Review of HERE'S A LITTLE POEM: A VERY FIRST BOOK OF POETRY

Bibliography:

Yolen, Jane and Andrew Fusek Peters, collected by. 2007. Here’s a little poem: A very first book of poetry. Illustrated by Polly Dunbar. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.
ISBN 9780763631413

Review:

Poetry is meant to be enjoyed by all ages, and Here’s a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry is the perfect way to introduce it to the very young. Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters have collected sixty-one poems from “various parts of the English-speaking world” for parents and other adults to share with children. A variety of poems are included, ranging from “The Swing” by the 19th century poet Robert Louis Stevenson to A. A. Milne’s “Halfway Down” and works by contemporary poets such as Rosemary Wells, Marilyn Singer, and Jack Prelutzky. They are all bound together in an oversize book that allows each to be presented in large font, perfect for sharing with a group or a special friend. Yolen and Peters have divided the anthology in to four sections and include an index of poem titles as well as an index of poets to make it easier to locate favorite poems. However, readers will enjoy flipping through all the pages, so they don’t miss poems like “Your Birthday Cake” by Rosemary Wells in which a young child presents his mother with a “birthday cake of mud because I love you so”. The little boy cannot bake a real cake because he “cannot cook, . . . cannot read a recipe, . . . and (he’s) not allowed to use the stove”. Young children will relate to the little boy’s experience and delight in his solution, for who doesn’t enjoy making a mud pie! In addition, they will enjoy the illustrations created by Polly Dunbar. Each features one or more toddlers involved in a variety of activities from licking pink ice cream off fingers in “Ice Cream Cone” to looking at stars with Dad in “Stargazing”. The illustrations, while simple, capture the action and bring the poems to life. Here’s a Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry should be added to libraries and bookshelves so children of all ages can experience the joy of sharing poetry from a very early age.