The Poetry Book

A fresh,original anthology that children of 9-12 will find packed with poems to enjoy.Fiona Waters has ranged far and wide to come up with an extraordinary collection where old favourites are juxtaposed with unusual contemporary choices in a seemingly random way.Here are Shakespeare,Keats,W.B.Yeats,Hardy,Heaney and Cavafy alongside Benjamin Zephaniah,U.A.Fanthorpe,Shel Silverstein and Roger McGough.Here too are a Navajo hymn to sun,moon and stars,a Tagore poem,a Basho haiku and a poem about war by a 9th century Chinese poet-all of them opening up a whole world of language and imagination.

A pleasing chunky format and generously designed pages,with lively small drawings and decorations throughout,make the book particularly attractive and approachable for children.