PTSW: Ogden Nash

When Brannon and Lillian were little they loved for me to read, or sometimes to sing, to them from The Golden Treasury of Poetry, the classic anthology of children's poems edited by Louis Untermeyer. Sheila's Aunt Wilma had made a gift of this one to her niece in the fifties. I'd start somewhere near the front and we would skip around through the big book, reading/singing until one of us dozed off. I've always enjoyed goofy Ogden Nash. Here are two of his from The Golden Treasury.

The Rhinoceros

The rhino is a homely beast,
For human eyes he's not a feast.
Farewell, farewell, you old rhinoceros,
I'll stare at something less prepoceros.

- Odgen Nash

A Introduction to Dogs

The dog is man's best friend.
He has a tail on one end.
Up in front he has teeth.
And four legs underneath.

Dogs like to bark.
They like it best after dark.
They not only frighten prowlers away
But also hold the sandman at bay.

A dog that is indoors
To be let out implores.
You let him out and what then?
He wants back in again.

Dogs display reluctance and wrath
If you try to give them a bath.
They bury bones in hideaways
And half the time they trot sideaways.

They cheer up people who are frowning.
And rescue people who are drowning.
They also track mud on beds.
And chew people's clothes to shreds.

Dogs in the country have fun.
They run and run and run.
Buit in the city this species
Is dragged around on leashes.

Dogs are upright as a steeple
And much more loyal than people.

- Ogden Nash

I'll save "Custard the Dragon" for another Monday. Oh, how we loved ol' Custard.

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The series of posts, A Poem to Start the Week, is my little anthology of poetry, many of which I have used with my students in elementary schools during 27 years of teaching.



Previous Poems to Start the Week:
Trash
Hearts, Like Doors • Casey at the Bat • Always a Rose • Home at Last
Bag of Tools • Carpe Diem • Poems About Poetry • Man's Best Friend
Spelling is Tough Stough! • Blue Marble • Tacks, Splinters, Apples and Stars
Oh, Captain, My Captain! • Metaphor • Introducion to Poetry
Loveliest of Trees • Flax-Golden Tales • The Dinosaurs Are Not All Dead
Owl Pellets • Mummy Slept Late • Just My Size
The Kindest Things I Know • Miles to Go • Love that Brother
Oh, Frabjous Day!

Other Posts about Children's Literature:

The Lion's Paw top kid's OOP book!
Harry
Aslan is Dead!
Multiplying People, Rice, and Readers

A Teacher's Life

You can read some of my own efforts at poetry here.
And then there's Alien Invasion.

A weblog dedicated to Poetry for Children.
Watch Sonja Cole's reviews of children's books at Bookwink.com.
The PBS series Favorite Poem Project.