Children's Poems
From playful nursery rhymes like "Mary Had a Little Lamb" to Emily Dickinson's observations of nature and Robert Browning's adventurous "Pied Piper of Hamelin," this collection brings together 59 poems carefully chosen to delight young readers and build reading confidence. You'll find beloved classics perfect for memorization—Edward Lear's whimsical "Owl and the Pussy-Cat," Ernest Lawrence Thayer's dramatic "Casey at the Bat," and Woody Guthrie's singable "This Land Is Your Land"—alongside shorter verses about birds, frogs, trains, and the changing seasons. These poems celebrate the joy of language through predictable rhymes, vivid imagery, and rhythms that make reading aloud a pleasure for children and adults alike.
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Sing a Song of Sixpence
"A pocketful of rye, four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie. When the pie was opened, the birds began to sing; Wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?"
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Afternoon on a Hill
"I will be the gladdest thing under the sun!"
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Star Light, Star Bright
"Star light, star bright, the first star I see tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight!"
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Little Orphant Annie
The poem that inspired the "Annie" comics, musicals, books, and movies!
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Casey at the Bat
"It looked extremely rocky for the Mudville nine that day..."
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Riding in My Car
Kids love Guthrie's song, sing along with the video link at the bottom: "Take you riding in the car, car; I'll take you riding in my car; Brrrm brm brm brm brm brm brm, brrrm b' brrrm..."
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Ship in the Sky
A nostalgic war song kids will get: "My daddy works at the place where they land, so you tell your mama don't be afraid, 'cause dad'll bring your daddy back home again."
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Laughing Corn
You're going to laugh as you read this "corny" poem!
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A Bird Came Down the Walk
A celebration of the everyday: a detailed description of a bird enjoying a worm.
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Three little birds in a row
Curious, what do these three birds talk about, all in a row?
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Five Little Speckled Frogs
"Five little speckled frogs sat on a speckled log, eating the most delicious bugs (yum yum)"
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The Cat and the Fiddle
What a bonus! The Mother Goose nursery rhyme followed by L. Frank Baum's story behind the rhyme!
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Mary Had a Little Lamb
Sing, chant, or dance to the entire collection of Mother Goose nursery rhymes!
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How Cinderella Disposed of Her Shoe
"And Cinderella, fitted out regardless of expense, made both her sisters look about like thirty-seven cents!"
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Spider, say again
"Spider, say again! It's so hard to hear your voice in the autumn wind." Such an elegant delivery of syllables-- enjoy more Haiku poems
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The Bashful Earthquake
"Oh, what a crash! Oh, what a smash! How could I ever be so rash?"
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The Owl and the Pussy-Cat
A lovely adventure with predictable rhyming verse to build confidence in early readers. Illustrated by William Foster.
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The Railway Train
You can rename it I Like to See It Lap the Miles in case you want to read it to someone as a riddle.
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The Echoing Green
An old man's remembrance of the joy of childhood play. Blake's poems from a children's perspective are in Songs of Innocence.
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The Children's Hour
"I hear in the chamber above me, the patter of little feet, the sound of a door that is opened, and voices soft and sweet."
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The Caterpillar
"I crawl on my high and swinging seat, and eat, eat,eat-- as one ought to eat."
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Yankee Doodle
"Yankee Doodle went to town a-riding on a pony, stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni."
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This Land Is Your Land
"This land is your land, this land is my land, from California to the New York Island..."
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Paul Revere's Ride
"Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere..."
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Swing Song
Butterfly flutters: "Little child, come work with me. Learn to make a perfect nest, that of all things is the best."
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I'd Love to Be a Fairy's Child
"They live on cherries, they run wild-- I'd love to be a Fairy's child."
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Foreign Lands
"Up into the cherry tree who should climb but little me? I held the trunk with both my hands and looked abroad on foreign lands."
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Eletelephony
"Once there was an elephant, Who tried to use the telephant— No! No! I mean an elephone Who tried to use the telephone—"
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The Telephone
"There was an hour, all still, when leaning with my head against a flower, I heard you talk."
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The Land of Counterpane
Best known for his adventure novel Treasure Island, Stevenson's poem is about a child amusing himself while sick in bed.
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Mother Earth's Children
Clever rhymes about all kinds of fruits and vegetables to make eating fresh food more fun! Also enjoy Bird Children and Flower Children
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Once Upon a Time
Find out what happens to the nest of fairies.
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Monosyllabics
"The black cat sat in the fat man's hat; 'Oh, dear!' the fat man said.'May the great gray bat catch the bad black cat who has left me no hat for my head!'"
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Child-Songs
Children could almost skip rope chanting Tennyson's cheery verses.
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Just So Stories Poems
Enjoy the poems to discover how the elephant, camel, whale, leopard, armadillo and more got their animal characteristics in Just So Stories.
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A Song from the Suds
"Queen of my tub, I merrily sing, while the white foam rises high, and sturdily wash, and rinse, and wring, and fasten the clothes to dry."
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The Making of the Long Serpent
Longfellow's tribute to the Viking boat-builder, Thorberg Skafting.
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The Village Blacksmith
"And children coming home from school look in at the open door; They love to see the flaming forge, And bear the bellows roar."
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Waltzing Matilda
Learn the meaning of billabong, jumpbuck, coolibah and swagman in Australia's unofficial anthem!
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Autumn
Dickinson introduces children to personification.
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Jack-O-Lantern Song
"We, Jacks, our lanters did all light--" A specially Halloween collection just for kids!
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Our Little Ghost
Not the least bit spooky, "For, in this happy little soul, shines a sun that never sets."
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Phantasmagoria
"I turned to look in some surprise, and there, before my very eyes, a little Ghost was standing!"
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Twas the Night Before Christmas
This classic poem is a must-read on Christmas Eve!
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The Christmas Ball
Children and fairies sure know how dance under the shade of the Christmas-tree!
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Pippa's Song
It's a perfect spring day: "All's right with the world!"
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Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep."
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The Snowflake Tree
Freeman celebrates the beauty of winter, and the joy of coming home to a warm hearth.
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Winter Sport
"A horse or cart I do not fear. For past them both my sled I steer."
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America the Beautiful
"Oh beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain!"
