Children and Poetry

When it comes to poetry, there are certain types that children like and dislike. Narrative poems, limericks, poems that rhyme, funny poems, and poems with animals are just a few types of poems that children most often like. Haiku, poems with imagery, figurative language, and poems about nature are types of poetry that students generally don’t care for as much.

I have to say that for the most part, I can understand and agree with these preferences. The types of poems that children prefer are ones they can understand and are easy for them to relate to. They also don’t require interpretation or the need for much thought. They can enjoy reading and reciting them and aren’t expected to share their thoughts or opinions on what the poems mean. These types of poems usually don’t mean anything more than just exactly what they say.

Another type of poetry that most students like, regardless of their age, is music. I definitely agree with this. Not only is it enjoyable because of the rhyme and rhythm, it is also fairly easy to memorize because of the instrumentation behind the words. I don’t have the songwriting (or perhaps poetry writing) talent myself, but I have great respect for those who do. Music is one of the biggest parts of my life and I have always loved poetry through song in many different genres.

Poetry that children do not like, such as haiku, and poetry with imagery or figurative language are generally much harder for them to understand. When a poem uses imagery or figurative language, children can’t relate to it and most likely cannot understand it. As we’ve been discussing age appropriateness in different genres of literature throughout the semester, it is important to remember age appropriateness in poetry as well. These particular types of poetry that children usually don’t like aren’t appropriate for young children because they cannot understand or enjoy them. It seems that even as children get older, though, they still don’t like these types of poetry for the most part. When poetry has meaning, teachers often make students analyze the poetry which can build resentment in students. If students do not enjoy the poetry, they do not want to spend their time studying or memorizing it.

One exception in my own life is that of children disliking haiku. It is quite possible that most children dislike haiku, but I always enjoyed reading and writing haiku. The guidelines set forth when writing haiku are very specific and I felt it was easier for me to write than the typical rhyming poems children are asked to write. In this week’s course readings, though, we learned that haiku is actually much deeper and less simplistic than many people think. While the subject matter may actually be less simple than I thought, the nature of haiku is still quite simple, with it’s 5-7-5 syllable pattern. Even to this day, there is something about haiku that I find calming.

This week I read a particularly good poetry book for young children called Dog Days: Rhymes Around the Year by Jack Prelutsky. This book is written from the point of view of a dog and has a poem for each month of the year. The January poem is about snow, the April poem is about blooming flowers, the October poem is about Halloween, and so forth. The poems are quick and easy four liners, mostly written in an AABB rhyming pattern. Because of their simplicity, they would be easy for kids to pick up fairly quickly. The pictures are very colorful, and each spread illustrates dogs as well as a few people doing whatever that poem was about. I know that kids would really like this book to read in one sitting or to even spread out over the year. One of my favorite aspects of this book is that the poems could be read from the book like a story or they could be pulled out and used on their own. I think I may use these poems this year in my early childhood school library. Because the poems are written thematically by month, they would be perfect for my students to learn. Because of it’s simplicity, it’s pictures, and the fun way this book was written, I would definitely recommend it to students grades PK-2, their teachers, parents, and even their dogs.