Classic Poetry: Candlewick Illustrated Classic

By Michael Rosen

Book Overview

"Few anthologies for this age group include such a fine selection of works, introduce the poets so vividly, or provide such a rich collection of haunting illustrations." -- Booklist

Poetry provides the best introduction to the marvels of the English language. This volume, collected by award-winning author Michael Rosen, presents a glorious selection of classic poetry, chronologically arranged from the seventeenth century to modern day -- poems by such celebrated poets as William Shakespeare, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emily Dickinson, Carl Sandburg, and Langston Hughes -- complete with biographical sketches of the poets, information on individual poems, and notes on poetic forms. Paul Howard's full-color illustrations illuminate some of the most brilliant poems of the English-speaking world with stunning breadth and beauty. A book to be treasured, Classic Poetry belongs on every shelf -- every child should know these poems and keep this book with them as they grow.
Back matter includes notes on poems, notes about poetry, and an index of titles and first lines.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076364210X
• ISBN13: 9780763642105
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.9" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

A Poetry Anthology for Thoughtful Children

This book is a children's collection of poetry. However, it appears that Michael Rosen has attempted to balance the chipper, happy poems of many children's anthologies with more intense, darker ones. The overall tone is fairly serious, though beautifully so. He combines such sweet verse as Skating by William Wordsworth, with more wistful or even death-filled ones, such as La Belle Dame Sans Merci by John Keats. The book is written chronologically, from Shakespeare and William Blake to Langston Hughes and Judith Wright. He includes from one to five poems from each of his 40 or so collected poets, with a short, thoughtful biography of each. The book is strikingly illustrated by Paul Howard, who alters his style and technique for each poem, aptly evoking the feeling and time period of each poem. I would consider this as a readaloud for children ages 8+; younger children are likely to be disturbed by some of the darker selections. This book is more newly published in paperback as The Walker Book of Classic Poetry and Poets .

brilliant selection

Wisely chosen and beautifully illustrated,this book shows how entertaining and exciting poetry can be. It instantly held the attention of my six year old. He wanted to write a thank you note to Lord Byron!