"Children are poets before they grow up and they should live with poems. I hope this book will encourage them to do so."—Eleanor Roosevelt

Beloved and treasured for over 60 years, here is the only poetry collection your family needs—brimming with favorite, classic poems carefully selected to inspire young readers. 

Over 700 classic and modern poems written by poets from William Shakespeare to J. R. R. Tolkien, Emily Dickinson to Langston Hughes, and covering a range of favorite topics—pets, playtime, family, nature, and nonsense—ensure that there’s a poem to please every child. A truly comprehensive collection that is the ideal way of introducing children to the joys of reading poetry.

"If your children think they don't like poetry, expose them to this collection . . . and I defy them to resist its magic."—Kirkus

"A fine book for parents to read aloud to their children."—Library Journal

"This volume stands out for the comprehensiveness of its selection."—The Horn Book

Illustrated by: Leonard Weisgard