One Hundred Years of Poetry for Children - Softcover

Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark have edited a large number of classic poetry anthologies for OUP, including the best-selling One Hundred Years of Poetry for children. Michael Harrison lives in Oxford, and Christopher Stuart-Clark lives in Windsor.

Grade 6 Up-An outstanding collection. Instead of presenting more of the same literal, singsong poems for children, the editors mine the works of the last century to provide readers with a thematically arranged book of verse that they will be able to read and understand now, but will also think about for many years to come. Although most of the poems in this sophisticated collection will be accessible to youngsters, many of them weren't actually written for children, such as T. S. Eliot's "Preludes," Sylvia Plath's "Dialogue between Ghost and Priest," and Philip Larkin's "An Arundel Tomb." The compilers do not shy away from death or unhappiness. For example, under the section entitled "Childhood," they offer the usual poems describing idealized memories but also include Berlie Doherty's "Playgrounds," a lament about being alone, and Barrie Wade's "Truth," about how words can be the most painful thing of all. The careful selection of writers both well and lesser known allows more traditional poems, such as Alfred Noyes's "The Highwayman," to rest under the heading of "Love" alongside Adrian Henri's terrific fractured fairy tale, "Any prince to any princess." There is a British slant to the selections, so some children may need help sorting out unfamiliar words. Those who put in the effort will find it satisfying to uncover the richness and music of these verses. This book could be used as a classroom text sure to spark discussion, but could also be read with gratifying results by young people discovering poetry on their own.
Carrie Schadle, Beginning with Children School, New York City
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