Great news, Roger.
Coincidentally I had picked up a National Geographic just yesterday and marveled at how chock-full of information and insight it contains (as I do each time I come across one. They were staple reading material in my house growing up.) I hadn't realized they also publish a children's poetry anthology so I'm looking forward to reading that.
The comments here about how children tend to learn how to dislike rather than like poetry reminds me of the old adage, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink it" as it applies to teaching children the lessons that poetry can provide... There is so much more you can do than simply "lead them" to the water!
I prefer a teaching perspective I learned from an educator named Jim Greenman (I always give him credit when it's due - he was a brilliant man). He said, "The question is not, 'How smart is the child?' But instead it's, "'How is the child smart?'"
Whenever I'm frustrated with teaching I remember that important distinction and I'm back on track : )
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