Children's Poetry

Sample Poem from A Little Bit of Nonsense, page 76.

Mining for a Poem
Mining for a poem,
pining to go home
to where the rhyme and meter make some sense.
Digging for a clue
for what my words should do
all safely bound within a picket fence.

Searching for a rhyme
is not a waste of time,
and rhythm must be meter's closest friend.
Together they go dancing,
lithely prancing and romancing
till the poem comes to a satisfying end.

There's something about poetry for children. It's short enough for reluctant readers. It's filled with layers of meaning for the more advanced reader. And it's satisfying fun for everyone who comes to the page. A good poem pleases the ear with a playful use of language, rhythm and, sometimes, with rhyme. Most of us were raised with the singsong sound of poetry. Not only does it give us the backdrop for some pretty happy childhood memories, it also lays the foundation for the love of literature and reading.

Children's poetry can help to foster a life long love of creativity and reading. Literacy is of high value in our world today. Children's poetry perhaps will even spawn a child's imagination and be the catalyst to creativity. All it takes is a funny poem or reading another child's poem to get that spark out of a child. One of the first ways a child gets a sense of what it is to be human often comes as a result of looking at literary characters. As a result some children come to know who and what they are while they are encouraged to reach out creatively.

Reading children's poetry books, children can shape character images and settings from stories they have read in their minds. The characters and events in books are a means of exploration in a child's world. These events help to confirm, illuminate and extend the child's own life experiences. Children's poetry is more powerful than it's emotionally charged entertainment value. It can be used as a growth tool. Experience it, live it, Love it!