Poems Every Child Should Know

by Mary E. Burt

An outstanding collection of poems that appeal to both boys and girls, compiled by a teacher who believed in the formative power of learning poetry by heart. ‘Children,’ she maintains, ‘should build for their future — and get, while they are children, what only the fresh imagination of the child can assimilate. They should store up an untold wealth of heroic sentiment; they should acquire the habit of carrying a literary quality in their conversation; they should carry a heart full of the fresh and delightful associations and memories connected with poetry hours to brighten mature years. They should develop their memories while they have memories to develop.’ The poems are grouped into six sections (The Budding Moment, The Little Child, The Day’s at the Morn, Lad and Lassie, On and On, ‘Grow Old Along with Me’) to make it easier to locate poems that match a child’s maturity.

Ages 8-12