their wish of flying, surfing on waterfalls, and
meeting aliens. These descriptive images allow the readers possibly picture themselves in this
situation or picture the narrator doing these things, which allows the imagination to soar. These
same lines, as well as many others, bring out the entertainment quality in this poem as the
narrator talks about becoming liquid and going down the sink and going to the past and riding a
dinosaur. The entertainment factor in this poem is incredible which would greatly appeal to a
younger audience. Also, the author of this poem uses simple words that are easy to understand so
that the readers can focus more on the poem and less on trying to figure out words, which is
another quality of a good childrens poem. Along these same lines, the author decided to discuss
a topic that was of interest to his target audience making the poem both appealing and relatable
to those reading. This poem does an excellent job of including rhythm as it has a very appealing
beat that allows the reader to get into the poem and there is very little room for confusion or
misunderstanding when it comes to reading the poem. I really enjoyed reading this poem and I

think that most children would too as it presents many qualities that I would say are needed for a
good childs poem.

Hooray! Hooray! It's New Year's Day

By Kenn Nesbitt
Hooray! Hooray! It's New Year's Day!
The day we start anew.
So this year Ive decided
To become a kangaroo!

Or maybe I will learn to fly,

Or how to walk through walls,
Or how to turn invisible,
Or surf on waterfalls.
I'll make myself elastic

And Ill teach myself to shrink.

I'll turn into a liquid
And Ill pour me down the sink.
I'll visit other planets
And meet aliens galore.
I'll travel to the distant past
And ride a dinosaur.

I've got so many wondrous plans.

I'm starting right away.
Yes, this will be the best year yet.
Hooray! It's New Years Day!

This Poem is located in: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
Ground Hog Day
By: Lilian Moore
Ground Hog sleeps
All Winter
Snug in his fur,
Dreams
Green dreams of
Grassy shoots,
Of nicely newly nibbly
Roots--Ah, he starts to
Stir.
With drowsy
Stare
Looks from his burrow
OUt on the fields of
Snow.
Whats there?
Oh no.
His Shadow, Oh,
How Sad!
Six more
Wintry
Weeks
To go.
This Poem is located in: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
Valentine
By: Shel Silverstein
I got a valentine from
Timmy
Jimmy
Tillie
Billie
Nicky
Micky
Ricky
Dicky
Laura
Nora
Cora
Flora
Donnie
Ronnie
Lonnie

Connie
Eva even sent me two
But I didnt get one from you.

This Poem is located in: Sing a Song of Popcorn, Every Childs Book of Poems
To Meet Mr. Lincoln
By. Eve Merriam
If I lived at the time
That Mr. Lincoln did,
And I met Mr. Lincoln
With his stovepipe lid
And his coalblack cape
And his thundercloud beard,
And worn and sad-eyed
He appeared:
Dont worry, Mr. Lincoln,
Id reach up and pat his hand,
Weve got a fine President
For this land;
And the union will be saved,
And the slaves will go free;
And you will live forever
In our nations memory.

This Poem is located in: Its Valentines Day

I love you More Than Applesauce
By: Jack Prelutsky
I love you more
than applesauce,
Than peaches and a plum,
Than chocolate hearts,
And cherry tarts,
And berry bubble-gum.
I love you more than lemonade,
And seven-layer cake,
Than lollipops,
And candy drops,
And thick vanilla shake.
I love you more than marzipan,
Than marmalade on toast;
For I love pies of any size,
But I love YOU the most!
This Poem is located in: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
Washington
By: Nancy Byrd Turner
He played by the river when he was young,
He raced with rabbits along the hills,
He fished for minnows, and climbed and swung,
And hooted back at the whippoorwills,
Strong and slender and tall he grew --And then, one morning, the bugles blew.
Over the hills the summons came,
Over the rivers shining rim.
He said that the bugles called his name,
He knew that his country needed him.
And he answered, Coming! and marched away
For many a night and many a day.
Perhaps when the marches were hot and long,
Hed think of the river flowing by
Or, camping under the winter sky,
Would hear the whippoorwills far-off song,
Boy or soldier, in peace or strife,
He loved America all his life!

Limerick: St. Patrick's Day

By: Leanne Guenther
There once was a shamrock named Shawn,
Whose leaves first unfurled in the dawn,
He was easily seen,
With his bright leaves of green,
Right up til the day he was gone.

Five Little Leprechauns

By: Leanne Guenther
Five little leprechauns on St. Patrick's Day
The first one said, 'I'd like to play!'
The second one stood beside a rainbow.
The third one waved and said, 'Hello!'
The fourth one said, 'Good luck to the bold.'
The fifth one said, 'Just don't touch my gold!'
Plink, plink went the harp ' they all danced around,
Then five leprechauns ran off with a bound.

Here comes Peter Cottontail

By: Stephanie Selleck
Here comes Peter Cottontail,
His fluffy marshmallow bobbing like a ship at sea,
Ready to fill every child with glee.
Here comes Peter Cottontail.
Here comes Peter Cottontail
With chocolate and jellybeans to spare.
Hes not your everyday, average hare.
Here comes Peter Cottontail.
Here comes Peter Cottontail,
Carefully hiding his basket full of eggs.
He even considers hiding one under each of his gigantic legs.
Here comes Peter Cottontail.
Here comes Peter Cottontail
Bringing eggs in every shade of dye.
He hauls in pink, green, tangerine, lilac, and even blue like the sky!
Here comes Peter Cottontail.
Here comes Peter Cottontail,
Pleases when he sees a childs eyes shine
As each one shouts This ones mine!
Here comes Peter Cottontail

This Poem is located in: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
On Mothers Day
By: Aileen Fisher
On Mothers Day we got up first,
so full of plans we almost burst.
We started breakfast right away
as our surprise for Mothers Day.
We picked some flowers, then hurried back
to make the coffee- rather black.
We wrapped our gifts and wrote a card
and boiled the eggs- a little hard.
And then we sang a serenade,
which burned the toast, I am afraid.
But Mother said, amidst our cheers,
Oh, what a big surprise, my dears.
Ive not had such a treat in years.
And she was smiling to her ears!

Fireworks
By: Gareth
BANG!
Screaming as
It's getting
Up in the sky,
And fizzle WHOOSH!
Behind a trail
Yellow,
Red and
Exploding in

Lancaster
There goes another one,
it goes.
high,
there she blows!
Up high above the house,
of sparks.
orange,
white,
the dark!

This Poem is located in: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
12 October
By: Myra Cohn Livingston
From where I stand now
the world is flat,
flat out flat,
no end to that.
Where my eyes go the land move out.
How is it then
five hundred years ago (about)
Columbus found
that far beyond the flat on flat
the world was round?

This Poem is located in: Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep

Haunted House
By: Jack Prelutsky
Theres a house upon the hilltop
We will not go inside
For that is where the witches live,
Where ghosts and goblins hide.
Tonight they have their party,
All the lights are burning bright,
But oh we will not go inside
The haunted house tonight.
The demons there are whirling
And the spirits swirl about.
They sing their songs to Halloween.
Come join the fun, they shout.
But we do not want to go there
So we run with all our might
And oh we will not go inside
The haunted house tonight.

This Poem is located in: Sing a Song of Popcorn, Every Childs Book of Poems
Someone
Walter de la Mare
Someone came knowing
At my wee, small door,
Someone came knocking,
Im suresuresure;
I listened, I opened,
I looked to left and right,
But nought there was a-stirring
In the still dark night.
Only the busy beetle
Tap-tapping in the wall,
Only from the forest
The screech-owls call,
Only the cricket whistling
While the dew drops fall,
So I know not who came knocking,
At all, at all, at all.

Horray For Thanksgiving

By: Karl Fuchs
Its Thanksgiving dinner;
Lets not be late;
Theres lots of good food,
So fill up your plate.
With pie at the end,
It cant be beat;
Hooray for Thanksgiving,
Theres so much to eat!

This Poem is located in: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children
Thanksgiving Day
By: L. Maria Child
Over the river, and through the wood,
Over the river, and through the wood,
To see little John and Ann;
To grandfather's house we go;
We will kiss them all,
The horse knows the way,
And play snow-ball
To carry the sleigh,
And stay as long as we can.
Through the white and drifted snow.
Over the river, and through the wood,
To grandfather's house away!
We would not stop
For doll or top,
For 't is Thaksgiving day .
Over the river, and through the wood,
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes,
And bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.
Over the river, and through the wood,
With a clear blue winter sky,
The dogs do bark,
And children hark,
As we go jingling by.
Over the river, and through the wood,
To have a first-rate play
Hear the bells ring
Ting a ling ding,
Hurra for Thanksgiving day!
Over the river, and through the wood
No matter for winds that blow;
Or if we get
The sleigh upset,
Into a bank of snow.

Over the river, and through the wood,

Trot fast, my dapple grey!
Spring over the ground,
Like a hunting hound,
For 't is Thanksgiving day !
Over the river, and through the wood,
And straight through the barn-yard gate;
We seem to go
Extremely slow,
It is so hard to wait.
Over the river, and through the wood
Old Jowler hears our bells;
He shakes his pow,
With a loud bow wow,
And thus the news he tells.
Over the river, and through the wood
When grandmother sees us come,
She will say, Oh dear,
The children are here,
Bring a pie for everyone.
Over the river, and through the wood
Now grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurra for the fun!
Is the pudding done?
Hurra for the pumpkin pie!

This Poem is located in: Favorite Poems Old & New

A Visit from St. Nicholas
By: Clement Clarke Moore
T was the night before Christmas, when
all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a
mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney
with care,
In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would
be there.

And he whistled, and shouted, and called

them by name:
Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now,
Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and
Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the
wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away
all!

The children were nestled all snug in their

beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in
their heads;
And mamma in her kerchief, and I in my
cap,
Had just settled down for a long winters
nap;

As dry leaves that before the wild

hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount
to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they
flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and Saint
Nicholas too.

When out on the lawn there arose such a

clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the
matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the
sash.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the

roof
The prancing and pawing of each little
hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning
around,
Down the chimney Saint Nicholas came
with a bound.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen

snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects
below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should
appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny
reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and
quick,
I knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick.

More rapid than eagles his coursers they

came,

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to

his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with
ashes and soot.
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
(CONT.)
And he looked like a peddler just opening
his pack.
His eyes how they twinkled! his
dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a
cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a

bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as
the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his
teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a
wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round
belly,
That shook, when he laughed, like a
bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly
old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of
myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to

dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to
his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned
with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a
whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a
thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out
of sight,
Happy Christmas to all, and to all a
good-night!

Santa Clause
By: W.S.C.
S stands for stockings we hang up so high.
A is for all we get if we don't cry.
N is for nobody he will pass by.
T is for to-morrow, the day we eat pie.
A stands for at last old Santa is nigh.
C for the children who love him so well.
L for the little girl, his name she can spell.
A stands for apples so rosy and red.
U is for us as we wait for his sled.
S stands for Santa Claus, who comes in the night
when we are tucked up in bed with our eyes
closed so tight

Bibliography
DeRegniers, B. (1988). Sing a Song of Popcorn: Every Child's Book of Poems. S.l.:
Scholastic.
Ferris, H. (1957). Favorite poems: Old and new. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday &.
Prelutsky, J., & Abolafia, Y. (1983). It's Valentine's Day. New York: Greenwillow Books.
Prelutsky, J. (1983). The Random House book of poetry for children. New York, NY:
Random House.
Prelutsky, J., & Lobel, A. (1976). Nightmares: Poems to trouble your sleep. New York, NY:
Greenwillow Books.