lovelybookshelf's Review of Over the River and Through the Wood

Over the River and Through the Wood

Over the River and Through the Wood is the first and only collection of its kind, offering readers an unequaled view of the quality and diversity of nineteenth-century American children's poetry. Most American poets wrote for children - from famous names such as Ralph Waldo Emerson to less familiar figures like Christina Moody, an African American author who published her first book at sixteen. In its excellence, relevance, and abundance, much of this work rivals or surpasses poetry written for adults, yet it has languished - inaccessible and unread - in old periodicals, gift books, and primers. This groundbreaking anthology remedies that loss, presenting material that is both critical to the tradition of American poetry and also a delight to read. Complemented by period illustrations, this definitive collection includes work by poets from all geographical regions, as well as rarely seen poems by immigrant and ethnic writers and by children themselves. Karen L. Kilcup and Angela Sorby have combed the archives to present an extensive selection of rediscoveries along with traditional favorites.
By turns playful, contemplative, humorous, and subversive, these poems appeal to modern sensibilities while giving scholars a revised picture of the nineteenth-century literary landscape.

Originally posted on my blog, A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall:

Oh, what a gem this book is! I'm ordering a copy first thing January 5th. 592 pages of high quality children's poetry from 19th century America. Who knew there was so much out there?! The introduction is a brief but fascinating look into how we define "children's poetry," the advent of children's publishing, and the various ways in which children find poetry relevant to their lives.

Over the River and Through the Wood is cleverly organized by topic: TWENTY of them, in fact. Talk about an educator's dream! Topics range from "Creepy Crawlies" and "Landscapes and Seasons" to "Learning Lessons" and "Politics and Social Reform," as well as anything and everything in between. There's even a section for nonsense poems. I'm already chock full of ideas for incorporating some of these into our homeschooling days.

My 4-year-old has already found a new favorite. She's had me read aloud Eliza Lee Cabot Follen's "The Three Little Kittens" more times than I can count!

The poems are diverse in every possible way, faithfully representing our country as a "melting pot." You'll find familiar and not-so-familiar poems by beloved writers such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Emily Dickinson, as well as be introduced to a vast number of poems and writers you may have never heard of. Truly, this collection is a gold mine.

Over the River and Through the Wood

Reviewed by lovelybookshelf on Dec 13, 2013

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