The Random House Book of Poetry for Children [Hardcover]

Jack Prelutsky (Compiler), Arnold Lobel (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

"A generous collection with a distinctly upbeat tone, this gives a taste of the best poets writing for children over the last several decades. Lobel's drawings imbue the whole with action and graphic images as inventive as the verse. Successfully geared to meet home, school, and library needs."--(starred) Booklist.  

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The Random House Book of Poetry for Children was recognized upon its publication in 1983 as an invaluable collection--a modern classic--and it has not since been surpassed. Five hundred poems, selected by poet and anthologist Jack Prelutsky, are divided into broad subject areas such as nature, seasons, living things, children, and home. The poems of Emily Dickinson, Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Nikki Giovanni, and Gwendolyn Brooks populate the book's pages, while Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Ogden Nash, and Shel Silverstein ensure that the collection delights even the most reluctant readers of rhyme. Playground chants, anonymous rhymes, scary poems, silly verse, and even some sad strains are carefully indexed by title, author, first line, and subject. With illustrations of cheerful, round-faced children and animals on every page, Arnold Lobel (a Caldecott medalist and creator of the Frog and Toad series) unifies the diverse poems to form a satisfying whole; Lobel can draw anything and make it funny--or poignant, if he chooses. This collection, one of the most varied and complete around, will carry any budding poetry lover through childhood and beyond. (Ages 5 to 11.)

From the Inside Flap

"A generous collection with a distinctly upbeat tone, this gives a taste of the best poets writing for children over the last several decades. Lobel's drawings imbue the whole with action and graphic images as inventive as the verse. Successfully geared to meet home, school, and library needs."--(starred) Booklist.  

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Random House; First Edition edition (September 12, 1983)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394850106
• ISBN-13: 978-0394850108
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.9 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,662 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #46 in Books > Children's Books > Literature & Fiction > Poetry

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great breadth, but okay illustrations, March 21, 2000

By 

"papierman" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (Hardcover)

Jack Prelutsky has compiled another great anthology of children's poetry. This anthology basically covers the best children's poetry of all time (except for late 80s-90s poems). You'll find some Mother Goose and Lewis Carroll, thus expanding this anthology beyond the 20th century.

The only drawback (and reason why I didn't give the book 5 stars) is the illustrations. Most of the illustrations are traditional monochrome drawings. While they are well done, they are not as colorful or as imaginative as the illustrations in Prelutsky's "The 20th Century Children's Poetry Treasury."

Have fun reading.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars *LOVE* this book, November 22, 2002

By 

nickunt (Nottingham, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (Library Binding)

Wonderful, just wonderful, this collection of children's poetry sparkles and adds life and verve to any classroom. From the opening stanza of "The Boy What Done A Poo" and the haunting reworking of Goldstein's "Ahhh, I'm telling Miss of you" this anthology will thrill children of all ages, and grown ups too!
(I must point out, however, that the inclusion of controversial poet Sean Hickey's "Bang Bang You're Dead 50 Bullets In Your Head" might cause younger readers some concern).

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Perennial Gift, June 17, 2007

By 

Bryce Stevens (Clinton, Tennessee, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Random House Book of Poetry for Children (Hardcover)

As a middle school reading teacher, I host an annual Poetry Reading Competition open to all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students. For the past several years, this book has been a prize, in addition to plaques for the first and second prize winners. The best review for this book is that the children use it, read it, and often select poems from it for their entry pieces. Even better, perhaps, is that I have had thanks from many parents for awakening an interest in poetry in their children, boys and girls alike. This volume of poetry offers a full range of poems, for short to long, humorous to sublime, and in a wide range of topics. While it is just one of a wide selection of books and poets I offer my students, it is one of the most versatile. Whether teaching rhyme scheme, simile and metaphor, slanted rhyme, figurative language, or stress, this is also an invaluable part of my teaching arsenal.