100 Great Poems for Boys, edited by Leslie Pockell

100 Great Poems for Boys offers a solid collection of worthy poems, from the heroic to the humorous, for boys of all ages.

100 Great Poems for Boys, edited by Leslie Pockell. Grand Central Publishing, 2011, 160 pages.

• Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 8+
• Recommended for: All Ages

Although Pockell acknowledges right away that this collection is for girls, too, 100 Great Poems for Boys really does offer 100 great poems for boys. This anthology includes poems about everything from bugs and baseball to battles and big thoughts.

The book is subdivided into the following categories: Animals, Fun to Read Aloud, Battlefields and Heroes, Things to Think About, Tongue Twisters, Limericks, and Just for Laughs. The “Fun to Read Aloud” section is not about funny poems (those are in “Just for Laughs”), but rather includes poetry that just begs to be read aloud for the sheer joy of the poem’s sounds: “The Bells” by Poe, “Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Bear” (anonymous), and “Kubla Kahn” by Coleridge. “Battlefields and Heroes” includes such stirring selections as “The Charge of the Light Brigade” by Tennyson and “Barbara Freitchie” by Whittier. All parents know that boys go through a distinct tongue twister/limerick phase, so expect those portions to be recited on repeat!

Overall, this is a nice selection of poems for boys of all ages from well-respected poets that most will recognize. I wish there was a little bit more representation in terms of ethnicity; some of Langston Hughes’s or Paul Dunbar’s poetry would have been a good addition as a start (Hughes’s “Dreams” would fit nicely in the “Things to Think About” section, for instance).

Bottom Line: 100 Great Poems for Boys would make a great school library resource for home or traditional classrooms.

Related Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Review: No poetry list for boys is complete without I’m Just No Good at Rhyming. Hilarious.
• Review: If your kids are now inspired to write their own poetry, check out Poetry Comics by Grant Snyder.
• Review: Songs of America is a thought-provoking look at America through song lyrics (for older teens; note considerations in review).

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