Thirteen delightfully engaging children's poems from Cornish poet Charles Causley are paired with the gorgeous ink-drawing illustrations of American artist Trina Schart Hyman in this wonderful little book. From nonsense poems like 'Quack' Said the Billy Goat, in which all the animals make the wrong sounds, to poignant selections such as Riley, in which an elderly homeless man, known for living happily by himself in the wild, disappears one day, the selections here are all interesting, and frequently emotionally involving. I loved the rhythm of the rather grisly I Saw a Jolly Hunter, the haunting feeling of Tell me, tell me, Sarah Jane, and the Cornish folk references in the titular Figgie Hobbin...

Although I read the American edition of Causly's collection, which (as mentioned) contains thirteen poems, I would at some point like to track down a British edition as well, as I understand that some of them have closer to forty selections. I'm not sorry to have read this version of Figgie Hobbin, as I enjoyed the poems immensely and found the illustrations absolutely gorgeous, but I would certainly like to read more! This was my first experience of Causly, and I was quite impressed. I sometimes find that children's poets pay more attention to structure - rhyme scheme, rhythm, etc - than to the beauty of the language itself and, most importantly, the meaning and feeling behind the words. Here however, we have a children's poet who manages to do it all! Perhaps this is owing to the fact that Causly was indeed a poet - a poet for adults, who happened also to write poetry for children. Highly recommended, both to young poetry lovers, and to fellow fans of Trina Schart Hyman's distinctive and beautiful artwork. ( )

Summary
This book of poems is based in England and tells little stories about hunters, a king, and a hobbin just to name a few. The pictures in the book are illustrated to help you see the poem with a picture.

Personal reflection
I really didn't care for these poems, mainly because I as an adult had a hard time understanding the meaning of some of these poems. I think that these poems may not be a good choice for some children.

Extension
1. Have the children pick another country they would like to visit and write a poem about it.
2. Pick one poem from the book and have the children write a poem from the picture alone.
3. Have the children explain a poem in their own words from the book. ( )

I’m not sure whether children in America these days read any poetry other than collections of funny poems like Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein. If there are children’s poetry readers out there yet, I give a hearty “Yes!” to this little poetry collection, Figgie Hobbin.

Some of the poems are quite funny, too, like “ I Saw a Jolly Hunter” and but with a sly, intelligent humor that we don’t often find in children’s poetry. And not all the poems are humorous. Some are dark and bleak, like “Logs of Wood”, and bittersweet like “My Mother Saw a Dancing Bear”, poems that speak more to the grownup reading the poem aloud to the child than to the child. Causley uses words like firecrackers and sparklers. Happily, no clichés and gooey-sweet rhymes in this collection of children’s poetry.

If for nothing else, this book is worth reading for the beautiful pictures by one of my favorite picture book illustrators, Trina Schart Hyman. (Is that considered when the 1001 books were chosen?)
A 1001 Children’s Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up.