Pack This! A poetry audiobook that’s prime for family road trips
When I recently discovered the Poetry Speaks to Children book with CD, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the CD and listen to the likes of Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Billy Collins reading their own poetry. Then came the moment, when just a few tracks in, my kids tilted their heads and stared at me as they heard an old man’s voice saying aloud the words I’ve whispered in their little ears since they were infants. I said, “That’s Robert Frost telling it—the man who wrote the poem.”
This entertaining collection includes 50 poems from 34 poets on the CD alone, and the printed book that accompanies it includes several more with illustrations. In contrast to the usual “children’s verse” suspects of centuries-old, mind-numbing (sometimes head-scratching) nursery rhymes, these fresh tracks range from Roald Dahl’s amusing “The Dentist and the Crocodile” that reads like a rhyming story to the rhythmical “Rabbit” by Mary Ann Hoberman, where you can play along as you listen counting how many “bits” are in the poem (good luck!).
While the collection was created with elementary school-aged children in mind, and some of it may be a little over the head of your toddler, it makes for fun listening overall for everyone in the car. Better still, this is a wonderful collection I know my family will enjoy for years to come—and I won’t be surprised if yours does to. Click here to browse the book or buy your own book with CD. (Please note: While Amazon’s product page says it’s temporarily out of stock, it is in fact still available new from other featured sellers – just click the “New from” link or click here.)
And before I go… happy National Poetry Month!
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Safe journeys,