Posted in A Rainbow of Poems, Funny Poem a Day

A Rainbow of Poems – I Wish, by Carole Bromley

In 2013, we toured all the 80 Gromit statues in Bristol (and one in London, Paddington) to raise some money for Medical Detection Dogs, who trained Lola. This beautiful golden Gromit was at St Nicholas Market. Gold and Silver are at the end of the rainbow, not in the sky, but in the ground… there is more gold and silver in Carole Bromley‘s poem, below – thank you, Carole!

 

I Wish

 

I wish I could live in the dolls’ house

and sit on a velvet chair and sip

from a silver goblet  

 

I could sleep under that patchwork

grandma made with a cotton wool pillow

and keep my socks on all night 

 

I’d loll against the kitchen sink

like the silly pipe-cleaner doll

washing the one gold plate

 

Sometimes I’d take a bath in the pink tub

and gaze up at the bare bulb

until it grew late

 

then I’d take down one of the paper books

from the shelf and kick off my shoes

and contemplate

 

If I felt like it, I’d go out of the tidy front door

carrying the tiny peg basket

and gather china fruit

 

I’d share it out with the wooden dog

and the three-legged cat

and warm myself at the grate.

 

If I could shrink and not grow up

I’d live my life in the room of gold chairs

behind the five-barred gate.

 

© Carole Bromley

 

Joke:

What’s black and white and red all over?

¡ɹǝdɐdsʍǝu ɐ

Posted in National Poetry Day 2019

National Poetry Week, Lie Poem from Coral Rumble

Wednesday’s National Poetry Day Week poem is from the wonderful Coral Rumble. Coral has worked as a poet and performer for many years and now specialises in writing and performing for children. She has three collections, Creatures, Teachers and Family FeaturesBreaking the Rulesillustrated by Nigel Bainesand My Teacher’s as Wild as a Bisonalso illustrated by Nigel Bainesand has poems in over 100 anthologies for young people. Her website is here.

The Lie Fox

 

Sometimes, the Lie Fox

Races out of my mouth

Before I can stop him.

 

He’s a sneaky character –

Crafty, cunning, conniving,

Tricking my tongue into action.

 

Speedily, he darts into ears,

Wriggles into the minds

Of my trusting friends.

 

He’s sly, that artful Lie Fox,

Always prising open my pursed lips,

Chasing the truth into dark corners.

 

© Coral Rumble

 

Thank you for this great lie poem, Coral!

YorkMix Poems For Children Competition!

Could you write a poem to amuse, excite or inspire children? That’s the challenge as YorkMix launches the YorkMix Poems For Children Competition!

The first prize is £250, with runner-up prizes of £100, £75 and £50, and the poems are judged by Carole Bromley.

If you want to write a children’s poem now is the time to try!

Details here.

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

#AtoZ Challenge; Y is for Bernard Young

Bernard Young is an experienced professional poet and performer who leads writing workshops for children and adults. Bernard’s poems have been broadcast on local and national radio and feature in numerous anthologies of poetry for young readers. His speciality is primary school age. Here is a link to his new book, What are you Like? And here is a link to his website.

And here is lovely poem Bernard sent for the Poetry Feast:

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Best Friends

 

Would a best friend

Eat your last sweet

Talk about you behind your back

Have a party and not ask you?

 

Mine did.

 

Would a best friend

Borrow your bike without telling you

Deliberately forget your birthday

Avoid you whenever possible?

 

Mine did.

 

Would a best friend

Turn up on your bike

Give you a whole packet of your favourite sweets

Look you in the eye?

 

Mine did.

 

Would a best friend say

Sorry I talked about you behind your back

Sorry I had a party and didn’t invite you

Sorry I deliberately forgot your birthday

– I thought you’d fallen out with me?

 

Mine did.

 

And would a best friend say, simply,

Never mind

That’s OK?

 

I did

.

© Bernard Young

 

If you would like to blog hop to the next AtoZ Challenge, please follow this link.

Children’s Poets’ Climate Change Blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

X is for XXX by Colin West

Colin West studied Graphic Design and Illustration at various art colleges. His first book, a slim volume of nonsense verse, Out of the Blue from Nowhere, was published by Dennis Dobson in 1976 – I am the proud owner of one of these! He went on to write and illustrate some sixty children’s books, some of which were favourites with my children, and now lives in Sussex and writes and draws for his own amusement, mainly.

However, he has published two rather wonderful recent collections The Funniest Stuff and Bonkers Ballads, both of which are stuffed with Colin’s delightfully witty poems and charming, colour illustrations.

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Here is the fun poem and wonderful illustration Colin sent for the poetry feast:

 

XXX

.

© Colin West

If you’d like to blog hop to another A-Z Challenge, then follow this link.

Children’s Poets’ Climate Change Blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

#AtoZ Challenge; W is for Celia Warren

Celia Warren has been writing poetry ever since she learned to read, and has been published in hundreds of children’s anthologies. Her collections are all for young children and many of her poems and stories form infant readers in mainstream school reading programmes all over the world. She has compiled two anthologies: The RSPB Anthology of Wildlife Poems illustrated by a range of fabulous artists, (Bloomsbury) and A Time to Speak and a Time to Listen (Schofield and Sims). Celia loves reading and performing her poems to anyone who’ll listen! Her latest book, Don’t Poke a Worm till it Wriggles, illustrated by Sean Longcroft, A&C Black, is all about worms! Celia’s website is here.

Celia has sent two of her wonderful illustrations to go with her lovely poem!

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If you would like to blog hop to the next AtoZ Challenge, please follow this link.

Children’s Poets’ Climate Change Blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

#AtoZ Challenge; V is for Vexing Rex by Joshua Seigal

Joshua Seigal is a London-based poet, performer and educator. He has three published books and has performed all over the world. He has held residencies at numerous schools, is an official National Poetry Day Ambassador, and was shortlisted for a National Literacy Trust Award and the Laugh Out Loud Award. Joshua works with children of all ages and abilities, as well as running training days for teachers and doing comedy and spoken word performances for grown ups. His website is here and his book, I don’t Like Poetry, illustrated by Chris Piascik, here. His latest book is I Bet I Can Make You Laugh, published by Bloomsbury and illustrated by Tim Wesson.

The poem Joshua has sent appears in I Bet I Can Make You Laugh (I bet he can!):

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VexinRex

If you want to annoy my dog,

(and I mean really, really annoy him),

don’t bother taking his dinner.

He’ll look bemused, maybe let out

a whine, but he can handle it.

Nor is it any use to snatch his toy,

or to cut short his walk –

he’ll get confused, maybe sulk

for a time, but he’ll face it with patience.

No, if you want to really, really annoy my dog

just blow

           very softly

                  on his head.

He’ll bristle and yelp

and bat the breeze with his paws…

He’ll snuffle and yap

and snap the gust with his jaws…

If you want to really, really annoy my dog,

a tiny little puff or air

will get him as growly

as a grizzly bear.

And it isn’t just my dog:

if you want to really, really annoy my dad

just do what I do

and climb in bed with him,

on a Sunday morning,

and blow

           very gently

                  in his face…

.

© Joshua Seigal

 

If you would like to blog hop to the next AtoZ Challenge post then follow this link.

Children’s Poets’ Climate Change Blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

#AtoZ Challenge, U is for Useless by A F Harrold

A.F. Harrold is a children’s author and children’s poet who writes and performs for both grown ups and children. He can often be found in school halls pointing at children and sharing his poems, and even more often in the bath, thinking them up… His latest wonderful poetry book is Things You Find in a Poet’s Beard, illustrated by Chris Riddell in my favourite colour.  A. F.’s Website is here and Twitter here.

Here is the brilliant poem beginning with ‘U’ that A. F. has sent for the Poetry Feast:

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Useless

 

I feel as useful as a kipper that’s been kept in a kettle,

as useful as a conker in your socks,

as useful as a top hat that’s been stuffed with orange jelly

and then balanced on the head of a fox.

 

I feel as useful as an ostrich on the number eighteen bus,

as useful as a desert in a pool,

as useful as a sausage that you’ve asked for assistance

with the homework that you’ve brought home from school.

 

I feel as useful as a cabbage that’s learnt to play cricket,

as useful as a llama on the moon,

as useful as a trifle that is sitting on the sideboard

saying ‘Eat me’ out of sight of a spoon.

 

But enough about me,

let’s talk about you…

.

© A.F. Harrold

 

If you would like to blog hop to the next AtoZ Challenge post, please follow this link.

Children’s Poets’ Climate Change blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit

 

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

AtoZ Challenge; S is for Roger Stevens


Roger Stevens is a National Poetry Day Ambassador, a founding member of the Able Writers scheme and runs the award-winning website www.poetryzone.co.uk for children and teachers, which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary. Roger (link to 3 Simple Steps to Perk up your Poems) has published 40 books for children. His book Apes to Zebras – an A to Z of Shape Poems (Bloomsbury) won the prestigious NSTB award in 2018. Recent books include The Same Inside; poems about empathy and friendship (Macmillan 2018), The Waggiest Tails; poems written by dogs (Otter-Barry 2018) and I Am a Jigsaw; Puzzling Poems to Baffle your Brain (Bloomsbury 2019). A book just published is Moonstruck; an Anthology of Moon Poems (Otter-Barry), and in August there will be Be the Change; Poems About Sustainability (Macmillan) and a “best of” collection will be published later in 2019. Roger spends his time between the Loire, in France, and Brighton, where he lives with his wife and a very shy dog called Jasper.

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Here is the funny poem Roger sent for the poetry feast:

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Escape Plan

.

As I, Stegosaurus
stand motionless
in the Natural History museum
I am secretly planning
my escape.

At noon
Pterodactyl
will cause a diversion
by wheeling around the museum’s high ceilings
and diving at the curators and museum staff
while I
quietly slip out of the fire exit
and melt
into the Kensington crowds

.

© Roger Stevens

From The Monster That Ate the Universe, Macmillan 2004

Children’s Poets’ Climate Change blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit

If you’d like to blog hop to another AtoZ Challenge post please try this link.

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

#AtoZ Challenge; R is for Coral Rumble

Coral Rumble has worked as a poet and performer for many years and now specialises in writing and performing for children. She has three collections, Creatures, Teachers and Family FeaturesBreaking the Rulesillustrated by Nigel Bainesand My Teacher’s as Wild as a Bisonalso illustrated by Nigel Bainesand has poems in over 100 anthologies for young people. She performs and gives workshops art centres, books shops, libraries, theatres and festivals. Her website is here.

Here is the lovely poem Coral has sent for the Poetry Feast – it also has an ‘R’ in the title!

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LOOKING FOR RILEY

Riley had dragged the emptiness to school.
It would seem wrong to leave it in his bedroom
Where he had filled silent spaces with sobs.
Grandma had gone, but her songs hung in the air,
Small memories, pockets of comfort.

And now, in a dusty corner of the PE cupboard,
Riley sat and rocked and clutched his knees,
Resting his chin on his shiny, worn trousers
Stretching over his bent legs, hiding away
From questions he’d be asked, but couldn’t answer.

They were all looking for Riley, the teachers, Mrs Moore.
They would try to wipe his grief away, catch his tears
Before they hit the ground, before they made a mark
In the dust, before they stopped falling of their own accord.
So I hid with him, and somehow, it made him smile.

 

© Coral Rumble

 

If you would like to blog hop to the next AtoZ Challenge post then follow this link.

Children’s Poets’ Climate Change blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

AtoZ Challenge; P is for Pie Corbett

Letter P in the Feast of Poems is fulfilled by Pie Corbett (link to Pie’s article on here about reading poetry in school). Pie is an inspirational English educational trainer, writer, author, anthologiser and poet who has written over two hundred books. He is now best known for creating Talk for Writing which is a teaching programme that supports children as storytellers and writers. He has supported children’s writing and children’s poets as well as the education of primary children for many years. Pie’s excellent and very popular main collection is called Evidence of Dragons, illustrated by Chris Riddell and Peter Bailey, published by Macmillan Children’s Books.

Here is his lovely poem:

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In the City

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In the city of snow,
The silence smothered the citadel.

In the city of suffering,
A poor man became the author of statistics.

In the city of saxophones,
A silhouette of sound insinuated itself.

In the city of scales,
A piano played for justice.

In the city of scholars,
They taught the science of beauty.

In the city of serendipity,
A startled key stumbled across a frozen lock.

In the city of sarcasm,
Stern words sliced chasms of pain.

In the city of silences,
The soft-hearted were squashed.

In the city of sunsets,
A song stood still.

.

© Pie Corbett

 

If you would like to blog hop to another AtoZ challenge, here is a link.

Children’s Poets’ Climate Change blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

#AtoZ Challenge; O is for Eric Ode

Eric Ode (pronounced Oh-dee) is a national award-winning children’s singer/songwriter, an author and widely published poet, and a thoroughly engaging entertainer. His performances include interactive music, stories, skits, poetry, props and puppets.  One of his latest books is Sea Star Wishes, Poems from the Coast, illustrated by Erik Brooks, available here in the UK and here in the US. Eric’s website is here.

This is the wonderful poem he has sent for the Poetry Feast, from Otters, Snails and Tadpole Tails!

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THE RIVER OTTER
.
The river otter
twists and tosses,
loops and spins,
out and in.
He turns and totters,
twirls until
we can not tell
where one end ends
and one begins.
We wonder as
we watch him roll
and jumble-tumble
over, under,
through the water—
How does he keep
from tying into
one big otter knot
while behaving
quite exactly
as a river otter
ought?
.
.
© Eric Ode
If you would like to blog hop to the next AtoZ Challenge post, please follow this link.
Children’s Poets’ Climate Change blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

AtoZ Challenge: N is for Now That I Really Think About It by Shauna Darling Robertson

Shauna Darling Robertson’s poems for adults and children have been set to music, performed by actors, displayed on buses, turned into short films, made into comic art, hung on a pub wall and published in a variety of magazines and anthologies. Shauna also makes artwork and loves working with other writers, artists, musicians and film-makers to explore and play with poetry in different ways. Her lovely website is here.

This is the fabulous poem she has sent for the Poetry Feast:

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Now That I Really Think About It

 

My friends all say I think too much.
I think they could be right.

I think my way throughout the day
and think myself awake at night.

Outside, I think of ways back in.
Once in, I think things out again.

I chat with John and think of Jane.
In rain, I think about the sun.
When Jane comes round, I think of John.

At school I think of going home.
When home alone, I think of friends.
If blue, I think of red or pink – it never ends
and now I’m thinking hard about
how much I tend to think.

I tell all this to Jane, she says,
your brain must have a kink.
But John, he looks me in the eye,
asks why I think so much.

I think about it deep and long,
then round and square
and down and up,
then left and right
and like and such

I really make a meal of it
but think it’s best I don’t reveal
the reason that I think I think.
(I’m not sure how I feel.)

.

© Shauna Darling Robertson

 

If you would like to blog hop to the next AtoZ Challenge then please follow this link.

Children’s Poets’ Climate Change blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

#AtoZChallenge; M is for Michaela Morgan

And who else could it be, with such a perfect name other than award-winning poet Michaela Morgan? Michaela has had over 140 titles published including poetry, picture books, junior novels and non-fiction. She is a regular visitor to schools. Her 2016 poetry book Wonderland: Alice in Poetry, illustrations by Tenniel, was shortlisted for the prestigious CLiPPA Award for poetry and her 2017 collection Reaching the Stars: Poems About Extraordinary Women and Girls co-authored with Jan Dean and Liz Brownlee won the North Somerset Teachers’ Book Award 2017.  Her book How To Teach Poetry: Writing Workshops, stresses the importance of poetry across the curriculum.

Here is the poem Michaela has chosen, from Reaching the Stars.

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Tinker… Tailor

 

I could be a lawyer, a doctor, a teacher, a vet.

I could be a mother, an artist, or the pilot of a jet.

I could be the one who speaks up for a revolution

Or a steady force for status, calm, order, institution.

I could be a strutting model or a structural engineer

Or I could march in uniform to fight foe, or fire, or fear.

I could be a juggler… a jeweller…

What could be my scene?

Whatever it is, I choose to be

A fully fledged human being.

 

© Michaela Morgan

 

If you would like to blog hop to another AtoZ Challenge please follow this link.

Children’s Poets’ Climate Change blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit

Posted in A to Z Challenge 2019

AtoZ Challenge; K is for Kate Wakeling

Kate Wakeling‘s poems have appeared in many magazines and anthologies. Her debut collection of children’s poetry, Moon Juice, illustrated by Elīna Brasliņa (The Emma Press) was described by The Sunday Times as “clever, funny, inspiring”, and won the 2017 CLiPPA; it was also nominated for the 2018 Carnegie Medal. You can buy and read about Moon Juice here. There is a link to Kate’s website here.

Here is the lovely poem Kate sent for the poetry feast:

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Jungle Cat

I lived for a while in a village in Bali. After many nights hearing strange noises coming from the ceiling, I found out I was sharing the house with a jungle cat. Jungle cats are larger than ordinary cats with long legs and an extra tuft of fur on each ear.

They told me
you live in my roof,
jungle cat.

Fire-eyed
trick-tailed
sleep thief.

You rumble the night
with your claw dance,
your tooth song.

I hear you yowl and pounce
and hiss and purr.

You scratch my sleep.

You creep across my cat naps.

Years later,
I find you still roaming my roof,
a wild thing
grinning
in the black night…

.

© Kate Wakeling

 

If you would like to blog hop to another A to Z Challenge, please follow this link.

Children’s Poets’ Climate Change blog: Be the Change

Liz’s Blog: Liz Brownlee Poet

Liz’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lizpoet

KidsPoets4Climate Twitter: https://twitter.com/poets4climate

Children’s Poetry Summit Twitter: https://twitter.com/kidspoetsummit