Poems and Prayers for the Very Young

by Martha Alexander

Illus. in full color. Children will treasure Rossetti's "Who Has Seen the Wind," Emerson's "Father We Thank Thee," Stevenson's "Rain," and 35 other warm inspirational verses collected here, all gracefully illustrated.  

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, Christian, Religion, Pre K

24 pages, Paperback

First published August 12, 1973

About the author

Born in Georgia, Martha attended the Cincinnati Academy of Art, and lived in many places, including New York, Alaska, and Washington state, before settling in Honolulu, Hawaii. She had two children, eight grandchildren, and 10 great-grandchildren.

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet collection of Christian poems!

I appreciated the length of the poems (appropriate for the very young). Most of them rhymed and were about every day things, keeping it relatable to its intended audience. The illustrations were darling.

There are a couple poems on morning, evening, rain, and spring, and most of them have a theme of gratefulness to God.

Ages: 3 - 7

Content Considerations: nothing to note.

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[Kevin Keating · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty weak actually. Lots better poems for kids than the stuff I saw here.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the arrangement of these prayers and poems. Most of them are very short and rhyme and would be easy for a little kid to memorize. There are prayers for all different situations and times of day, and I think this book would be helpful to introduce children to the habit of praying throughout the day.

My Favorite Prayer:

Table Blessing
God, we thank you for this food,
For rest and home and all things good;
For wind and rain and sun above,
But most of all for those we love.
-- Maryleona Frost

My Favorite Picture:
So hard to pick because I really like this style of illustration and all of these were very cute. But I'd have to pick the one of all the kids playing in the field.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: I wake in the morning early
And always, the very first thing,
I poke out my head and I sit up in bed
And I sing and I sing and I sing.

I enjoy collecting vintage picture books. This one has a slightly Christian theme. I would say ninety percent celebrate nature and common joys in life and ten percent give a nod to God. It does include the Lord's Prayer and a few other familiar poem-prayers that you might have heard depending on your background.

I think it is a lovely-enough collection of poems. The poems aren't so religious and "Christian" that you are in any way teaching your children theology. But the poems are pleasant enough and not anti-Christian either.

I definitely liked the soft, soothing illustrations.

[Brandon Current · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to your children

This is a great collection of simple prayers and poems that help a child to enjoy God's creation in artful reflection and turn that enjoyment back into simple prayers of gratitude as well as asking God's help in becoming inwardly beautiful people.

Wide range of meter and rhyme, varied layout, and nicely illustrated.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

She loves seeing the busy children.

[Jesse Moran · Rating 5 out of 5]

My man, freshhh

[Purity Chemutai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a delightful book! Wonderful poems and sweet prayers.

[Frans Kempe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A warm book of prayers for the kids

[Bryhanna hirzel]

Love it

[Margaret Chind · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very familiar to me and I want to claim I knew it from childhood, but I am not sure. From a favorite artist (Martha Alexander) of a beloved board book, A You're Adorable, this is an 8x8 of an assortment of poems and prayers. Many we also have in our Prayers for Children, but others are new to me. This book is perfect for reading aloud to my young preschooler and toddler. It is also full of selections just long enough for my three year old to memorize and I'm sure later will be great picks for short copywork bits.

I bought this for Sonlight P3/4.

[Shanna Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an adequately-illustrated collection of classic poems and prayers, some of them traditional, others by authors such as Christina Rossetti, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Robert Browning. It is included in several homeschooling curriculums and may be best used for repeated reading and memorization exercises. Unlike nursery rhymes, these poems are serious rather than funny, and it may take a committed parent to help young children appreciate them. As a basic introduction to classic poetry it is pretty good, but is by no means essential. If a child responds well to A.A. Milne's or Shirley Hughes' poetry, this might be a very nice supplement to their library.

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son and I read this book as a part of Sonlight's P3/4 curriculum. I chose to read one poem to my son from this collection everyday. He didn't dislike the book, it just wasn't something he ever asked me to read to him. He zones out a little when I read this, but at this age I just wanted to expose him to good examples of poetry. I feel like this book accomplished that. Personally, I enjoyed this collection and thought there were some really nice selections from poets such as Christina G. Rossetti, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Robert Louis Stevenson. The accompanying illustrations are very sweet and the poems are a good length for toddlers and preschoolers.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beetle,

When your cousins were very young they visited their grandmother for Thanksgiving. As we grasped hands for the prayer before the feast,Cousin Lizzie burst out singing, "Ring around the rosey . . . " Grammy sent them a copy of this prayer book - feeling they needed a spiritual addition to their lives - hoping they'd be better prepared the next year! We share this book with you so you'll never be as embarrassed as your extended family. There are meal prayers, night prayers, and just any-time prayers.

Enjoy,
The flowers22 Family

Thanksgiving 2004

There are some nice prayers here (and a few that do nothing for me).

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a classically beautiful book. When I first cracked it open I thought there was no way my three year old son would want to read it let alone try and recite anything from it. I can't believe how he settles right in and loves the beauty of the art and word. He even has some favorites that he likes to recite or have me read to him.
This book brings back fond memories of my childhood. The type and style are so beautiful and not so over simplified that it loses worth.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nursery-rhyme style prayers that little children would love to listen to as they enjoy the beautiful illustrations.

My favourite is:
"Singing-Time" by Rose Fyleman

I wake in the morning early
And always, the very first thing,
I poke out my head
and sit up in bed
And I sing and I sing and I sing.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great support for teaching religious practice at home

[R.L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a simple and pretty book for a child to listen to and an older child to read. Lovely.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice collection of short poems and prayers that are great for little ones. Good illustrations to look at too.

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll be honest, we haven't read this one much. It keeps floating away and getting lost, but the few times I have read it, I thought it was a really nice little book.

[T Crockett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the few books from my childhood that I still have 30+ years later

[Kaethe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not all that attracted to prayers for toddlers, in part, because I recognize how easy it is to get them to repeat them.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful children's book with prayers and poetry.