Please recommend the best poetry anthology

[Codswallop]

for ds1 5.5

I cant see the point of poems meself

[wilbur]

How about starting with AA. Milne's When We Are Six - old fashioned, but sweet and like little stories and quite a good introduction to poetry. I think there's also a The Nation's Favourite Poems antholgy for Children, which might be good.

[Codswallop]

Oh thanks

its his homework

find a fave poem

was thinking of room ont he broom

[wilbur]

here

[spacemonkey]

coddy you philistine!

[tamum]

My ds's favourite book at this age (and indeed now) is Roger McGough's Bad Bad Cats . Excellent poem about Where's Wally amongst others, but maybe not what his teacher had in mind....

[binkie]

Funny, I was thinking of asking dinosaur that - some postings about our respective dss liking poems & think she's rather knowledgeable. Anyway, we got given this (though annoyingly I see it's unavailable at Amazon) & there's lots in there that ds & dd both love. It'll be in the library. Is this Easter hols homework?

[captainCOD]

yes bink

[captainCOD]

sm I think just write it like prose

whats the point of poems?

[captainCOD]

bad cats lloks good

[binkie]

In support of poetry, there is the rhythm thing - in the Oxford Anth I linked to there is Auden's "Night Mail" and reading it aloud very fast so that you can hear the train barrelling along is completely different from listening a story in prose (and I think more fun, but there you go).

[captainCOD]

ooh yes we did htat at primary school
still know huge chunks of it

"puuling up beatock a steady climb the gradients against her but shes on time"

[binkie]

(and, here's a sneaky one, a poem for a bedtime story is much quicker)

bad mummy

[captainCOD]

hmm godd one b

[Heathcliffscathy]

there is a fabulous anthology called 'staying alive' that is in the bookshops at the moment...really amazing contemporary poetry...i'm not a poetry aficionado but i loved it...inspiring stuff...

[Heathcliffscathy]

o god, sorry, should have read your post better, this is for adults def not children!!! sorry sorry

[Janh]

coddy, dunno if I'm too late on this one but have you come across Allan Ahlberg's kids' poems? Please Mrs Butler is a hoot, the review says ages 8+ but infants would appreciate it too I think (suits 50+ as well...)

There are some other suggestions on the page too.

[Janh]

Have just thought of another but have to go be a taxi driver, will be back!

[spacemonkey]

poetry is like a concentrated form of prose imo

[Codswallop]

thaank you Queen of products

[expatkat]

I have no idea what the point of poetry is either.

I have yet to find a decent anthology of children's poems in Britain, so can't help. But if one comes to mind, or if one of my poet friends can recommend one, I'll let you know.

[roisin]

Another vote for the one wilbur recommended BBC The Nation's favourite poems of childhood We've got this, and it seems to have everything in it that I remember and enjoy from childhood ... everything from Spike Milligan to Hilaire Belloc to Roald Dahl to A A Milne. A really great selection.