100 Great Poems for Boys

Reading any great poem for the first time is always a thrilling discovery, even if it's only four lines long, and this collection brings together some of the best ever to read, memorize, or recite. Boys of all ages will enjoy reading poems catered specifically to them, whether it means discovering great heroes and dangerous animals, or simply laughing at pure nonsense and hilarious rhymes. The book is divided into seven sections: Animals, Fun to Read Aloud, Battlefields and Heroes, Things to Think About, Limericks, Tongue Twisters, Just for Laughs. 100 Best Poems for Boys is a perfect introduction for those encountering poetry for the first time, but readers who grew up with poems will also cherish this treasury of classics. This compilation of poems aimed at male readers provides an accessible footpath into the canon, with works from Emerson, Poe, Kipling, Dickinson, and Lear. Pockell provides insightful introductions to each topically organized section, which include "Battlefields and Heroes," the more open-ended "Things to Think About" (featuring Frost's perennial "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening"), and several humor-focused categories, such as limericks and tongue-twisters. A companion book, 100 Great Poems for Girls (available simultaneously), contains many of the same poems, while placing more emphasis on topics like "Nature" and "Imagination." There are indeed great poems in both of these collections. Each one contains a wide array of selections ranging from nursery rhymes to Shakespeare, Keats, and Tennyson. Girls is arranged under the subheads "Nature," "Imagination," and "Inspiration"; in Boys, the sections include "Battlefield and Heroes," "Things to Think About," and "Fun to Read Aloud." Both volumes have poems about animals, tongue twisters, and limericks. However, there's little in the way of context or introduction to help children find their way among the older, more obscure works. These anthologies are certainly serviceable and offer much for youngsters to explore, but they are in no way distinguished.--Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA