20+ Wonderful, Hilarious Poems for Kids

Poetry can help children feel less alone. It is a great way for them to express and process their emotions. It can also improve their reading skills and enhance their vocabulary. The more poetry a child reads, the more excited they’ll be to write their own. The best way to learn is by example, so here are some of the best poems for kids. Whether you’re a teacher with students or a parent with young children of your own, these are great educational tools!

Funny Poems For Kids

The best way to get a child interested in poetry is by reading them funny poems. When they’re laughing, they won’t even realize they’re also learning. Here are some funny poems for kids:

I’m learning to say thank you.
And I’m learning to say please.
And I’m learning to use Kleenex,
Not my sweater, when I sneeze.
And I’m learning not to dribble.
And I’m learning not to slurp.
And I’m learning (though it sometimes really hurts me)
Not to burp.
And I’m learning to chew softer
When I eat corn on the cob.
And I’m learning that it’s much
Much easier to be a slob. — Judith Viorst

If you have to dry the dishes
(Such an awful, boring chore)
If you have to dry the dishes
(’Stead of going to the store)
If you have to dry the dishes
And you drop one on the floor—
Maybe they won’t let you
Dry the dishes anymore. — Shel Silverstein

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe,
She had so many children she didn’t know what to do;
She gave them some broth without any bread,
Kissed them all soundly and sent them to bed. — Mother Goose

Short Poems For Kids

Young children are going to have an easier time understanding short poems. Here are a few fun examples with words that rhyme.

I never saw a purple cow,
I never hope to see one,
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I’d rather see than be one! — Gelett Burgess

The world is so full
of a number of things,
I’m sure we should all
be as happy as kings. — Robert Louis Stevenson

Hey diddle diddle,
The Cat and the fiddle,
The Cow jumped over the moon,
The little Dog laughed to see such sport,
And the Dish ran away with the Spoon. — Author Unknown

Any hound a porcupine nudges
Can’t be blamed for harboring grudges,
I know one hound that laughed all winter
At a porcupine that sat on a splinter. — Ogden Nash

Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November;
February has twenty-eight alone.
All the rest have thirty-one,
Excepting leap-year—that’s the time
When February’s days are twenty-nine. — Author Unknown

I like to see a thunderstorm,
A dunder storm,
A blunder storm,
I like to see it, black and slow,
Come stumbling down the hill.

I like to hear a thunderstorm,
A plunder storm,
A wonder storm,
Roar loudly at our little house
And shake the window sills! — Elizabeth Coatsworth

Children’s Poems

Poems for kids are usually silly, but they can still discover something new while reading. Some of these poems tackle clever topics like love and friendship. Others are just plain ridiculous. Here are a few more poems for kids:

How doth the little crocodile
Improve his shining tail,
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every golden scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
How neatly spreads his claws,
And welcomes little fishes in,
With gently smiling jaws! — Lewis Carroll

Down they go!
Hail and snow!
Freezes and sneezes and noses will blow! — Roald Dahl

As soon as Fred gets out of bed,
his underwear goes on his head.
His mother laughs, “Don’t put it there,
a head’s no place for underwear!”
But near his ears, above his brains,
is where Fred’s underwear remains.

At night when Fred goes back to bed,
he deftly plucks it off his head.
His mother switches off the light
and softly croons, “Good night! Good night!”
And then, for reasons no one knows,
Fred’s underwear goes on his toes. — Jack Prelutsky

Rhyming Poems For Kids

It doesn’t matter how young or old you are. You can always appreciate beautiful language. Everyone should read these poems for kids:

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls. — Alfred Lord Tennyson

There was an Old Man with a beard,
Who said “It is just how I feared—
Two Owls and a hen,
For Larks and a wren,
Have all built their nests in my beard!” — Edward Lear

First I saw the white bear, then I saw the black;
Then I saw the camel with a hump upon his back;
Then I saw the grey wolf, with mutton in his maw;
Then I saw the wombat waddle in the straw
Then I saw the elephant a-waving of his trunk;
Then I saw the monkeys – mercy, how unpleasantly they smelt! — William Makepeace Thackeray

Children’s Poetry

Poetry is a form of art. It can tell funny stories while teaching children something new. Whether you work at a school or are the parents of young children, it’s a great idea to expose them to poetry. Let them listen to these poems for kids:

Once there was an elephant,
Who tried to use the telephant—
No! No! I mean an elephone
Who tried to use the telephone—

(Dear me! I am not certain quite
That even now I’ve got it right.)
Howe’er it was, he got his trunk
Entangled in the telephunk;

The more he tried to get it free,
The louder buzzed the telephee—
(I fear I’d better drop the song
Of elephop and telephong!) — Laura Elizabeth Richard

The forest is the town of trees
Where they live quite at their ease,
With their neighbors at their side
Just as we in cities wide. — Annette Wynne

Star light, start bright,
The first star I see tonight;
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight. — Author Unknown

Nursery Rhymes For Kids

You’ve probably heard this collection of classic nursery rhymes during your early childhood. Now it’s time to pass them down to the kids in your life. Remember, a poem can be sung like a song, especially when the word at the end of each sentence is rhyming. Your kids can sing while they play!

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are! — Jane Taylor

Baa, baa, black sheep,
Have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three bags full;
One for the master,
And one for the dame,
And one for the little boy
Who lives down the lane. — Rudyard Kipling

I’m a little teapot
Short and stout
Here is my handle (one hand on hip)
Here is my spout (other arm out straight)

When I get all steamed up
Hear me shout
“Tip me over
and pour me out!” (lean over toward spout)

I’m a clever teapot,
Yes, it’s true
Here let me show you
What I can do

I can change my handle
And my spout (switch arm positions)
Just tip me over and pour me out! (lean over toward spout) — George Harold Sanders