Although I am a student of creative writing, I found this book a great help. It is indespensible for beginning writers and teachers of beginners. The book provides both detailed instruction and examples from famed poets to first graders. The authors show the practicality of the exercises by sharing personal teaching experience and even give alternatives for different skill levels. By teaching how creativity can work within a given form, they help students to eliminate the sterility often found in beginners' poems. For those who want to write poetry but don't know where to begin, Collom and Noethe not only give you the tools, but show you how to use them.

A wonderful book--there should be more like it. Jack has spent many years in schools opening kids to the beauty of poetry, and this collection will make you smile at what young spirits can put to paper. These poems transcend the literary equivalent of the refrigerator finger-painting; many are quite profound. One of my favorite lines: "Poetry is like a heart inside your mind that beeps." If you truly love poetry, then celebrate its possibilites, celebrate the wonderful, vibrant minds of children through this book.