by Joseph Coelho

illustrated by Shirley Hottier

“Contemplate the foods that battle on your plate!

Ponder the potatoes preparing to mash.

Perceive the pineapple sharpening its sour…

Examine the eggs excited to scramble.”

Subtitled, ‘Poems to Grow With’, this collection does exactly that, ranging across a breadth of child-sized experiences. Chapter headers set the tone for a young person’s world: Food, Families, Special Places, School, Other Worlds. An introduction by Michael Rosen praises the book as “jam-packed full of...pictures from other places”. He recommends dipping in on any page and taking your time, to simply enjoy the rhythms and just “go with the flow.”

As always the award-winning and former Children’s Laureate (2022-2024), Joseph Coelho, delivers a boisterous verse collection which plays with rhyme structures and forms, including classical Japanese Haiku and Tanka, alongside Sestina and Triolet from medieval France traditions. There are also fun and funny monochrome sketches from 2021 FAB Illustration Award winner, Hottier, which deliver extra layers to the verse- the tacked up Polaroid-style snaps accompanying ‘School Disco’ is a favourite of ours! Age 7-14, Paperback 113pp