A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children [Hardcover]

Caroline Kennedy (Author), Jon J Muth (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 1 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Caroline Kennedy has chosen a rich variety of Kennedy family favorite poems to include in this priceless collection. With thoughtful personal introductions written by Caroline herself, and beautiful new original artwork by award-winning artist, Jon J Muth, this collection is sure to become a family favorite for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 2 Up–From the cover photograph of Kennedy as a toddler reading to her teddy to the red linen-textured endpapers; from her thoughtful introduction and words of encouragement to children at the beginning of each section of carefully chosen poems to Muth's beautifully executed watercolors, this volume is a treasure. In compiling the collection, Kennedy passes on her own family's tradition of creating a scrapbook of poems chosen by the children in lieu of gifts to their mother and grandparents. Divided by topic into seven sections, the collection is, indeed, a treasury of beloved poems written in a variety of styles by poets from many lands and generations, some more familiar than others, some unknown. Most of the soft-focus illustrations fill whole pages. The wide variety of artistic styles–ethereal, realistic, comical, energetic, sweet, romantic–matches the mood of the poems themselves. The 10 translated selections appear at the end of the volume in their original languages. This well-balanced anthology should be a first purchase for school and public libraries. Recommend it as a gift book for parents to share with their children, as well.–Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-7, younger for reading aloud. The Best-loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis was a surprise best-seller, and this equally personal collection will also garner much attention. There's a varied selection here, though weighted toward old (in some cases old, old) favorites: Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snow Evening," a piece of Whitman's "Song of the Open Road," Sandburg's "Buffalo Dusk." Certainly some of those oldies, such as Ogden Nash's "The People Upstairs," have a rambunctious child appeal, and animal lovers will be glad to see cats and dogs represented in poems such as Dylan Thomas' "The Song of the Mischievous Dog." Among the contemporary poets included are Jack Prelutsky, Nikki Giovanni, and Sandra Cisneros. A short, delightful poem about the sea by a young Jacqueline Bouvier (Onassis) is tucked into the section entitled "Seashore." Other topical chapters include "About Me," "That's So Silly," and "Bedtime." Tying everything together are Muth's engaging watercolors, which are as adept in catching the humor of some poems as they are in reflecting the power of others. Children who might not readily take to poetry may be lured by art, which continually delights. Kennedy personalizes the book with an introduction. A roundup of foreign poems in their original languages and a first-line index are appended. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 1 and up
  
• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786851112
• ISBN-13: 978-0786851119
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,949 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #78 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Stunning, August 31, 2005

By 

Scott "S" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children (Hardcover)

This book is absolutely beautiful...the variety and quality of Kennedy's selections is right on...the Muth paintings are brilliant and complement the words perfectly. I got chills flipping through it for the first time...will be a classic.

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The Emperor of Ice Cream" is here!, April 18, 2006

By 

Bart King (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children (Hardcover)

Because I have a jaundiced view of celebrity books, I'll admit that I was skeptical about an anthology compiled by Caroline Kennedy. But the fact is that Ms. Kennedy has done an admirable job with this young person's poetry collection. The poets are sometimes unexpected (Sylvia Plath has a charming bedtime poem here that I had never read) and the poems are not necessarily the obvious ones that one would expect to find in a book like this.

There are nonsense rhymes, but they seem to be the best ones; no doggerel here. And as you can see from this review's title, I was especially happy to see one particular poem represented. :)

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL Anthology that my kids have actually read on their own...., June 2, 2006

By 

Learning All The Time "It's Never Too Late to... (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Family of Poems: My Favorite Poetry for Children (Hardcover)

I have about 20 anthologies of poetry for children, and this is clearly the best in my collection. The poems are beautifully crafted and many are fairly complex, yet they are all accessible and interesting to children (mine are finishing up 1st & 2nd grade). Plus the watercolor illustrations are absolutely exquisite.

The other thing I love about this book is its integrity. This does not appear to be a random selection of poems chosen by an unrelated committee of people (like some of my other anthologies). As diverse as the poetry selections are, there is still something coherent about them -- they fit together and work together in a very satisfying way.

I highly recommend this book.