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Belonging Street

Book Synopsis

I’m going to make this city green,
a deep, shining green,
right here where I lie
I’ll make this city green.

Look out for the tree that saved a town; dip your toe in the Milky Way; sing the City Seed Song; play in Kitty Cat Street – and then come home to Belonging Street.

Poems about nature and protecting our planet mingle with puzzle poems, riddles, family life and belonging, in this magical and warm-hearted new collection from an acclaimed poet and performer in schools and at festivals across the UK.

Our Review Panel says...

The life-affirming ‘You are Here,’ on the first page is a wonderful introduction and sets the positive and optimistic tone for the poems to come with the final line; ‘You are Here! You are Here!’ The book is jam-packed with original verse; all of them perfectly written for reading aloud – well suited for both pure enjoyment and also as a base for children’s own poetry within their English lesson. Each poem explores different aspects of a child’s life; from rainy days in ‘Puddle Ocean’ to wandering around a house at night in ‘Tiptoe’. ‘Helping Hands’ touches on the complexity and diversity within each and every family; it really is beautiful to read and savour, while ‘Save You’ would be a really powerful poem to use as part of topic work around conservation. There’s a tone of warmth and wonder in the collection’s everyday observations that encourages the reader to find so many things to enjoy in the mundane moments that they share with those around them. Themes of inclusion, positivity and seeing the world through the eyes of others weave through the collection as well as a sense of humour and playfulness that sees puzzles and riddles mixed in with the poems. Belonging Street would be a great investment for every Key Stage Two classroom reading area.

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