Poems for Children
Introduction
Poetry is MUSIC with WORDS. Poems use RHYME (words that sound the same at the end — like 'cat' and 'hat') and RHYTHM (a BEAT in the words) to create something BEAUTIFUL.
'Poems can make you LAUGH, make you THINK, or make you SEE the world in a completely NEW way.'
Poem 1 — The Rainbow
Boats sail on the rivers, And ships sail on the seas; But clouds that sail across the sky Are prettier far than these.
There are bridges on the rivers, As pretty as you please; But the bow that bridges heaven, And overtops the trees, And builds a road from earth to sky, Is prettier far than these.
— Christina Rossetti
About This Poem:
Christina Rossetti compares a RAINBOW to boats and bridges. She says the rainbow is PRETTIER than ALL of them. 'The rainbow is like a BRIDGE from earth to sky — a magical road built by nature!'
| Poetic Device | Example from Poem |
|---|---|
| Rhyme | seas/these, please/trees |
| Repetition | 'prettier far than these' |
| Comparison | Rainbow vs boats and bridges |
Poem 2 — The Swing
How do you like to go up in a swing, Up in the air so blue? Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall, Till I can see so wide, Rivers and trees and cattle and all Over the countryside —
Till I look down on the garden green, Down on the roof so brown — Up in the air I go flying again, Up in the air and down!
— Robert Louis Stevenson
About This Poem:
Robert Louis Stevenson captures the JOY of swinging. When you swing, you feel like you are FLYING! You can see OVER the wall — the whole world looks DIFFERENT from up high.
'Can you feel the UP-AND-DOWN rhythm? The words SWING just like the swing moves!'
Poem 3 — The Wind
Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you: But when the leaves hang trembling, The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind? Neither you nor I: But when the trees bow down their heads, The wind is passing by.
— Christina Rossetti
About This Poem:
You CANNOT see the wind, but you can SEE what the wind DOES. 'The wind is INVISIBLE — but its effects are VISIBLE. The trembling leaves and the bowing trees tell us the wind is there!'
'This poem teaches us to OBSERVE carefully. Just because you can't SEE something doesn't mean it isn't there.'
Poem 4 — The Caterpillar
Brown and furry Caterpillar in a hurry, Take your walk To the shady leaf, or stalk,
Or what not, Which may be the chosen spot. No toad spy you, Hovering bird of prey pass by you;
Spin and die, To live again a butterfly.
— Christina Rossetti
About This Poem:
This poem describes the life cycle of a BUTTERFLY. The caterpillar (brown and furry) walks to a leaf, spins a cocoon ('spin and die'), and emerges as a BEAUTIFUL butterfly ('to live again').
'It is AMAZING — the caterpillar DIES (in its cocoon) and is REBORN as something completely different!'
Poem 5 — My Shadow
I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.
The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow — Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.
— Robert Louis Stevenson
About This Poem:
A child talks about his SHADOW — how it follows him, how it GROWS taller and shorter, and how it disappears sometimes. 'Shadows are FUN to play with! They stretch when the sun is low and shrink at noon!'
Poem 6 — Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.
When the blazing sun is gone, When he nothing shines upon, Then you show your little light, Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.
Then the traveller in the dark, Thanks you for your tiny spark; He could not see which way to go, If you did not twinkle so.
— Jane Taylor
About This Poem:
This FAMOUS poem looks at stars with WONDER. Stars are like DIAMONDS in the sky. They help TRAVELLERS find their way in the dark.
'Did you know? Stars don't actually TWINKLE. The twinkling is caused by Earth's atmosphere bending the starlight! But poetically — it is beautiful to imagine them twinkling just for us.'
Fun Activity
Write YOUR OWN four-line poem! Choose a topic from nature — rain, a tree, a bird, the moon — and make it rhyme!
Common Mistakes in Writing Poetry
- 'Poems don't have to RHYME. Free verse poems don't rhyme at all. But rhyming poems are FUN because the rhyme creates rhythm.'
- 'Read your poem ALOUD. If it sounds AWKWARD when you say it, the rhythm needs work.'
Self-Test
Q1: What is the rainbow compared to in Christina Rossetti's poem?
Q2: What does the child in 'The Swing' see from up high?
Q3: How can we tell the wind is passing by, according to the poem?
Q4: What happens to the caterpillar at the end of its poem?
Q5: What is FUNNY about the shadow in Robert Louis Stevenson's poem?
Q6: What is the rhyme scheme of 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'?
Answers:
A1: The rainbow is compared to a bridge (a 'bow that bridges heaven'). A2: Rivers, trees, cattle, the countryside, the garden green, and the roof. A3: The leaves TREMBLE and the trees BOW their heads. A4: It spins a cocoon ('dies') and is reborn as a BUTTERFLY. A5: The shadow can GROW TALLER very quickly (unlike children who grow slowly) and sometimes DISAPPEARS completely. A6: AABB — the first two lines rhyme (star/are), and the next two rhyme (high/sky).
