Poetry For Children

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30442, 16 May 1964, Page 4

Poetry For Children

Oxford Book of Poetry for Children. Edward Blishen and Brian Wildsmith. Oxford University Press. 167 pp.

Mr Edward Blishen in his introduction to this beauti-fully-produced book opens the door for young readers to enjoy not only his personal selection but the whole world of poetry. He has chosen only poems which “have been makers of words and scenes and feeling to children somewhere or to myself as a child.” The introduction is written expressly for children and it disarms grown-up criticism of his choice. It can only be observed in passing that if New Zealand children had been consulted they might have preferred the wit of Ogden Nash to the whimsy of Edward Lear. The poems are grouped under headings which are in themselves a pleasure (“The Moon’s in a Fit,” “He is of

the Tribe of Tiger,” “A Chip Hat Had She On”), and in the recurring season of children’s pleasure the centuries become merged. John Clare and James Reeves are neighbours on the same page; William Wordsworth and T. S. Eliot sit easily together. If there is an emphasis it is on the traditional rather than the new and on the romantic beauty of words and images. But there is a lot of fun, too, and a good selection of storytelling verse. The comparative contributions of author and artist in modern children’s books are difficult to assess, and indeed it seems occasionally that without the drawings the words would amount to very little. Mr Brian Wildsmith’s illustrations in this book, straddling the pages and turning the corners in a brilliance of colour, imagination and wit, could dwarf many a text. But in this case the honours are even.