When I was growing up the only short poems I encountered in poetry books were limericks and rhyming riddles. I didn't learn about haiku until I was in high school, and certainly did not encounter the kinds of poems that you will find in today's poetry title. These short "pocket poems" are perfect for children. Many of them are amusing, but some are more serious and offer children images and ideas that they will enjoy thinking and talking about.
Pocket Poems
Pocket PoemsSelected by Bobbi Katz
Illustrated by Marylin Hafner
Poetry Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Penguin, 2013, 978-0147508591
Though we live in a “bigger is better” world, we don’t always have to buy into this way of thinking. There are many instances when smaller is better, or when less is better. There are times when a tiny and perfect little violet has more impact than a big bunch of roses, or when a little basket of perfectly ripe strawberries is better than a whole bowl full of strawberry shortcake.
In this poetry book we are going to encounter a wonderful selection of pocket poems, poems that are short and sweet and that we can write down on a small piece of paper and tuck in a pocket. Such poems can go “wherever you go” and since nothing can “take it” or “break it,” that poem “becomes / part of… / YOU!”
There are a wide variety of pocket poems included in this collection. Some are amusing like Toothpaste. In this poem we hear about how toothpaste ends up “on my nose” and how it “sprays north and west and south.” The only place the pesky stuff doesn’t end up is in the one place where it belongs, which is “inside my mouth.”
Other poems, like the excerpt from William Blake’s Night, are more contemplative, creating an atmosphere and capturing a precious memory or moment in time. In this poem we read about the moon which is “like a flower / In heaven’s high bower.” Another simple get meaningful poem is called Home and in it we read a few short lines that capture the essence of home with its “quiet” and “peace.”
As we move from page to page we enjoy moments from school days and everyday life, old fashioned Mother Goose rhymes, and more. The poets whose creations appear on these pages include J. Patrick Lewis, Carl Sandburg, Lewis Carroll, Emily Dickinson, and Nikki Giovanni.