Poems from everywhere—even here

‘My sister’s remarkably light,
She can float to a fabulous height.
It’s a troublesome thing,
But we tie her with string,
And we use her instead of a kite’

A nice surprise to find this limerick by Margaret Mahy included in Here’s a Little Poem : a very first book of poetry which ‘gathers poems from various parts of the English-speaking world, including Great Britain, the Caribbean, the U.S. and Australia.’ This little inaccuracy does not mar a fresh and delightful anthology of poems collected by Jane Yolen and Andrew Fusek Peters, and illustrated by the wonderful Polly Dunbar. Unlike many books of ‘first poems’ these are genuinely suitable for pre-schoolers and beginning readers. As simple as nursery rhymes, they incorporate enough gentle wit (as the Mahy example demonstrates) to appeal to a wide-age range, including adults. The book is well indexed, with the poems grouped into useful subject sections including ‘Me, Myself and I.’

Thoroughly recommended.

Published by Candlewick Press

Reviewed by Cecily