Danny O'Dare by Shel Silverstein
Danny O'Dare, the dancin' bear,
Ran away from the County Fair,
Ran right up to my back stair
And thought he'd do some dancin' there.
He started jumpin' and skippin' and kickin',
He did a dance called the Funky Chicken,
He did the Polka, he did the Twist,
He bent himself into a pretzel like this.
He did the Dog and the Jitterbug,
He did the Jerk and the Bunny Hug.
He did the Waltz and the Boogaloo,
He did the Hokey-Pokey too.
He did the Bop and the Mashed Potata,
He did the Split and the See Ya Later.
And now he's down upon one knee,
Bowin' oh so charmingly,
And winkin' and smilin'--it's easy to see
Danny O'Dare wants to dance with me.
From: http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/shel_silverstein/poems/14829
I chose to do a poem by Shel Silverstein because it is the only poetry I can remember enjoying from when I was a child. I was not very interested in poetry but can remember checking out his books, especially Falling Up and Where the Sidewalk Ends. I personally love this poem because it is funny and because of the rhyming that can found throughout. I feel this will also make it appealing to children because as the Temple Text said, children tend to like poetry that rhymes. When trying to classify this poem into a category I was not sure where it should be placed but finally decided on a narrative poem. I feel it is narrative because it is in the format of a story and has a smooth progression with a clear beginning, middle and an conclusion that explains the purpose of the Danny O'Dare's actions. It is example of good children's poetry because it contains true rhyming words that flow off the tongue. It is also an example of good children's poetry because it produces clear mental images of a bear performing each line of the poem as they are read. The images are another reason I love this poem. I can clearly see a bear dancing, skipping and doing all sorts of moves which I think is something that children would really enjoy.