From Queen Hatshepsut of Ancient Egypt and Aristotle of Ancient Greece, to Charles Darwin, John Muir, Beatrix Potter, Wangari Maathai, Jagannathan Vijaya, David Attenborough, young heroes of the 21st century and many more.
They have all stood up for Nature as pioneer thinkers, artists, writers and campaigners, to help protect our precious and endangered natural world.
Be inspired to take action for our planet – and you too can be a nature hero.
Come on a family camping trip with an outdoor feast, or have an adventure, just you and your dog; be a giant of learning, find a message in a bottle, sail the storyteller sea or travel to the centre of the earth. These are poems to fire the imagination, to take you exploring and help you find your own special place.
Beginning with shorter, simpler poems and progressing gradually to more challenging verses, using many different forms, this is a poetry book that children can grow with, alongside teachers and carers – full of fantastic poems that are perfect for reading out loud and sharing in class as well as at home. Grouped into section headings Food, Families, School, Secret Messages, Special Places, Challenges, Plants, Journeys and Other Worlds, there really is something for everyone here.
When something HUGE comes clumping through the forest, all the animals are scared. But it’s only their friend, Blue Monster. Blue Monster is surprised – he doesn’t even know what it means to be scared and he asks the animals to teach him!
Fox, Wolf, Racoon and the Rabbits try lots of scary tricks but nothing scares Blue Monster. Then clever Fox has an idea…
Next time Blue Monster goes out he is all alone. He calls out for his friends but nobody replies. What’s happened to them? In his worry for his friends, now Blue Monster really is scared. But the animals have just been hiding and BOO!, they jump out, ready to play.
This funny and empathetic story, starring lovable Blue Monster and his friends, is perfect for sharing.
A mother sings to her child, describing the ways wild creatures across the world lull their babies to sleep – whales in the sea, fledgling ospreys in their nest, bear cubs in their ice den, seals on the shore, ponies on the heath, the snow leopard family in the high rocks, and tigers in the deepest jungle.
The lyrical story is enriched by Cathy Fisher’s gorgeous animal paintings, realistic yet magical, evoking a sense of tenderness and peace across our wild world.
This is a magnificently vibrant and bouncy book of poems for early years and KS1, filled with musicality, movement and magical wonder. The poems float beautifully on the pages, one spread for each poem, majestically illustrated by Schwarz.
From first poems on waking up to the morning moon to other marvels of nature such as ways of looking at a leaf, being a bubble and raindrops, Wakeling’s poems are accessible but also filled with sounds to savour in the mouth. In particular, Wakeling focuses on the reader’s relationship with the world – heightened awareness of the body in a poem about a bellybutton, feeling what it’s like to move slowly in Song of the Slow or fast in The Magnificent Race of the Animals.
There is humour galore – Mr Tring, for example, is a delightful poem about memory and personality. Some rhymes, all with pleasing rhythm, this is a poet at the height of her talent, delighting children with a first and certainly not last dip into poetry. For those just learning words in all their wonderful shapes and variety, this is a brilliant colourful and lively first exploration of the genre. I couldn’t recommend it more. I will be reading this aloud with all of EYFS and KS1!
Every page of this effervescent collection of poems from Valerie Bloom bubbles with imagination. The first section is infused with an infectious enjoyment of words, revelling in the richness of English vocabulary.
There is a little gentle teasing of school English lessons in Substitutions but this and many of the other poems would be very helpful to the English teacher seeking to encourage students to use more ambitious vocabulary. The final two poems give very helpful advice on performance in a warm and entertaining way – perfect for preparing children for a recital.
In between, Valerie Bloom addresses food, pets, people, families and the natural world. At times the writing is comic and playful, creating ridiculous images by interpreting idioms literally and having fun with puns. At others it is poignant, touching on the sadness of cultural separation that comes with emigration, the heartbreak of family breakdown, the loneliness of a childhood with more presents than cuddles. The most serious of issues are sketched with the lightest of touch and then lightened with moments of silliness. The juxtaposition of standard English with occasional interludes of Jamaican dialect is equally deftly done.
Having loved ‘Stars with Flaming Tails’, I opened this with high expectations. I was not disappointed: it was a joy to read from start to finish. It will be an enormously useful collection for the classroom to support with writing, speaking and managing feelings as well as developing an empathetic approach to others. I thoroughly recommend it.
Going to a new park is always the most exciting thing – getting ready to explore, climb, slide and discover all of its secret hiding places. This is exactly the case for the little boy visiting the park with his Dad and Daddy – he is fizzing with excitement. However, just as he is about to start his adventures and let his imagination run wild – he is stopped by his parents. They are worried about him hurting himself and the boy is brought back from his imaginative play world with a bump and he is not very happy about it. Will he ever be able to swing, climb and rush around?
A lovely story with colourful and engaging illustrations. The story explores a family dynamic where the parents are so worried about the dangers around them that they are losing the fun. Through important communication, the family are able to talk about their feelings and so begin their morning of adventures: being pirates, exploring rainforests and transforming into brave superheroes – all together.
A fabulous story for young children and an opportunity for them to think about the magical places at their local parks and the importance of talking about how you are feeling as well as exploring different family structures.
A towering figure in the children’s and YA poetry world, John Agard has chosen favourite poems from eight of his previously published collections: I Din Do Nuttin; Say it Again, Granny; No Hickory, No Dickory, No Dock;
Laughter is an Egg; Grandfather’s Old Bruk-a-Down Car; We Animals Would Like a Word With You; Come Back to Me My Boomerang, and Points of View With Professor Peekaboo.
Over 80 poems are included, reflecting the genius of Agard through a range of poetic forms and styles and most of all his extraordinary ability to connect with children of all ages through poetry.
Uki is a little Humpback whale who lives in his pod which is led by his adored Grandfather Yuka. It is the time of year when the whales make their long journey from the tropical seas to the icy Arctic waters. Usually led by Grandpa Yuka, the whales prepare to leave but Grandpa is too old and decides that he will remain in the warmer seas. Uki is sad to leave his grandpa, especially as he is the one who knows the way and the songs to sing and help them on their journey. As the whales start their journey, they face many different dangers – sharks, storms and a pod of Orcas. Will they make it to their final destination and what part will little Uki play?
The story is one of excitement, adventure and coming of age courage. The story is illustrated beautifully and full of lovely bright colours. As you read through the story, there are little circles full of factual information that backs up what you are reading. This was a really nice touch and could be read aloud for older children but also missed if the audience was younger. At the end of the story, there is a double page map showing migration patterns which links beautifully to the story and the journey that Uki takes. We (myself and my 5-year old) really enjoyed reading the story and discussing about whales afterwards. A fantastic book that brings fiction and non-fiction together.
Ruby the fox and Growl the wolf live deep in the forest. There’s just one problem – they hate each other…!
But when a raging storm tears through the forest and the animals have to flee, they must help each other to survive. Can Ruby and Growl overcome their enmity and find friendship in the heart of the storm?
An exciting, fast-paced picture book adventure with stunning illustrations, celebrating courage and the importance of helping each other.
review
Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?
yes
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Curriculum links (if relevant)
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