The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems
Grade 3 Up—An appealing assortment of 74 classic poems that touch on childhood, animals and the natural world, love, war, and the stages of life. The selections range from standard children's fare, such as Robert Louis Stevenson's "Bed in Summer" and "The Land of Counterpane," to more mature works, such as John Donne's "Meditation XVII." Many have been widely anthologized, among them Walter de la Mare's "Tartary," Eleanor Farjeon's "Cats," William Wordsworth's "Daffodils," and Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken." Overall, this is a sumptuously packaged collection, with many large, double-paged illustrations. Morris's watercolors on hot-pressed paper are romantic and spirited. There are many excellent collections of classic poetry for children available, including Michael Harrison and Christopher Stuart-Clark'sThe Oxford Treasury of Classic Poems(1998) and James R. Berry'sClassic Poems to Read Aloud(Kingfisher, 1995). This one is somewhat shorter than those volumes, but its attractive design brings a fresh perspective to these poems and makes them accessible to a wide range of readers.—Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.