Piping Down the Valleys Wild by Various authors
"Piping Down the Valleys Wild" is a curated anthology of poetry aimed at young readers, edited by Nancy Larrick. The collection draws its title from a poem by William Blake, setting a musical tone throughout the book. Larrick’s selections emphasize the auditory qualities of poetry, featuring 245 poems that resonate with themes and sounds designed to captivate children's imaginations. The anthology is organized into sixteen thematic chapters, each titled after a line from one of the poems, which range from humor to nature, and include illustrations by Ellen Raskin that enhance the reading experience.
While the collection seeks to appeal to a broad audience, it may not fully satisfy those looking for contemporary themes or diverse representations, particularly regarding African American poets. Despite these limitations, "Piping Down the Valleys Wild" is celebrated for its rich variety and its ability to make poetry an enjoyable and integral part of life for young readers. With its mix of classic and contemporary voices, the anthology serves as a valuable resource for introducing children to the world of poetry.
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Piping Down the Valleys Wild by Various authors
Edited by Nancy Larrick
First published: 1968; illustrated
Subjects: Animals, emotions, nature, and the supernatural
Type of work: Poetry
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Form and Content
Piping Down the Valleys Wild derives its title from the introductory poem to Songs of Innocence (1789), by William Blake, the eighteenth century English Romantic poet and engraver. Editor Nancy Larrick could not have chosen a better poem to set the tone and to serve as prelude for her collection for young readers. Just as Blake’s poem emphasizes the musical quality of poetry with his piper, or poet, “Piping songs of pleasant glee” that “Every child may joy to hear,” so Larrick’s selections are generally those that will appeal to the ear. As she states in her introduction, “poetry itself is music,” and perhaps it is for this reason that young readers respond enthusiastically to it, asking to hear a favorite verse again and again. She based this belief on years of working with students and claims that it guided her in choosing the 245 poems in this volume. This enthusiasm for aural elements is evident in examples such as Karla Kuskin’s “Full of the Moon,” with its dogs that “howl and growl” as they “amble, ramble, scramble”; or in Eve Merriam’s “Bam, Bam, Bam,” in which workers “Slam, slam, slam” as they demolish neighborhood houses with pickaxes and wrecking balls.
Piping Down the Valleys Wild is divided into sixteen chapters grouped by subject matter. Each chapter takes its title from a portion of a poem contained within that section: for example, the title of chapter 5, “I saw a spooky witch out riding on her broom,” comes from the poem “October Magic,” by Myra Cohn Livingston; and the title of chapter 13, “I must go down to the seas again . . . ,” is the opening line expressing the adventurous longing that suffuses John Masefield’s poem “Sea-Fever.” Thus, each section offers a satchelful of poems on a particular topic, although the subjects are not always apparent from a quick perusal. While chapter 2, “Sing a song of laughter . . . ,” is obviously about humor, readers will have to look more closely at the poems themselves in chapter 8, “I’ll take the hound with drooping ears . . . ,” and chapter 10, “I found new-born foxes . . . ,” to determine their distinguishing feature. Both seem to be about animals, but closer scrutiny reveals that the first concerns pets or domesticated animals, whereas the second focuses on wild animals and insects.
Other organizational characteristics of the collection include drawings by Ellen Raskin, an author, illustrator, and recipient of the prestigious Newbery Medal for The Westing Game (1978), a young adult mystery novel. Each illustration suggests the theme that follows. On the title page, the bird singing in the branches parallels the idea of the piping music of poetry, and the juggling clown introducing chapter 7, “I chanced to meet . . . ,” suggests verse on characters such as Kaye Starbird’s intrepid summer camper Eat-It-All Elaine, who devours tissues, buttercups, birch bark, prune pits, stinkbugs, and anything else in the poem of the same name.
Study aids within the book consist of a table of contents, two indexes (one of authors and titles and another of first lines), and acknowledgements. This last feature, which cites sources for the selections, should be especially useful to anyone who discovers a favorite poet and wants to read more of his or her work. For example, those who enjoy T. S. Eliot’s “The Rum Tum Tugger” and desire further feline capers can find his book Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (1939) referenced here. One caveat is that the acknowledgements are alphabetized by author but place each poet’s name within the bibliographic citation, following the title of that particular poem. Nevertheless, this format should prove only a slight, initial inconvenience.
Critical Context
Because this collection is intended to appeal to a wide array of interests, almost by necessity it will not satisfy everyone. Critics not having a penchant for end rhymes and regular rhythms may find the volume too full of poems that jingle to the ear. Others inclined to favor poetry about contemporary topics or with a social conscience may also be disappointed. For example, African American poets are scarce, and the few represented such as Gwendolyn Brooks barely emit an audible whisper about the experiences of black people in the United States.
These objections, however, are more cavils than criticisms. Nancy Larrick has provided for more specialized interests elsewhere among her numerous collections. Because of its incorporation of photographs and its inclusion of poems selected by more than one hundred youngsters from inner cities and small towns, Larrick’s On City Streets (1968) is a good choice for audiences who want poems about a more contemporary scene. For those who prefer controversial fare, Male and Female Under Eighteen (1973), which Larrick edited with Eve Merriam, contains language and ideas that some people might consider inappropriate for juveniles and young adults. Even so, such collections may become easily dated for readers whose environments and problems are ever-changing. Piping Down the Valleys Wild, however, will continue to have broad appeal. It not only attempts to make poetry as necessary a part of living as speaking or breathing but also is a treasure trove of favorite verses that vary in form, style, and content—all hallmarks of a good anthology.