Poems for Little Ones

I bought this book to read to my son when he was six months old. He loved it. It was the perfect book to use a variation of tones and to introduce words that might not be used on a daily basis. It also introduce simple concepts such as snow falling and the smell of grass. I loved the book, because it gave me a sampling of the poems I have always loved. Now I have a second child and both she and my son, who is now a toddler, enjoy the book.

Our 6 month old loves this book! When I show him the cover his eyes widen and he starts kicking and making noise. There's something about the cartoon character that he just loves. He enjoys looking for him in each poem, and I think he enjoys the rhythmn of the words (and I enjoy reading them outloud). We're so glad we bought it, and now we're looking for other books that feature this character!

Who says a child can't understand this? Maybe they won't get *all* the words on their own, but it's a great way to introduce both new objects and concepts, and an early introduction to classic poetry. My 2 year old son loves this. He loves to hear me read the poems to him, and he loves to name the objects on the pages. *I* love the idea of being able to introduce him to the classics in a manner he'll appreciate--namely through pretty pictures and association with objects that are easy for him to comprehend. We read it through together once, and he'll often turn to a few specific pages after we're done and have me read them again. It's a great way to engage with your child while still maintaining a degree of interest for adults, which is something often hard to find in children's books. And the discussion suggestions at the bottom of each page give you good ideas to keep using as your child keeps growing up as well, making sure it'll be a beloved item in our house for years to come.

I began looking at this book with my daughter when she was about 12 months old. She loved it, and asked for it again and again. The text was definitely too advanced for her at that age, but she loved looking at the bright, colorful pictures, and talking about them. I think she will appreciate the text more as she grows older--and I think it's remarkable that she has some baby books that will actually grow with her through preschool!

This book is a wonderful introduction to great poems. Each page has a vivid photograph of an object depicted in the poem on the facing page. Below the photo are two questions to provoke discussion. Very young children like my daughter will like to turn the pages and look at the pictures, and you may only be able to say what the object is. However, as the attention span gets longer you'll be able to read the poems to your child more often, and eventually you can even discuss the questions. We are really enjoying this book!