{"id":28305,"date":"2023-05-25T14:49:33","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T12:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?p=185112"},"modified":"2023-05-25T18:40:01","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T16:40:01","slug":"cchildrens-poems-10-of-the-best-poems-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/cchildrens-poems-10-of-the-best-poems-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Cchildren\u2019s poems: 10 of the best poems for kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our round up of the most famous poems for children <\/p>

By Hannah Nepilova\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 25 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Compiling a list of the best children\u2019s poems is a delicate task. Everybody, after all, has their favourites, wrapped up in cherished memories of childhood. No doubt we\u2019ve failed to do justice to some real classics. Nonetheless, here are ten poems that represent some of the greatest voices in children\u2019s literature.<\/p>\n

Best poems for kids<\/h2>\n

The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Not only are we unsure quite what this poem is getting at \u2013 is it really about love? \u2013 but even the words themselves are of questionable meaning. In particular, the word \u2018runcible\u2019 was entirely made up by Lear, who, as well as using it to describe a spoon, applied it to his hat, a wall and his cat. And nobody has a clue what it actually means \u2013 which is exactly the point. One of the most vivid and charming examples of Victorian nonsense poetry, it is embedded in the national psyche, with many a grown up able to recite it from beginning to end.<\/p>\n
Among the musical settings of this poem was this waterbound opera, presented by the ROH2 in 2012.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\""p1"\"><strong>A Baby Sardine by Spike Milligan<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">Spike Milligan\u2019s inimitable humour found expression in every area of the entertainment industry, including films, books and programmes and radio, not least, of course, the legendary <i>Goon Show. <\/i>Here it is, wrapped up in a lovely little poem about a baby sardine gazing through a peephole into a submarine.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\"><strong>3. The Anteater by Roald Dahl<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">As <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/fantastic-mr-dahl\/"\">Roald Dahl<\/a> <\/strong>poems go, this one isn\u2019t the most famous. That title probably goes to <i>Little Red Riding Hood<\/i>, or <i>Cinderella. <\/i>But it is my personal favourite. Part of the <i>Dirty Beasts <\/i>collection, it tells the story of Roy, a spoilt brat from San Francisco who announces that he wants an anteater, only to find, when the emaciated creature arrives, that it has a taste for human flesh, in particular that of Roy\u2019s 83-year-old aunt Dorothy. Devilishly subversive and maliciously comic, it proves why Roald Dahl is so well loved by children and adults worldwide.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Roald\" dahl=\"\" the=\"\" ant=\"\" eater=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/S0QAq9CvUOM?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> <p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/reviews\/books\/childrens-books-about-music\/"\">Children\u2019s books about music: 10 of the best<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/how-can-i-get-my-child-into-classical-music\/"\"><b>How can I get my child into classical music?<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-classical-music-for-children\/"\"><b>10 pieces of classical music for children<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <p class=\""p1"\"><strong>4.<span class=\""Apple-converted-space"\">\u00a0 <\/span>The Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">Though included in Lewis Carroll\u2019s 1871 follow up to <i>Alice\u2019s Adventures in Wonderland \u2013 Through the Looking Glass \u2013 <\/i>this nonsense poem actually first appeared in 1855 in the little periodical Mischmasch, which the author compiled to entertain his family. Probably the most famous of all British nonsense poems, it is particularly loved for its wildly imaginative language, which includes many new words, such as \u2018chortle\u2019 and \u2018galumph\u2019, that have since become part of our lexicon.<\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">Among those who have set this poem to music is the madcap composer Gerald Barry \u2013 also famous for his bonkers take on <i>Alice\u2019s Adventures Underground<\/i> and <i>The Importance of Being Earnest<\/i>. His surreal setting for voice, horn and piano uses the text twice, first in French with long legato phrases, and then, more incisively, in German.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Jabberwocky\" by=\"\" lewis=\"\" carroll=\"\" read=\"\" benedict=\"\" cumberbatch=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Q_Um3787fSY?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p class=\""p1"\"><strong>5. From a Railway Carriage by Robert Louis Stevenson<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">Describing the view from a railway train as it speeds through the countryside, this 1885 poem stands out for its vivid imagery and its rhythm, which masterfully evokes the movement of a train. What is particularly arresting is the way the two interact, with the steady rhythm providing an interesting counterpoint to the swiftly-shifting scenery. The result, for children and adults alike, is both escapist and exhilarating \u2013 qualities that were skilfully harnessed by the contemporary American composer <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/recordings\/the-best-recordings-of-works-by-nico-muhly\/"\">Nico Muhly<\/a><\/strong> in his setting of the poem for voice and piano as part of Aldeburgh Music\u2019s Friday Afternoons Project.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""From\" a=\"\" railway=\"\" carriage=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sfxdp-KTnmc?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p class=\""p1"\"><strong>6. Matilda by Hillaire Belloc<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">Despite its dark message about the perils of telling lies, Belloc\u2019s 1907 poem about the mendacious Matilda who ended up burning to death, has a light, comical tone. That\u2019s because it\u2019s less of a cautionary tale, than a parody of cautionary tales, of the sort that were popular in the 19th century. Other poems in the same collection included \u2018Jim: Who ran away from his Nurse and was eaten by a Lion\u2019, and \u2018Henry King: Who chewed bits of string, and was early cut off in Dreadful agonies.\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">Probably the most famous musical setting of this poem is probably that of the English soprano and composer Liza Lehmann, who included it in her 1909 collection of Lieder entitled \u20184 Cautionary Tales and a Moral\u2019.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Liza\" lehmann=\"\" matilda=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/N_0gcTx1ag8?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> <p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/music-gifts-for-kids\/"\"><b>10 music gifts for kids<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/instruments\/music-toys\/"\"><b>10 musical toys for kids<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/classical-music-inspired-by-fairy-tales\/"\"><b>6 pieces of classical music inspired by fairytales<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <p class=\""p1"\"><strong>7. Buckingham Palace by A.A. Milne<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">A.A Milne<i> <\/i>wrote this playful poem about his son Christopher Robin going to the changing of the guard ceremony in 1924, when Christopher was four years old. In the poem he is accompanied by someone called \u2018Alice\u2019 who is apparently \u2018marrying one of the guard\u2019. Some say she is based on Christopher\u2019s nanny, Olive Brockwell, who looked after Christopher until he went to boarding school, and whom he adored. Whether or not this theory is accurate, it certainly adds to the poignancy of this little poem, which, like the <i>Winnie the Pooh <\/i>stories<i>,<\/i> for which Milne was best known, captures a sense of yearning for a lost childhood.<span class=\""Apple-converted-space"\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">Although there are relatively few musical settings of this poem, one that stands out is that by<span class=\""Apple-converted-space"\">\u00a0 <\/span>the English light music composer Harold Fraser-Simon, whose song was later made into a record by the nine-year-old child star Ann Stephens.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"""Buckingham\" palace=\"\" stephens=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W_Z5LpHuXVE?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p class=\""p1"\"><strong>8. Macavity, the Mystery Cat by T.S. Eliot<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">As well as his great poems about the human condition, T.S Eliot also wrote some of the most memorable light verses in English literature. Best known is <i>Old Possum\u2019s Book of Practical Cats, <\/i>his homage to the psychological complexity and general awesomeness of feline characters. It was this collection that inspired <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/the-best-musicals-by-andrew-lloyd-webber\/"\">Andrew Lloyd Webber<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s hit <strong><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/musical-theatre-gifts\/"\">musical<\/a><\/strong> <i>Cats, <\/i>with Macavity \u2013 the so-called \u2018Napoleon of Crime!\u2019, who is always just one step ahead of Scotland Yard \u2013 playing a central role.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Macavity:\" the=\"\" mystery=\"\" cat=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""150"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/IDti8KaeV8A?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<p class=\""p1"\"><strong>9. Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">For all that is was written forty years ago, this poem about a fruitless conversation between pupil and teacher, doesn\u2019t seem at all dated. That\u2019s because Allan Ahlberg had the knack of writing about the most ordinary, everyday events in a child\u2019s life, and making them absolutely relateable. Oh, and it helps that he\u2019s so damn funny.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Please\" mrs=\"\" butler=\"\" audio=\"\" cassette=\"\" side1=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sHJWGVw_DL0?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/>\n<section class=\""highlight\"> <div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> <p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/most-famous-poems-of-all-time\/"\"><b>11 most famous poems of all time<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-christmas-poems\/"\"><b>10 best Christmas poems<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/articles\/best-war-poems\/"\"><b>10 best war poems of all time<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section> <p class=\""p1"\"><strong>10. Chocolate Cake by Michael Rosen<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\""p1"\">This love letter to pudding is a hit with children, not just because of the subject matter, but because of the sheer vividness with which it paints picture of a child sneaking downstairs to grab a morsel of cake. You can hear the creaky floorboards. You can see the crumbs lying on the plate. Packed with onomatopoeic effects, it\u2019s also a poem that lends itself to live performance, which is why the Polka Children\u2019s Theatre in Wimbledon turned it into a musical a few years ago, featuring music by the cabaret singer-songwriter Barb Jungr.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\""Michael\" rosen=\"\" chocolate=\"\" cake=\"\" at=\"\" polka=\"\" theatre=\"\" width=\""200"\" height=\""113"\" src=\""https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uMKO5wRFM6o?feature=oembed"\" frameborder=\""0"\" allow=\""accelerometer;\" autoplay=\"\" clipboard-write=\"\" encrypted-media=\"\" gyroscope=\"\" picture-in-picture=\"\" web-share=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> Our round up of the most famous poems for children <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":28306,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"6"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/cchildrens-poems-10-of-the-best-poems-for-kids.jpg",640,609,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/cchildrens-poems-10-of-the-best-poems-for-kids-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/cchildrens-poems-10-of-the-best-poems-for-kids-300x285.jpg",300,285,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/cchildrens-poems-10-of-the-best-poems-for-kids.jpg",640,609,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/cchildrens-poems-10-of-the-best-poems-for-kids.jpg",640,609,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/cchildrens-poems-10-of-the-best-poems-for-kids.jpg",640,609,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2023\/05\/cchildrens-poems-10-of-the-best-poems-for-kids.jpg",640,609,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Our round up of the most famous poems for children","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/28305"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28306"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}