When it comes to poems for kids, it’s said to capture the essence of childhood, including hope, laughter, fun, and curiosity that make an excited kiddy’s world.
Suppose you do have children or come in contact with a kid one way or the other. Exposing them to poetry early enough is surely a great way to build up their reading skills and a love for poetry.
Kids tend to learn new words that rhyme with their imagination then. So, it is advisable to practice reading aloud to them with expressions and expose them to fun rhymes.
Poems for kids make reading a little bit exciting, which tends to ignite a passion for the spoken and written word in all few genres in the children’s niche of storytelling.
How do we choose a poem?
Foremost, the first thing to consider is relaxing and thinking deeply when searching for the best. You don’t want to rush things and get the poem that your child sleeps on. That said, you need to keep in mind that the purpose of introducing a poem to a kid is to help them appreciate all the good-stuff poetry tends to give, and also to cultivate a great reading habit at an early age—wouldn’t you love to see your kid read like a pro at the age of five? We all do!
Next up, you should aim at giving a positive approach to poetry. However, it would help if you chose a poem that’s pretty easy to remember and understand.
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You can pick up one or two topics that both you and your kid relate to and particularly enjoy; remember, excitement from the child is needed, and it’s of paramount importance.
I recommend short poems; they’re the best options for me. Children at an early age do have a short attention span, so reading aloud long poems (of more than a page) are more like punishment. Most children need ample time to explore other areas of fascination, so locking them up by reading out long poems makes them curl up at an early age, which can very well affect their adulthood.
Short poems are also pretty nice because they can easily be memorized and fully enjoyed without neglect from your playful toddler or kid.
To help you with this, here’s a list compiled best poems for kids;
Find out 15 Best Poems for Kids
1. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
This was my favorite as a kid! I remember singing every time I dropped from the school bus at the age of six.
Twinkle, Twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, Twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Try it out with your child, and watch him get excited with the rhymes.
It was written by English author Jane Taylor
2. Our Kittens
Our kitten has the softest fur,
And the sweetest little purr,
And such little velvet paws
With such cunning little claws,
And blue eyes, just like the sky!
(must they turn green, by and by?)
Two are striped like tigers, three.
Are as black as black can be,
And they run so fast and play
With their tails, and are so gay,
Is it not a pity that
Each must grow into a cat?
written by Evaleen Stein
This is one of the best children’s poems that I like. I remember reading this to my little son, and he was like, ‘Dad can you get me a kitten?’
3. Rebecca
Who slammed doors for fun and perished miserably
A trick that everyone abhors
In little girls is slamming doors.
A wealthy banker’s little daughter
Who lived in Palace Green, Bays water
(by name Rebecca Offendort)
Was given to this furious sport.
She would deliberately go.
And slam the door like billy-o!
To make her uncle Jacob start.
She was not bad at heart,
But only rather rude and wild;
She was an aggravating child…
written By Hilaire Belloc
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This is amongst the best poems for kids because it teaches your children one great lesson, the state of being considerate to other people’s feelings.
4. Jack and Jill
Jack and Jill
Went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down
And broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after.
Up Jack got
And home did trot
As fast as he could caper,
Went to bed
To mend his head
With vinegar and brown paper.
Written by Samuel Arnold
Don’t you have childhood memories of this poem? I’ve asked most adults, and they very well remember singing this in class with the teacher or one of their parents.
5. Wee Willie Winkie
Wee Willie Winkie
Runs through the town,
Upstairs and downstairs
In his nightgown.
Tapping at the window,
Crying at the lock,
“Are the children all in bed,
For its past ten o’clock?”
“Hey, Willie Winkie,
Are you coming in?
The cat’s singing purring sounds
To the sleeping hen.
The dog’s spread out on the floor
And doesn’t give a cheep,
But here’s a wakeful little boy
Who will not fall asleep.”
Anything but sleep, you rogue,
Glowering like the moon,
Rattling an iron jug
With an iron spoon,
Rumbling, tumbling round about,
Crowing like a cock,
Shrieking like I don’t know what,
Waking sleeping folk.
“Hey, Willie Winkie—
The child’s in a creel!
Wriggling off everybody’s kne
Like an eel.
Tugging at the cat’s leg,
Confusing all her thrums-
Hey Willie Winkie,
See, there he comes.”
Weary is the mother
Who has dusty child,
A small, short little child
That can’t run on his own,
that always has a battle with sleep,
Before he’ll close an eye,
But a kiss from his rosy lips
Gives strength anew to me.
Written by William Miller
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Well, if you want your child to have fun sleeping during bedtime, then use this. It is one of the amazing poems for kids.
6. The Table the Chair
Said the table to the chair,
‘you can hardly be aware,
‘How I suffer from the heat,
‘And from chilblains on my feet!
‘If we took a little walk,
‘We might have a little talk!
‘Pray let us take the air!’
Said the table to the chair
Written by Edward Lear
When it comes to the state of friendship and loyalty, then this kids poem is the best category to use in blessing your child’s memories.
7. Be Glad your nose is on your face
Be glad your nose is on your face,
Not posted on some other place,
For if were there it is not,
You might dislike your nose a lot.
Written by Jack Prelutsky
This is one of the best poems for kids. It teaches your children to be grateful for what they have, and that doesn’t only include the body, but everything around them in general.
8. Bed in Summer
In winter, I get up at night
And dress by yellow candlelight.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the three,
Or hear the grown-up people’s feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play, to have to go to bed by day?
Written by Robert Louis Stevenson
Well, kids need to have something which resonates with them, and this children’s poem on my list is the best one for that.
9. At the Zoo
First I saw the white bear, then I saw the black;
Then I saw the camel with a hump upon his back;
Then I saw the grey wolf, with mutton in his maw;
Then I saw the wombat waddle in the straw;
Then I saw the elephant a-waving of his trunk;
Then I saw the monkeys—mercy, how unpleasantly they smelt!
Written By William Makepeace Thackeray.
One thing I’m sure of when it comes to this poem is this, be ready to take that little one to the zoo when you’re done, and that’s if they don’t ask or does ask. You need to give them some experience to listen to you next time. It is one of the popular poems for kids to recite and memorize.
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10. The Cow
The friendly cow, all red and white,
I love with all my heart:
She gives me cream with all her might,
To eat with apple tart.
She wanders lowing here and there,
And yet she cannot stray,
All in the pleasant open-air,
The pleasant light of day;
And blown by all the winds that pass
And wet with all the showers,
She walks among the meadow grass
And eats the meadow flowers.
By Robert Louis Stevenson.
When I heard this poem for the first time, I loved milk, like I still do today!
11. A mouse in her room
A mouse in her room woke Miss Doud
Who was frightened and screamed very loud
Then a happy thought hit her
To scare off the critter
She sat up in bed and just meowed.
A psychiatrist fellow from Rye
Went to visit another close by,
Who said, with a grin,
As he welcomed him in:
‘Hello, Smith! You’re all right! How am I?”
A flea and a fly in a flue
Were caught, so what could they do?
Said the fly, “Let us flee.”
“Let us fly,’ aid the flea.
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.
A mosquito was heard to complain,
“A chemist has poisoned my brain!”
The cause of his sorrow
Was paradichlorotriphenyldichloroethane.
It is one of the best poems for kids.
12. Now we are Six
When I was One,
I had just begun,
When I was Two,
I was nearly new,
When I was Three
I was hardly me.
When I was Four
I was not much more,
When I was Five
I was just alive.
But now I am six,
I’m as clever as clever,
Written by A. A. Milne
So I think I’ll be six now forever and ever.
Read also, Children’s Poems: 15 Best Poems for Kids to Recite & Memorize
13. Peppermint Stick
I took a lick of peppermint stick
(pretend to lick candy)
And was it ever yummy
(lick lips and rub your belly)
It used to be on my Christmas tree (form tree shape with hands)
But now, it’s in my tummy (point to belly)
Author unknown
14. Cuckoo loo
Cuckoo loo the smart chicken,
loved to pick the seeds first.
“Cuckoo loo, what are you doing.”
Kpor kpor was Cuckoo loo’s reply.
Cuckoo loo would you like to share with the other chickens?
Cuckoo loo is shaken and eats up the grains alone
I’m hungry…
Did Cuckoo just talk?
Well, I guess Cuckoo is only hungry
Hungry and needs more sweet grains
Here Cuckoo loo and eat more. (pretend to throw many grains)
By Neville
15. The Best Child
You are the sweetest of all children,
You are smart and beautiful,
Look at those pretty eyes you have.
I wish I were your age
I wish I were you.
You remind me of the angel I dream at night nice (mention the child’s name)
I’d like you to be my friend,
I’ll like you to be whom you want to be,
Don’t let anything or anyone put you down,
You are the smartest and the gorgeous child in the world.
Love you (mention child’s name and give a warm hug).
By Neville
Conclusion
Last notes;
- When selecting poems for kids, do look for examples of poetry that covers familiar topics.
- You have to remember this, the poems you choose can encourage wordplay, which stimulates your child to see words and how they’re used differently.
- With kids, the sillier and funnier the poem is, then the better.
- Think about attention spans. Most of the poems for kids stated out are short enough to keep your child (or pupils) interested in the very end.
Well, good luck, Benny readers!
