Funny poems for kids are a great way to get kids reading. Because they’re often short and include a punch line, it’s easy for kids to keep turning pages. Also, they usually sneak in words that help young readers gain more language skills. Check out this piece of a poem by Jack Prelutsky:

I Made a Noise This Morning

I made a noise this morning

That I didn’t mean to make,

It truly was an accident,

An error, a mistake.

I don’t know how it happened,

But it suddenly was there,

Filled with great reverberations

That resounded in the air.

Even if kids don’t know the words “reverberations” and “resounded” they can probably figure out what they mean based on the rest of the poem. The poem also teaches synonyms, with words like “accident,” “error,” and “mistake.”

Check out poems by authors Jack Prelutsky, Kenn Nesbitt, Shel Silverstein, and others who write especially for children. Copy down something you think your child will like and slip it into a pocket or lunch box. As the topics of kids’ poems are likely to be about the things they experience every day—school worries, sibling conflicts, and more—they may even laugh over the poems with friends.