Born three decades before William Shakespeare, George Gascoigne (1535-77) was one of the earliest poets to write in modern English. He also wrote the first essay on poetic meter; what could be called ...

1. Slumber song “sung to infants.” 2. Sing as to lull goodnight. Orchestral nocturne, The World in the Evening. Drowsy eyes, silent night. A measurement of proximity to rest. Promise of sweet dreams.

When Traci Brimhall wrote, “We all want/to be broken for one another is why,” I believed I understood the poem. Thought I knew something about what this love thing she was getting into was about. But ...

Selected by Lee Bennett Hopkins, illus. by Alyssa Nassner. Abrams Appleseed, $15.95 (44p) ISBN 978-1-4197-1037-7 Divided into sections that include “Food,” “Family,” and “Play,” this tender, ...