Piping Down the Valleys Wild

This is, by far, the best book of children's poetry I've ever seen. I've owned my copy for over twenty years. I read almost every poem in the book to my children while they were growing up, and we memorized many of the poems. I used the book extensively in my classroom when I was an elementary teacher. Now, as a college professor, I read from the book often to inspire my student-teachers.

My mother gave me this book when I was about five or six, and I learned many of the poems by heart. I still have my (very battered) copy and intend to pass it on to my own son, in the hope that it will inspire in him the same love of poetry that it did in me. An excellent introduction to poetry for any child - I am thrilled to learn that this wonderful book is still in print!

We bought this in November for a precocious three-year-old friend of ours. She'll get it for Christmas... or a little after... if we can manage to let go of it by then. I've been reading it out loud to my husband while he's washing dishes. It's just the right mix of old favorites and things that are new to me -- and a remarkably low number of poems where you're left scratching your head and saying "Why'd they waste the ink on that one?" The book itself is the cheapest of newsprint with a basic paperback binding. We may someday need to find a more beautiful copy, but in the meantime, "cheap" means that normal damage won't precipitate a crisis, and that's always an appropriate choice for a preschooler. One last thought: If you're looking for a collection of poems for a family that strongly objects to Halloween or "magic," then you need to keep looking. While this book has many poems which refer to God and/or the Divine in one way or another (without being the least bit preachy), it also has a chapter of poems which talk about witches and goblins and other Halloween characters, as well as a few about fairies or other fanciful creatures. I found none of them offensive, and individual poems are easily skipped, but a few people on my gift list are particularly sensitive on this point, and it's well to know what you're getting into in advance.

This collection has been a favorite of mine since I was a child, and now that I am teaching I use it frequently for my 1st grade class. It is a good mix of poetry, classic, enchanting, silly, and sophisticated. Highly recommended.

This is a wonderful collection of poetry. Our children, ages 2 and 4, look forward to hearing selections from this book every night. It strikes a balance between poetry written for children and poetry written for adults without getting into anything too dark for young children. I highly recommend it.