Poetry for Kids

Barbara J. Feldman

For this week's review, I chose five fun poetry sites for kids of all ages. I've included a little bit of everything, from original verse published only on the Internet, to traditional nursery rhymes and well-known poets such as Ogden Nash. Next time, I'll feature sites where kids can publish their own poetry. Come on in, the surfing is fine!

Grandpa Tucker's Rhymes and Tales

5 stars

I can picture Grandpa Tucker in my mind's eye, my imagination encouraged by his cartoon figure and the bluegrass music playing in the background. Grandpa Tucker writes an original monthly story in verse, and shares his collection of fun illustrated poems. He offers this advice to parents. "....I believe that the most important reading being done anywhere in the world is when an adult reads to a child. I believe children will leave Nintendo or stop roller blading for a few minutes to share the closeness of sharing a story." His original poems certainly inspired me to read-out-loud to my little one.

How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers

4 stars

This verse by Robert Williams Wood was first published in 1907 by Paul Elder and Company. Having noticed that the copyright had expired on the volume that belonged to his great-grandmother, David Newman scanned it onto his Web site in its entirety. Kids and adults will enjoy the verses and the illustrations that teach us "How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers". "Some are unable, as you know, to tell the Crocus from the Crow. The reason why is just because, they are not well versed in Nature's laws."

KidzPage

5 stars

The KidzPage is a delightful collection of poetry that shouldn't be missed. Start with Emmi Tarr's Critter ABCs. "A is for Antelope graceful in flight. B is for Butterfly, glittering bright." Then move on to Ogden Nash for more animal fun. "God in his wisdom made the fly. And then forgot to tell us why." Near the bottom of the page, you'll find poetry submitted by kids and teens. For more places to send your kids' poems, come back next week for my column on "Writing Poetry."

Poetry for Kids

4 stars

Kenn Nesbitt doesn't have any children of his own yet, but writes whimsical poetry with his future progeny in mind. My favorite is titled "Surfing". "I went out and bought a new surf board, so I could go surfing the Net, but it won't plug into my computer, so I haven't gone surfing just yet."

Zelo Nursery Rhymes

3 stars

Mother Goose and other nursery rhymes are an important introduction to literature, and the basis for developing a love for words. All the experts agree: read rhymes to your kids. Zelo's alphabetic list of nursery rhymes looks a little unfinished, but it's the best collection of nursery rhymes I could find on the Web. For more ideas on using nursery rhymes as an educational tool, read Pat Anderson's On Reading Nursery Rhymes With Children of Varying Ages.