Poetry books for children
With National Poetry Day approaching on 7th October, we asked our resident children’s book expert, Joy Court, to recommend her top titles to bring poetry alive in the primary classroom.
A Poem for Every Autumn Day. Compiled by Allie Esiri. Macmillan, 2020, pp288, £14.99. ISBN: 978-1529045222Make it stand out
Beautifully combining both themes, this gorgeous anthology conjures up the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness perfectly. It combines every classic that you might expect from the titles along with fresh and modern surprises and extracts. It also covers more than nature and weather since this time of year includes starting school, Halloween and Remembrance day and the poems reflect this and any historical links with certain dates. Each poem is preceded by some contextual information which adds interest.
Wonder: The Natural History Museum Poetry Book. Compiled by Ana Sampson. Macmillan,2021, pp272,£14.99. ISBN: 978-1529058994
Inspired by the museum’s collection and illustrated with botanical drawings and engravings from their collections, this beautiful hardback covers everything from the depths of space to the centre of the earth. Within the eleven sections there are poems about the museum, the solar system, planet earth, oceans and rivers, birds, dinosaurs, fossils, wildlife, flowers, fungi, insects, evolution, humans, explorers and palaeontologists and consequently lots of curriculum topics you could introduce with a poem. Each section includes an introduction and some footnotes about particularly interesting species as well as background information such as on Mary Anning for example. There is a wonderful mix of classic and modern poets, including the like of Laura Much, Kae Tempest and Robert McFarlane, and a range of different forms. A lovely and useful anthology.
Cloud Soup. Kate Wakeling. Illustrated by Eīna Brasliņa The Emma Press, 2021, pp112, £8.99. ISBN: 978-1912915743
From the pairing that created Moon Juice, the winner of the CLiPPA Poetry Prize in 2016, we have a wonderful new collection of poems. Illustrated with the artist’s trademark quirky line drawings, there are poems that range from quiet and contemplative, touching on some important issues and life events, like losing a loved one in Grandma and the Sea: “her thoughts had loosened like the strands of wool/ in a well worn scarf” to delightfully funny, as in Toucan “Just because a toucan can/ doesn’t mean it does” With fabulously imaginative language such as “eyelash rinser” in Some Other Names For Rain or “sky sponge/ dabbing at the blue” in Cloud Song, these will be inspirational for young writers. Indeed, there are some notes and tips from the editor at the end “Now Write Your Own Poem” and poems like Word Hoard which really encourage engagement. “They’re words that stir the spirit/and tingle on the tongue” which is an apt description of this rewarding collection.
The Rapping Princess. Hannah Lee and Allen Fatimaharan. Faber, 2021, pp32, £6.99, ISBN: 978-0571361151
A delightful upbeat and inclusive modern fairy-tale which bounces along beautifully with a lively, rhyming text and vibrant colourful illustrations that evoke African heritage and offer an imaginative twist on the Disney princess trope. Princess Shiloh is sad because all her sisters are accomplished singers, while she thinks her own voice resembles a goat. Shiloh tries everything to improve her vocal skills and along the way, discovers a flair for something entirely unexpected. A lovely way to introduce rap and performance poetry
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats T.S. Eliot. Illustrated by Júlia Sardà. Faber, 2021, pp96. £14.99 ISBN: 978-0571346134
Old Toffer’s Book of Consequential Dogs. Christopher Reid. Illustrated by Sara Ogilvie. Faber, 2021, pp112, £14.99. ISBN: 978-0571334100
Two lovely new editions of T.S.Eliot’s best known and best- loved collection of cat poems and Christopher Reid’s tribute collection, published in the 80th anniversary year of Old Possum, which created the companion volume that Eliot envisaged but never completed. The gorgeous new illustrations will make these irresistible to young readers. It is wonderful to see such high production values applied to poetry and these sturdy hardbacks would be a good investment. Reid’s poems stand up to comparison with Eliot’s classic very well. They are clever, witty and employ a range of forms to great effect. I am particularly fond of Doggerel and Wagtail and Dog Juan!
You can download Joy’s full list of recommendations for this month by clicking the link below.
For further advice on poetry, you may like these articles:
My office is a tip and poetry is to blame!
Check out our growing range of poetry resources.