The Best Loved Poems of the American People

This is my all time favorite book! My grandmother had a copy of it, and would read it to my mom and her siblings when they were kids. Then she passed it down to my mom and she read it to me and my siblings when we were kids. The Owl and the Fox being one of our favs! Now I have my own copy and read it to my children. This book is sentimental and will be passed down my children one day. This book is a friend. I recommend reading, The Owl and the Fox and Myself. Also, I'd like to be the Sort of Friend that you have been to me and Jenny Kissed me. Read this book and you will love it, just as my family has for decades!

I own a dog-eared, oft-read, much-loved copy of this book which I received as a gift at the age of 12. It remains one of my favorite books of all time--the kind you sit with by a fire on a cold night, the kind you never throw away, the kind you keep by your bedside. These are poems to lift the spirit and inspire the mind with their beautiful rythms, rhymes, and messages. This review may sound corny, but I really do feel this way about this book. It is the kind of book I would pass on to my children and grandchildren . . . one of those rare books I would also call a "friend".

My parents gave this volume to me for Christmas when I was just 10. I was and still am a voracious reader, captivated by the rhythm and meter of language. This book introduced me to poetry in a fun, enjoyable way. The broad categories include: Love and Friendship, Inspiration, Poems that tell a Story, Faith and Reverence, Home and Mother, Childhood and Youth, Patriotism and War, Humor and Whimsey, Memory and Grief, Nature, Animals, and Various Themes. As an adult, the poems selected in this 670 page tome are not all of my favorites, but they yet strike a gentle idealistic chord in my soul. They ring with the thoughts of a bygone era, before mass media distracted people from books. Yes, they are romantic, yes they are old-fashioned, yes many of them are not of the highest literary quality. Yet I love them for their quirkiness and old-fashioned thoughts. And in many ways as I read, I cannot help but think that we are not so very different from our ancestors, after all. I highly recommend this book.

This is a book my Mother, Brother and I read together when I was a child. There are many, many beautiful Poems in this collection. I have owned this book for as long as I can remember, I am 52 and I read and reread this book always finding something new and special. In this book I have found so much pleasure I am ordering a new copy because my original copy is worn and coming apart. Thank you for having the book in supply, since it was published in 1936, I thought my worn copy was irreplaceable. If I had one book, this would be that book. If you love someone, or have a special friend this is a most wonderful experience to share.

This book contains poems relating to every possible subject. Long poems, happy poems, sad poems, poems that tell a story, poems about mom, a lover, animals are all here. The print is easy to read and all of the poems are categorized by subjects. A great asset to any poem collection and great for children to use as a poetry source for school. If you need a little pick-me-up after a long day at work, this is the book for you!

This collection of poems, copyrighted in 1936, was compiled by Hazel Felleman, who drew on her 15-year experience as editor of the Queries and Answers page of The New York Times Book Review. She received multiple inquiries daily from all over the country about favorite poems, learning much about the poetry preferences of Americans. She used that knowledge to great advantage in this selection of poems. Many of the poems that I remember from school (I'm an American), up to and including college, are here. Although I don't consider myself a lover of poetry, this book is one of my favorites (definitely my favorite poetry book among several that I own), one that I refer to often. My grandchildren also greatly enjoy being read to aloud from it.