Reviews
There are so many incredible books available at the moment that it is impossible to read them all, no matter how hard I try! Here are my thoughts about some of the books I have read and how I think they could be used in school as well as Q and A sessions with authors and illustrators.
Bath Children’s Literature Festival 2023
Bath is a gorgeous city with so much to see and enjoy and every year since it started (with the obvious exceptions!), I have joined many other book lovers at the Children’s Literature Festival held there every autumn. Always a wonderful occasion, so many wonderful poets, illustrators and authors take part in this joyful event, making it a pleasure to return year after year!
My festival adventure this year started with a drawing session with Nadia Shireen and Sophy Henn, compered by Steven Butler. Full of fun and fabulous drawings, the illustrators were challenged to create pictures inspired by words selected from the audience. There were giraffes in space, secret agents doing karate in the woods with a goose side kick, scientist rabbits and secret agent guinea pigs! Sophy and Nadia rose to every challenge whilst Steven constantly challenged them with extra details!
The audience were also encouraged to draw along and it was amazing to see just how creative and inventive they were too! It was a brilliant way to start the day…
My next event was with Nikita Gill who was sharing her new book, ‘Animal Tales from India: Ten Stories from the Panchatantra’ (review here). These are stories that Nikita grew up with, told to her by her grandmother, and her love of them was very evident! It was a joyful session of storytelling.
Loving myths, legends and traditional tales, I knew that ‘Mythical Adventures of Greeks and Gods’ was also going to be a session I would really enjoy. Joanna Nadin was talking to Tom Holland about his book, ‘The Wolf-Girl, The Greeks and the Gods’ (review here) - and he was absolutely fascinating! He took his young family to Greece with him for 6 months to be able to visit all the locations and immerse himself in the story, using the character of Gorgo to keep his young daughter engaged on their travels.
Rocket is one of my favourite picture book characters so it was a joy to hear Dapo Adeola (again!) as he read the latest story, ‘Speak Up!’ (review here) and taught us all how to draw Luna the cat. The children in the audience were excellent with their answers in the quiz and also asked some great questions. Dapo gave lots of good advice, reminding children that ‘there is a lesson in every drawing’ and encouraging them to persevere and have fun!
After drawing with Dapo, I was fired with enthusiasm for my next event, ‘Heavy Metal Badger’ with Duncan Beedie. Having listened to the story, the rock music generated the perfect atmosphere for creating some heavy metal band names and designing their logos. Some of the adults in the audience got even more carried away than their children at this point!! Duncan then showed everyone how to draw Badger sliding on his knees, loving the heavy metal!
My time at this year’s festival finished on an absolute high. Ana Sampson is responsible for gathering the poems for the most amazing collection, ‘Gods and Monsters: Mythological Poems’ (review here), which has been brilliantly illustrated by Chris Riddell. This has very quickly become a favourite of mine and it was a joy to listen to Ana (and Chris!) whilst Chris drew constantly. There was a battle of the monsters as the audience were asked to vote in a number of rounds to discover which monster they thought would be the winner! It was the perfect way to end the day.
Today is the last day of Bath Children’s Literature Festival 2023- and I’m already looking forward to next year!
Gods and Monsters: Mythological Poems
Combing two of my favourite things-poetry and mythology, ‘Gods and Monsters’ was always going to be a personal reading paradise, but this fabulous collection exceeded even my high expectations! It is a veritable dragon’s horde of joy in poem form.
Loosely grouped into ten sections, the book covers poems reflecting a diverse range of myths and legends from across the world, written by an incredible range of poets. Through these works, readers will re-encounter old favourites and discover a wealth of new ones whether they work their way through the collection as a whole of dip in and out as they please.
Many of the poems included are perfect for using as a story time, enriching children’s experience of poetry and expanding their knowledge of ‘the old stories’. ‘Arachnophobia’ by Kate Wise offers a perfect starting point for discovering the story of Athene and Arachne and the etymology of the title whilst the poem ‘Did you know earthquakes come from a catfish?’ explores the Japanese mythology. There are so many poems which could lead to further discovery as well as being enjoyed in their own right.
Classics like ‘The Odyssey’ and ‘Jabberwocky’ mingle with more recent works. The opening poem, ‘Faith’ by Dawn McLachlan, was new to me and is now a firm favourite! There are humorous poems- ‘Mrs Icarus’ (Carol Ann Duffy) or ‘Going to Bed’ (A F Harrold), for example- as well as moving ones, all beautifully illustrated by the incomparable Chris Riddell whose skill manages to capture each mood and feeling.
Gods and Monsters: Mythological Poems
Chosen by Ana Sampson, illustrated by Chris Riddell
Macmillan ISBN: 978-1035023011
Originally reviewed for Reading Zone.
Pause for Poetry: A Passing on of Shells
‘A Passing on of Shells’ is a collection of 50 poems, each written using fifty words. There is much to enjoy here as Simon Lamb uses a variety of poetic styles and techniques, offering an ingenious selection of work on many themes.
The collection opens with ‘How to Start an Adventure’, the perfect way to fire the imagination and encourage creativity. Many of the poems here are perfect for performing like ‘The Satsuma Rumour’ or ‘Garden Phantoms’ whilst others provoke thinking and discussion. ‘They Built a Bridge’, ‘What We Wear’ and ‘A Line in the Sand’ would all be brilliant as part of a circle time or PSHE session.
‘You Make Me So Acrostic’ will elicit a wry smile from many teachers! Many believe the acrostic form is an easy one to use; however, as this poem suggests, if poorly taught, it can result in the most appallingly contrived, stilted pieces. This amusing poem would make an excellent starting point for discussions about the form, perhaps whilst tactfully looking at a variety of examples! Many of the poems here would make excellent models to inspire a class- or an individual- to create their own, perhaps adhering to the 50 words theme or not!
Others are just beautiful poetry moments which effortlessly capture a mood or feeling. I love ‘Snow Globes’, ‘Still Earth’ and ‘Pocket Poem’ and know I will return to these again and again. The title of the collection is a line from ‘Life on the Rock’, a beautiful reflective work, sure to provoke discussion- and the perfect title for this book!
The whole collection is lavishly illustrated by Chris Riddell whose wonderful illustrations capture the mood of each poem perfectly- humorous, pensive, poignant- and will encourage children to make their own artistic responses to the poems. Each poem and its picture is to be dwelt on and enjoyed- a fabulous collection!
A Passing on of Shells: 50 Fifty Word Poems
Simon Lamb, illustrated by Chris Riddell
Scallywag Press ISBN: 978-1915252128
Pause for Poetry: We Wish You a Merry Christmas
I have quite a collection of Christmas poetry books gathered over the years so might be asked why I needed another one. Well, firstly, you can never have too many picture books and secondly, this one has been illustrated by Chris Riddell- so ask no more!
This collection offers a real pocketful of Christmas cheer, containing both traditional gems and more recent Christmas classics. Carols like ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’, ‘The Holly and the Ivy’ and ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’, are included alongside Benjamin Zephaniah’s modern classic, ‘Talking Turkeys’- much loved in schools everywhere!
There are moments of poignancy amid the Christmas cheer, provoking thought and reflection. Brian Moses’s ‘Going Home’ and Lemn Sissay’s ‘Let There Be Peace’ make the reader pause and reflect whilst Jackie Kay’s ‘Promise’ looks forward to the New Year.
A collection with something for everyone, ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Other Festive Poems’ is lavishly illustrated by Chris Riddell, making it a visual treat as well as a poetic one. Perfect for dipping in and out of over the festive season, this is a beautiful compilation, a gift which is sure to lay the foundation for a new family tradition of sharing poems at Christmas.
We Wish You a Merry Christmas and Other Festive Poems
Chosen and illustrated by Chris Riddell
Macmillan ISBN: 978-1529086423
You can read my review of ‘The Big Amazing Poetry Book’ here.
The Big Amazing Poetry Book
If there are any parents or teachers who feel lost about where to find an excellent selection of poems for their children, they need search no more! ‘The Big Amazing Poetry Book’ not only offers an introduction to 52 (that’s one for every week of the year) wonderful poets, it also contains a whole host of poems in different styles on a very wide range of subjects for all ages!
According to Roger McGough in his foreword, this is an ‘Annualogy’, containing seven poems by each of 52 poets. Often over my teaching career, I have met children (and adults!) who declare that they hate poetry- on further investigation, it quickly becomes clear that they just haven’t taken to the poems they have been offered, the way the poems have been approached- or both. This collection allows the reader real choice- not only choice of poet, but choice of poems by each poet, showing just how varied (and talented) poets can be. The book would be perfect of dipping in and out of as a family, for exploring at bedtime or for lingering with when alone.
For teachers, ‘The Big Amazing Poetry Book’ is a real gift. There are well-known, much-loved poems here- The Sound Collector (Roger McGough), ‘Timothy Winters’ (Charles Causley), ‘Give Yourself a Hug’ (Grace Nichols) and ‘Cats’ (Eleanor Farjeon) to name a few -alongside less familiar works which are sure to become new favourites. The current Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho, is included- perfect for making sure children are introduced to Joseph and his work- as well as the 2011-13 Laurate, Julia Donaldson
There are many poems here which would work perfectly as models for inspiring writing- My Colours (Colin West), You’re Never Too…(Laura Mucha), A Flutter of Fairies (Clare Bevan); those which could instigate discussion- Give and Take (Roger McGough), 93% Stardust (Nikita Gill), Checking Out Me History (John Agard), Earthtalk (Shauna Darling Robertson); poems to sprinkle across the curriculum, poems to perform, poems using different forms and techniques…I could go on and on!
The book has been lavishly illustrated by Chris Riddell. The little mouse who appears on the cover sits reading on each mini-biography page introducing the next poet. Remove the dust jacket and there are more mice on shelves showing poetry books by the poets within the collection- an excellent starting point for further poetic exploration!
Simply wonderful!
The Big Amazing Poetry Book
Chosen by Gaby Morgan, illustrated by Chris Riddell
Macmillan ISBN: 978-1529099096
Originally reviewed for Reading Zone.