Focusing on popular verse from the nineteenth century through today, this anthology invites young readers to sample a taste of irresistible poems that will nourish their minds and spirits. Selected for both popularity and literary quality, seventy charming poems cover a wide range of subjects: poetry, books, words, and imagination; the beauty of the natural world; travel, adventure, sports, and play; love, friendship, sadness, hope, and other emotions. Included are:"Prickled Pickles Don’t Smile, " Nikki Giovanni"W. D., Don’t Fear that Animal, " W. D. Snodgrass"A Jelly-Fish, " Marianne Moore"The Porcupine, " Ogden Nash"Annabel Lee, " Edgar Allan Poe"The Falling Star, " Sara Teasdale"Sick, " Shel Silverstein"Casey at the Bat, " Ernest Lawrence Thayer"With Kitty, Age Seven, At the Beach, " William Stafford"Hope is the Thing with Feathers, " Emily Dickinson. . . . and sixty other notable works.Chosen by the American Poetry & Literacy Project and the Academy of American Poets, two of the nation’s most respected nonprofit poetry organizations, these much-loved and highly readable poems promise young readers and poetry lovers of all ages hours of reading pleasure.