Magic Poems

by John Foster, Korky Paul (Illustrator)

Here is a wonderful collection of poems about every kind of magic you can think of, with zany full-colour illustrations by the inimitable Korky Paul. Poets featured include Tony Mitton, Michaela Morgan, and Jack Prelutsky. Children will love the humor that runs throughout, and the book is a
great introduction to poetry, whether at home or at school.

Genres: Poetry, Magic, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1997

About the author

John Foster taught English for twenty years before becoming a full-time writer. He is the author of over 100 books for classroom use including the best-selling PSHE and Citizenship course Your Life. He is also a highly regarded children's poet, anthologist and poetry performer.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Gerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well illustrated, here is a selection of poems by a variety of authors about every kind of magic one can imagine and including such characters as Maxo the Magician, who was 'very sharp and slick,/And people flocked from miles around/To see his famous trick', The Great Zobezank, who was really one of the girl's dads and worked at the Westminster Bank, Miranda, the Queen of the Air, who '... comes from the East/Performs levitation on LARGE CHINESE BEAST', Mang, who cavorts with a boy named Karong, and The Crocodile King to unfortunate effect, and Harry Hobgoblin, who has a Superstore selling 'Spells that grow and stretch and shrink,/Spells that make your best friends stink'.

They are all amusing poems, charmingly, in a grotesque sort of way, illustrated by Korky Paul and make good read-aloud verse that would make any listener chuckle - unfortunately I read them aloud to myself!

I must say I do feel sorry for Daphne Smart, who, chosen for an illusion by The Great Zobezank, stepped inside a magic box and was never seen again, Maxo the Magician, who, working with his magic hat, was sucked inside and he, too, disappeared, and Miranda, who misquoted her levitation trick with her panda to find herself deposed by a plummeting bear!

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

April is National Poetry Month!

CC Standards for poetry can be easy to work into the 7th/8th grade English Language Arts curriculum.

It's useful to have daily, weekly or bi-weekly poetry reading and analysis with high-interest -- versus literary -- poems. For this, I found the poems collected in the various books edited by John Foster and Korky Paul generated substantial student enthusiasm.

Foster and Paul have collected poems your students will want to read. The artwork is divine, and the poems lend themselves to daily reading and basic poetry analysis. You'll find the likes of Shakespeare (Macbeth's Witches' Chant) and other classics sprinkled in these volumes, as well.

I bought several copies of each collection, and made them available to table groups. Students worked in groups or pairs to choose and analyze a poem a day using the Poetry Analysis Bellwork Slips.

Or, conversely, you can assign specific poems to analyze. Students used the Trifold Poetry Pamphlets to help identify figurative language devices, types of poety and rhyme schemes.

The sheer number of books in this poetry collection also meant I could use a different book with each table group, ensuring students collaborated with their table peers.

Visit my blog for the free teaching resources / handouts mentioned in this review: http://amb.strikingly.com/blog/teachi...

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining collection of magical poems for children. The poems are fun to read aloud and the illustrations are marvelous.

Our oldest especially likes poetry and I purchased this book at our girls' elementary school library book fair with her in mind. Our youngest didn't like the poems as much, but as long as I only read a couple at a time, she was okay with it. (I think she even liked a few of them.)

I intended to donate the book to the school once we finished with it, but our oldest liked it so much she wants to keep it.

[Leah Vermillion · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides kids with a very interesting take on poetry. The illustrations used really bring the poems to life. The poems are unique and very entertaining to read. This book would be perfect for the older kids around 4th or 5th grade when they are learning more in depth about poetry.