LITTLE POEMS FOR CHILDREN
GRACE ANDREACCHI ILLUSTRATED BY VIKTORIA SAMOILOVA
The right of Grace Andreacchi to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This is a work of fiction. Any similarity of persons, places or events depicted herein to actual persons, places or events is purely coincidental.
Copyright Š 2010 by Grace Andreacchi Illustrations copyright Š 2010 by Viktoria Samoilova All rights reserved
LITTLE POEMS FOR CHILDREN GRACE ANDREACCHI WITH ILLLUSTRATIONS BY VIKTORIA SAMOILOVA
Andromache Books
For my daughter, Sarah, when she was a little girl.
MOTHER'S ROSES GOD PAPA THE PARK THE WEDDING DOLL MY BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER NOT ME WHEN I GROW UP MIDDY BLOUSE GRANDMOTHER'S FISH JELLY BEANS SAINT MICHAEL MY BROTHER JOHN BAD BOYS GOOD BOYS SWEETHEART HALLOWEEN SPAGHETTI AND CAKE THREE PENGUINS BOOKS THE ANTS TEACHERS MISTER MOON BARBIE GRASSHOPPER
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IF
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THE DAWDLES BULLDOG RED SNEAKERS NEW SHOES CRAZY DAISY IF I WERE GOD
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MOTHER'S ROSES
A red rose A white rose A red rose A white rose A red rose A white rose That's all!
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GOD
God is very great and strong He listens to us all day long And teaches us to do what's right But nobody knows what He does at night.
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PAPA
Papa also is strong and tall And when I hear his step in the hall I hide in the curtain - I know what he'll say! 'Where is my little Miss Mousie today?'
Then I come prancing out just like a mouse And he takes me and hugs me all over the house I give him six kisses, or seven, or ten And tell him I'm going to marry him When.
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THE PARK
The park is very great and green And full of many things unseen Swings that come swinging and knock off your head Germs in the fountain that kill you quite dead And lots of wild children who like to throw sand And sometimes there's even a musical band!
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THE WEDDING DOLL
The Wedding Doll is very grand She has her own white wedding stand And stands very straight in the dining hall In her dress and her veil and her gloves and all.
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But though she's been standing there summer and fall The bridegroom seems never to turn up at all And sometimes I wonder - What sort of life? Always the wedding but never the wife.
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MY BEST FRIEND'S MOTHER
My best friend's mother is very strict And when I come over to play I know she's going to send us out On even the coldest day.
She never once gave us cookies or cake She says that it makes such a mess And she had a fit when my friend spilled coke All over her second-best dress.
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My friend's not allowed to wear jewelry or lace Her mother says it's not proper, The time we wore lipstick and powdered our face She screamed and nobody could stop 'er.
If she were my mother I'd run away fast I'd sail away over the water, From China I'd send her a postcard at last 'With love, from your runaway daughter!'
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NOT ME
I wouldn't like to be a nun They never seem to have much fun But always go to church or school And wear black dresses as a rule.
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WHEN I GROW UP
I'd like to be a fireman And put the fires out And ride the big red engine round the town. Up and down! Up and down! The big light going round and round! And the big siren screaming.
I'd like to be a Ringmaster And wear a coat and hat. I'd crack my whip and just like that! Lions and tigers at my command Clowns and elephants under my hand The big lights beaming out of the stand And the big crowd screaming.
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I'd like to be the daring girl Who rides the high trapeze. I'd swing from my toes, I'd hang from my knees In my glorious sparkles like stars in the breeze The big light shining so everyone sees Me up there gleaming.
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MIDDY BLOUSE
My middy blouse is very white It has a collar like a kite And when I button it up tight I look just like a sailor.
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GRANDMOTHER'S FISH
Gold fish, red fish Swimming all around Gold fish, red fish Never make a sound.
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JELLY BEANS
Black jelly beans are best I let my brother have the rest.
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TEACHERS
Some are nice, and some are mean But most are somewhere in-between.
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SAINT MICHAEL
Saint Michael killed a dragon Saint Michael is a saint Saint Michael is an angel And mother says, I ain't!
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MY BROTHER JOHN
My brother John is very small My brother John knows nothing at all. He doesn't know Go-Fish or nursery rhymes Nor how many seven by seven is times. He can't tell the hour by the clock on the wall Oh my brother John is so dreadfully small!
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He can't zip his coat, nor tie his own shoe He thinks all that stuff about Santa is true, But he knows how to wrestle, he knows how to run And when he's not crying he sometimes is fun. I chase him around, he barks like a puppy And makes a ridiculous face like a guppy. He knows how to scream, and he knows how to laugh Which isn't too bad for just two-and-a-half.
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BAD BOYS
Bad boys like to pull your hair And make you trip upon the stair; They also make a lot of noise And smash up other people's toys.
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GOOD BOYS
Good boys, I think, are hard to find The gentle, meek, and quiet kind, Who try to fix things when they break And take you rowing on the lake.
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SWEETHEART
If you were my sweetheart, I never would roam, I'd sit down by the fire and tell you a poem, And if an angel came To call your name I'd stay with you just the same.
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HALLOWEEN
Halloween is scarey I love it very much The children all disguise themselves As witches, ghosts, and princesses And pirates with big cutlasses And animals and such.
We go to all the houses And holler 'Trick or treat!' In the cold and the dark you hardly dare Such a big jack-o-lantern grinning there And one time a ghost even pulled my hair! And they give you candy to eat.
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SPAGHETTI AND CAKE
When I am grown to woman's state And take my place among the great And people ask me, what I ate? To look so elegant and sedate I'll answer them Spaghetti and Cake!
Spaghetti and cake, spaghetti and cake! The only things I ever ate. If you want to grow to woman's state Eat all you want of spaghetti and cake.
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When I'm the Queen over land and sea And people come running to look at me And humbly inquire, what I had for tea? When I was a little one just like thee I'll answer them Spaghetti and cake!
Spaghetti and cake, spaghetti and cake! For breakfast, dinner and tea If you want to grow up like me Bright and bumptious, wild and free Eat all you can see of Spaghetti and cake!
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THREE PENGUINS
Three penguins in the porridge Swimming all about, I'm not going to eat it Till somebody takes them out!
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BOOKS
Books are what I like the best They're not just toys like all the rest That break, or get old, or don't want to play A book gets better every day.
Sit down and open it - soon you'll find A whole new world jumps up in your mind, People and places and all sorts of things Dragons and princesses, goblins and kings,
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Dinosaurs walking the earth like thunder, Ancient Egyptians who make you wonder, Books about planets and space exploration, The truth about rocks, and the birth of our nation.
And perhaps the most interesting story of all That tells of the Prince who is going to call, And even a picture to show how he looks Now these are the things that I like about books.
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THE ANTS
The day was hot and quiet And I was all alone, I killed them in the garden With a stick and with a stone.
I buried them and hid the place, I didn't want to see The ugly thing that had been done By no one else but me.
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MISTER MOON
Mister Moon looks out of the sky And watches me with his big bright eye Ands follows me wherever I go Hello, Mister Moon! Hello!
Of all the children that he can see Why does he choose to follow me? And watch me with his eye so bright Good night, Mister Moon! Good night!
37
BARBIE
Barbie is a grown-up doll Not like the other dolls at all Her ponytail in golden ripples, And breasts like real except for the nipples. She's got more clothes than a movie star, And adjustable joints, and her own red car. My brother pulled off her head and then Stuck it on to the body of Ken. I got really mad but I had to admit That Ken's head on Barbie was quite a good fit.
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GRASSHOPPER
Grasshopper small Alone under the leaves Singing on a summer night To the moon and all
Grasshopper grasshopper Grasshopper grasshopper small
Under the leaves and all
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The leaves so dark And the moon so bright Singing alone on a summer night
Grasshopper grasshopper Grasshopper grasshopper small
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IF
If all the world were painted pink With lots of green and yellow ink And all the mice were millionaires How would we ever get upstairs?
If little dogs have little lice And crocodiles are sweet and nice And like to tickle with their tails Why do they have such long sharp nails?
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If many things we say are true Like one plus one and six plus two And elephants from Timbuktu Why aren't there any in the zoo?
If up and down and out and in And big and fat and thick and thin And long and lean and wan and white Why must we go to bed at night?
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THE DAWDLES
Twirled my hair all round a pencil Arithmetic is still not done Made a house of fried potatoes Only ate one little one.
Now I'm looking out the window Toys are lying on the floor Waiting till I tidy up - I Guess they'll have to wait some more!
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BULLDOG
Short legs Scrunchy face Fat little bulldog Never won a race.
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RED SNEAKERS
I've got new red sneakers on I'm going to run from here to Babylon I'm going to jump right up to the moon And if I come back it won't be soon.
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NEW SHOES
Black patent leather Buckles on the toes Click-clack! When I walk My new shoes like to talk Click-clack, there she goes!
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CRAZY DAISY
Crazy Daisy, grandmother's cat You never once heard of a cat like that! She seems to think people are some sort of mice, A little bit larger but just as nice; She seems to think people are some sort of food, A little bit bigger but just as good.
If Grandma forgets to lock her up tight She jumps on your foot and takes a big bite. One time when the meter man came to the house She ate half his shoe just as if it were mouse.
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IF I WERE GOD
If I were God I wouldn't let it rain. The snow would fall in summer when it's hot. If I were God there'd be No school ever Chocolate forever and teeth that never rot If I were God - but I'm not.
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THE END!
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Grace Andreacchi was born and raised in New York City but has lived on the far side of the great ocean for many years - sometimes in Paris, sometimes Berlin, and nowadays in London. Works include the novels Scarabocchio and Poetry and Fear (Andromache Books), Give my Heart Ease, which received the New American Writing Award, and Music for Glass Orchestra. Stories and poetry appear in both on-line and print journals. Her work can be viewed at graceandreacchi.com. Viktoria Samoilova is a young Russian artist studying in St. Petersberg. Her work can be seen HERE. Find out more about ANDROMACHE BOOKS
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