When Laura Ranger was a child she wrote poems (she is now an adult!). She wrote really good poems that lots of people loved. She had her poetry published in magazines, she won prizes and Bill Manhire picked one of her poems to go in his book 100 New Zealand Poems. Then, most exciting of all, Godwit (Random House) published a little book of her poems in 1995 (Laura’s Poems).
What I love about Laura’s poems is that they are about ordinary things in her world and that she also uses her imagination. These are some of her titles: ‘Mum’ ‘My Dad’ ‘My House’ ‘My Dog’ ‘It Gets Dark’ ‘Winter’ ‘My Zoo.’ Laura usually only puts a few words on a line, sometimes she uses a little rhyme and she always adds great detail. Sometimes her poems are like tiny stories; you can tell she has used her eyes and ears. What often makes her poems pop and sparkle for me are the similes she uses.
I don’t have permission to post a poem, but here are some of Laura’s similes:
‘My skin is as smooth/ as a piece of driftwood/ on Otakei beach’ from Sands
‘The moon is a silver hubcap/ in the sky.’ from God
‘The hills curve and rise/ like loaves of bread’ from The Sea
Laura’s book is out-of-print now sadly but you can find it in libraries.
See if you can find a copy and tell me about your favourite poem in the book.
Use it as a starting point to write one of your own. Send to paulajoygreen@gmail.com. Include your name, age, year and name of school. You may include your teacher’s name and email if you like. Say it is Laura’s challenge.
Poetry Box 
PB: a wonderful post, and i’ve reposted…thanks for sharing! RT
I agree completely Paula. I do have “Laura’s Poems” in the school library where I work – Balmoral School – and enjoy her poems too.
re “Laura’s Poems” ~ found and read this book today …gutted it’s out of print; it should be shown to school children to encourage their own efforts, & enjoyed by everyone (i’m ‘old’ !), best wishes, jackie