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CAROLINE KENNEDY A FAMILY OF POEMS My Favorite Poetry for Children Paintings by Jon J Muth
Oh - what a gift this book is. Ya know how sometimes you receive a book as a gift and you think, "Oh, nice, but it probably won't have much substance." I admit I was thinking that when I first opened this book - and I was so wrong. This collection is magic - not only for children, but for everyone.
The book is organized into sections of subject areas - poems about the seasons, the sea, silly poems, poems about animals, poems about going to sleep. Caroline Kennedy writes an introduction to each section, and her introductions are as enjoyable as some of the poetry. She writes, "We are bombarded with information, but growing up with poetry develops a foundation in language and values that enables us to distinguish what is truly important."
The poems she includes will surprise you. Robert Frost, Edna St. Vincent Millay, e.e. cummings, Ogden Nash, Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes, Robert Browning. You will remember many of these poems, and the words coming back to your mind may delight you.
My candle burns at both ends; It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends - It gives a lovely light!
Remember that one called "First Fig"?
Caroline Kennedy even includes two poems written by her mother, one entitled Sea of Joy:
I can run about - when the tide is out With the wind and the sand the sea all about And the seagulls are swirling and diving for fish Oh - to live by the sea is my only wish.
Please get, give and enjoy Caroline Kennedy's A Family of Poems. I will cherish this book. On the Book Beat for KSL Newsradio, I'm Amanda Dickson.
