Poems Books

I got this book for my dad who I just found out has cancer. He was told to get some reading material to bring for when he gets chemo- but something with short stories because your attention span is shorter. He has really enjoyed it.

"A Good Day Anyway" is an inspirational journey about the importance of maintaining a possitive attitude when a person is diagnosed with and goes through treatment for cancer. While I have been fortunate not to have had cancer, I have lived through my child having cancer. Her mother and I would have loved to have had this small but mighty book to help keep our spirits up while going through the process. We too believed that a possitive attitude was paramount to her survival and still do 24 years later as she celebrates her 30th birthday next month! What a great tool this book is. It is a must read for all persons who have been affected either directly or indirectly with cancer.

This little book is so much fun, it makes it even better that I know one half of this amazing couple, but it truly does make light of a terrible disease, I have shared it with so many people since reading it. Being a health care provider I know this should be a staple bedside companion in any medical facility.

Dave Massey's inspired poetry reminds everybody that no matter how bad it gets it is better to make the best of it. His example of positive thinking is at the essence of the human spirit and what we can achieve when we've got our minds right. I would recommend this book to anyone going through cancer, but especially to everybody else, because there is no time for negative energy- it is a waste and a detriment to our society.

I bought one of the first copies of A Good Day Anyway. My review has been a long time coming. Dave Massey is my son. I have read his poems over and over for the past 10 years. Each time they bring tears to my eyes. Tears of joys, he won two battles with cancer. Tears of pride, he wrote most of them when he was barely able to hold a pen or pencil. Tears of thanks, to the Doctors and Nurses who took care of him. A Good Day Anyway is not just beneficial for those dealing with cancer but for the loved ones, family, and friends that are also involved. I have made copies of these poems to share with those who themselves or their family member are battling cancer. I highly recommend that everyone read this little book as it is encouraging to know that someone out there beat the odds and became a better person because he had cancer.

Have you ever considered the advantages to having your nose on your face? Or what life is like for a boneless chicken? Or lamented a night of homework? Then this book is for you! Jack Prelutsky's collection 107 poems are silly, catchy, and classic. Readers bounce from poem to poem, carried along by James Stevenson's squiggly illustrations. Though this is a fast read, Prelutsky's odd characters, like the Underwater Wibblies and Drumpp the Grump, will keep you giggling.

These quirky poems will entertain readers both young and old. Prelutsky's poems are made for reading aloud, and audiences will enjoy listening to the made-up names and punchlines. Stevenson's artwork, which can also be found in The New Yorker, fits perfectly with the singsong style of the poems. The black and white drawings wobble and flutter around the text, interacting with it. Prelutsky's work, combined with Shel Silverstein's, makes for an excellent introduction into the world of poetry for young readers.

This is a great book to share with friends and families because it is funny and a lot of the poems seem true to what kids are thinking and feeling. Some of our favorites were, "An Alleycat with One Life Left," "Homework! Oh, Homework!," "The Nothing-Doings," and "I Wonder Why Dad is so Thoroughly Mad." This is a great book for everyone!

My child came home from her gifted/talented school requesting the book. She loved it in her classroom and has already read most of it.

This book introduced my son to poetry at age eight and he became an avid fan. He became so enthralled with poetry that he began to write poetry himself. He even wrote a very insightful poem as one of his college entrance essays. Prelutsky retains his inner child and writes from a child's point of view--hard for children to resist. A must have for your home library.

I think that this a great way to introduce poetry to kids that may believe it to be boring or stuffy. My son would ask me to read these to him over and over. We did a lot of giggling over some of them.

What a superb collection! An anthology that can be read and re-read many times without feeling repetition. I feel sorry for anyone wanting to get a hold of it if and when it goes out of print.

After my years of professional activities were completed, I had never expected to lose memory of these unforgetable unimaginably pure images of "Changing Diapers, (Gary Snyder) or "Sailing to Byzantium" (WB Yeats) or "The United Fruit Co" (Pablo Neruda.)

After contributing my early copy to the Prison Library, I never thought I would need see that familar print again: But...I Did!

Editors, Robert Bly, James Hillman, and Michael Meade combined a short Introduction, preceeded by these poignant thoughts from William Butler Yeats: "Those masterful images because complete/ Grew in pure mind, but out of what began? ...Old kettles, old bottles... Old iron, old bones, old rags...I must lie down where all the ladders start, In the foul rag-and-bone shop of the heart."

If being reminded in twelve selections of William Butler Yeats, added to dozens of Robert Bly, Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, E. E.Cummings, Langston Hughes, John Keats, Stanley Kunitz, Dylan Thomas, William Blake, Walt Whitman, 500 pages of familiar and new poems, surely is sufficient then check out groupings under a few orderly headings: "Father's Prayers for Sons and Daughters; WAR; I Know the Earth and I Am Sad; The House of Fathers and Titans; Making A Hole In Denial; Zaniness!" Completely fitting these six most unque titles are combined with ten more, equally imaginative and descriptive!

From the perspective of a Poetry Addict, into being a creator of my own poems, not yet note-worthy, I am back in "Poetry Heaven," with this second memorable discovery of rich word treasures! Sing-cerely from a retired Singer and Chaplain Fred W Hood

Treasures untold, indeed. This is the finest, most inspiring and least predictable contemporary poetry anthology I have ever come across. It has introduced me (I am British, and certain of the US
poets featured are not so well-known over here) to, among many others, Balaban, Nowlen and the wonderful Robert Haydon - his poem about his father is heartbreaking, a perfect poem.
Bly is a hero. I`ve long loved his poetry and his approach to the art. Here, with his compadres, he has given us a cornucopia of living, fire-breathing verse to live, love and get lost in for ever.
`Volume Two?`

This is, indeed, a collection of poetry which is multi-dimensional. The "canned" editorial above, from Publisher's Weekly, is a narrow-minded interpretation of the "purpose" of this collection of poetry. Whoever wrote the "canned" editorial has no understanding of men's struggle to redefine their role and character, constructively, to find a place in the twenty first century. Although many of the poems are multi-dimensional, the anthology as a whole, leads a man out of denial, into the heart, into the spirit, and, ultimately into a celebration of masculinity which misandry (hatred of men) has outlawed for almost half a century.

This anthology celebrates a new masculinity. One that is grounded in compassion, awareness, and, ultimately, the most important aspects of our existence as men.

For instance, one of the most important poems in the collection is Goethe's "The Invisible King." Through Goethe's genius we come to understand, as men, that if we deny the murmurs and whispering of our souls, we do so at grave peril to that which is most dear to us.

Buy it if you dare become something more than Madison Avenue made men in the 1980's and 1990's.

If you loved Iron John, you should read this book. But if you either (1) didn't read Iron John, (2) tried to read but couldn't finish Iron John, or (3) hated Iron John, you should especially read this book. I have to say up front that I don't agree with, or perhaps understand, many aspects and details of the men's movement. I was one person who tried mightily to read and enjoy Iron John, but simply couldn't get all the way through it. Then I found this book, and I have been reading it since. This was 10 years ago. I am exaggerating of course, but only a little. This book is a constant in my reading habits. I refer to it again and again, and have recommended it (and purchased it) for more friends than any other book I know.

Simply, this is a wonderful anthology of poetry, organized thematically, for men. Many of the individual poems are brilliant, and the overall organization is intelligent and, at times, profound. As I have grappled with marriage, fatherhood, aging parents--all the trappings of midlife--this book has been a constant source of wisdom and comfort for me. Do a kind thing for yourself or for a thoughtful man in your life and buy this book.

If you like Li-Young Lee, you will love this book. If you have never heard of him but love poetry, buy this book. There are many great poems hidden between the covers of this book.

I have been a fan of Li-Young Lee for about four years. This started when I came across his poem "Persimmons" in an introductory to poetry class. "Persimmons" instantly captivated my attention. I bought his book of poetry "Rose and I was not let down. There are several poems in "Rose" that I hold in high regards like " Persimmons," such as "From Blossoms," "Ash, Snow, or Moonlight," and "Early in the Morning," amongst others. Lee writes a lot about nature, fruit, his father, and coming to America from China and feeling like an outsider. Lee has a very artistic mind and is able to capture daily things and express it on paper in an imagery filled, non-traditionally detailed, lyrical way. He is one of my all time favorite poets and I would recommend "Rose," to everyone.

Li-Young Lee's poems are powerful, beautiful and speak to the humanity in all of us. I marvel at his command of language, the artists eye with which he sees the world, and his ability to share these with the reader. Writing about the mundane, such as his wife's hair or a bag of peaches, memories of his father, or reminisences of being an immigrant, in each poem is a work of art. I strongly recommend this collection of poetry, especially for those who who have read little (or none) poetry - these poems are simple, beautiful and striking - a magnificent collection.

li young lee has the most phenominal approach to poetry..he will have you riveted from page one...buy this book...

Li-Young Lee, Rose (Boa Editions, 1986)

I am a longtime fan of Li-Young Lee's work, but I somehow never got round to reading Rose, his first book, until now. Sometimes going back and reading the first published work of an author is interesting in that you can see how s/he developed over the years (this is reviewer-code for "man, this book is not nearly as good as I was expecting"); such is not at all the case with Lee, whose first pieces are just as polished, professional, and deeply absorbing as his most recent work:

"From laden boughs, from hands,
from sweet fellowship in the bins,
comes nectar at the roadside, succulent
peaches we devour, dusty skin and all,
comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat.

O, to take what we love inside,
to carry within us an orchard, to eat
not only the skin, but the shade,
not only the sugar, but the days, to hold
the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into
the round jubilance of peach."
("From Blossoms")

Li-Young Lee is a fabulous poet, and if you haven't yet discovered his work, I can't recommend strongly enough that you seek him out as soon as possible. A true poetic treasure. **** ½

Some of us like it rough. This dame plays the way we used to play in the streets of Philly. There is elegance, there is subtle intelligence, yes, all that, but the best part is that when the ball hits you, it stings like hell. She writes of life and living, but also of eternity and death. She is somber, but never depressing. The language itself is encouraging, even when her message is not. This is a 20th century poet who has seen it all and isn't afraid to remind us of what man is capable of. The techniques are modern, too, but the love of language surely belongs to the old world. This is the kind of poetry we all used to love to read. She plays hard ball.

Wisala Szymborska's poetry passes the test of intelligibility which is important to me. Virtually all of her poems are self contained in that they do not make arcane literary allusions. In other words, her poetry can be appreciated by the average reader which I consider myself to be. She does not limit herself in subject matter so her poetry contains something for everyone, and also with a subtle humor and an obvious understanding of the human condition. She does not require a lot of words or a lengthy poem to share her own unique insights. Reading this Nobel laureate one thinks how nice it wold be to meet this great lady. Although I devoured this collection the day I received this book, it is one which I will certainly read again.

This book was and still is my first poetry book; not because I haven't read anyone else's, but it's the first compilation that I was really willing to pay the often outrageous prices for. (LOL) I am not an avid poetry reader, nor am I familiar with the current favorite contemporary poets, but I find that she really does succinctly portray "life's improbability as well as its transient beauty" quite well.

As a younger reader , I do have a bit of a problem identifying with the poetry that she writes pre-1972 (that is, the first few sections before the 'Could Have' section), because I don't really know much about it. As a note though, I probably should say that 'Nothing Twice,' which is about the probabilities of chance, from the pre-1972 section has been a real gem. Anyhow, the travelogues, the places, the books are things that frankly, I'd ask my parents and they probably wouldn't know either, or know very little about. I suppose if I researched enough, I would have no trouble understanding her message, but the stuff I really bought this book for was the pro-1972 sections. I can identify the issues because they're fairly general knowledge and have a certain mocking humor to some of them, but the words do just pull you in. The poems are addressed to one, and to all, and you feel like you're part of the whole. There are instances in which you feel like she's writing about you and the instances you've gone through, and that's what makes you feel amazed at the depth of understanding she has on these matters.

I first discovered her poetry in my high school English class and was surprised to find this book as the only book available in my favorite bookstore (and costing almost triple the cost of a volume of poetry that must have been 600 pages long, with of course long-dead, long-cherished poets). Oh, wait--I did find another book containing her work (that I don't remember the name of) but I bought this one because there were simply more poems that I liked. After a month or two of muddling around and waiting for the price drop (which it didn't), I just gave up and bought it. I can't say that I've regretted that decision.

And...if you still have trouble deciding, the Nobel Prize for Literature she won should be more than enough of a pull to help you decide. It wasn't as much of a deciding factor for me, but it's always nice to know that somewhere in the depths of the blackhole that is my room, I actually have nobel prize literature that I understand and can recommend to others...

My favorite poems from her have been 'Could Have,' 'The Onion,' 'Discovery,' 'True love,' 'Under One Small Star,' 'Pi,' of course 'View with a grain of Sand' because of wordplay, but I find that every time I re-read it, I uncover more about the poems and so that favorites list keeps on getting longer and longer.

It may sound a little strange, but I keep it with me when I travel for long periods of time away from home and turn to it when I have that rare solitary moment to really think about life and what its inner workings are because it just gives such a realistic criticism that you sort of go...wow. Never really thought about it like that before.

The Nobel Laureate in Literature of 1996 was proudly bestowed on Wislawa Szymborska, the first Polish woman to receive the prize for literature. While they are other Polish recipients like poet Czeslaw Milosz, Wladyslaw Reymont, and Henry Sienkiewicz to have received the honor, Wislawa is the first woman. While she writes poetry mostly, she has written prose. My biggest problem with poetry is that when it's written in another language, I believe it gets lost in translation but rather the meaning is not lost among its readers. The translators have the arduous task of translating from Polish to English. If you anything about Polish, it's not an easy language to translate from especially to English. But Wislawa is worthy of receiving such top honors because she is now well-known, highly regarded and respected. She has not changed much since she was awarded the NObel prize. She still lives in the same three room apartment in Cracow, she still smokes, and she is still the same humble person who despite her own feelings is quite worthy of such a prize.

...Containing over eighty poems from seven original collections, this book serves as a well-rounded and pleasant introduction to Szymborska's work. This is a good choice for anyone interested in good poetry, women under communist regimes, or Polish literature.

This is a fabulous dual-language collection of some of the most sensual, passionate poems written in modern times. Whether he imagines himself as an insect making a journey "from your hips to your feet", traveling to distant places with his beloved by his side, or as a soldier who must leave but whose love will "go on singing until the end of life", Neruda writes with exquisite simplicity, and great beauty.

I find this to be the most accessible of Neruda's books that I have read, perhaps because its subject was a central part of his life. As explained in the introduction of the book, these poems are autobiographical, and written about his wife, Matilde Urrutia. First published anonymously in 1952, they were released in 1963 under his own name, but only after much thought, because of their "intimate birth".
The translations by Donald D. Walsh are superb. He has captured the fluid rhythm, the emotion, and the fire.

He was fortunate to have had this remarkable relationship, as well as the ability to express his feelings with such uncommon depth, but for those men who lack Neruda's poetic genius, and who would like to melt the heart of the woman they love, this might be the perfect gift to go along with that bunch of flowers.

This is quite possibly the most beautiful book of poetry that I have ever read.

An excellent gift to one that you love passionately.

The most amazing and sesitive book that I ever had read about Pablo Neruda.
Pablo es capaz de modelar como nadie las imagenes y meterte en un libro tan hermoso y poderoso. "La muerta" es un claro ejemplo de la belleza y la fuerza de su poesía.

I bought this book because for the long time I wanted to read something by Neruda, and this bilingual edition offered an opportunity to read the original Spanish alongside with the English translation. Since I know a bit of Spanish, this was an opportunity to practice it and improve it, as well as get exposed to some of the most sensual and inspiring poems in any language. Neruda's idiom is rich with metaphors, and he takes everyday objects and situations and imbues them with poetic and emotional undertones. This fascination with common objects is particularly useful for someone who is learning Spanish - it provides a great and enjoyable vocabulary-building opportunity. However, be warned - some phrases and words are a bit risque, and you shouldn't be too liberal at trying to impress your Spanish speaking friends at parties. It may lead to some interesting situations.

I had heard about Pablo Neruda a few years before and I wasn't too fond of his poetry. When I opened "The Captain's Verses" in a bookstore a few months ago, I knew that I had to have it. Since then this has become my most treasured book of poetry. I don't even know how to describe Pablo Neruda. When you read his poetry you just become entranced by the way he is so accurately able to convey such passion in his simple words and beautiful imagery. Even now after I have read each poem in this book at least a hundred times I am still amazed by the way he does it. I have not yet found another book of poetry that can evoke such feeling as "The Captain's Verses." I believe that this is essential to any poetry lover's collection of poetry and that those who are not big fans of poetry would enjoy the love poems of Pablo Neruda.

The only thing wrong with this book is that there should be more of it.
Roethke represents a watershed in American letters, a watershed we kids slobbered down the wrong side of, the side not his. For delicacy of daring the difficult to bear, even to notice, he can hardly be surpassed, and this almost without ever choking up the voice -- his or ours.

"A late rose ravages the casual eye," writes Roethke in A Walk in Late Summer, "a blaze of being on a central stem." In such images we see the symbols of nature fully tapped in modern poetry -- and tapped in American English, in fresh, vivid language that overpowers the reader with its grace and presence. The poetry of Theodore Roethke is written by a man profoundly alive -- skirting the edge of suicide, losing his voice in the awe of love, reeling wildly in the throes of "the pure fury," and looking at last with calm eyes into infinity and his own undoing in the Far Field. Roethke was a true descendent of Whitman where the latter wrote "This is no book / Who touches this touches a man." But Roethke's poetry moves us as much by its lyrical language as by the power and wisdom of its experience. Roethke himself was, as represented by his art alone, a "blaze of being."

Among Roethke's contributions to literature are his poems that treat depression. Far from letting his manic episodes paralyze him, he used them to write some his most intense poetry. "In a Dark Time" is one of the immortal poems of the 20th century, worthy to be set aside a Van Gogh painting. Roethke was not alone in treating these subjects: two other Pulitzer Prize-winning poets of his time, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, learned from him and wrote about similar themes. But Roethke's writing stands out in two ways from these poets and other poets the 50's and 60's.

One is the unity of his work and vision -- this Collected Poems traces a single spiritual journey beginning with his childhood memories of the greenhouse, and ending somewhere among "the windy cliffs of forever", last visions tragically cut short by his early death. Between those points are rendered all of the experiences of his life -- as he wrote in his first poem, "my heart keeps open-house." But he never fails to interpret these experiences and understand their significance in the larger picture of his life and poetry. Unlike so much of the poetry of Sylvia Plath and other Confessional poets, Roethke never demands that you read his biography to understand his symbolism. Rather, his symbols develop among his poems to form a kind of mythology: his recurring symbols include stones, fire, light, "the small," and the spirit.

The other difference between Roethke and other poets of his time is his technique. Roethke is never obscure; he always writes in fresh language, avoiding cliches, although his symbols are indeed personal and take time to understand. Roethke's craft is "strict and pure," such that even the staunchest defenders of Sylvia Plath have confessed that Roethke's writing is more disciplined. The Deep Image movement of poets like Robert Bly and James Wright is influenced by the kind of symbolism found throughout Roethke's poetry, and those writers have acknowledged their debt to him. Roethke retained rhyme and meter in a time when all the conventions of poetry were being ripped apart; and he did so with a consummate technical skill not to be found in the Beatniks or in the Black Mountain poets. Roethke's ear for poetry is much more sensitive than that of other poets of his time. We are gagged by the lyricism in lines like

"She came toward me in the flowing air,
A shape of change, encircled by its fire."
("The Dream")

"When all
My waterfall
Fancies sway away
From me, in the sea's silence..."
("Her Time")

"O love, you who hear
The slow tick of time
In your sea-buried ear..."
("Song")


The most exhilarating of all these are Roethke's love poems in "Words for the Wind", which justly won the Bollingen Prize and the National Book Award. These poems are unmatched for eloquence and spiritual intensity -- and it's a damn shame that modern anthologies do not reprint them, aside from the famous "I Knew a Woman." For it is in these love poems that Roethke's soul soars, and his poetic power is fully realized.

"She knew the grammar of least motion."
("The Dream")

"Light listened when she sang."
("Light Listened")

"I measure time by how a body sways."
("I Knew a Woman").


Theodore Roethke achieved greatness in art by having the courage to confront the most intense human experiences and the skill to craft them into some of the most eloquent poems of his time. If there is ONE modern poet you will read, let it be Roethke. His "Collected Poems" is a must for every poet and every lover of poetry.

I relished Roethke when I first read him in high school, along with Hart Crane, e.e. cummings, and the Beats. I still admired him in college, when I wrote poetry myself, and regarded most other "living" poets with suspicious disdain. Many poets I loved then have lost some of their charm for me (my loss, not theirs) but, forty five years later, I still read Roethke. Does that speak to you?

To My Sister; The Heron; No Bird; Elegy for Jane; She; Her Reticence; The Meadow Mouse; and of course, My Papa's Waltz--these are all some of the great poems that Theodore Roethke wrote. Roethke is one of our American masters. I found that when he was on his game (as he was in the poems above, among others) his poetry was phenomenal, but when he wasn't, his poetry could be awful. His earlier work is better than his later work, though he seems to have gotten most of his recognition for his later work. Still, for the poetry lover this is pretty much a required volume for your shelves.

At first, I was heitant to delve into this author's work simply because I'd never heard of him in all my wide readings of poetry, both modern and old.

Don't make the same mistake I did. Roethke WILL NOT disappoint you. "The Lost Son" has become my new favourite poem, and this book goes with me perpetually, and will until I finish every line in it.

Exquisite.

A dear friend of mine had this book and I was intrigued. Although he had an edition that was dated back in the 50's, it was very worn out with its brown loose pages. Depsite that, I read some of the greatest poems that you can imagine and some familiar ones that I knew but not in its entirety. They were some of the most beautiful words written on paper. I decided to get my own copy and got a new edition for my friend and was thrilled with emotion. I knew I gave my friend a renewed treasure that he can now read without worrying about the pages falling out of its binding. I truly recommend this book of poems to anyone who really wants to feel well written words in verses that are truly beautiful and memorable. Get this book!

As with all anthologies, there will be a number of reviewers sniffing in an offended manner at the dearth (or glut) of Cummings, Yeats, Aiken, or Pope, but any 600 page anthology, by it's very nature, must be incomplete. I purchased this compilation three years ago for long flights and such and it has yet to disappoint. For the size and price of this work, one would be hard-pressed to do better.

As for content, all the major poets are more or less liberally represented. Cummings gets short shrift, and several of Yeats' most memorable pieces "An Irish Airman Forsees His Death", for one) are excluded. Yet I am certain novice and old hand alike will find this work passes the time admirably.

Having been with me through several housheold moves, military action, and cramped backpacks no self-respecting piece of literature should have to endure, my copy is now fairly falling apart. Yet when it expires, I will buy another copy. No other anthology, especially in terms of price, convenience, and memories, could ever compare.

As other readers have said this anthology contains selections from the great poets of the English language from Beowulf to the middle of the twentieth century. It is the kind of book which can be read and reread for years upon years. I would however take exception to the claim that it is the best anthology of its kind. It does not have explanatory material provides no introduction to the poets, no interpretation of their work. There are other anthologies ( Among them ' The Concise Treasury of Great Poems' by Louis Untermeyer) which do so. Nonetheless the bottom line is that this Anthology contains very much of the greatest poetry in the English language.

I too love this anthology. A passionate love of poetry has been part of my upbringing. Let me say that both my mother, Gene Derwood, and Oscar Williams, my biological father, contributed to the selection of the greatest of the great poetry of the English language. Thus we have the contribution of a husband and wife team. Reviewers have mentioned updating this volume, but what has happened is that modern poetry writing no longer follows a firm tradition. Modern poetry is a shotgun blast. There are no recognizable standards for universal selection. Plath is recognized because you cannot divorce her from her suicide. Ginsberg you cannot divorce from his beard and little clanging bells, a media invention. Bob Dylan you cannot divorce from his being a song writer and media invention. If you are not a media invention and only a poet, what chance do you have? So Immortal Poems represents classic taste before media took over the American mind. The media is immortal these days, not poetry. Selecting from contemporary poets not using traditional standards would be difficult to do. I would still love to do it. For those interested in Oscar Williams there is information now available on the web. Just search it with oscarwilliams and see what their world was like in the twentieth century.

I have several books of poetry at home, but this one is my favorite. It is a good collection of poetry from the time of Middle English to almost to the present. There are a few modern poets I would like to see included that haven't been yet. Maybe someday someone will update this wonderful volume.

It starts with Middle English poet extraordinaire Geoffrey Chaucer, with excerpts from the Canterbury Tales and other writing. I would like to have seen Beowulf and some Old English poetry included. There are excerpts from anonymous poets of Middle English leading into the "Shakespearean" times where English is becoming more modern.

Shakespeare of course is well represented, with passages from plays as well as poems and sonnets. This is true for some others like Marlowe, too.

By the time after the Elizabethean period, English poets were not confined to England. There are Celtic poets like Robert Burns of Scotland, Dylan Thomas of Wales, and several Irish poets and American poets well represented in the later part of the book.

The poets are arranged chronologically in the book, but there is are indexs of titles and poets alphabetically at the end of the book for cross referencing. This book has over 600 pages, but it is still a small paperback and will fit in a coat pocket, which is where my copy often lives, dog eared and highlighted all over the place!

I had heard of most of the poets in this collection before I got the volume, but there are some I hadn't heard of and am glad to know. This is an excellent beginning collection, easy to carry and easy to read. Being a mass market paperback, the printing is not the best, but the poetry certainly is.

I was intrigued and amused to see another reviewer say her children were obsessed with "Scranimals" -- because that's the same reaction we got with our kid!

Jack Prelutsky evidently knows the secret of how to captivate children, especially when teamed up with illustrators like Peter Sis. Nearly every Prelutsky book that enters our home gets the same treatment: fascination, amusement, and above all, lots of reading and re-reading.

One might say that this is not Prelutsky's most ingenious work, since it's basically a single concept stretched out into a series of variations, not all of which are equally clever. But there's more to it than that. The illustrations are compelling and fun. And much of the poetry is more highly-crafted than one might expect, given the silly first impression the book makes.

A great example is the description of the "Bananaconda" (that word alone always makes ME laugh!) in which the author slathers syballant syllables in silly sequences. I took the opportunity to point out to our first-grader how a poet describes things differently than other kinds of writers.

I then read it aloud to demonstrate that point, sssimply by exsstending each of the esses on the page. At that point, most kids can make the connection between the sound of the words, and their understanding of "S" as the sound made by a snake -- something many of them learn in preschool, if not earlier.

And of course those words were written ABOUT a snake. For a kid to learn that words can have multiple layers of meaning, and to learn that concept at such an early age... well, that's really something. And Prelutsky is one of the best at delivering that kind of depth, even when combined with utter silliness.

In short, Scranimals is definitely a worthy addition to any child's collection, at nearly any age.

During the story a boy and a girl went on a trip the Scranimal Island. They saw a lot of animals such as the RHINOCEROSE, a group SPINACHICKENS, a caravan of CAMELBERTA PEACHES, a lonely POTATOAD, one CARDINALBACORE, couple of HIPPOPOTAMUSHROOMS, talkative PARROTTERS, a sweet PORCUPINEAPPLE, fierce BROCCOLIONS, a nimble ANTELOPETUNIA, an unsuccessful STORMY PETRELEPHANT, content TOUCANEMONES, then the vicious RADISHARK, a yellow BANANACONDA, the fast OSTRICHEETAH, a shy PANADAFFODIL, and the playful MANGORILLA and his friend the ORANGUTANGERINE. The extinct AVOCADODO wasn't smart, strong, or fast, it is no wonder you are extinct.
This book is my favorite picture book because all the animals were mixed up. The craziest animal was the PORCUPINEAPPLE because it was cute and the poem was funny.

My daughter says: "This book is lovely and funny" ... "it makes me smile because it is fun. I love reading this book with my mum."

This book is anything but traditional. Scranimals by Jack Prelutsky is a book that allows its readers to be silly. A book of poetry that describes different mythical creatures that live on "Scranimal Island". I think this book is especially good for the present day kid because a child is constantly forced to conform in everyday life; conform to rules, chores, school work, etc. This book goes outside the box and challenges there imaginations with animals that are clearly a fantasy, but they enter this world of make believe and can leave the compliance behind.

During the story a boy and a girl went on a trip the Scranimal Island. They saw a lot of animals such as the RHINOCEROSE, a group SPINACHICKENS, a caravan of CAMELBERTA PEACHES, a lonely POTATOAD, one CARDINALBACORE, couple of HIPPOPOTAMUSHROOMS, talkative PARROTTERS, a sweet PORCUPINEAPPLE, fierce BROCCOLIONS, a nimble ANTELOPETUNIA, an unsuccessful STORMY PETRELEPHANT, content TOUCANEMONES, then the vicious RADISHARK, a yellow BANANACONDA, the fast OSTRICHEETAH, a shy PANADAFFODIL, and the playful MANGORILLA and his friend the ORANGUTANGERINE. The extinct AVOCADODO wasn't smart, strong, or fast, it is no wonder you are extinct.
This book is my favorite picture book because all the animals were mixed up. The craziest animal was the PORCUPINEAPPLE because it was cute and the poem was funny.

"Silver Pennies" was my elementary school poetry book filled with whimsical and delightful imagery of fairies and natural surroundngs. Compiled in two sections, Part I for first through fourth graders and Part II for fifth and sixth graders, many of the poems can be memorized. Others are wonderful for bedtime reading by a grown-up. The poems have charm and sensitivity to the world of children's imagination and speaks of a simpler time when we stopped to hear the fairies.

When Silver Pennies by Blanche Jennings Thompson was first published by The MacMillan Company in 1926, this beautiful collection of poetry for children was bound in cloth imprinted with the silhouette of a small child reaching up to the heavens towards a cascade of silver stars. The current publisher who claims a 1976 copyright is aptly named Buccaneer Books, for they have pillaged much of the charm of this book. The library cover is the dullest imaginable! For the price of this reprint, surely they could have reproduced the cover which so captured my imagination and that of so many other children in years past. I would have given this book all the stars in the world, had they kept those stars on the cover!

Silver Pennies has made terrific bedtime and quiet-time reading for our 3yo. The poems are short enough and entertaining enough to keep a little person's attention, and ours has already found some favorites.

After all the cutesy-wootsy, sanitized, dumbed-down kids' books I've read through, this is a delight.

Although the new cover looks more like a Book Of Shadows than a book of children's poems, the actual writing still has the charm of the original. Beautiful, optimistic, sentimental...a lovely trip back to what was good in my childhood.

A dear old friend gave this book (1952 ed) to me ten years ago. I was only 22 years old then and much to busy for poetry. She died a few years later. For ten years, I didn't pay it much mind. Then I had my first child and began to search among my books for poems that would be good to read at bedtime. To my delight, I rediscovered Silver Pennies. What a find! My husband and I read from it every night and our little 2 year old loves it. It's become almost a ritual at our house. I know my son doesn't understand all words, but the poems have a beauty all their own and he must appreciate it. I've read my favorites such as The Faithless Flowers, Rain in the Night, and Water Noises so many times that they're now committed to memory. I probably know at least a dozen of the poems by heart, which has been a real delight to my son when we are traveling or camping out and don't have books to read or light to read by. I just recite them to him in the dark -- he loves it and drifts off to sleep every time. My husband and I will always treasure this little book.