Poetry, from simple nursery rhymes to catchy, entertaining verse and silly limericks, has played a central role in familiarizing young children with books. Poetic verse is often favoured over direct storytelling because the child is swept along by the rollicking pace and simple rhythms in much the same way as with a favourite song. Poems that put a humorous spin on ordinary everyday activities and situations are especially popular as children relate well to familiar subjects and enjoy the opportunity to look at them in different, unusual ways.

"A Helpful Alphabet of Friendly Objects: Poems", by John Updike, takes 26 common objects, one for each letter of the alphabet, and transforms them into amusing little poems that are sure to get plenty of giggles. From hubcaps to vacuum cleaners, shoelaces to mirrors, this book is brimming with life as seen through a child's eyes. Beautiful, crisp, close up photography depicting children with each of the objects in the poems perfectly compliments the text and encourages creative investigation of the individual topics. This is a book that will be thoroughly explored many times over.

Animal themes have always been popular with children, and when poems speak of adorable little animals dressed in human clothes, and engaged in entertaining human activities, their charm is irresistible.

Beatrix Potter's "Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes" is a gorgeous little collection of stories for young children. Each rhyme involves one of the author's much loved animal characters, and tells a short, simple tale that is easy for even the youngest child to follow. The book is beautifully illustrated in the distinctive Beatrix Potter style that has delighted children over many generations.

Silly, unpredictable verse appeals to children of all ages, and no one does "silly" better than Dr. Seuss. His "Beginner Books" series are as popular today as they were when they were written, and contain some of the most simple and amusing rhymes for young readers. Children can't resist these cleverly crafted nonsensical books with their curiously appealing characters and ridiculous catchy verse. This series was specifically designed with the beginner reader in mind, with every single word purposely chosen for its basic phonetic structure. As soon as a child enters Dr. Seuss' weird and wonderful world of whacky rhymes, reading becomes easy, entertaining, and most importantly, fun.

If any book of poetry deserves a place in the home of every child, it would have to be "Where the Sidewalk Ends: The poems and drawings of Shel Silverstein". Here is a book written by a man whose childlike perspective on life will appeal to young and old alike. His sometimes cheeky, sometimes sad, but always entertaining poetry addresses the emotional confusion of growing up in a comical way that children of all ages can relate to and enjoy. The simple but effective illustrations add dimension to the poems, giving them a focal point of reference. The mischievous glimmer in Shel Silverstein's eyes is ever present as you read through this enormously enjoyable book.

If light hearted, fun poetry inspires a love of reading in children, then it has served a very worthwhile purpose. In my opinion, any of the books mentioned above have that potential.

Learn more about this author, Karyn Sparks.
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