More books you need

Back when I first knew Erik, he knocked himself off his pedestal just a little bit with this comment, "Poetry is a crock." At that point in my life, poetry was one of my main means of self-expression. I decided not to hold it against him, but instead to enlighten him, shall we say, to the beauty of poetry.

In an effort to avoid the same cynicism growing in my children, I've been trying to expose them to poetry from the beginning. So many recommended poetry books for kids I find just plain weird and not likely to develop anything but a healthy distrust in my kids. But I've continued searching and here are a couple I really enjoy:

Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein
You've most likely heard of this one, but it's a classic - you have to have it. Also enjoyable are Runny Babbit and A Light in the Attic, also by Silverstein. Erik read the latter and even copied one of the poems down because he liked it so much. Erik! The poetry is a crock man!

Poetry Speaks to Children
This is a wonderful collection of poems read by the authors themselves (the book comes with a CD). I wish they'd make a second version of this. My kids have memorized a few of the poems and they'll sit and listen to it for an hour.

If anyone knows of more poetry collections that are fun, please let me know!