Suzy Davies's Blog: Book News - Posts Tagged "sensations"

Ever since my childhood days, when I read Lewis Carol's, “Alice in Wonderland,” “The Owl and The Pussycat,” by Edward Lear, “From a Railway Carriage,” by Robert Louis Stevenson, and Walter De La Mare's, “Eeka, Neeka, Leeka, Lee,” I have been captivated by poetry. Here is the latter poem:

Eeka, Neeka, Leeka, Lee,
here's a lock without a key.
Bring a lantern, bring a candle,
here's a door, without a handle!
Shine, shine, you old thief, Moon!
Here's a door, without a room.
Not a whisper, moth or mouse,
key, lock, door, room -
where's the house?
Say nothing, creep away,
and live to knock,
another day!

Walter De La Mare.


One can understand why poems are such a lure for children. In a sense, children's poetry that works
has much in common with songs. Poems appeal to children because of the playfulness involved in making exciting and unusual sounds. They can be a kind of hide and seek with words, as they tap into a child's natural curiosity.

Poems are full of exciting images, awakening children's sense of mystery and wonder. Who is Eeka
Neeka? Where is the house? Why does she visit it at night? What magic is the poet describing? Or is
it all nonsense? Poems surprise and delight.

Of course, no poems are more popular these days than those of Dr. Seuss. With his poems, there's also a focus on the unexpected, on clear simple language, and on tapping into children's sense of adventure - “Oh, The Places You'll Go!”

Poetry takes children into a universe which is accessible to them. It widens their small world at the same time as it draws on a world that seems familiar. “Look, what do you hear?”

E.B. White famously said, “Always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder,” and I believe it is this sense of awe and curiosity that good poems speak to. Yes, I said, “speak to,” because all the best poems are a delight - for all the senses. In this world of “headwork,” poems provide a balance. They are an education of the heart.

Poetry enchants children with its musicality. Rhyming poems are musical. When children read poetry out loud, focusing on rhyming words, rhythmic cadences, and onomatopoeia, it is almost like singing the words.. Kids can have fun identifying which words sound the same, but are spelt differently. They can play guessing games, anticipating which word will rhyme in the next line, and so on.

The musicality of poems ties in with number awareness. Kids can look for the number of syllables in a word, beats in a line, the number of stanzas, and sometimes, even, the shape of a poem. Some poems feature numbers or mathematically-related topics and can be adapted to teach numeracy at home and in schools.

Poems with interesting sounds can be useful to encourage children in the Performance Arts. Kids can act out the characters in the poems, and share with siblings or a live audience.

Being a character develops children's imaginations, essential for cultivating empathy skills.

By performing poems, kids learn pronunciation, pitch, projection of voice and intonation. They learn how to breathe and pause. They use their voices as musical instruments.

Reciting well-loved verses helps develop a child's focus and memory, made easier because little poems are manageable, and remembering rhyme is a memory aid.

I remember, when I was very young, singing Walter De La Mare's whimsical poem, “Eeka Neeka,” which was set to a tune at a local singing competition.

During the rehearsals, my piano and singing teacher asked me to think about the meaning of the words so that I could convey the meaning to a live audience.

Of course, children get to understand that meaning comes from the sounds as well the words themselves, and when they a little older, they will read for subtext and inference.

Poems are very useful for preparing children to learn languages. Why? Because kids develop a sensitive ear, and they learn to distinguish patterns in language and sounds, helping them build phonetic awareness.

Contrary to popular belief, because poetry is so accessible, reading poems builds confidence. I learned that practice improves performance and that reading aloud to an audience helps you overcome anxiety and shyness. Another benefit is that reading poetry prepares children for reading longer, more difficult prose.

Reading and performing poetry as a child taught me so much, and I was encouraged to experiment with words and write my own things. Do you wonder whether these kinds of experiences are long lasting? I believe poems inspire creative thinking in children because they are rich in metaphor, stimulating the imagination. They can act as a springboard for all kinds of creativity.

From reading my favorite poems, I developed a love of writing them. And years later, when I wrote my children's poetry book, “Sleepy Animals,” I was surprised to discover the influence of Walter De La Mare on my own work. .

Of course, at the heart of any good children's poetry book is beautiful artwork that complements the
poems. Words and pictures together appeal to all the senses and help to create a balance of thinking and feeling, mind and body.