A Book by Edgar Guest

“Now” - said a good book unto me -
“Open my pages and you shall see
Jewels of wisdom and treasures fine,
Gold and silver in every line,
And you may claim them if you but will
Open my pages and take your fill.

“Open my pages and run them o’er,
Take what you choose of my golden store.
Be you greedy, I shall not care -
All that you seize I shall gladly spare;
There is never a lock on my treasure doors,
Come - here are my jewels, make them yours!

“I am just a book on your mantel shelf,
But I can be part of your living self;
If only you’ll travel my pages through,
Then I will travel the world with you.
As two wines blended make better wine,
Blend your mind with these truths of mine.

“I’ll make you fitter to talk with men,
I’ll touch with silver the lines you pen,
I’ll lead you nearer the truth you seek,
I’ll strengthen you when your faith grows weak -
This place on your shelf is a prison cell,
Let me come into your mind to dwell!”

Poetry for Children

"Do you know what is wrong with people who never read nursery rhymes? I will tell you. When little boys and girls grow bigger and older, they should grow from the outside, leaving a little boy in the middle; even when they are quite grown up, the little child that once they were should be within them. But some unlucky people grow older from inside and so grow old through and through."

We have been reading several poetry books as a family. The book Honey for a Child's Heart has a section about Poetry which inspired me to get back on track with reading the children poetry aloud. We're currently reading "The World of Christopher Robin" by A.A. Milne as a family and we love the silliness of them.

Some other wonderful poetry books aside from our favorite Dr. Suess:

Randolph Caldecott's Picture Books- mostly nursery rhymes, but pictures are magnificent!

Works by Edward Lear:

The owl and the pussycat
A book of nonsense
There was an Old Man--: A Gallery of Nonsense Rhymes
Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets

Hilaire Belloc:

Cautionary Tales for children

Robert Louis Stevenson:

A Child's Book of Verses

What wonderful children's poetry books do you have to add to this list?