Beloved Poetry Books for Children

When one is looking at children's books, the selections and choices are overwhelming. Poetry books targeted for children tend to get lost in the variety. There are some poetry gems out there that your child will love! They also make great lesson plans and encourage those readers that struggle with lengthy material to enjoy pages with bright pictures and shorter words.

The most popular author for poetry aimed at children is Shel Silverstein. I fondly remember reading this author as a child. His poems are fun and engaging for children to read. My personal favorite is A Light in the Attic. Not only does he engage children with humor but he applies challenges for them to think deeper. When he asks what if, he is also letting the children who read and giggle, think about what if in their own lives. They are illustrated with cute drawings that appeal to the reader as well. His books are easy to find at bookstores. Or check this link for a discount: Half.

Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed is a great book to introduce your preschool aged child to poetry and the usage of rhymes. This book has colorful, captivating pictures that illustrate the short rhyme from beginning to end. Kids will not only love to hear these stories, but will want to hear them over and over! My son enjoyed this book so much we wound up purchasing a few more Five Little Monkey Titles by Eileen Christelow. You will easily be able to locate this book and others in the series at Scholastics.

Another preschool poetry book that was a favorite in our house was How Do Dinosaurs clean their rooms? One of the reasons this was purchased was that my young son needed to learn about picking up his toys and keeping his room neater. I tried to engage that topic with the cute rhymes and poetry of this book. How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms is illustrated with colorful, humorous pictures. The subject matter is handled with a lot of giggles and keeps the child smiling. While boys and girls alike will enjoy the story, using dinosaurs keeps boys interested and speaks to them exceptionally well. Look for How Do Dinosaurs Clean Their Rooms at Alibris.

If you haven't picked up a Robert Munsch book you don't know what you're missing! This author uses hilarious pictures and stories, told with rhyming words and poetry in titles such as Love You Forever to keep your child delighted. We started reading Munsch with Love You Forever and it wasn't long before our bookshelf was full of this author's books. The first thing that pleased my son about his new third grade classroom was seeing a full basket of Munsch books on the teacher's bookshelf. Since he was three, when asked his favorite author, he would tell you it was Robert Munsch. I read MMM...cookies more times than I can count. Love You Forever is a good book to start reading this author with. Not only does the imagery of the poetry echo throughout each page, it is a poignant look at the love between a mother and her son. Many times when reading this to my child I felt my own eyes water up, as you realize how much your child is growing. I used this book to illustrate to my child that no matter how big he grew, my love for him wouldn't change. If you haven't tried one of these books, what are you waiting for? Click on over to Barnes and Noble and check it out for yourself!