The Literacy Classroom
Improving, inspiring and supporting
English teaching and learning
Poetry Years 5 & 6
Sun Time, Snow Time
by Grace Nichols
Grace Nichols’ first collection of poetry for children, Come on into my Tropical Garden, was published by A&C Black in 1988. 25 years on, A&C Black is proud to re-release this together with her second collection, Give Yourself a Hug, in a new single-volume edition. The Caribbean rhythms and culture that come through her writing blend with the experience of moving to Britain to make this a truly multicultural collection from one of our foremost poets.
Poetry Pie
by Roger McGough
There are over 50 poems in this hugely enjoyable poetry collection with themes ranging from food and animals to school and ghouls. As always, Roger Mcgough’s poems are full of wit and wisdom, with word play, puns and sharp observations on all aspects of life. He’s even included his own unique line drawings which are full of humour and pathos. Children are sure to ask for another slice of this brand new poetry pie!
Quick Let's Get Out of Here
by Michael Rosen & Quentin Blake
Shreddies in my hair.
I looked at Eddie.
Eddie’s looking at me.
Big grin on his face.
I knew he had done it.
Last week he put pepper in the raisins.
The yucky things your borther does, the annoying things your parents say, the funny things you feel. Michael Rosen knows all about YOU! Look inside and see if he’s spotted your deepest, darkest secrets.
A much-loved classic of family life from the brilliant Michael Rosen & Quentin Blake.
The Works: Every Poem You Will Ever Need at School
chosen by Paul Cookson
THE WORKS contains every kind of poem you will ever need for the Literacy Hour but it is also a book packed with brilliant poems that will delight any reader.
It's got chants, action verses, riddles, tongue twisters, shape poems, puns, acrostics, haikus, cinquains, kennings, couplets, thin poems, lists, conversations, monologues, epitaphs, songs, limericks, tankas, nonsense poems, raps, narrative verse and performance poetry that's just for starters.
It features poems from the very best classic and modern poets, for example: William Blake, Michael Rosen, Robert Louis Stevenson, Allan Ahlberg, W.H. Auden, Brian Patten, Roger McGough, Roald Dahl, Charles Causley, Eleanor Farjeon, Benjamin Zephaniah, Ted Hughes, T.S. Eliot and William Shakespeare to name but a few.
A book packed with gems for dipping in to time and time again.
Love that Dog
by Sarah Creech
Love That Dog is the story of Jack, his dog, his teacher, and words. The story develops through Jack’s responses to his teacher, Miss Stretchberry, over the course of a school year. At first, his responses are short and cranky: “I don’t want to” and “I tried. Can’t do it. Brain’s empty.” But as his teacher feeds him inspiration, Jack finds that he has a lot to say and he finds ways to say it. Jack becomes especially fond of a poem by Walter Dean Myers titled “Love That Boy,” and it is this poem that gives Jack a way to tell the story of his beloved dog, Sky.
Because a Fire was in my Head
by Michael Morpurgo
A wonderful anthology of poems to set fire to the imagination.
We only have to ‘remember, remember the 5th of November’ to see a dark night filled with fireworks and bonfires. In their many different ways – through their sounds, rhythms, stories, surprises and jokes – these poems will set the fireworks crackling in our own heads.
Michael Morpurgo has brought together poems by writers as diverse as Spike Milligan and Louis MacNeice, Stevie Smith and John Lennon, Jo Shapcott and Lewis Carroll. Once read, they won’t be forgotten – some even beg to be learned by heart. This is anthology will form the cornerstone to a lifetime’s enjoyment of poetry.
The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems
by Jackie Morris and Carol Ann Duffy
Introduced by Carol Ann Duffy, these 74 poems create an exquisite collection that traces our journey through life from birth to old age. Along the way, the works of some of the finest poets in the English language celebrate all kinds of human experience: the wide-eyed wonder and adventure of childhood, the magnificence of the natural world and the animal kingdom, the mystery of love and the tragedy of war. Each page is superbly illustrated by Jackie Morris, making it a feast for the eyes as well as the ears.
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats
by T. S. Eliot, illustrated by Axel Scheffler
Cats! Some are sane, some are mad and some are good and some are bad.
Meet magical Mr Mistoffelees, sleepy Old Deuteronomy and curious Rum Tum Tugger. But you'll be lucky to meet Macavity because Macavity's not there!
In 1925 T.S. Eliot became co-director of Faber & Faber, who remain his publishers to this day. Throughout the 1930s he composed the now famous poems about Macavity, Old Deuteronomy, Mr Mistoffelees and many other cats, under the name of 'Old Possum'. In 1981 Eliot's poems were set to music by Andrew Lloyd Webber as Cats which went on to become the longest-running Broadway musical in history.
This charming new edition contains original colour illustrations by the award-winning illustrator of The Gruffalo, Axel Scheffler.
All the Wild Wonders: Poems of Our Earth
by Wendy Cooling, illustrated by Piet Grobler
For this celebration of our Earth, distinguished anthologist Wendy Cooling has chosen poems to make children look, think, and ask questions. Why are trees so important? How are motorways damaging our countryside? What can we do about rubbish?What can we do to protect our Earth for the future? Strong, colourful illustrations combine to make this a book with a difference.
Michael Rosen's A-Z: The Best Children's Poetry from Agard to Zephaniah
by Michael Rosen
From Agard to Zephaniah, the very best of children’s poetry from the very best of children’s poets appears in this wonderful and exciting anthology edited by Michael Rosen, the Children’s Laureate.
Coinciding with his laureateship and a very welcome public promotion of the need for children’s poetry in our education system, this future classic will delight readers young and old.
101 Poems for Children
by Carol Ann Duffy
Carol Ann Duffy, appointed Poet Laureate in 2009, has chosen her favourite poems for children for this stunning collection of classic and modern verse, exquisitely illustrated by multi-award-winning illustrator Emily Gravett.
Featuring such classic poems as 'The Owl and the Pussycat' by Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll's 'Jabberwocky' alongside Edwin Morgan's 'The Loch Ness Monster's Song' and 'Balloons' by Sylvia Plath, 101 Poems for Children Chosen by Carol Ann Duffy: A Laureate's Choice is a delight for children of all ages and a pleasure to read aloud
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