An Attempt at Unrhymed Verse by Wendy Cope
People tell you all the time,
Poems do not have to rhyme.
It's often better if they don't
And I'm determined this one won't.
Oh dear.
Never mind, I'll start again.
Busy, busy with my pen...cil.
I can do it if I try--
Easy, peasy, pudding and gherkins.
Writing verse is so much fun,
Cheering as the summer weather,
Makes you feel alert and bright,
'Specially when you get it more or
less the way you want it.
See inside this book on the Nosy Crow webpage. There are 350 pages in this enormous poetry book and 366 poems. It is divided into twelve months with a poem for every day and includes an index of poets, an index of poems, and an index of first lines.
From the introduction:
"In a poem the arrangements of words create lovely melodies through rhythm and rhyme or free verse. They might be slow, soft and soothing, like a lullaby, or quick-march to get your heart racing. And a really funny poem might give you the giggles."
"Of course, humour is a very individual thing. What makes one person laugh might leave another cold. So, I've done my best to find poems to tickle all sorts of readers. There are slapstick silly poems and tongue-twisters to get tangled in and nonsense poems full of riddles."
There are lots of familiar names in this book: Allan Ahlberg; Maya Angelou; Hiliare Belloc; Charles Causley; Joseph Coelho; Julia Donaldson; TS Eliot; Max Fatchen (Australia); Vivian French; AF Harrold; Russell Hoban; Ted Hughes; Karla Kuskin; Edward Lear; Margaret Mahy; Roger McGough; Spike Milligan (Australia); Tony Mitton; Ogden Nash; Linda Sue Park; Jack Prelutsky; Michael Rosen; Christina Rossetti; Roger Stevens; Colin Thiele (Australia); Judith Viorst; and Jane Yolen. Plus, many many more.
This Poem by Elma Mitchell
This poem is dangerous: it should not be left
Within the reach of children, or even of adults
Who might swallow it whole, with possibly
Undesirable side effects. If you come across
An unattended, unidentified poem
In a public place, do not attempt to tackle it
Yourself. Send it (preferably in a sealed container)
To the nearest centre of learning, where it will be rendered
Harmless by experts. Even the simplest poem
May destroy your immunity to human emotions.
All poems must carry a Government warning. Words
Can seriously affect your heart.
When you think about using the months of the year you will expect many seasonal poems in this book - Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter along with Easter, Halloween and Christmas. You could flip through every page in this book, or turn to today's date, or look up your birthday, or just randomly flip to any page. All of these are great ways to access this huge book. And when you find your favourite page, you can mark it with the ribbon marker (I do love these).
I have not yet read every poem but here are a few pages I enjoyed:
Page 100 April 11th and 12th
"This is just to say" by William Carlos Williams sits side by side with a rift on this famous poem by Matthew Sweeney:
I have eaten
the chicken
you had on the sideboard
defrosting
and which you were hoping
to roast
and serve with wine
to your friends
forgive me
I'm a cat
we have no manners
we're always like that
Page 298 August 1st - 4th
A celebration of bananas
Page 226 September 5th
I don't like Poetry by Joshua Seigal (extract)
I don't like similes
every time I try to think of one
my brain feels like a vast, empty desert,
my eyes feel like raisins floating in the ocean
my fingers feel like sweaty sausages.
...
I don't like alliteration.
We learnt about it in school
but it's seriously, stupendously silly;
definitely drastically difficult;
terribly, troublingly tricky.
Page 216 August 24th - 26th
Poems about taking a bath
Page 182 July 15th - 17th
Poems about shoelaces
Page 148 June 14th - 16th
Poems about hippos
Page 134 May 22nd
I'm absolutely full tonight by Kenn Nesbitt
I’m absolutely full tonight.
I couldn’t eat another bite.
I couldn’t eat a half a bean,
or even taste a tangerine.
I couldn’t lick a lettuce leaf
or bite the slightest bit of beef.
I couldn’t polish off a pea
or sip a single drop of tea
or nibble on a nanogram
of pickled ham or candied yam
or lamb or clam or jam or Spam.
Yes, that’s how full I truly am.
To even think of eating more
would leave me lying on the floor
and surely make my stomach hurt
unless, of course, you’ve got dessert.
Page 78 March 17th
Today, I feel by Gervase Phinn
This might be one you could use for an assembly item:
Today, I Feel as:
Pleased as PUNCH,
Fit as a FIDDLE,
Keen as a KNIFE,
Hot as a GRIDDLE,
Bold as BRASS,
Bouncy as a BALL,
Keen as MUSTARD,
High as a WALL,
Bright as a BUTTON,
Light as a FEATHER,
Fresh as a DAISY,
Fragrant as HEATHER,
Chirpy as a CRICKET,
Sound as a BELL,
Sharp as a NEEDLE,
Deep as a WELL,
High as a KITE,
Strong as a BULL,
Bubbly as BATH WATER,
Warm as WOOL,
Clean as a new PIN,
Shiny as MONEY,
Quick as LIGHTNING,
Sweet as HONEY,
Cool as CUCUMBER,
Fast as a HARE,
Right as RAIN,
Brave as a BEAR,
Lively as a MONKEY,
Busy as a BEE,
Good as GOLD,
Free as the SEA.
I’M SO HAPPY- I’M JUST LOST FOR
WORDS.
Page 316-7 December 15th - 17th
Poems about sneezing
Hunt’s cartoon illustrations, which feature a large and diverse cast of children in lively poses, add bright notes of energy and action to the spacious page layouts. Kirkus
I dream of finding a talented teacher or two or three and gifting them this book (A Whale of a Time) plus one of these to use every day in their classroom - what a glorious way to share funny, poignant, important, delightful, joyous, and wonderful poems every day with a group of students. Each of these books are expensive but they would also be a wonderful investment. I agree they are too large and heavy to loan to individual students in your school library, but each could be placed in a classroom (for the whole year!).
Matt Hunt illustrated this counting book which I adored:
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