Diz Wallis

This is, as the title suggests, a poetry collection for children. I've had my copy since early childhood - I don't actually remember receiving it, or ever not having it on my bookshelf. It was published by Macmillan in 1998, when I was seven years old.

I've always been fond of this book. It contains the first poem I ever loved: "Leonardo" by Charles Causley, with which I'm still enamoured to this day. I'll probably always have a soft spot for this collection, and a physical spot for it on my shelves.

But having reread it from cover to cover this year, I cannot say that it is good.

It isn't quite bad, either. There are things that I like, for themselves, without the rosy haze of nostalgia: Diz Wallis's illustrations are charming and fun, and all well suited to the poems that they accompany.

The font and texgt size are perfect for a children's volume, and the cover design, with its golden lettering on the title, does make the book feel special, like something that contains treasure. The size and heft of the book are also good, small enough to not be unwieldy for a kid while big enough to feel grown-up and important.

And the three complete indeces, of poems by title, poets, and poems by first line, are excellent. The first line index is especially useful. (I realize that this is probaly, if not standard, then at least common in poetry collections. But I still like it enough to mention it here.)

And content-wise, I noted liking about 23 of the poems collected. (And admittedly, I'm not the intended audience anymore by at least a good two decades).

However, the collection also has some negative qualities that I couldn't ignore.

For one thing, for a purportedly secular poetry collection aimed at (English speaking) children of all backgrounds, this book contains a lot of Christian poems, including one outright Christian prayer. This is only made more obvious - and more of a problem - by the fact that there are no non-Christain religious poems, or even poems about non-Christian religious holidays. If there has been a mix of poetry from varying religions, I would have no objection. But the sheer amount of Christian poetry, coupled with the complete absence of any other religion's poetry, is an undeniable strike against the book.

Another strike against it, and a related one, at that, is the lack of diversity among the poets included. There are relatively few poems by non-white poets, and even fewer poems in translation or from other cultures.

I also disliked the formatting choice to put the poets' names after the poems instead of at the top with the titles, but that's a personal preference thing, rather than an actual issue with the book.

So overall, Treasury of Poetry for Children has its upsides and downsides. I wouldn't reccommend it, but I also won't be weeding it from my own shelves anytime soon. Given that, I've rated it a neutral 3 stars.… (lisätietoja)