The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry

The definitive anthology of children's poetry, collected by a beloved author

Years in the making, this full-color treasury contains nearly two hundred poems, all of them handpicked by Bill Martin Jr. Traditional children's poems are presented alongside contemporary pieces, and the collection is capped off with tributes by Eric Carle and Steven Kellogg, two of Bill Martin Jr's best-known collaborators. This essential compilation also features original illustrations by award-winning artists, including Ashley Bryan, Lois Ehlert, Steven Kellogg, Chris Raschka, Dan Yaccarino, Nancy Tafuri, and Derek Anderson. This beautiful anthology is sure to become a classic.

Bill Martin Jr (1916–2004) has been called “America’s favorite children’s author.” He wrote more than 300 books for children, including the classic texts Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, illustrated by Eric Carle; and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, illustrated by Lois Ehlert.

Michael Sampson is a New York Times bestselling author of twenty-two books for young children, including Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3 and The Bill Martin Jr Big Book of Poetry. He and Bill Martin Jr wrote many popular books together, including Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? and Baby Bear, Baby Bear, What Do You See? Michael Sampson lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Eric Carle is an internationally bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator of more than seventy books for very young children, including The Tiny Seed, Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me,?and his most well-known title, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Born in Syracuse, New York, Eric Carle moved to Germany with his parents when he was six years old. He studied at the prestigious art school, the Akademie der Bildenden Kunste, in Stuttgart, before returning to the United States, where he worked as a graphic designer for the New York Times and later as art director for an advertising agency. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, now considered a modern classic, has sold nearly fifty million copies and has been translated into sixty-five languages. With his late wife, Barbara, Eric Carle cofounded The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Massachusetts in 2002. Eric Carle lives in the Florida Keys.

Steven Kellogg is the beloved illustrator of more than one hundred books for children including Clorinda and Clorinda Takes Flight, and he has been awarded the Regina Medal for his entire body of work. Mr. Kellogg works in an old barn overlooking Lake Champlain in Essex, New York, where he lives with his family.