Poetry for Kids: Walt Whitman

Beautiful book. We got this to build up our homeschool library. It’s a beautiful poetry book for children. Has the poem and lovely art that goes with it on each page.

Is a book to read and reread.

Bought this to add poetry to the school library. Love the old school poetry.

Excellent introduction to young readers....

Introducing poetry to kids is not an easy task. As a retired educator, I welcome any books that make it easier to inspire young people to explore poetry. This book is so beautifully illustrated that I'm certain it will be picked up. The poetry included is excellent. That being said, I wish there were more direction in helping the young person to interpret the poetry for more than just face value. After the poems, a section for what Whitman was thinking in writing each poem provides a little background, but those entries tend to be superficial at best. Without some interpretive help, The Learned Astronomer is not a "Wow!" moment; without knowing that Whitman was mourning the death of Abraham Lincoln, "O, Captain, My Captain" could be any ship's leader. This book is a great start, but it could do so much more. A thought provoking question or two after each entry might spark a student response

This beautiful book of poems is a perfect introduction to the famous American poet Walt Whitman. There are 35 carefully chosen poems for kids to enjoy. The poems are presented and explained by New York University professor Karen Karbiener, PhD, a Whitman expert.Each poem features commentary on its content, definitions of perhaps unfamiliar words to a child, and an enlightening forward that gives educational background on the poet himself and how the book is designed. The illustrations make the words come alive contributing a visual form of poetry themselves.The collection features a variety of poems that are kid-friendly and describe life as Walt Whitman saw it. I love at the end of the book a section entitled "What Walt Was Thinking".Here is a taste of one of his poems...A Woman Waits For Me (excerpt)They are not one jot less than I am,They are tanned in the face by shining suns and blowing winds,Their flesh has the old divine suppleness and strength,They know how to swim, row, ride, wrestle, shoot, run, strike, retreat, advance, resist, defend themselves,They are ultimate in their own right -- they are calm, clear, well-possess'd of themselves.Jot: bit (Walt is thinking of tiny drips from his pen)Suppleness: flexibilityAt the back of the book from: What Walt was ThinkingA Woman Waits for Me (1860):Women's rights and abolitionism were two revolutionary movements that developed simultaneously in the mid-nineteenth century. In his journalism, Walk had long defended women's rights for fair salaries and equal treatment. This poem celebrates their strength of character as well as their physical bodies. His ideas were considered so progressive that this pen was banned from publication in 1882.I highly recommend this book (and this series). It would be a beautiful collection to own and what better month to start than April when we celebrate National Poetry Month.

'Poetry for Kinds: Walt Whitman' by Walt Whitman with editing by Karen Karbiener, PhD and illustrations by Kate Evans is a well curated introduction to the life and work of one of America's greatest poets.The included poems are broken up by section based on phases in Whitman's life. There are poems about his childhood, his time as a wound-dresser in the Civil War and as an older man.The poems are many times excerpts and include annotations to explain difficult phrases (or ones that the poet made up). There are poems which show that he wanted to abolish slavery and that he supported the rights of women.At the end of the book, there is a section telling when the poem was written and what Walt Whitman was likely thinking. Each page also has illustrations that fit with the poem and the poet's age.It's a really good introduction to this great poet. His style may seem atypical for children since his poems don't have meter or rhyming, but I think it's really well presented.I received a review copy of this ebook from Moondance Press, Quarto Publishing Group, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

I really love this book. There are many published volumes of verse expressly for kids, but far fewer written to introduce kids to great poetry. The book is superlative in this regard. It beautifully balances the illustrations and text. Its selections of Walt’s poetry present a generous cross-section of his characteristic subject matters and his wide range of poetical attitudes. And the book has plenty of unobtrusive yet helpful glosses and, at the end of the book, brief informative notes on each poem. At present this is my favorite book of poetry for children. It's beautifully put together and clearly the product of both the illustrator's and editor's enthusiasm for Whitman's work. I look forward to more from Evans and from Karbiener.

Delightful introduction to Walt Whitman's poetry for young people with illustrations.