Poetry for Young People William Carlos Williams

Scholastic has a series of Poetry for Young People that takes the works of famous poets and makes them accessible to children.  They do this by including a biography of the poet, illustrations, explanations of the poems and definitions of words and styles.   It's a great way to read poetry with kids.  Though William Carlos Williams is not one of my favorite poets, it's still worth reading his lines, especially when you are learning to appreciate his sound and rhythm and inspiration at the same time.  We have several of this series, all picked up second hand.

Poetry for Young People

William Carlos Williams

edited by Christopher McGowan

illustrated by Robert Crockett

Children of the Forest

Children of the Forest

Elsa Beskow 1987

 We recently added this to our Elsa Beskow collection, a sweet book about a forest family and their adventures throughout the year.  Charlotte was quite taken with the mushroom capped children.  They live under the curling roots of an old pine tree and spend their days at the pond or picking berries, or learning about mushrooms and going to school with wise Mrs. Owl.  On winter nights they would sit around the fire, listening to their father telling stories his father told him when he was a boy, about trolls and fairies, storms and strange cities from long ago.  When Spring comes round again Beskow leaves the reader with this:  "A new year was beginning in the forest and this is where we must leave the children.  But if you like, think about them and their forest friends, and that way, their story will never end."

Hurry, Hurry, Mary Dear

Erik Blegvad illustrates his good friend, N.M. Bodecker's funny poem about a put-upon woman busily preparing for winter.  She must pick apples, chop firewood, churn butter, smoke hams, sew and cook and clean.  As she gets more and more disheveled and exhausted looking, you see her fat husband lounging in his chair, looking quite comfortable and you share her sentiments exactly!  It's all in good fun and Blegvad's pictures are as delightful as always.

Hurry, Hurry, Mary Dear

N.M. Bodecker

illustrated by Erik Blegvad

(Bodecker was also an illustrator and this little tidbit was included in the front of the book.)

All In A Day

All in a Day

Mitsumasa Anno 1986

illustrations by:

Raymond Briggs, Ron Brooks, Eric Carle, Gian Calvi, Zhu Chengliang

Leo and Diane Dillon, Akiko Hayashi, Nicolai Ye. Popov 

This interesting book had 9 artists from around the world each illustrate a single day.  While it's December 31st at 6pm in the USA (Eric Carle has shown a boy watching tv),  in Japan it's 9am on January 1st and little Aki is getting her hair fixed.

The text can be confusing at times, but it's a neat idea to see what children around the world are doing at exactly the same time.  There's an explanation about time zones and climate and geography in the back.  Biographical information about the artists is also included and each one has a tie to the country they were illustrating.

Peace is the theme of this book, and the principal message that the authors hope young readers will find in Citi is that, despite many apparent differences, we are more like than unlike our neighbors all around the world, and we share their hopes for a peaceful and happy future for all who live on this, our mutual and only earth.

Oregon's Journey

Oregon's Journey

Rascal

pictures by Louis Joos

With hints of magic realism and a dose of Americana, there's something sweet and haunting about this simple story.  A clown and a bear leave the circus together and make their way across the country to the mountains where the bear can be wild and live free.  The sweeping watercolor illustrations and plain but evocative text create a story that stirs something deeper when you read it. 

What Can You Do with a Shoe?

A gloriously silly collaboration between Beatrice Schenk de Regainers and Maurice Sendak.

What can you do with a shoe?

Beatrice Schenk de Regniers

pictures by Maurice Sendak 1955

Follow along as two children pick up everyday objects and declare all sorts of ridiculous ways to use them.  Great for reading aloud!