Now children may Go out of doors, Without their coats, To candy stores. The apple branches And the pear May float their blossoms Through the air, And Daddy may Get out his hoe To plant tomatoes In a row, And, afterwards, May lazily Look at some baseball On TV. --from "May" by John Updike From January to December, Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark trace all the months of the year in this rich collection of poems for children. Eight to twelve poems are chosen for each month to capture the essence of a particular time and season. Narrative poems, very short poems, funny poems, sad poems--each month offers quite a variety, chosen especially for children aged 9 to 14. February boasts poems by Sara Teasdale and Walter de la Mare. April offers Langston Hughes and Tennyson. John Updike is a contributor to May and August. And the other months are made particularly memorable with poems from Emily Bronte, Longfellow, D. H. Lawrence, Rupert Brooke, Emily Dickinson, and many others. The poems are illustrated by a variety of artists in an open and easy-to-read format that blends the poetry with the artwork. Included are an index of authors and artists, and of titles and first lines. The lavish design and the thoughtful, diverse selection of poems make this an ideal resource for classroom and library, a special gift for a young poet, or the perfect choice for beginning or adding to a child's first personal library.
