Side by Side: Poems to Read Together

A collection of poems especially chosen to be read aloud, by authors ranging from Lewis Carroll and Robert Louis Stevenson to Gwendolyn Brooks and David McCord.

Kindergarten-Grade 3 The title is appropriate not only because the selected poems are so perfect for reading aloud, but because of the perfect integration of the poems and Knight's illustrations. As in his Twelve Days of Christmas (Macmillan, 1981), Knight extends the meaning of the grouped poems with accompanying scenes that create their own subtext. The book is arranged by seasons . Hopkins shows the strength of a true master collector. His selections embrace Mother Goose, traditional songs, and modern poets such as Eve Merriam, Langston Hughes, and Robert Louis Stevenson. A book worthy to sit side by side with Prelutsky's Read-Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young (Knopf, 1986) and some of Hopkins' other collections. Kathleen Whalin, Public Library of Columbus and Franklin County, Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Sprinkled throughout this cheery volume of familiar poems are pictures of people readinga lady in a straw hat reading to a toddler on an old-fashioned porch, a kangaroo reading to babies in her pouch. True to the title, the poems collected are perfect for reading side by side. There are story poems; counting rhymes; verses about seasons, holidays and animals. Every page is filled with Knight's rollicking watercolors of exuberant, bright-eyed children. What will ensure this book's popularity, however, is the inclusion of poems many parents and grandparents will remember, including "A Visit from St. Nicholas," "The Three Little Kittens" and "The House that Jack Built." Fun for all members of the family, this is both a nostalgia-filled and a living collection. Ages 6-up.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.