Soft Hay Will Catch You: Poems by Young People

by Sandford Lyne (Editor), Julie Monks (Illustrator)

Through poetry, one hundred young people, from ages eight to eighteen, share their thoughts and feelings about friends and solitude, work and play, home and school, and the journey toward adulthood.

Genres: Poetry

114 pages, Hardcover

First published February 24, 2004

Reviews

[Brianna]

Sandford Lyne delivers this poetry collection from young writers. This book could be an excellent classroom resource as it could be used to tie students to the idea of poetry. The poems concern a wide range of topics and I am certain that, if readers are willing to see themselves in the pages, there is something in here for them. Specific poems validate the feelings of specific readers young and old and the idea of a peer having written something that impacts you may drive you to write. Specific pages I have marked: 37, 39, 49, 50 just to name a few there were many other great ones but these are where I started to fall in love with the book.

[Kris Dersch]

This was so beautiful. I love that we are getting authentic, beautiful, diverse rural kids' voices in very short poem forms and the artwork was amazing. This is one I'm happy to have on my shelf to keep coming back to.

[Nancy]

A pleasant variety. I kept being surprised at how grounded these are in a specific experiences. (Which almost makes them less useful as writing launches -- but that's a great thing, too.)

[Clay]

This is Sandford Lyne's second book of compiled poems by children.

School Library Journal said it best.
"The volume is a sheer delight with its brief, potent glimpses of life seen through the eyes of 130 children, age 8 to 18. The poems are written in free vers, so the restrictions of rhyme are missing, resulting in realistic verses that are clever, evocative, and honest. The lines and words are simple, but the total effect is strong...
The poems are brief, but their impact is long."

[Marianna]

Poems written by children.