The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems

by June Crebbin (Editor)

'The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems' is a magical celebration of poetry for very young children, acting as a stepping stone from nursery rhyme to poetry without being in the least bit patronising but instead providing a unique mix of funny, unusual and exciting work from a wide range of poets.

This highly accessible collection is divided into seven sections where children can read about animals, playtime, families, mealtimes, outings, curling up for bed or just plain nonsense.

Featuring some of the best work from over 60 favourite poets and packed tight with bright illustrations which perfectly capture the essence of the words, 'The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems' is a book that the whole family can enjoy together.

(Ages 3 to 6)
- Susan Harrison

Genres: Poetry, Childrens

Paperback

First published October 7, 1999

Reviews

[Hannah]

I bought this book at the Scholtastic Book Fair when I was 6 - I'm 30 now and I STILL think about it.

The poems were so fun, the colours and illustrations so engaging, and it's one of my favourite childhood books ever.

I highly recommend this book for your children whether they've shown an interest in poetry or not. I wasn't interested in poems much until this very book.

It's so memorable, even 24 years on!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Amy Garcia Rapoport]

Lovely collection or relatable poems for children. Diverse range of writing styles, both classic and more modern. Illustrations add beautifully to the poems, really helping children to feel excited about poetry. Would be nice if there were some topics to challenge the children, but all in all a solid collection.

[Henry Ash]

This book contains the best work from over sixty different poets and provides a brilliant introduction for children into the world of poetry. The poems are perfect for children as they are accessible to read and are split into different categories of 'animals', 'playtime', 'family', 'mealtimes', 'random', 'days out' and 'bedtime'. Every section contains colourful illustrations that would captivate children and provide word association.

One particularly wholesome poem was 'Our Mother' by Allan Ahlberg, which is part of the family section and reflects a lot of the other poems from the section by describing the different qualities and characteristics that different family members have.

[Sheyma Mohamed]

June Crebbin's "The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems" is a wonderful collection of poems that exposes young readers to poetry in a playful and interesting way. The collection of poetry in the book includes a wide range of poets and topics that are likely to spark young readers' imaginations.
Due to its wacky language and graphics, "The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems" is a favourite among kids. The poetry in the book are brought to life by the vibrant and captivating illustrations, which also make them more approachable and simple to understand. The poems themselves are written in a manner that is simple for kids to understand and enjoy.

The range of themes and subjects included in "The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems" is one of the book's most appealing features. Young readers may explore a variety of emotions and viewpoints by reading poetry that range from humorous and cheerful to more serious and reflective. This motivates kids to think critically about their surroundings and contributes to their increased awareness of the world.

Overall, "The Puffin Book of Fantastic First Poems" is an excellent resource for introducing young readers to the world of poetry. It is a fantastic option for parents and teachers who wish to promote a love of reading and support children in the development of their language and literacy abilities because of its engaging text, humorous graphics, and range of themes and topics.

[Jenny]

As I'm unpacking books, I'm trying to be conscientious about removing books from our family library that we likely won't be reading in the future--books that filled a specific purpose and can find new homes. I wondered if this poetry collection was one that would be better off on someone else's shelves. We have so, so many poetry anthologies, and is a book of "fantastic first poems" going to be reached for by kids who have had poems filling their days for about a decade at this point?

So I grabbed it to "just quickly skim" and, whoops, read the whole thing.

While I really hate the cover, it is a truly delightful collection of poems. There's a lot of fabulous nonsense, selections from classic poets like Christina Rossetti, Robert Frost, Longfellow, and Robert Louis Stevenson, as well as a few family favorites like Eleanor Farjeon.

I'm not sure I can get rid of it, even if my kids are of an age that they probably won't gravitate to the title and cover anymore. I'll have grandkids someday.

[Megan Vink]

This collection of poetry for young children includes a wide range of topics, including animals, playing, eating, holidays, and bedtime. It is thus an excellent resource for connecting in with various themes being discussed in class as well as exposing youngsters to basic rhyming. The visuals, in particular, are engaging and help to bring the narrative to life. I enjoyed reading this with a few students in my class. For children who needed a break from the lesson because of their needs- this book is one they seemed to love talking about and a great calming strategy. I will definitely buy this for my class.

[Saiqa Manan]

This is a poem book specifically targeted toward young children, it includes a range of poems from everyday activities to silly things.

This book could be used as a simple step to introduce poetry to young children in the classroom, by keeping it simple and enjoyable, yet the structure of a poem can Bebe taken apart and examined by children.

I think this is a very fun and engaging book to raise children’s interest in a more complex or different reading style.

[Sarah Coles]

This collection of poems for young children covers a multitude of themes, for example, animals, playing, food, holidays, bedtime. It is therefore a fantastic resource for tying in with different topics being studied in the class, as well as introducing children to basic rhyme. The illustrations are especially appealing and really bring the text to life.

[Madison Reynolds]

I think this book is great for younger grades, and that they can really relate to it. I think that we could read the mus poem, and then each come up with our own poem of something that we like to do. I think that this will give my students a chance to be creative as well as learn the structures of a poem.

[Zoe Munday]

This poetry book is full of lovely poems from over 60 poets. The book has been sectioned into different categories and this works well when needing to find the perfect poem. It has poems for all occasions such as days out, animals and even mealtimes. The book has lovely illustrations to go along with the poems. Great for younger children.

[Chloe]

There are a number of really lovely first poems in this book. All of the poems have some relation to the children's life e.g animals and food. As someone who is dyslexic, I would say that these poems are accessible and easy to read. I really enjoyed getting to read the poems as poetry is not something I read often but over all this is really good first poem book.

[Aliyah Majothi]

This book is wonderful collection of poems which are perfect for young readers. It incudes a wide range of classic rhymes as well as fun and modern poems that are easy to understand and are full of rhythm. the simple language and lively illustration make it a great choice for children who are beginning to read and explore poetry as it sparks their imagination and creativity.

[Ellie Rose]

Another book of fantastic poems, I came across this book in Waterstones when me and my family went away for the weekend . I instantly recognised the bright cover from childhood cI had to pick it up! I particularly like the poem about Spaghetti 🍝

[Maddy]

Great for introducing poems to children. I use this in my class daily.

[Seonaid]

We have umpteen kids poetry books, but this has recently become one of the firm favourites, not least because of the great illustrations. There is a wide variety of topics and poets covered, from nonsense poems to bedtime poems, and William Blake to Roger McGough, so there should be something for everyone. Our favourites include 'Brother' by Mary Anne Hoberman, a fantastic tongue twisting exercise that never fails to get a laugh out of Iz, 'Silver' by Walter de la Mare, and 'Night' by William Blake.

[Zainab Jalil]

What a fantastic book! It contains a great collection of poems written by many different poets. This book would be an ideal way to introduce poetry to young children. It has a brilliant range of poems: magical, funny, exciting, sad, scary and narrative poems. Throughout the book there is a great use of colourful pictures for each poem told, which is brilliant for visual learners. Great book to use for the classroom, or even at bedtime!

[Gerry]

A good selection of children's poetry arranged by subject, such as Animal poems, poems about games and playing, fun and nonsense poems, bedtime poems and a few others.

Beautifully illustrated to capture the words and also to attract the children (and adults!).

The book provides a super introduction to poetry for children of all ages, three to 73 for instance!

[Ste Bristolco]

it says on the book cover it's for very young children, but I think this means KS1 and 2 really ( although younger will enjoy being read too) .it's got lots of cheeky and funny poems, lots of nonsense verse. different styles and colour illustrations.

[Tia]

A collection of poems from different genres. Some nonsense, some shorter and some story poems. Such a good book with lovely illustrations.

[Sophie Brown]

Many of the poems in this anthology have an easy rhythm and simple rhyming pattern for young children to follow. The topics covered are accessible and relatable for young children, for example poems about animals, games, food, holidays and days out, as well as poems for bedtime, some funny poems, and some very sweet poems about family.