Poetry

Nonsense Verse
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Lorna Hussey
(Bloomsbury)
Lewis Carroll is one of the masters of nonsense verse and his poems have stood the test of time. In this picture book collection, Lorna Hussey’s richly-coloured illustrations add a new dimension by bringing the absurdity to life.
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Rhymes and Riddles to Rattle your Reason
Illustrated by Verity Richards
(Marion Boyars)
Thought provoking but not too hard, the riddles in this collection are for children from 4 to around 8. Clever use of layout puts each riddle on a right hand page so you turn over to find the answer on the following left hand one. This combines with the bright, colourful illustrations
to produce a book sure to tempt children to delve into its pages.
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The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems
Compiled and illustrated by Jackie Morris
(Barefoot Books)
This is one of the most beautiful anthologies we’ve found. Jackie Morris’ artwork is gorgeous – full of rich colours and beautiful detail. It encourages you to turn the pages just to look at the pictures and that, in turn, leads you to explore the poems that inspired them. These include popular favourites like Jabberwocky and Cargoes, as well as others readers may not have met before. A great choice for a library and a wonderful gift for an individual child or a whole family.
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Poetry by Heart
compiled by Lix Attenborough
(The Chicken House)
Learning poems by heart has gone out of fashion but that doesn’t stop it being a highly satisfying activity. The poems in this anthology have been selected for their ability to imprint themselves on the mind so it’s not surprising that it includes many you may recognise. To make memorising easier, it starts with a section called ‘short and sweet’ but moves on to longer, more demanding poems which it links by theme. The foreward is by poet laureate, Andrew Motion, and the anthology includes poetry by Edward Lear, Shakespeare, Walter de la Mare, Benjamin Zephaniah and many others.
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Classic Poetry: An Illustrated Collection
Selected by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Paul Howard
(Walker)
This features 38 poets ranging from Elizabethan times to the end of the twentieth century. There is a small picture of each one, a short paragraph about them and one or more of their best known poems. The resulting collection contains a highly enjoyable collection of poems that have stood the test of time. A pleasure to read in its own right and a useful resource for older children’s homework or for teachers. Adults are likely to find, as I did, that they recognise old favourites from their own schooldays.
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