A Child's Introduction to Poetry: Listen While You Learn About the Magic Words That Have Moved Mountains, Won Battles, and Made Us Laugh and Cry [Hardcover]

Michael Driscoll (Author), Meredith Hamilton (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Poetry can be fun-especially when we can read it, hear it, and discover its many delights with the help of cartoon character Professor Driscoll, delightful illustrations, and the poetry read aloud on CD.

This wide-ranging journey through the history and highlights of the world's poetry covers everything from epics and odes to nonsense verse and haikus, and is filled with examples of every style.

The multimedia package encourages children to listen, read, and learn-and opens the door to a lifetime of appreciation of a rich literary tradition.

It painlessly introduces kids (and parents, too) to the greatest poets in history, from Homer and Shakespeare to Robert Frost and Ogden Nash-and provides excellent examples of their work and commentary on what makes it so special. In short, this is a galloping tour through poetic history loaded with all of our most significant and beloved poems. In addition to charming illustrations on every lively page, A CHILD'S INTRODUCTION TO POETRY contains a full-length CD with wonderful renditions of the poems read by professional actors.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-There are plenty of collections of children's poetry available, but none like this one. The first section discusses the different forms the genre takes: nursery rhyme, narrative verse, ballad, free verse, pastoral, etc. Driscoll offers a clear explanation of each type and defines any difficult, associated vocabulary. Commentary on each example and a note on where to find the recording on the accompanying CD is provided for each selection. The second section covers individual poets from Homer to Maya Angelou and offers at least one example or excerpt from each writer's work. The brief introductions to the forms and poets are lively and often amusing. Readers will find the varied layouts and warm cartoon watercolors inviting. On the CD, a professional actor reads the selections; the music or sound that precedes each one sets the mood. This is a great resource for teachers and homeschoolers, and a must for libraries. It has more diversity than Glorya Hale's An Illustrated Treasury of Read-Aloud Poems for Young People (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2003).
Donna Cardon, Provo City Library, UT
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6, younger for reading aloud. Playful and informative, this cheerful anthology introduces kids to the joy of all kinds of poetry (limerick, haiku, sonnet, free verse, and much more) with a quick overview of famous poets from Homer, Shakespeare, and Wordsworth to Robert Frost and Langston Hughes. There's too much packed on each page--the poem, facts about the poet and the form, line-and-watercolor cartoon illustrations, definitions of highlighted words, and asides on colored screens--and few contemporary poets are represented. But Driscoll lures readers by beginning with traditional nonsense verse and limericks, and then easing into the more technical forms, such as the villanelle and the pastoral. He gets away from the view of poetry as difficult and special, focusing on sharing the fun, especially the joyful sounds and rhythms of the words. Kids can hear the 64 poems read aloud on an accompanying CD; a "play track" symbol on the page informs kids when it's time to stop and listen. For teachers as well as family sharing. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers (May 6, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579122825
• ISBN-13: 978-1579122829
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 10.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #117,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Driscoll is a reporter for the Martinsburg Journal in West Virginia, and has written for Reuters and the Associated Press. He's a former editor at Black Dog & Leventhal, where he worked on a wide range of titles, including the State Shapes series, Take Me Out to the Ballpark, and Photo Oops. Driscoll studied poetry at Emory University in Atlanta, and has been a poetry afficionado ever since.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE CREME DE LA CREME!, January 7, 2004

By 

Morgan "classicgirl" (SW Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Child's Introduction to Poetry: Listen While You Learn About the Magic Words That Have Moved Mountains, Won Battles, and Made Us Laugh and Cry (Hardcover)

This must be the ULTIMATE introduction to poetry for kids! More than a mere anthology of some of the most popular works (from spooky to silly), it includes a rundown of the features and format of several different types of poetry, along with brief bios on the poets themselves (from classic to contemporary) that will interest just about everyone. Not only that, it also includes a glossary of poetic terms and techniques, AND a box on each page with quick definitions of more difficult words or phrases (which are highlighted) at a glance, so kids (and adults!) can read and enjoy without having to flip to the back of the book constantly. Often, the poems include a short historical explanation, so when reading one can envision the verse in context. All done in a kid-friendly, fun and lighthearted way, with colorful and humorous illustrations! To top all that off, it comes with a CD so you can listen as you read; or as I do, pop it in whenever just so the kids can listen and imagine while coloring, etc. The CD is soothing and delightful at bedtime for the kids, too.
I believe my daughters, ages 10 and (almost) 6, will be entertained and inspired by this book for many years to come. Hopefully, it will spark an interest in kids to seek out further works of the poets included in this amazing introduction, discover others, and perhaps even create some poetry of their own!

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice resource for homeschoolers (or any parent who would like their children to read and enjoy poetry), November 19, 2006

By 

Peggy Bowes "Author of The Rosary Workout" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Child's Introduction to Poetry: Listen While You Learn About the Magic Words That Have Moved Mountains, Won Battles, and Made Us Laugh and Cry (Hardcover)

I homeschool my children (ages 7 and 9), and I wanted to add poetry to their literature curriculum. I found this book at the library, and it was a perfect introduction to the many forms of poetry, with great examples for each. The biographies of famous poets in the second half of the book were also a very useful teaching tool. They were short, informative and interesting. (I learned a few things myself...)

I kept the book in the car, and my children took turns reading (aloud and to themselves). They looked forward to their poetry lessons, and even memorized a few poems on their own accord. My son read Poe's "The Raven," and commented, "I don't understand it, but it's scary, somehow." I found it fascinating that a poem writeen almost 200 years ago could frighten a modern-day child.

This book was a wonderful tool to pique my children's interest in poetry. I plan to buy or borrow other books on poetry to cultivate their budding interest.

I can't comment on the CD as it was no longer included in the library book. However, my children and I enjoyed this book so much that I will definitely purchase it soon.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging for both child and parent, April 14, 2006

By 

staples (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Child's Introduction to Poetry: Listen While You Learn About the Magic Words That Have Moved Mountains, Won Battles, and Made Us Laugh and Cry (Hardcover)

My son is only in preschool and has a lot of fun with this book, and I think it has enough variety and range that we'll return to it for years. There is great background material for parents to read and think about, and perhaps share with their kids as they get older. The performance of the poems on the CD is lackluster, but the overall quality of the book's text and selections is superb.