Whisper and Shout: Poems to Memorize

i felt great about giving this book as a birthday gift to my 13 year old niece. right away she started to read the poems aloud and i could see the pleasure and excitement in her voice and eyes while she heard the words of the poems.. i always feel much better giving an educational gift. this book combines education and enjoyment!

I'm a librarian in an elementary school. I showed this book to a third grader (a bright one) who had no previous interest in poetry -- it was April, and National Poetry month. We browsed through it together; we discussed how some people like to memorize poetry. I started to recite, from memory, Macbeth's soliloquy: "Tomorrow and tomorow creeps in this petty pace..." She stood enthralled, started to read it herself, and said, "I can borrow this book, can't I?" She had it checked out immediately and left the room with a grin from ear to ear. Now, if that's not recommendation enough, I don't know what is.