Famous Children Poems

Poems for Children by Famous Poets
Poetry offers up a wealth of benefits for children. It fosters a love for language, thereby building literacy. It helps children understand themselves and others, allowing them to cultivate valuable qualities like compassion and empathy. It is also a healthy way for children to express their emotions and deal with emotionally challenging situations. Fortunately, there are many famous poems for children. Poets like A. A. Milne and William Blake wrote many poems for children that can inspire them to find their voice and representation through poetry, even from an early age.
49 Poems for Kids
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1. Sick
“I cannot go to school today,"
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Said little Peggy Ann McKay.
“I have the measles and the mumps,
A gash, a rash and purple bumps.Featured Shared StoryI routinely skipped school for some reasons that even I couldn't understand at the time. In a thorough medical checkup after 10th grade, my parents realized that I couldn't see well. I...
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2. Life Doesn't Frighten Me
Shadows on the wall
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Noises down the hall
Life doesn't frighten me at all
Featured Shared StoryI think this is a really good poem because it teaches kids not to give up and hide in the shadows and actually express themselves.
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3. Underface
Underneath my outside face
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There's a face that none can see.
A little less smiley,
A little less sure,Featured Shared StoryWhat a perfect poem! At times we could basically tell how people were feeling despite their facial expressions. It was in their eyes the tell- tale signs that led us to see at least the...
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4. Being Brave At Night
The other night 'bout two o'clock, or maybe it was three,
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An elephant with shining tusks came chasing after me.
His trunk was wavin' in the air an' spoutin' jets of steam
An' he was out to eat me up, but still I didn't screamFeatured Shared StoryThis is truly a great poem describing the vivid imagination of children, and it does seem that children have an even deeper imagination when it comes to bedtime! I think this is a great poem...
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5. Listen To The MUSTN'TS
Listen to the MUSTN'TS, child,
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Listen to the DON'TS
Listen to the SHOULDN'TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WONT'SFeatured Shared StoryI love this poem because I have been writing love letters to my two teenagers and eight year old for fifteen years reminding them of what they shouldn't.
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6. Story Telling
Most every night when they're in bed,
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And both their little prayers have said,
They shout for me to come upstairs
And tell them tales of gypsies bold,Featured Shared StoryGrandpa sat with cigar at his side (rarely in his mouth), his bushy gray eyebrows and mustache crouched in intense concentration, a chess piece or book in hand in most of my memories. But...
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7. The Good Little Boy
Once there was a boy who never
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Tore his clothes, or hardly ever,
Never made his sister mad,
Never whipped fer bein' bad, -
8. The Oak And The Rose
An oak tree and a rosebush grew,
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Young and green together,
Talking the talk of growing things-
Wind and water and weather. -
9. Snowball
I made myself a snowball
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As perfect as could be.
I thought I'd keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me.Featured Shared StoryI love the humor, innocence and whimsy of this poem. But there's more here than meets the eye. If you look a bit deeper, you can see how we sometimes don't properly interpret our experiences,...
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10. Homework Stew
I cooked my math book in a broth
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and stirred it to a steaming froth.
I threw in papers—pencils, too—
to make a pot of homework stew. -
11. Teddy Bear
A bear, however hard he tries,
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Grows tubby without exercise.
Our Teddy Bear is short and fat,
Which is not to be wondered at;Featured Shared StoryWhen I was 3 or 4, I recited this poem to the Bayridge Business and Professional Women's bridge club. My aunt and godmother, Margaret Desmond, was hosting them at my grandparents' house in...
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12. Puppy And I
I met a Man as I went walking:
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We got talking,
Man and I.
"Where are you going to, Man?" I said -
Featured Shared Story
I was entered into a competition where I had to say a short poem so picked this and kept reading it until I knew it by heart. The day came, I recited it without stumbling, when I had finished...
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14. The Fisherman
The fisherman goes out at dawn
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When every one's abed,
And from the bottom of the sea
Draws up his daily bread.Featured Shared StoryThe way the poet described the life of a fisherman, his continuous effort and sacrifice to stand independent, and the powerful simile used, makes the poem a classic one.
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15. The Mountain And The Squirrel
The mountain and the squirrel
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Had a quarrel,
And the former called the latter
"Little prig."Featured Shared StoryI read this poem in 1965 when I carried a paperback book of poems in my backpack when an infantry soldier in Vietnam. We, the infantry group in which I served, were such a collection of...
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16. Wind On The Hill
No one can tell me,
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Nobody knows,
Where the wind comes from,
Where the wind goes.Featured Shared StoryWhat a great poem! Life's a mystery and where the wind goes as indicated "Who knows?" And what changes are in store for our lives? Change comes to us from all directions in our lives like the...
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17. Vespers
Little Boy kneels at the foot of the bed,
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Droops on the little hands little gold head.
Hush! Hush! Whisper who dares!
Christopher Robin is saying his prayers.Featured Shared StoryI am a 68-year-old great grandmother. As I was reciting this favorite bedtime poem to my 14th grandchild, Jeremiah, I thought to google it for fun. My mom used to recite this and several...
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Featured Shared Story
I am an 80-year-old woman who has just moved into a seniors' residence. Shortly after I arrived, COVID-19 did too! For over a month now, we have been kept in isolation from the rest of the...
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19. I Can't Wait For Summer
I can’t wait for summer, when school days are done,
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to spend the days playing outside in the sun.
I won’t have to study. No homework, no tests.
Just afternoons spent on adventures and quests. -
20. Dirty Face
Where did you get such a dirty face,
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My darling dirty-faced child?
I got it from crawling along in the dirt
And biting two buttons off Jeremy's shirt.Featured Shared StorySo cute!! Like the spaghetti, chocolate, ice-cream. It's the kids that get the dirtiest, that have the most fun. It's a lifetime of adventure and silliness that they will remember forever....
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