Here's a Little Poem collected by Jane Yolen illustrated by Polly Dunbar

Here's a little Poem: A very first book of Poetry

Collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters

Publisher Blurb: This exuberant celebration of poetry is an essential book for every young one’s library and a gorgeous gift to be both shared and treasured. Sit back and savor a superb collection of more than sixty poems by a wide range of talented writers, from Margaret Wise Brown to Gertrude Stein, Langston Hughes to A. A. Milne. Greeting the morning, enjoying the adventures of the day, cuddling up to a cozy bedtime — these are poems that highlight the moments of a toddler’s world from dawn to dusk. Carefully gathered by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters and delightfully illustrated by Polly Dunbar, Here's a Little Poem offers a comprehensive introduction to some remarkable poets, even as it captures a very young child’s intense delight in the experiences and rituals of every new day.

Your Birthday Cake by Rosemary Wells

Your birthday cake is made of mud

Because I cannot cook

I cannot read a recipe or follow in a book

I’m not allowed to use the stove

To simmer, roast or bake

I have no money of my own to buy a birthday cake

I’m sure to get in trouble if I mess around with dough

But I’ve made your birthday cake with mud

Because I love you so

Grandpa by Berlie Doherty

Grandpa's hands are as rough as garden sacks

And as warm as pockets.

His skin is crushed paper round his eyes

Wrapping up their secrets.

The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson

How do you like to go up in a swing,

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside—

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown—

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

I picked up this delicious poetry book at a recent charity book sale for just $2 and it is in brand new condition. I suspect (but of course I really don't know) that this book was a gift for a new baby and the family never opened it? This is a huge format book (288 x 258 mm and 108 pages) with one poem (there are 60) on each page and wonderful illustrations by Polly Dunbar. I did plan to gift this book to a friend but for now I think I might keep it for my own collection. The hardcover edition of this book (my copy is hardcover) retails for nearly $60.

If you have a young child or a new grandchild or you work in a preschool this is a book you MUST consider purchasing. It is available in paperback for a better price of around $30 [9781406327113].

Image Source: Polly Dunbar

“Achieves picture book nirvana…a richly entertaining book. The real joy of this book is how it makes poetry look like fun. Every page sings…” Sydney Morning Herald

"Imagine you wake up one sunny morning and someone brings you a plate, only instead of holding scrambled eggs, you are served up a dish piled high with more than sixy little presents to unwrap, each one more lovely and surprising than the last. That’s what’s being served up in this oversized collection of bright spots in a young child’s life"  Planet Esme

Image Source: Polly Dunbar

Read this review from Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast. Read more about Polly Dunbar here. This is what she said about Here's a little Poem:

It was so lovely to wake up each day with a large empty page and a new poem to challenge me. I wanted each page turn to be a surprise, to keep myself entertained as much as the reader. At times it was quite daunting, working on such a big project it’s hard to see it as a whole, and I hoped it would all hang together in the end. It was great spending time with the poems. They would go round and round my head. A lovely world to get lost in.