Children's poetry
Children's poetry is poetry written for, appropriate for, or enjoyed by children.
Children's poetry is one of the oldest art forms, rooted in early oral tradition, folk poetry, and nursery rhymes. Children have always enjoyed both works of poetry written for children and works of poetry intended for adults. In the West, as people's conception of childhood changed, children's poetry shifted from being a teaching tool to a form of entertainment.[1]
The first glimpse of children being shaped by poetry was noted by The Opies, renowned anthologists and literary historians. They saw that before the mid-eighteenth century there wasn't much written for children aside from encouraging phrases. Ballads of the 18th century launched the modern genre of children's poetry.
Today, many poets (such as Dr. Seuss, Shel Silverstein, and Jack Prelutsky) are primarily known for their work aimed at children; many poets who primarily write for adults (such as Ogden Nash and Robert Frost) are also known for beloved children's poetry.
History[edit]
Early children's poetry[edit]
Poetry is universal throughout the world's oral traditions as songs and folklore passed down to younger generations.[2] The oldest works of children's poetry, such as Zulu imilolozelo, are part of cultural oral traditions.[2]
In China, the Tang dynasty became known as the Golden Age of Chinese poetry with the invention of the movable type.[3] Some poets chose to write poems specifically for children, often to teach moral lessons. Many poems from that era, like "Toiling Farmers", are still taught to children today.[3]
In Europe, written poetry was uncommon before the invention of the printing press.[4] Most children's poetry was still passed down through the oral tradition. However, some wealthy children were able to access handmade lesson books written in rhyme.[1]
With the invention of the printing press, European literature exploded.[4] The earliest printed poetry for children is nearly all educational in nature. In the fifteenth century and sixteenth century, courtesy books aimed at children sought to teach them good manners and appropriate behavior.[1] Les Contenances de la Table, published in 1487, is a French example;[1] The Babee's Boke and Queen Elizabethe's Academy are both English examples, printed in the 1500s.[5]
The first children's book printed in the New World was John Cotton's Milk for Babes, Drawn out of the Breasts of Both Testaments, Chiefly for the Spiritual Nourishment of Boston Babes in either England, but may be of like use for any children.[6] Published in 1646, it was a child's Puritan catechism.[6] While the first edition was not in verse, later editions were rewritten into the earliest American children's poetry.[1]
Another notable work of early children's poetry is John Bunyan's A Book for Boys and Girls, first published in 1686, and later abridged and re-published as Divine Emblems.[1] It consists of short poems about common, everyday subjects, each in rhyme, with a Christian moral.[5]
Importance[edit]
Ralph Waldo Emerson suggested poetry helps children learn the power of a few words.[20] He proposes that through any form of verse, children can be introduced to both language and rhythm held within poetic structure.[20]
Sandra Lennox expands on this point with her studies suggesting poetry helps children strengthen their oral and written language skills along with their mental understanding of the world around them.[21] She also suggests that the rhythmic nature of poetry helps children hoan their vocabulary and word meaning abilities.[21]
Poetry helps children develop their literacy skills such as phonemic awareness through pitch, voice inflection, and volume; memorization through patterns and sequences; physical awareness of breath, and movements of the mouth and other gestures as they align to the rhythm of the poetry.[22] Scholars also see that poetry and nursery rhymes are universal throughout cultures as an oral tradition.[22]
Furthermore, Krystyna Nowak-Fabrykowski found, in her analysis of poems published by children in Canadian elementary school, that poetry helps guide children to express themselves in a more creative and descriptive nature.[23]
Also, Mika and Tsitsi Nyoni found, through their study of the African Indigenous Knowledge System, that poems cannot be treated as solely an element of “play” for children because of the loaded content children need to interact with to engage in the activity.[24] They go on to explain that poems instill values and attitudes that direct the child throughout the rest of their lives while remaining in the comfort of their own homes.[24]
Inspired by Hollindale's Signs of Childness in Children's Books (1997), Debbie Pullinger reviewed various poetry as a case study to show how linear progression and the presence of a child protagonist are the two central literary elements that divide children and adult poetry.[25]
Lastly, despite modern society being largely urban and, as a result, the majority of children's poets having this environment be a big part of their lived experience, very few poets have engaged with this topic in their work.[26] A few of the exceptions are Richard Margolis, Paul Janeczko, and Gary Soto who all had their point of view driven by social issues.[26]
Awards that are given for children's poetry:
