Rhyme and rhythm play an important role for children in acquiring a love of language and supporting them in learning to read. CLPE has a wide ranging collection of poetry for children which includes books which are currently available and older, out of print material. It is divided into the following sections: Action Rhymes, Nursery and Traditional Rhymes, Humorous Poetry, General Anthologies, Thematic Anthologies, Collections by Individual Poets, Poetry Written by Children, Songbooks.

To give a flavour of the CLPE poetry collection, here are some recommended titles from some of these sections:

Stomp, Chomp, Big Roars! Here Come the Dinosaurs by Kaye Umansky and Nick Sharratt
Puffin
Huge dinosaurs in luminous colours stomp, chomp and romp across the pages of this picture book of poems which can quickly be memorised. The poems are short and lively with dynamic rhythms, sometimes substituting dinosaur lyrics for those of well known rhymes: ‘One, two,/ Three, four, five,/Five fat dinosaurs/Take a dive’.

Skip Across the Ocean. Nursery Rhymes from Around the World by Floella Benjamin, illustrated by Sheila Moxley
Frances Lincoln
This glowingly illustrated book includes lullabies, action rhymes, short nature rhymes and a miscellaneous ‘lucky dip’ section. There are some familiar songs such as Frere Jacques from France and Brown Girl in the Ring from Trinidad but many of the rhymes will be new to British audiences. What makes this collection especially exciting is the fact that many of the rhymes are printed in their original language as well as in English. The languages include Yoruba, Hindi, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish.

Sheep Don’t Go to School by Andrew Fusek Peters, illustrated by Marketa Prachatika
Bloodaxe Books
A refreshing collection of poems translated from the languages of Eastern Europe. They range from short poems such as riddles to a traditional Albanian story poem ‘The Story of Doruntina’. There are humorous and nonsense poems and there is descriptive verse concerning nature and the seasons. Often poems with linked themes are printed together, for example one double page spread has poems about mice translated from Czech, Latvian and Russian. The black and white illustrations complement the overall surreal feel of this original collection.

Red Cherry Red by Jackie Kay, illustrated by Rob Ryan
Bloomsbury
On the CD that accompanies this attractive square red and white book, Jackie Kay reads aloud all the poems, sometimes with added commentary, in her warm Scottish accent. Several are about individuals – ‘Mrs Dungeon Brae’, ‘Aunt Peggy’, ‘The Knitter’, ‘Woman Gutting Herring’, while others evoke the sea, rivers and forests of Scotland. Experiences of youth and growing older are also significant themes. Winner of the 2008 CLPE Poetry Award.