The Kingfisher Book Of Children's Poetry

by Michael J. Rosen

Including more than one hundred line drawings and more than 250 poems, a comprehensive collection of ballads, limericks, riddles, and poetry from all over the world features works by Blake, Byron, Bob Dylan, and many other noted poets.

Genres: Poetry, Childrens

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Rosen's Website should provide all this and more. It's http://www.fidosopher.com.
Nonetheless: Michael J. Rosen is an American author and illustrator with over 120 books of fiction, nonfiction, humor, picture books, poetry, and more. With a strong interest in nature and animals, reflecting his animal behavior degree from Ohio State University, Rosen resides within a peaceful crease of Central Ohio with his pack of animal companions that include 2 small koi ponds he helped build on the 100 acres he shares in the foothills of the Ohio Appalachians. An avid dog lover, he was inspired by Chant, his newest Australian stumpy-tail cattle dog, which led to the creation of his newest book of fiction, The Tale of Rescue, which will be released in October 2015. With an MFA in poetry from Columbia University, Rosen also showcases his skills and talents in other projects such as The Maine Coon’s Haiku: And Other Poems for Cat Lovers (2015).

Reviews

[Marlaina Jean-Baptiste]

Text to Teaching connection


The teacher can read this with students in the classroom, it will help them with words that rhythm. Words that have similar meanings. Its a easy read for them, children can work on their own poems. and make one day a week for one hour or so a poetry hour so the children can read their work aloud in the classroom or even read one of the poems from this book. You can work it into the lesson plan.

[Lano Ramadani]

There are some poems i really like
others that are really funny
others that tell nice stories
others that tell about facts
but the problem is that some are disgusting
and others are a waste of time
i guess it deserves 4 stars

[Jada May]

Michael J. Rosen's "The Kingfisher Book of Children's Poetry" is a beautifully put together poetry book intended for children between ages ten and thirteen, typically in grades five to eight. I would recommend its poetry for this age range due to its lighthearted and entertaining themes and black and white illustrations. With this, I would rate this book with four stars because of its interesting themes and categories including riddles, classical poetry, and nonsense verses. "The Kingfisher Book of Children's Poetry" is poetry book consisting of 250 entertaining poems for the younger audience through ballads, limericks, riddles, nonsense verses, and classic and contemporary poems. This book is a great way to introduce poetry to young students because it collides poems and verses from Britain and overseas. The book is not about a particular subject or hobby, but rather everything that a child could be interested in, making it very open for a variety of readers of different interests and identities. Throughout the book, black and white illustrations are used, along with lively poems that allows readers to memorize and recite its verses. However, I have noticed that some copies do have colored illustrations, but the copy I read was black and white, making it that more sincere and real. Throughout the book, readers and listeners are able to learn how to use their imagination, while also enhancing their language and cognitive development, and their cultural and social awareness. When reacting to the book, I loved all of the illustrations and themes, as it is such an interesting and memorable book of poems with beautiful topics and categories of poems. Due to the themes like diversity, joy, and comedic relief that is portrayed throughout the different text and illustrations, this book is a great book to introduce to students when beginning to read poetry. I would suggest reading one to two poems a day and have students reflect on its style, theme, and language. I also really enjoyed the illustrations throughout the book because it adds to the meaning of the poems and creates a visual concept for readers who may not understand the poem's stanzas. I think this is such an important book for children to read because it teaches about poems, styles of poems, and how to use poetry has a creative outlet.

I would recommend this story to kids that are ages ten and thirteen, or grades five through eight."The Kingfisher Book of Children's Poetry" has the ability to enhance reader's critical thinking skills, memory, and literacy and vocabulary development and skills within poetry due to it teaching readers about creativity, rhythmic nature, and a new form of literature. Throughout the book, themes like humor, nature, daily life, and even fantasies are portrayed throughout the texts and illustrations. These themes can help children become aware of what poetry can entail, and that it doesn't always need to be just classic and/or contemporary. Overall, this poetry book also introduces the ideas of poetry and its importance to young readers, while also enhancing their literacy skills due to its vocabulary, verse and stanza structure, black and white visual narratives, and comprehension.

With all of this kept in mind, I would personally use this book in the classroom by creating a read-aloud that focuses on certain poems at a time. I would probably focus on one at a time, as that can help the classroom learn about its vocabulary, structure, and meaning. After the read-aloud, I would love for students to create their own poetry book. For example, this could be five to ten pages, and on each page, a different type of poem could be written. With this, we would learn about haikus, emotional odes, musical ballads, funny limericks, and structure-free verses; all in which could be used in their personal book. Not only would this activity allow students to be creative while making and decorating a book, but they are also using so much imagination to create poems. This will allow students to enhance their vocabulary and writing skills, creative thinking, and their self-awareness. Overall, I did enjoy this poetry book, as I think poetry is such an important topic for young students to learn and write about. With this, I would recommend it to other teachers and classmates.

[Shara Boykins]

The genre of this book is children Literature. The intended age range is 10-14 years old. The book "s language is overall poetry. The book has different poems that encourages children to interpret poetry and analyze different poems. The poems vary from subject. There is no color in the book only on the cover of the book. The language is appropriate for older children because it does not seem as appealing to younger children. I gave this book a 3 star rating because after reading it, I have read better poetry books. This book can be used for educational purpose more so than for personal reading.

[Haylee Baldwin]

I am not usually a poetry person but this book is awesome! The illustrations are able to help the reader break down and explain the poems and ballads. Would recommend for a classroom setting, especially to ease students into this genre. Most know it is not easy to get students invested in poetry and the author does a great job keeping the attention.

[MBAB]

I am this rating this as one star because of a specific poem that was placed in the book, "The Lesson" by Roger McGough. The teacher brutally murders every kid in the class and walks away saying, you'll never forget this lesson. This is supposedly satire. I just still can't believe it would be allowed in a children's poetry book.

[Irene]

I received this book as a gift on my 8th birthday in 1991 and it is by far the most well-thumbed child’s book on my shelf. For those who think the death and gore is too much for kids- I’d say it was very much part of the appeal.

[Victoria Barco]

This is a book of poetry and fun riddles.
Grades: 4-6

[Harsh]

I'm pretty confident that this is the book that led me to e.e.cummings, and for that I'm indebted to it!

[Kayla Hepler]

The Kingfisher Book of Children's Poetry is a decent book that helps ease children into different poems and the concepts of rhyming. There are funny verses, serious verses, riddles, ballads and many more. The poems talk about different things that many preschool and young school age children are interested in which keeps their attention to read more. I read a few of the poems to my preschool kids and they most certainly enjoyed the verses that were a bunch of nonsense. The poems let the children imagine things on their own and spark their creativity. However, some of the poems seemed to be a little graphic in relation to death. I do understand that children are aware of what goes on around them, but the book should be filled of up-beat poems then downers that make teachers shy away from the book.

[Amy]

Genre: Poetry, anthology, young reader
I felt this was a very comprehensive collection of poems. It is a good book to help introduce a child to poetry. Some of the poems are very difficult and will require an adult to hel them understand. Some are written in different ways across the pages or with different type. I think the reader will come away with definite likes and dislikes in this poetry book.

[Patty]

Reading Level: Primary + Intermediate

This anthology includes several types of poems. Some types are ballads, limericks, rhymed poetry, and nonsense verse. This exposes children to a variey of types of poems and allows them to see the format in use before they begin composing their own poems.

[Chrystina]

This is a book of poetry for young elementary readers. I really enjoyed some of the poems in this book. I also really enjoyed the illustrations. I really think children will enjoy some of the classic poems in this book.