Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart Hardcover – Picture Book, April 3, 2012

Cute book of poems for kids. We love it!

Children need to learn to memorize ... and what better way than with poetry ... the earlier they start to hear these same poems over and over, the easier it will be for them to remember. Great for bedtimes.

Cute with terrific poetry included purchased as hift for my grand-daughter; think she’ll enjoy the fun of words

I bought this book for my granddaughter's 5th birthday. I love it so much that I want one for my grandsons and even one for myself. The poems are delightful and the illustrations are great.

There is a great variety of selections in this book. It is new to us so we have much more to read. It will get a lot of use over the summer.

Having always read poetry to my children and grandchildren I was a little disappointed in the book, although I consider that any poetry book is good for children! I felt the editors perhaps were trying to be too modern, or trying to include too many lesser known poems amongst the old favorites. The younger children love rhythm and rhyme and seem instinctively to memorize it if it is read expressively to them. Music added to some is also a marvellous beginning to music appreciation. But young schoolchildren bore easily if poetry does not entice with rhyme, rhythm or a fascinating image, be it beautiful, ugly,strange or scary.

I have had a love of poetry most of my adult life. I am most familiar with Asian poetry, even though I love all kinds of poetry, with the exception of free-verse. Even though this 8 1/2 by 11 hardcover book is aimed at grade school level students; nevertheless, anyone interested in learning poems by heart will find this volume an excellent value. In fact, this is the type of book teachers of young children will also love to use in their classes. It presents the topic in a fun and interesting way, which is important when teaching children.This text has short and long poems from a wide range of famous poets, as well as from poets not familiar to most people. Some of the selections include: Robert Louis Stevenson's "Rain" Emily Dickinson's "A word is Dead" Carl Sandburg's "Primer Lesson" and Gwendolyn Brooks "Marie Lucille."My only criticism of this book is how it is organized. It should have placed the "Some suggestions for learning poetry by heart" section in the first chapter rather than all the way at the end of the book. However, this does not take away from the benefits of reading this book of poetry.In conclusion, this book will be of interest to students and teachers of poetry.Rating: 4 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Haiku Moments: How to read, write and enjoy haiku)

Am taking this to my grandkids (ages 6 & 8) for Christmas visit--can't wait to share these poems with them.