Short and simple, epic and entertaining, poems for kids come in all shapes, sizes, and attitudes. One thing they have in common is that they have the ability to engage children while sharpening their imaginations.

Classic poems for kids include poems by such stalwart names as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Robert Louis Stevenson, William Blake, and Emily Dickinson, but also include such latecomers as Ogden Nash and Shel Silverstein. Despite the age of some of these classic kids’ poems, they retain their charm and ingenuity.

Certainly one of the best known classic poems for kids is Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “There Was a Little Girl:”

Short, simple, and easy to remember, Longfellow’s verse of a curly-haired Jekyll and Hyde has endured for over 150 years!

Poems for kids often take shape as riddles, such as in Christina Rosetti’s “The Riddle:”

Can you answer Rosetti’s riddle?

The most beloved of poems for kids explore the fantastic world of childhood, where the commonplace seems extraordinary. One of these beloved poems is Robert Louis Stevenson’s “My Shadow:”

While adults may not find much to inspire them in shadows, for children, these simple joys spark the imagination.

Poems for kids provide children with the perfect introduction to both poetry and literature. By making poetry and literature both accessible and fun, poems for kids inspire both imagination and a love for reading. The classic poems for kids, such as those above, have an enduring quality that’s a mixture of timeless fun and charm.