This anthology contains special kinds of poetry, such as haikus, songs, and limerick, and discusses with the reader what poems can make you laugh, send messages, and teach you about images and rhythm. Knock at a Star contains lively, interesting poems from the most beloved writers and poets of our time, past and present, including Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, Jack Prelutsky, Mary Ann Hoberman, and more. Kind of similar to Sing a Song of Popcorn. ( )

An excellent introduction to poetry, both in the selection of poems and in the discussion of them. (The emphasis is more on enjoyable and accessible poems rather than including important poets.) The organization is helpful: Section 1: What do poems do? (make you smile, tell stories, send messages, share feelings, help you understand people, start you wondering) Section 2: What's inside a poem? (images, word music, beats that repeat, likenesses, word play) Section 3: Special kinds of poetry, and Section 4: Do it yourself. Includes practical advice at the end for adults who are interested in helping younger people to learn and love poetry.

The poem I read was entitled Listening to Grownups Quarreling and it was by Ruth Whitman. I enjoyed the poem because it conveyed the authors message really well. The author used many similes such as, "blown like leaves against the wall by their voices", so the reader could visualize what she was trying to say. She used other descriptive words such as, "cold with wrath" and "shaken". I did not need any illustrations to understand what the author was trying to portray that is how well written the poem was. I felt like I could sympathize with her and her upset about her parents and like it was me in the poem. I liked how the writing flowed and was paced well. Over all the poem was great. ( )

This is my go-to book for attempting to teach students about poetry. It's broken into sections that feel flexible, not didactic. The first part is called "What do poems DO?" and there are examples of lots of poems that make us smile, or tell a story, or send a message. Some poems are accompanied by some explanation, some stand alone. There are black and white illustrations sprinkled throughout, but the poems themselves are the stars.

The second section deals with the "terms" side of things, and asks, "What's inside a poem?" And here we have poems that are rich in imagery, or musical language, or rhythms, for example. The third section examines types of poems, with examples, such as limericks, songs, takeoffs, haiku, and "finders keepers" (a personal fave of mine). Finally, the fourth section gives use writing activities to help nudge us off into writing our own poems.

What I love about this volume is that it's accessible and friendly in tone. It's packed with engaging poems that will have broad appeal. And it's darn USEFUL as a way to structure poetry units and lessons.

A great collection of children's poems (both serious and silly) with a lot of variety - from unknowns to well-knowns like Langston Hughes. ( )