love of local in Utah
A Child’s Garden of Poetry, by HBO
December 2nd, 2011 in Books/Reading
HBO released a new DVD for children about poetry titled, “A Child’s Garden.”
They sent us a copy. We loved it. Really, really loved it — which is why I am bringing it up on the bliggity blog.
- It is full of colorful, eye-catching animation of many different types to keep the children’s attention and bring the poetry to life.
- It is affordable — under $10
- It is the perfect length — 30 minutes
- They did a really fabulous job choosing the poetry. Some of the poems are by Robert Louis Stevenson, Robert Frost, Matsuo Basho, Li Bai, Claude McKay, William Butler Yeats, Langston Hughes, Edward Lear, William Shakespeare, Mary Ann Hoberman, Emily Dickinson and William Wadsworth.
- The voices reading the poems are behind the scenes, so they don’t take away from the film but you know who they are and their voices are beautiful. Claire Danes, Carrie Fisher, Julianne Moore, Josh Hamilton, Ziggy Marley, Liam Neeson, Natalie Merchant, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Dave Matthews and Jeffrey Wright.
- Lastly, they have children that will recite a poem or talk about how they feel about poetry. Oh, and you know? They put up what the kids really said…and not with a lot of “directing” or “practicing” behind the scenes. Very real.
You can order it here.
