The Invisible Ladder: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poems for Young Readers [Hardcover]

Liz Rosenberg (Editor)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

Sitting by the barbecue
waiting for sausages and hot dogs
..........
I see a tiny spider
..........
a silver speck
glistening
at its mouth,
climbing the invisible ladder

--from "Dinner Together" by Diana Rivera

This anthology of poems by America's best poets glistens too, and offers its own silvery ladder for readers to climb.

Liz Rosenberg, herself an accomplished poet, wanted to make contemporary poems for adults accessible to a broader readership. She searched for works which, in both feeling and expression, could reach from one age group to another. Then she asked the poets to write about the links between poetry and childhood, and to send photos that showed how they looked when they were young, and who they are today.

The Invisible Ladder is a gift from everyone who contributed to it: a hand extended from those whose art is crafting words to a new generation of readers and writers.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Celebrated poets such as Rita Dove, Galway Kinnell and Stanley Kunitz preface their poems with commentary and black-and-white photos of themselves in childhood and adulthood in The Invisible Ladder: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poems for Young Readers, edited by Liz Rosenberg. The anthology introduces readers to an admirable range of poems written for adults but accessible to a YA audience. The poets' seductively personal and iconoclastic explanations of how they got hooked on their craft are likely to nab new converts.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up. Rosenberg states in her introduction that she has drawn together this collection of contemporary American poetry to counter "peanut-butter-and-jelly anthologies?books full of bouncy rhymes too stupid for any adult to put up with..." Her premise flies in the teeth of books by people like Nikki Giovanni (included in her collection), X. J. Kennedy, and David McCord, whose rhymes were never stupid, and results in a sophisticated and somber collection. The compiler has chosen strong poems with accessible images like Galway Kinnell's blackberries ("which I squeeze, squinch open, and splurge well/in the silent, startled, icy, black language/of blackberry-eating in late September") or Maurya Simon's night ("the moon in its chalky house/lights its translucent fire and swells./All the feathered songs are quiet..."). Several of the entries have purely adult viewpoints, such as Maxine Kumin's "The Retrieval System" ("Fact: it is people who fade,/it is animals that retrieve them. A boy/I loved once keeps coming back as my yearling colt"). Like Paul Janeczko does in Poetspeak (1983) and The Place My Words Are Looking For (1990; both Bradbury), Rosenberg pairs poems with that poet's personal reflections. Black-and-white photos of each poet as a child and as an adult add to the attractive format. However, unlike Janeczko's titles for adolescents, the offerings do not astonish readers with their freshness. These poems do not create the sense of discovery the compiler says she hopes for?"the aha! of a friend unexpectedly met, familiar and surprising at the same time." This ladder has interesting rungs but does not reach the stars.?Kathleen Whalin, Greenwich Country Day School, CT
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 210 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (October 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805038361
• ISBN-13: 978-0805038361
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #826,561 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Poems, May 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Invisible Ladder: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poems for Young Readers (Hardcover)

The Invisable Ladder was first shown to me by my 6th grade teacher and is a wonderful book, with excelent poems that you really have to look into. Perfect for relaxing, reading, and enjoying! Probably the best poetry anthology I have ever read in my life. Everyone should have a chance to enjoy it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars poetry rocks!, January 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Invisible Ladder: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poems for Young Readers (Hardcover)

This is my favorite colection of poems for kids, if you don't count Shel Silverstein. (Otherwise I'd give it a 10.) When I want to laugh, I read Uncle Shelby. When I want to get serious I read this book. Though, one of the best poems in it, "The Nose" is pretty funny. So are some of the photos of the poets as cute little fat babies and kids! So on second thought I give it a 9 and a half.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars best anthology of poems for a wide range of ages, November 28, 2009

By 

J. D. Rakow "Math reader" (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Invisible Ladder: An Anthology of Contemporary American Poems for Young Readers (Hardcover)

Great selection of poems good for some more sophisticated elementary school right on up to high schoolers, and way beyond. I like this book and am a teacher. Totally terrific ecelctic selection of poems-- best of all (or most unique) are photos AND commentary by some of America's best contemporary poets-- pictures of them both as kids and as adults, with comments about the connections between poetry and childhood. A great anthology for poetry lovers of all ages, a great teaching tool. A favorite.