Format: Poetry

The Hunting of the Snark

Poetry

Could there be any greater adventure than setting sail across unmapped seas, guided by an unreliable Bellman, to a mysterious island where the Snarks live? This story has everything you could possibly want: humour, heart, tragedy, a man who’s forgotten his own name and a beaver. The magical element really comes in the Snarks themselves. Imagine: a beast that can cause you to softly and suddenly vanish away… If your Snark be a Boojum, that is.

Tyger, Tyger

Wiliam Blake

Poetry

This is the title of a poem and included in a collection illustrated by the poet called Songs of Innocence and Experience (1794). His tiger in his illustration is a very friendly looking beast but the words ring out like bells and trumpets, blasting us with the power of the tiger. It is a poem that demands to be read aloud and haunted me as I wrote The Tigers in the Tower, so much so that I named the book’s sections after images from the piece. I have a strong memory associated with it. When I was ten, my primary school teacher wrote it up on a blackboard one day (yes, with chalk!) and we all had to copy and learn it if we could. That was an old-fashioned way of teaching even then. However, the poem is still in my mind as I write this, like a spell I can chant to summon the spirit of the tiger! Have a go. Here are a few lines…

Tyger Tyger, burning bright,
In the forests of the night;
What immortal hand or eye,
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

My Hippie Grandmother

Reeve Lindbergh

Poetry

I loved this rhyming book which is a reminder that not all grandmothers have the traditional grey hair and old fashioned clothes. The grandmother here wears vibrant, tie-dyed clothes and has a guitar-strumming boyfriend. She also has a wonderful bond with her granddaughter.

Ready for Spaghetti

Michael Rosen & Polly Dunbar

Poetry

Michael Rosen is a master of the word. He is a master of rhythm and rhyme and a master of the engagement of young children. This book is full of poems specifically aimed at the youngest children. It recognises that enabling children to hear and feel words in an enjoyable and engaging way, is not just a foundational skill for learning to read and write, but a fundamental entitlement for all children to be able to be introduced to the joy of playing with words.

The poems and rhymes follow the loose structure of a child’s day from the rhyme “Up” at the start to “Goodnight” at the end. In between come rhymes that can accompany all sorts of activities, such as “On the swings” and feelings, like the rhyme “Happy”. The rhymes are simple and easily recalled, but the joy for the child will also be in the illustrations by Polly Dunbar. Pictures of children illustrate each rhyme – my particular favourite is the illustration of the child ‘putting on’ her pyjamas to accompany the rhyme, “Jimmy Jams”.

Children will quickly know their favourites and, in no time, will be reading along with the adult.

The Lost Spells

Robert MacFarlane & Jackie Morris

Poetry

Nominated for “Favourite Books of 2020” by: Emma (Year 2 Teacher)

A follow up to The Lost Words in a new pocket-sized form, The Lost Spells introduces another beautiful set of nature-based “spell-poems” and artwork by formidable creative duo Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris. Emma says, “Visually stunning motivational poems which tell stories and inspire.”

A Year of Nature Poems

Joseph Coelho & Kelly Louise Judd

Poetry

This beautiful poetry anthology that includes a new nature poem for every month of the year is perfectly pitched for young readers to explore the power of nature through Coelho’s highly accessible verses.

The collection of 12 poems contains a mix of types of poetry, each one exploring the poet’s own experiences and interactions with a different aspect of nature associated with its linked month. February’s poem, for example, explores the simple joys of spotting frogspawn in a pond tempered with concerns about their decline (“We’d watch the full stop grow/on an unwritten sentence,/ would our hopes hop?”). March’s list poem celebrates the diversity of daffodil types while August’s poem explores the memorable experiences of scrumping for fruit with friends. December’s poem, meanwhile, reflects on the way in which unique snowflakes come together to form an all-consuming blanket of snow.

The book is structured into monthly sections and the poems accompanied by beautiful illustrations that celebrate the beauty of the natural world and changing seasons.

The poems are beautifully illustrated by Kelly Louise Judd, with colours and patterns drawn out to reflect each poem’s seasonal imagery. For teachers, finding a place for this book on your desk will provide a quick and easy way of inspiring pupils with a taste of poetry each month as well as an opportunity to grapple with the rich vocabulary and layers of meaning packed into each poem. I would recommend the collection across the whole primary age range.

Dare

Lorna Gutierrez & Polly Noakes

Poetry

Dare is a picture book that urges very young children to stand up for what matters, see the goodness around them and make a difference in the world. Like many Tiny Owl books, Dare includes inspirational messages and a diverse mix of characters, this time brought to life by Polly Noakes’ vibrant and uplifting illustrations.

Lorna Gutierrez’s simple-yet-meaningful rhyming text on each page repeats the idea of daring children to do something different and brave. All of the ‘dare to…’ messages encourage children to think about how they can strive to be a good person, having a positive impact on themselves, others and the world around them. Variations in font and placement of text on each page help each new message stand out from the one before it.

The illustrations mix elements of the characters’ reality and their imaginations, merging them together to form the child’s view of the world. The is cleverly reiterated by the use of some aspects of every page being line drawings that pull the emphasis towards the central, colourful illustrations.

With an important message emphasising that small actions from small people can make a big difference, this is a joyful picture book recommended for children in EYFS and KS1.

New and Collected Poems for Children

Carol Ann Duffy

Poetry

This stellar edition of her poems brings together work from her four award-winning collections for children, and sprinkles in a generous helping of new poems to match. From her dazzlingly debut Meeting Midnight through to her newest, brightest poems, Carol Ann Duffy’s writing for younger readers has always bubbled with wit and humour, intelligence and affection, and introduced us to many strange and wonderful characters along the way. Among the enchanting voices to be heard are those of the Loch Ness Monster’s husband, the oldest girl in the world and a herd of cows on a shopping trip to Manchester.

Inside Out & Back Again

Thanhha Lai

Chapter book, Poetry

Inspired by the author’s childhood experience as a refugee–fleeing Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon and immigrating to Alabama–this coming-of-age debut novel told in verse has been celebrated for its touching child’s-eye view of family and immigration.

Hà has only ever known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, and the warmth of her friends close by. But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope–toward America.

This moving story of one girl’s year of change, dreams, grief, and healing received four starred reviews, including one from Kirkus which proclaimed it enlightening, poignant, and unexpectedly funny.

An author’s note explains how and why Thanhha Lai translated her personal experiences into Hà’s story. This paperback edition also includes an interview with the author, an activity you can do with your family, tips on writing poetry, and discussion questions.

Zombierella

Freya Hartas & Joseph Coelho

Chapter book, Poetry

We love a fairy tale with a twist and so eagerly welcomed the arrival of this new illustrated middle-grade series from Joseph Coelho and Freya Hartas, with this first instalment placing a deviously dark twist on the Cinderella story.

In this version, Cinderella (so called because she wears a locket containing her deceased mother’s ashes), lives with a ‘fake’ family made up of an evil stepmother and three beautiful and fake sisters. After losing both parents and her beloved horse Lumpkin, Cinderella feels very much alone in the world. The town receives a visit from a royal prince with unusually gothic tastes, who brings with him three days of parties and the promise of betrothal to a potential suitor from the town. When Cinderella suffers a slip on the stairs, life as she knows it comes to an end and she returns in a haze of gory glory as Zombierella before proceeding to win the prince’s heart for herself.

Coelho’s treatment of the story is as delightfully amusing as it is deliciously dark. After years of Disneyfication and a ‘softening up’ of this well-known tale for a generation who often find their stories served up with a little more happily-ever-after and a little less goriness, this version takes a direct step in the colder and creepier direction that you might expect from Roald Dahl’s fairy tales or the original Grimm stories. There’s plenty to shock – from the cold and detached reporting of Cinderella’s sudden death to the spooky insertion of pulled-out brains, loosened guts and severed limbs into a star-crossed rags-to-riches love story. There’s an enjoyable streak of dark humour and plenty of wit in both the author’s free verse and Freya Hartas’ stylishly expressive black and white illustrations. The story is framed by the voice of a librarian (fans of Coelho might expect nothing less) and leaves with the promise of more from the ‘Fairy Tales Gone Bad’ series – which I’m really looking forward to seeing unfold.

Best Books by Age

Popular Children's Authors

Format: Poetry

Author James Davis on Humour, Accessibility and Lifelong Reading

Go All In for the National Year of Reading 2026: The Ultimate Primary School Booklist

News: BooksForTopics Founder Alison Leach Named in 2026 #iAlso100 List

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review