Poetry for Young People: Animal Poems

Poetry for Young People

by John Hollander (Editor), Simona Mulazzani (Illustrator)

The writers include Blake, Dickinson, Tennyson, Yeats, Wordsworth, and Keats. The captivating paintings by Simona Mulazanni make every page a delight. And the subject—animals, big and small, wild and tame— has an irresistible appeal to children. William Blake’s “The Tyger” burns bright in the lush image that accompanies the verse. Hillaire Belloc pays tribute to an elephant in a short, witty stanza accompanied by an adorable picture of the creature sitting on a small wood stool. Among the other poems are Marianne Moore’s “A Jellyfish” and Edward Lear’s charming, songlike “The Owl and the Pussycat.”
A Selection of Scholastic Book Clubs.

John Hollander has written A Crackling of Thorns (chosen by W. H. Auden for the Yale Series of Younger Poets), as well as literary criticism and children’s books. He has served as editor for many poetry collections, among them An Anthology of Poems for Young People (with Harold Bloom). He is currently the Sterling Professor of English at Yale.

Simona Mulazanni is a successful and much loved children’s book artist in Italy.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The collection of four centuries of animal poems for children is populated with paintings, information on each poet, and vocabulary words. Animals have been portrayed from the earliest times in cave drawings, classics, and the bible. A celebration in haiku, rhyme, or verse captures the creatures in a moment. I was delighted to learn that Clock-a-Clay by John Clare (1793 - 1864) is a ladybird or ladybug.

The Sloth by Theodore Roethke (1908 - 1963):

“In moving slow, he has no Peer.
You ask him something in his Ear,
He thinks about it for a Year;

And then before he says a Word
There, upside down (unlike a Bird),
He will assume that you have Heard –

A most Ex-as-per-at-ing Lug.
But should you call his manner Smug,
He’ll sign and give his Branch a Hug;

Then off again to Sleep he goes,
Still swaying gently by his Toes,
And you just know he knows he knows.”

My other favorites were The Eagle by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892) and The Crow and the Fox by Jean de la Fontaine (1621 - 1695). There were selections from authors that I did not realized wrote poetry. I felt it would have benefitted the book to have poets from this century. Only Vicki Hearne made it by dying in 2001.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

These animal poems are for older children. They are by authors such as Robert Frost, Herman Melville, Lewis Carroll, John Keats, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, William Carlos Williams, and Walt Whitman. There is a small explanation about the poet and the poem before each poem and the dates the poet lived are written under the title. There is also a glossary on the page of words students may not be familiar with. the illustrations are paintings that show the essence of the animal in the poem will, but sometimes they detract since the text is difficult to read.

Best for grades 3-6

[Karen Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding ways to entice humans of all ages to appreciate living most fully is a valuable goal — this treasure of poems to help people of all ages learn to pay attention to words, images, animals, and emotions is priceless. Buy this book and treat yourself to serious joy of the English language.

Certainly I would add many other superb animal poems — in addition to full immersion in these gems, reading both serious and lighthearted animal poems should encourage your further reading — as an adult, child, or any creature in between.

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grades: 3-5,6-8
Genre: poetry
Im sure this book entertains a lot of little readers, because not only is it entertaining poems, but there are poems about awesome animals. This poem book has great pictures of animals from all over the world. Cute book. rate 5-5

[Tandava Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't much like the illustrations here (and some of them actually make the poems harder to read), but it's a good collection of poems by a lot of very good poets.

[Denise Ballentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, this is a children's book, but one I definitely appreciate as an adult. Delightful.

[Izzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Illustrations are nice, but reading through now the collection of poems isn't to my taste.

[Meredith Nunley · Rating 2 out of 5]

We did not really enjoy this collection.

[Nicole Beck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This poetry book is appropriate for grades 3-5. The illustrations/paintings are enchanting. Whether they are house pets or animals they see in a zoo or read about in the wild, kids are attracted to books about animals. In my opinion we don't spend enough time discussing poetry in the classroom. This book would be a great addition to a classroom library to both encourage the love of poems and meet the interest of your animal lovers.

[Audrey's Picture Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this book, because I've been so impressed with the Poetry for Young People series as a whole. The sad part is that the actual components of the book are quite good. The poems are well-chosen, and the illustrations are beautiful. It's a perfect example of the imortance of layout in creating an effective picture book. A great picture book isn't just good words and good pictures: they have to work together to create a cohesive whole, and that's where this book is lacking. Rather than complementing one another, the words and pictures are constantly getting in one another's way. In most places, the poem is printed directly over a painting, so that the words block part of the picture, and the contours of the picture make it hard to read some of the words. This effect is exacerbated by the fact that every poem has its own introduction, which is often as long as or longer than the poem itself. The combination of these factors makes for a page that is so busy that you're intimidated by the prospect of trying to read it. From my point of view, that defeats the whole purpose of publishing an illustrated poetry volume in the first place. Surely the point of doing so is to create a book that makes poetry look accessible and appealing, one that uses art to invite you into the world of poetry. This one made it feel like it would be less work to read the poems on a plain, white page.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author: Simona Mulazzani
Grade Level: 3-5
Content: Poetry, variety of animals

This book includes a table of contents. This table could be used to reinforce the usage for the table of contents.

A variety of poems are spoken about from 'haiku' to fables. Each poem talks about an animal. Animals included are tigers, elephants, birds, lizards, squirrels, sloths, pigs, owls, turkeys, cats, rodents, fish, alligators, etc...

I love that at the bottom of the poems are vocabulary words that the intended students of 3-5 graders may not know. This allows the student to access the information on a word they may not know immediately but providing this section within the page.

This book could be used to integrate writing with science. Maybe for a animal unit.

[Stacy Countee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Animals of all kinds come to life in this book. It captures the attention of its readers by using humor and it speaks directly to some of the animals. The poems range from light to deeply thoughtful. The illustrations are entertaining, dark in colors and appears to be painted. I liked that the book listed the authors birth and deceased dates.Information on the author could also be found on each page. This is a good book to use to teach children about poetry and it helps build vocabulary for younger students by giving definitions for some words.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthology: annotated poems about animals by classic/timeless poets. Illustrations are colorful and appealing, evoking appropriate moods and enhancing interpretation along with the notes.

Table of contents provided as well as an index listing both authors and titles. Selection of poems suits children, notes not only clarify context but are somewhat biographical.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this for my poetry book - I absolutely loved it. It has many different poets in this one book. Each page tells you something new and interesting about the poet. Great for poetry unit. Loved it

[Carlos Romero · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shares with us animal poems written from various poets such as Robert Frost, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. This book gives us their different perspectives of the animal world. The book also includes short biographies of the poets and historical background of their poems.

[Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice collection with interesting illustrations. Highlights include Blake's "The Tiger," Tennyson's "The Eagle," Dickinson's "A Narrow Fellow in the Grass," and Kipling's "Hunting Song of the Seeonee Pack." We love it at our house.

[Beth Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was interesting and I liked the poetry in it. It gives the option to talk about animals and about poetry if wanted. You could have student's pick their favorite animal and learn about it then write a poem about that animal.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was awsome!

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good selection of poems
and information about the poems explaining them to children
i love the way this series presents the poems with beautiful pictures and explianations

[Johnathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the collection and it was fun to go through and see all the different poems about animals. I liked it and made me want to read more poetry, which I guess is the point.

[Melissa Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a good book to assign students to read two poems or one poem per class period and then talk about that poem. Probably too long to have them read it in one sitting

[Rachel Devine · Rating 4 out of 5]

1) Awards: none
2) Grades: 2 and up
3) This book is a collection of poems about animals. Each poem also comes with a short description about the author and the poem itself and any other details that are relevant to the poem. Some poems have a side note with definitions of some words from the poem.
4) I like this book, it has a large range of poems that are different lengths, and about different types of animals. The pictures are nice and vivid, making them more interesting. I also like that there is a lot of information for each poem. It really helps to understand each poem on a deep level.
5) One way this can be used in class is to encourage children to read poetry. Animals is a common subject for a child to be interested in. If they are having trouble enjoying reading poems or trouble understanding them, this book could really help. A second way this book can be used is with the whole class. It can be used to introduce new vocabulary or start to introduce poetry in a more in depth way. By using all of the information given on each poem a teacher can start to explain things like metaphors and imagery.