ONCE UPON A POEM. Favourite Poems That Tell Stor

This collection of 15 story-poems ranges widely, from Eugene Field's Wynken, Blynken, and Nod to Alfred Noyes's The Highwayman. Familiar favorites like Edward Lear's The Owl and the Pussy-cat and Clement Clarke Moore's A Visit from St. Nicholas are included along with lesser-known entries such as C. S. Lewis's The Late Passenger and W. H. Auden's O What is That Sound and a rather nontraditional retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Roald Dahl. The illustrations from Peter Bailey, Sin Bailey, Carol Lawson, and Chris McEwan are well matched to each piece, using styles varying from realistic to cartoonlike, and rendered in a variety of mediums from pen and ink and watercolor to deeply saturated acrylics. The selections are well suited for read-alouds, with plenty of dense, sophisticated language. Each one is briefly introduced by a recommendation from a well-known author (J. K. Rowling, Eva Ibbotson, Avi, Sharon Creech, etc.); an afterword offers biographical sketches of the poets and authors included. This is a collection to grow on and to treasure over the years.