Poetry is pure magic. A few well-chosen words, carefully arranged, can spark a glow in the heart, freeze-frame a moment in time, or sing us back to our oldest dreams. In this refreshed look at the wonder you once shared, we’ll revisit that charming anthology and rediscover the magic of poetry—how it can delight, surprise, and connect us again and again.

Discover the Magic of Poetry Over & Over Again by…

Reading Newly: Summer Poetry Picks

Poetry works in any season, at any time of the year. It is the perfect reading material for rainy days and quiet nights, as well as for enjoying with popsicles on porches, fireflies at dusk, on the seashore building castles, and other sunlit adventures too.

Here are a few delightful poetry books that sing of summer: its warmth, its wanderings, and its little everyday wonders. Whether you’re reading aloud under a shady tree or flipping through verses between beach days, these collections bring the magic of poetry to every sun-soaked moment.

Days Like This

SEA GLASS and RAINBOWS

A Poem for Every Summer Day

And Re-reading

Read-Aloud Poems

Why I Read This Again

Well, I love reading after all, and re-reading too! And the poems within this book were, as I recall, a delight and a hoot the first time around. And this time, I noticed how The Owl and the Pussycat still makes me grin from the first word. Everything feels richer now, like a hidden layer of poetic magic I missed before.

My Original Review (Nov 2012)

This book is a collection of beautiful poems for children of all ages. The selection is wonderful and includes a wide range of poems and verses –some well known and others not so well known. They are divided into sections like ‘Just Me’, ’Laughing Lyrics’, ’Poems That Tell Stories’, and more. The book  also includes brief notes with interesting facts about the poet and sometimes the poem.

I have read the story of the Pied Piper many a time but never realized till now that it was actually a poem written by Robert Browning. I enjoyed all the poems in the book-all are beautifully written, some made me laugh, others made me think, and all of them left me in awe of the wonders of words.

The illustrations accompanying the poems in this book are by themselves to be enjoyed and treasured. They were specifically requested artwork for this book. The book includes a childhood favorite of mine ’The Owl and the Pussycat’ (thank you to my English teacher for making us learn this poem by heart).

I now have quite a few new favorites – too many to include all here but I have one of the poems here:

Just Me  –         
By Margaret Hillert

Nobody sees what I can see,
For back of my eyes there is only me.
And nobody knows how my thoughts begin,
For there’s only myself inside my skin.
Isn’t is strange how everyone owns
Just enough skin to cover his bones?
My father’s would be too big to fit-
I’d be all wrinkled inside of it.
And my baby brother’s is much too small-
It just wouldn’t cover me up at all.
But I feel just right in the skin I wear,
And there’s nobody like me anywhere.

Update today (2025): Reading this again made me marvel at childhood wonder. Poetry that feels personal—like it knows exactly what’s behind your eyes—is where the real magic lies

In Summary

This book is definitely a great book to read-aloud with your children and to introduce them to the wonders of language and beautiful writing. 

• Rating: A (for the selection of poems as well as the beautiful accompanying artwork)
• Reread factor: 5/5
• Reading level: 4 and up

Disclaimer: Thanks to NetGalley for the digital review copy. Opinions are my own and not influenced by the publisher

Other Poetry Books Worth Reading Again

I have way too many to list here – basically almost every poetry book I have already mentioned on my blog before. Just a few randomly selected ones below (for half the alphabet even while trying to keep it small!) with a link to the original post featuring them:

1. Basho’s Haiku Journeys by Freeman Ng and illustrated by Cassandra Rockwood Ghanem
2. A Child’s Book of Poems / A Child’s Garden of Verses – these editions are illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa and published by Union Square Kids
3. Emma Dilemma: Big Sister Poems by Kristine O’Connell George with illustrations by Nancy Carpenter (Children’s Sibling Books/poetry | 6 -9 years, and up)
4. Forget-Me-Nots: Poems to Learn by Heart
by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Michael Emberley (Children’s Poetry | 4 – 8 years, and up)
5. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz and illustrated by Robert Byrd (Children’s Medevial Fiction Books/Poetry | 10 – 14 years, and up) 
6. Here’s A Little Poem: A Very First Book of Poetry compiled by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, and illustrated by Polly Dunbar (Children’s Poetry | 1 – 3 years, and up)
7. I’m Just No Good at Rhyming: And Other Nonsense for Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups by Chris Harris and illustrated by Lane Smith
8. Keep a Pocket in Your Poem: Classic Poems and Playful Parodies by J. Patrick Lewis with illustrations by Johanna Wright (Poetry Anthology | 5 – 9 years, and up)
9. Lila Duray: A Collection of Delightfully Delectable Poems by Emily Morrison and illustrated by Aileen Bennett (Children’s Poetry | 6 – 12 years, and up)
10. Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reverso Poems by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Josée Masse
11. One Last Word: Wisdom from the Harlem Renaissance by Nikki Grimes (Poetry, 10 – 14 years, and up)
12. Read! Read! Read! by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater with art by Ryan O’Rourke
13. UnBEElievables: Honeybee Poems and Paintings written and illustrated by Douglas Florian

A Mini Poetry Magic Moment

• Flash Prompt: Take a favorite short poem or nursery rhyme and try reading it aloud with a different emotion—whisper it, shout it, or sing it. Notice how meaning shifts with tone.
• A Mini Writing Prompt: Write a 6-line poem using:
  1. A sound (e.g. “crackle”)
  2. A bright image (e.g. “sunbeam”)
  3. A feeling (e.g. “hope”)

Challenge yourself to weave them together—think of it as casting a poetic spell with three simple ingredients.

Here is one example to inspire you:

Crackle goes the snack I munch,
Fireworks popping with my lunch!
A sunbeam slides across my toes,
Tickles me right up my nose!
I giggle, jump, and shout, “Nope!”
You can’t catch me—I’m full of hope!

~ Vidya Tiru @ LadyInReadWrites

Another Blast from the Past

Note: This section was a response to Musing Mondays, a now-retired meme on a now-retired blog that invited book bloggers to share reflections on reading, writing, and literary life. This was from November 2012

This That week at Musing Mondays over at Should Be Reading, the question asked is was:
Have you ever read a book after watching the movie/television version only to find that you don’t like the book as much as the adaptation?

My Nov 2012 answer: An absolute no! I have had many instances where I have seen a movie (for example: To Kill a Mockingbird) or TV show (Pretty Little Liars for instance) before I read the book. In these cases, when I realized that it was based on a book, I immediately wanted to read the book(s). I did read ‘To Kill a Mockingbird‘ and loved it a lot (the movie is on par with the book because of Gregory Peck!). I have to yet read the ‘Pretty Little Liars‘ book series as I only recently started watching the TV show. 
Almost always, I try to read the book before the movie though I have failed a few times but the book is always best, for me. Our minds, our imaginations lend so much more to the book than any movie can.

My answer today(June 2025): I still feel and think the book is better most often (though there are instances where the on-screen version does come pretty close to the book/our imaginings of it), and try to read the book before I watch the show or movie. But not always, as mentioned before. As for Pretty Little Liars, I stopped watching it a couple seasons in – didn’t capture my interest anymore.

Now your turn. Go ahead and answer this question (if you wish) in the comments!

And Now, the End of This Post

So dear reader, have you felt the magic of poetry in whispers, shouts, or pages you returned to again and again? Share your favorite poem, how it moved you, or try the flash prompt above and leave your poem in the comments!