Emily Dickinson

Poetry for Young People

Edited by Frances Schoonmaker Bolin, published 1994

“Hope is the thing with feathers/ That perches in the soul,/ And sings the tune without the words,/ And never stops at all”

After reading the small children’s book called Miss Emily, I was inspired to research more for young people about Emily Dickinson. This lovely volume of poetry for children is just the right introduction. The illustrations are perfectly matched with the verses that are included.

One of the treasures of a book of poetry for children like this is that in some ways, the reader’s age becomes irrelevant. For young children, the magic of language that is lyrical and perhaps unfamiliar allows them to be carried away by the verse. For the older children, the editors have added notes and definitions of the more archaic words. And for all readers, parents included, it’s a chance to expand one’s vocabulary, and love language for the sake of it’s beauty.

Do our children today love poetry? Can they tune into the subtle way that the poetic verse touches something outside the mundane? This children’s book asserts an affirmative to those questions, and invites the readers to sit with Miss Dickinson’s words as they call us to a peaceful time, in love with the natural world.

Find this children’s book at your local bookstore