Poetry Box review: Anna Fiske’s wonderful How Do You Make a Baby?

 

 

Anna Fiske How Do You Make a Baby Gecko Press 2020

 

This is the most brilliant, moving, informative children’s book on how to make babies that I have ever read! It is inclusive and witty and contains plain facts, but is so much more than more than plain facts.

 

 

The first sentence invites us ALL into the book:

‘YOU WERE A BABY ONCE.’

 

We are all part of this book. The book shows that our world is made up of many different kinds of families: mother father, mother mother, father father.

The book also begins with love: ‘MAKING A BABY BEGINS WITH LOVE. THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF LOVE.’

It might be things we love to eat, do, visit, see. The people we love to be with. But there is also the special love of couples.

Before we encounter sperms and eggs, vaginas and penises, we encounter things a loving couple might love to do together. And then it shows couples doing loving things, some of which are sex.

The book then slowly goes through the development from sperm meeting egg to baby arriving in the world.

And just as the baby is taking shape so too are the parent(s) as they prepare for a baby in their lives / life.

 

 

We are reminded that all births are different, that millions of babies are born everyday all over the world and that:

 

A NEW BABY IN THE WORLD IS ONE OF THE MOST BRILLIANT AND BEAUTIFUL THINGS THERE IS.

 

EVERY CHILD IS DIFFERENT. THERE’S ONLY ONE LIKE YOU. IT’S A MIRACLE THAT WE ARE BORN AND EXIST. IT’S A MIRACLE AND SO PERFECT THAT YOU ARE YOU.

 

 

These are the last sentences in the book, and they made me want to cry. The thought here is so wise, and so filled with sparkling HOPE. So yes this is a book about how you make a baby, but it makes sure it is part of a bigger story than biology. Maybe I am so hooked on this book because it underlines how each and every human life is precious. How we are all miracles and all unique. I am sitting here, in these terribly troubled times, wanting the world to absorb this message. Every baby and every life matters. Life is a miracle.

I love this book. I would have loved sharing it with my children when they were young.

 

Gecko Press page

Poetry Box review: Melinda Szymanik’s The Time Machine & other stories’

Melinda Syzmanik The Time Machine & other stories Ahoy, The Cuba Press 2019

 

 

I remember reading short stories as a child and loving them – stories with various characters and settings and situations. Fables. Myths. Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree. And in the past few years I have ADORED Joy Cowley’s Snake and Lizard (Although that has the same characters).

Melinda Syzmanik is a versatile writing whizz (The Were-Nana, The Song of Kauri, A Winter’s Day in 1939) who recently published a terrific collection of short stories (18 stories and a novella). Not surprisingly it has been shortlisted for the NZ Children’s Book Awards this year.

The writing flows like honey. The characters are catchy. The situations surprising. Sometimes there is sense of fable  – not that these have animals as protagonists or they are at all surreal. No these stories are bitingly real. And that’s what I love – understated lessons on what it is to be human. Instead of dogmatic messages there are questions. The questions are like the hot bright core of story and the stories unfold about them in kaleidoscopic directions.

 

Here are a few favourites:

What does a cool teacher do when you just can’t sit still in class?

What do you do when you don’t have a horse but desperately want one?

What happens when you think you are hopeless at maths and your grandmother turns in the middle of the night with a recipe for soup?

What happens if you think museums are boring (maybe even the world is boring!)?

What happens when a farming family is ordered to leave their farm during WWII?

What hope is there when you are picked on as a child?

How can you find strength in being different?

 

So many of these questions have affected us. We can’t always fit into the rules and regulations. Surely we all suffer from self doubt at times. At not being good enough. Some of us have been bullied. Some of us have found life boring.

I love the way such important questions hide in the stories and Melinda comes up with surprising and wise responses. There will be crocodile teeth! A speeding go-kart. A time machine. A pirate’s eye patch. There is braveness and daring.

Good short story collections are like a chocolate box for me – a sweet array of different tastes that pop on your tongue – eat one and you carry the flavour all day. And then you try a different flavour. Melinda’s stories can be sweet, sharp, crunchy or smooth. They can be sad, fascinating, zinging with facts, spinning feelings and discoveries. They shine a thousand lights on what it means to be human. There are hurdles and there are joyful discoveries.

This is a chocolate treat of a book – that deserves to be an award finalist.

So a big celebratory bouquet to New Zealand’s writing whizz and her first short story collection.

 

The Cuba Press author page

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poetry Box July challenge: Selina Tusitala Marsh’s Mophead as a poem springboard

 

 

Mophead, Selina Tusitala Marsh,  Auckland University Press 2020

Shortlisted for the NZ Children’s Book Awards 2020

AUP author page

 

Selina Tusitala Marsh was New Zealand Poet Laureate from 2017 until 2019 (it is now David Eggleton). She has done extraordinary things and written extraordinary poetry. Her latest book Mophead , a graphic memoir, is her first book for children. She has written and illustrated what it was what like for her as child with big frizzy hair. She used to get teased for being afakasi (‘being Samoan and something else’) and was called ‘mophead.’

I love this book so much – I love the way Selina has described and She chooses to let her hair out. The illustrations are popping with life and zest, and the writing is in the glorious voice of the Selina. I can feel her presence in the writing and the drawings.

Selina is such an extraordinary woman, she has inspired many young people to write and perform poems, to be themselves.

Selina has done many firsts – she performed a poem in front of the Queen at a special occasion in London, she read a poem for USA’s first black president, President Obama, and for His Highness in Samoa. She was the first Pasifika woman to become New Zealand Poet Laureate. She has published a number of poetry collections.

Mophead takes us back to the little girl who had to deal with bullying and the paths that lead to her wonderful achievements. She says poet Sam Hunt was a big influence on the road to becoming a poet.

 

We all have different childhoods; we have things we love and things we don’t like so much, we have favourite people and favourite places. And I am so hoping we are on the road to being kind, generous, wise, considerate human beings. Some of us have lives full of riches and some of us have lives where we go hungry and don’t have all the things we need. We are good at some things and not good at others.

Being extraordinary can happen in the everyday lives we lead. Only a very few people get to be famous, but we are all special, unique human beings. Small things are just as important as big things.

Think about what is special about you!

 

The July challenge feels really important to me. I want you to think about who you are.

Here are some ideas to help you brainstorm (if you want) before you write a poem! Use what you want how you want!

 

What are you like?

What do you love?

What don’t you like?

What do you look like?

What do you like to wear?

Where do you like to go or be?

What do you like to do? Or eat? Or look at?

What is important to you?

What makes you happy?

What makes you sad?

What makes you cross?

What three words sum you up?

What is the most important thing you have learnt?

 

 

Write a poem about YOU. Imagine you are a writing a poem to put in bottle to show your grown-up self what it was like for you are as a child.

You can also include drawings or paintings! Or do a poem comic strip.

 

TOP TIP: Keep the poem for a week before you send it to me – have another listen.

Put it in box or notebook or bottle to read when you are older!

 

DEADLINE: July 28th

SEND TO: paulajoygreen@gmail.com

INCLUDE: your name, age, year, name of school

DON”T FORGET TO PUT self poem in subject line so I don’t miss your email

I will POST at the end of the month and will have a few books to give away.

 

 

 

Poetry Box June challenge: some favourite wonder poems

 

 

 

Kia ora young poets

It has taken me all weekend to read all your poems and emails. If I haven’t replied to you let me know as I will have missed it. And sorry if I made spelling mistakes in your letters – I was getting tired!

What a favourite topic – WONDER.

I love the way it takes us in so many directions. Some of you wondered about the state of our planet. Some of you had an imagination hard at work. Some poems are long and some very short. So many different moods and surprises. Some terrific endings!

It was so hard picking a small portion of the poems that arrived – as I loved them all. But feels like there are so many I did pick – I have made a little poem book of wonder.

Let me know which is you favourite one here!

I am sending a copy of Groovy Fish to Henry and Chloe (St Andrews), Zac (Richmond Rd) and Natsuki (Fendalton).  This is never a competition – I just like to give books away.

I am posting a new challenge tomorrow.

The hardest part of my blog is not being able to post all your glorious mahi. You are all amazing poets and should be proud.

 

Ngā mihi

Paula Green

 

Wonder
I wonder how I can fly to the sea

I wish that I could have a motor and wings

Soft as a bear’s fur

Leaves falling from the trees

 

Caitlin C, age 7 Ilam School

 

 

Polar Bear’s world

I wonder where polar bears sleep.
Do they sleep under the snow?
I think
they sleep with blankets of stars
and pillows of moonlight.
They dream
of their long lost families.

Chloe S Age: 8  St Andrew’s College

 

Wonder
Wonder starts with nothing and ends with something
My wonder starts the same, with nothing
My wonder ended with me being Queen
With me being a mountaineer
With me being a superhero
With me saving dolphins
With me ending war
With me winning everything
With me holding the world

Hannah H, Fendalton School

 

 

A million years ago
Sometimes I lie and wonder about stuff
I don’t know how the earth began 1 million years ago
Did dinosaurs even exist
Did volcanoes even blow
Did humans come after the apes.
Well we could all wonder
But that was a million years ago

Will the earth survive
A million years to come?

Jasper Aged 9 St Francis School

 

Wonder

Wonder comes to us, creeping into our heads.
Adults throw wonder away, like a moth-eaten blanket.
But children treasure it.
Children see race car boxes, and lava floors.
Children see the magic in the air.
That’s why they make friends wherever they go.
Why they are so happy.
They see the awesomeness in everything.
So when you have a little time, let in the wonder.
If we could all stop a moment, and try to see the world through a child’s point of view, our worlds will be happier.
So put a smile on your face, and wonder.

Paige L, age 10, Fendalton Open-air School

 

Rainbow

When I see
a rainbow
I wonder
if I can
run to the other side.
If I could run to
the other side
I would find if there is a pot
of sunflowers.

Henry P, Age 7, St Andrews College

 

 

I wonder

I wonder what lies

Above the kahikatea

Against the tide

Around the corner

 

Beyond the horizon

Beneath the cat lair

Behind the fridge

 

Connected to the world

Corroded by the time

Chained to the memories

 

Destroyed by the –

Never mind

I have too many wonders for today

 

I wonder if I can fall asleep

 

Daniel L, Age 11, Year 7, Hadlow School

 

 

I Wonder…
I wonder how seeds are made.
I wonder how languages were made.
I wonder how planets were made.
I wonder, I wonder and I wonder.
I wonder if I could fly like a bird.
I wonder if I could stand on a planet.
I wonder if ghosts exist.
I wonder, I wonder and I wonder.

Caitlin-lily W,  age 9, Richmond Road School

 

I wonder how I even wonder
I wonder how viking boats were made.
I wonder what deep fried bananas taste like
Would microwaved bananas taste the same
Wondering feeds my mind

Oliver Aged 9 St Francis School

 

Earth

Earth, it spins round and round,
how do we know if we’re the right way standing or upside down?
we might be sideways, left or right.
It really feels like we’re on a big block of flat ice!

Austen F, Age 8 – Year 3,  St Andrews College – Christchurch

 

Wonder

I wonder what school was years ago.
Once, they might’ve carved writings on rocks,
Or they might have jumped about on logs for exercise.
They probably wanted to fly like birds, soaring in the sky.
I think some children travelled, maybe by horse?

Carolyn X, Age 9, Fendalton Open-Air School

 

Wonder

I wonder why I couldn’t wonder
for this June challenge.
Normally I wonder heaps
But today nothing popped
Until I thought of this.
I wonder why I couldn’t wonder

Connor Aged 10 St Francis School

 

Wonder

See a moa on a mountain bike
Long feet braking
Zooming over a humongous jump.
Sending a tuck no beaker
Powering to do a nose manual
WONDERFUL imagination

Matais Aged 11 St Francis School

 

 

Flight

I wonder why people can’t fly like birds?
If planes are heavier than us, why can’t we fly?
Imagine a world where we flew instead of walking
I wonder where birds fly in winter?
Maybe to another country?
If penguins have wings why can’t they fly?
How do clouds float if they are made of water?
If wonder how do all these things fly
If some are light and some are heavy?

Ivy M age: 7 Year: 3  Ilam Primary School, Christchurch

 

Well Why Not?

Wondering is good.
Wondering is part of life.
Yep, you should wonder.

Sacha H, age 10, Richmond Rd School

 

Thinking

I wonder if stars are fireflies flying high in the sky.
I wonder if aliens can even say goodbye.
I wonder what it would be like to be a bird, imagine if you could fly.
I wonder what it would be like to be dead, it might be scary.
I should not worry about that now though cause I’m still in primary.
I wonder this, I wonder that, I wonder, I wonder, I wonder.

Zac W, age 10 Richmond Road School

 

I wonder why…
Trash cans line the beach
that have never been used
while thousands of pieces
of rubbish are scattered across
the sand and oceanbirds with plastic
wrapped around them
trying to take flight but failing.
All signs of any plant life have disappeared
for miles round and trash there instead.
Rats scurry in and out of the sand
hoping to find food.
Feathers float across the ocean
soaking wet from their voyage across the sea.
Shipwrecks strewn below the sea
just a few meters
from where humans used to sunbathe.

Charlie J, age 10, Fendalton School
Bees
I wonder about bees.
What they see,
If they feel,
just like me.
Do they like trees?
And even leaves?
I wonder what I would
do if I was a bee?
I would play on trees,
And make honey.
This is all from me,
Miss Bee.

Nina P, age 9 Richmond Road School

 
Distant Dodo

In winter dreams,I hear the Dodo.

His voice is cold and desperate.

“Remember me! Remember me!”

In spring dreams, I hear the Dodo.

His voice is underground with the seeds.

“Remember me! Remember me!”

In summer dreams, I hear the Dodo.

His voice lonely and far away.

“Remember me! Remember me!”

In autumn dreams, I cannot hear the Dodo.

The leaves cool and crackle.

I wonder why he left.

 

Tom N, Age 11 Christchurch South Intermediate

 

Wonder
I wonder who would dare to build something
that would take so long
and take centuries to finish.

I wonder who would be crazy enough
to build a wall longer
than most skyscrapers

I wonder if it was used in a war
to keep the innocent people
on the other side so they will be protected

Yenul, Age:10, Year: 6  Churton Park School

 

I wonder how it would be to live in space

W ouldn’t it be just magical
O r what about going on the moon
N oticing it would be like a big balloon
D on’t know about the sun
E xpecting it to be too hot then I will be done
R ight now I am on the ground and I am very happy the way I am!

Lou D, age 10 Richmond Road School

 

 

Seven wonders depending on if

The world is sometimes strange,
but not as strange as it could be.
If cats were chased by mice,
and hamsters were huge
what a strange world this would be.

If mushrooms were handed in bouquets
and flowers were chopped away
what a strange world this would be!

If books were boring and
TV ads are interesting
what a strange world this would be!

If tigers live in the sea and
fish lived on land
what a strange world this would be!

If we lived on the moon and
astronauts were sent to take land on earth
what a strange world this would be!

If Ice Cream was disgusting and
eggplants were delicious
what a strange world this would be!

if kiwi lived in day time and
dogs lived at night
what a strange world this would be!

Although the world is strange
it could be a stranger place!

Natsuki H, age 10, Fendalton Open-air School

 

Picture this
A moa and eagle playing tag
Moa running as fast as the wind
Eagle soaring as high as the Sky Tower
Crafty eagle always the victor
No place is safe to hide
The wonder of it

Harper Aged 9 St Francis School

 

My Wonderland

I wonder this and that,
I wonder if myths are real,
Or if one day,
A dragon could appear at my backyard,
He could be my house guard.
I wonder if a unicorn,
can really fly over a rainbow,
Or if there is perhaps another world down below.
But we are in reality,
how could this be real?
Because these are wonders,
Wonders that make me feel.
It is all my dreamworld.
I wonder why the sunset is,
Red, orange or yellow,
Or why dead trees go hollow,
I wonder why at the beach,
The water is shallow.
I wonder this and that,
I wonder if this is a dream,
Swimming in melted ice cream.
I wonder why your feet sink in sand,
And if Maui really fished up our land.
I wonder this and that,
I wonder how big the universe goes,
Or why glow worms glow.
I wonder why I wonder.
But it is good to wonder.
I wonder this and that,
I wonder why I have to go,
Cause i have more to experience in life,
Than wondering all the time.
Goodbye, Goodbye,
See you in wonderland.

Mila P, age 10 Richmond Road School

 
The Sphinx

Who built the sphinx?
With its head dress and pharaoh like appearance
is it true that it was meant to have stripes that were blue
Is it the humans that caused erosion now being a terrible interference
where’s its nose? and its beard?
Was the beard a phase?
Where’s the nose now?
and what is on his face?
It is said that he had a cobra emblem on his face
but who says it’s a HE could the sphinx possibly be called SHE?
Who is this sphinx and what do they do?
all of it is a big mystery …

Mya, Age: 11 Year: 6, Churton Park School

 

Illustration by Van Clan family

 

WART-I-MC-WOO’S WONDERFUL WINTER

When it is winter,
Wart-i-mc-woo,
goes wandering up a mountain,
to watch a warbling whale,

But this time when he went up,
the whale said to him,
“Oh warble with me, my warty winter friend!”

“Ok Mr Whale, I’ll warble with you today,
but beware, where the warthog go,
and don’t you eat that yellow snow!”

Van Clan family, homeschooled

 

 

Imagine

 

Imagine a cat

Climbing your curtains

Scratching and tearing

BANG!

The cat falls to

The floor.

 

Matthew D 10 yr  year 6 Churton Park

 

 
If I could fly

I would go on adventures

I would go and find unknown places

And name them as I go

Children would hang onto my arms for lifts to school

On wet days I would fly on top of the clouds

And have picnics with my teddy bears

I would stay there till the rain stopped

Sometimes I would have a sleepover on the clouds

I would spot the planes above me

But for now, flying will stay in my dreams

 

Kate, age: 10, year: six, Churton Park School

 

 

I Wonder

I look into a purring cat’s face.
What is it wondering?
Does it like me?
The cat looks around staring blankly into the distance.
What does the cat see?
Can it see something I can’t?
I walk closer to the cat.
I find a faint outline of an animal.
I still don’t know. The cat stares intensely.
Is it a lion? I see a flock of birds flying to us.
Did the cat send a signal to them?
The cat walks to the bush nearby.
It jumps straight in and disappears.
I wonder if I will see it again?

Alice, Age: 10. Y6, Selwyn House School

 

 

What if

What if
in an attempt to feed
the world’s population
some scientists developed a
mutant grape vine which
strangled the world’s
population?

Would it slither
through the streets
expanding
as it
strangled the innocent citizens
ignoring their pathetic
screams for help?

It would invade
all the farms in
the country to devour
the poor livestock
in one
gulp

The vicious plant
would stretch the
world over
to create an
environment of its own

Isn’t that an
ominous thought
though?
But beware
lest the starved creeper
may enter your
office to dine
upon your flesh

Kyra Age: 11 Years Year: Year 6 Churton Park School

 

Standing on the ice carousel      

Will I float ?

Will I sink ?

Going around and around

I feel like I am drowning

But then again I am floating

Light as a feather

And as heavy as a whale

 

Sophia Age: 10,  Year 6, Churton Park School

 

Wonder

If books were alive
It would be a wonder
It would be a tragedy

Confronting
Evil queens
Giant monsters and
Superpowered self obsessed heroes

Meeting
People of my dreams
Creatures of nightmares

Dealing with
Death in the Prague
Stresses of world wars

Jasmine Aged 9 St Francis School

 

 

Wonder

Her wings gently stretch out,
daintily taking her first step about.
‘Green, blue, yellow, pink,’
colours are all she can even think.
Gracefully her wings steadily extended,
Her new gift of flying was just splendid.

As she flew over rivers and looked at small towns,
She saw children playing, on little playgrounds.
Her wonder never ceased,
Alas, it only increased,
Nature, creativity, love, sports,
Books, boats, gardens, ports.

Her life was at its peak,
The perfect hour, perfect day, perfect week.
Her hardships over, her future ahead,
Her sticky chrysalis had been shed.

Her wings gently stretch out,
daintily taking her first step about.
‘Green, blue, yellow, pink,’
colours are all she can even think.
Gracefully her wings steadily extended,
Her new gift of flying was just splendid.

As she flew over rivers and looked at small towns,
She saw children playing, on little playgrounds.
Her wonder never ceased,
Alas, it only increased,
Nature, creativity, love, sports,
Books, boats, gardens, ports.

Her life was at its peak,
The perfect hour, perfect day, perfect week.
Her hardships over, her future ahead,
Her sticky chrysalis had been shed.

Malia, age 12, Mapua School 

 

Wonder

I wonder about Antarctica the polar bears start disappearing
Penguins are losing hope
Ice melts away and sea levels rise
Fish are slipping away into darkness.

Isabelle H, Age 8 St Andrews Prep

 

My wonder stick

I pick up a stick and name this stick my wonder stick
I wonder if i could fly to the moon with my wonder stick
I could become queen with my wonder stick
I could dance at a ball with my wonder stick
I imagine if i could be a evil witch my wonder stick
I know that i can be whatever i want
Just sitting under a tree with my wonder stick

Mia M  Age:9  Fendalton school

 

Why tigers?
A swirl of white, orange and black
Is painted all over
Large paws leave a trail
The beautiful green eyes of the tiger
Hypnotise their prey
Then they pounce out of the bushes
As quick as the blink of the eye
One peek into the rainforest
And you see a terrifying beast
Two green eyes stare into yours
But most people don’t know
That only 3,890 tigers
walk through the rainforest
Everyday

Mia D Age: 11  Selwyn House School

 

Elephant and Mouse
Colossal, tough elephants and
miniscule, weak mice
Flapping their ears out,
lifting their trunk
to great heights
Squeaking quietly,
scurrying around
on the ground.
How is the elephant
scared of the mouse?

Leona  K Age: 10  Selwyn House School

 

The forest

sitting in the darkness
staring into the distance
wondering if the forest ever ends
is there something beyond
the forest floor and tall green trees
with the moon’s bright glow over it
breaking the black
listing to the deep river

Annaliese, age 10, Selwyn House

 

Banana Plant

I wonder
as I lay down on the sofa
If that calm,
majestic banana plant that
sits there all day
and all night,
is looking after the house,
while I am in bed, dreaming
away.

Clara, 10 years old, Selwyn House School

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poetry Box reading: Belinda O’Keefe reads The Day the Plants Fought Back

Listen to Belinda O’Keefe read The Day the Plants Fought Back (Scholastic 2019).

The book has been shortlisted in the Best First Book category of the NZ Children’s book awards this year. It is illustrated by Richard Hoit.

 

 

Belinda lives in Christchurch with her husband, two sons and two Russian blues. She is a freelance copy editor and the sub-editor of latitude magazine. Belinda has a passion for language and books – she loves reading so much that she does it for a living, as well as for pleasure. In fact she can’t remember the last time she was without a book to read!

Belinda was shortlisted for the Storylines Joy Cowley Award in 2016 and 2017, and in 2019 she had her first picture book, The Day the Plants Fought Back published with Scholastic New Zealand. She gets most of her inspiration from her two boys, and her youngest son’s slime obsession gave her a light bulb moment for the plot of Recipe for Disaster. Recipe for Disaster was the 2020 Storylines Tom Firtzgibbon Award winner

 

 

 

 

Poetry Box update

 

 

 

Hello young poetry fans

I am a bit behind on things so hope to reply to all your letters over the next few days, post some wonder poems, and then the July challenge early next week!

Ngā mihi

Paula

 

 

Poetry Box popUP sock challenge: two poems

 

I loved Catharina Valsckx Lisette’s Green Sock (Gecko Press 2020) so much I posted a 48 hour popUp challenge, and Daniel and Malia sent in these poems. I put the names in the hat and I am sending a copy of the book to Malia.

Do hunt this book down and buy a copy for someone who adores picture books.

my review

 

 

Strange Sock Stealer

 

Some say the washing machine eats socks

Or there is a Bermuda sock triangle under the bed

But not in my house

In my house

Socks disappear

Swiped from the clothes horse

Nicked off the washing line

Stolen from inside shoes

Even thieved off feet

Reappearing later in all sorts of places

Tangled in the curtain cord

Stashed behind the TV

Buried underneath my pillow

Even riding on the back of sheep

It seems that in my house

We have a dangerous

Sockcessful…

CAT BURGLAR!

 

Daniel Age 11, Year 7, Hadlow School

 

 

Socks

Distinctive, colourful, striped, up and down,
Smelly, musty, coated in brown.
Stretchy, woolly, warm and thick,
Once they are dirty, in the basket with a flick.
Thrown, into the washing machine,
Tumbled about, until they are clean.
Once dried and warm,
A coloured foot begins to form.

Distinctive, colourful, striped, up and down,
Smelly, musty, coated in brown.
Stretchy, woolly, warm and thick,
Cosy, vibrant, comfortable and slick.

 

Malia, 12 years old, Year 8, Mapua School

 

 

 

 

Poetry Box review: Catharina Valckx’s Lisette’s Green Sock PLUS a 48-hour challenge and giveaway copy

 

 

Catharina Valsckx Lisette’s Green Sock Gecko Press 2020

 

Catharina Valckx was born in 1957 in De Bilt, Netherlands. She grew up in France with four sisters. She traveled back and forth between the two countries before settling down in Amsterdam. She started writing for children books after the birth of her son. Her books are like guides for a happy life. She believes children to prefer an absurd kind of humor, the one that makes you smile not laugh, a comforting kind of humor.

 

I adore this book. It is a picture book that is indeed a happy guide because it fills with you with joy as you read it. It is very comforting and it does make you smile. A warm smile that is as good watching your cat in blissful sleep by the fire, or eating the tastiest soup when you are cold, or looking for surprising things when you take a walk on a blue sky day.

Lisette goes for a walk on a blue-sky day and discovers a green sock. So she puts it on – but then she is missing the other sock!

So Lisette goes on a BIG HUNT for the missing sock. She meets a very good friend who shows an excellent and inventive use for one green sock. BUT she also meets some very MEAN characters who like to TEASE and play MEAN tricks and have no regard for how someone else feels!

The ending is sublime – it will make you feel very warm and very cosy and remind you (we know this anyway of course!) friendship is such a comfort.

 

The simple illustrations are full of gorgeous life and the writing flows like honey.

I love this book so much I think you need to buy one for yourself, buy one for a child you love, and then buy one for your best friend. What a Gecko Press treasure!

 

48 pop up challenge: Write a poem about socks, or looking for something lost, or how clever your mum or dad are at solving tricky things, or a friendship story. Or a poem that makes you feel warm and happy as you write it.

DEADLINE: Wednesday 10 pm

SEND TO: paulajoygreen@gmail.com

INCLUDE: your name, age, year, name of school

DON”T FORGET TO PUT sock in subject line so I don’t miss your email

I will POST on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning

 

I will buy one copy of the book to give away to one of you!

 

 

  happy days reading happy books!

 

 

 

Poetry Box noticeboard: Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright

 

 

 

I am so excited I have a poem in this beautiful looking book!

 

Note from the British publisher:

This September – exactly three months from today, in fact – we are very proud to be publishing, in partnership with the National Trust, Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright! An Animal Poem for Every Day of the Year, illustrated by Britta Teckentrup and collected by Fiona Waters.

The follow-up to our highly-acclaimed, multi-award-winning collection, I Am the Seed That Grew the Tree: A Nature Poem for Every Day of the Year, Tiger, Tiger is a lavishly illustrated gift book treasury of 366 animal poems – one for every day of the year – ranging from unforgettable classics to contemporary works from around the world, including poetry in translation.

And today, we are delighted to share a very first look inside the book.

The spectacular range of poems for children in Tiger, Tiger includes work by Roger McGough, William Blake, Dick King-Smith, Ted Hughes, Grace Nichols, Lewis Carroll, Christina Rossetti, and Emily Dickinson. Britta Teckentrup’s breathtaking illustrations bring together all the richness and wonder of the animal kingdom, making this poetry anthology a perfect gift that will be treasured by generations.

Go here for a peek inside the book.

 

It is out in NZ in August! I will keep you posted.

 

Poetry Box noticeboard: NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults

 

 

 

Congratulations to all the winners – these are some of the shortlisted books I have celebrated and loved on Poetry Box

 

 

Picture Book Award

Abigail and the Birth of the Sun, Matthew Cunningham, illustrated by Sarah Wilkins (Penguin Random House)

How Māui Slowed the Sun, written and illustrated by Donovan Bixley (advised and translated by Dr Darryn Joseph and Keri Opai) (Upstart Press)

Mini Whinny: Goody Four Shoes, Stacy Gregg, illustrated by Ruth Paul (Scholastic NZ)

Santa’s Worst Christmas, Pania Tahau-Hodges and Bryony Walker, illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (Huia Publishers)

The Gobbledegook Book, Joy Cowley, illustrated by Giselle Clarkson (Gecko Press)

                                                                                         

 

Wright Family Foundation Esther Glen Award for Junior Fiction

 

#Tumeke!, Michael Petherick (Massey University Press)

Lizard’s Tale, Weng Wai Chan (Text Publishing)

Miniwings Book 6 Moonlight the Unicorn’s High Tea Hiccup, Sally Sutton, illustrated by Kirsten Richards (Scholastic NZ)

Prince of Ponies, Stacy Gregg (HarperCollins Publishers)

Time Machine and other stories, Melinda Szymanik (The Cuba Press)

          

                                           

Young Adult Fiction Award

 

Afakasi woman, Lani Wendt Young (OneTree House)

Aspiring, Damien Wilkins (Massey University Press)

The History Speech, Mark Sweet (Huia Publishers)

Ursa, Tina Shaw (Walker Books Australia)

Wynter’s Thief, Sherryl Jordan (OneTree House)

 

 

Elsie Locke Award for Non-Fiction

 

Kuwi & Friends Māori Picture Dictionary, written and illustrated by Kat Quin, translated by Pānia Papa (Illustrated Publishing)

Mophead, Selina Tusitala Marsh (Auckland University Press)

Te Tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi, Ross Calman and Mark Derby, illustrated by Toby Morris, translated by Piripi Walker (Lift Education)

The Adventures of Tupaia, Courtney Sina Meredith, illustrated by Mat Tait (Allen & Unwin, in partnership with Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum)

Three Kiwi Tales, Janet Hunt (Massey University Press)

 

 

Russell Clark Award for Illustration

 

Dozer the Fire Cat, illustrated by Jenny Cooper, written by Robyn Prokop (Scholastic NZ)

Santa’s Worst Christmas, illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, written by Pania Tahau-Hodges and Bryony Walker (Huia Publishers)

Song of the River, illustrated by Kimberly Andrews, written by Joy Cowley (Gecko Press)

The Adventures of Tupaia, illustrated by Mat Tait, written by Courtney Sina Meredith (Allen & Unwin, in partnership with Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum)

Wildlife of Aotearoa, illustrated and written by Gavin Bishop (Penguin Random House)

                                   

 

Wright Family Foundation Te Kura Pounamu Award for books written completely in te reo Māori

 

Arapū Toi, Moira Wairama, illustrated by Austin Whincup (Baggage Books)

Ko Flit, te Tīrairaka, me ngā Hēki Muna, written and illustrated by Kat Quin, translated by Ngaere Roberts (Scholastic NZ)

Ngā Hoa Hoihoi o Kuwi,    written and illustrated by Kat Quin, translated by Pānia Papa (Illustrated Publishing)

Te Kirihimete i Whakakorea, Pania Tahau-Hodges  and Bryony Walker, illustrated by Isobel Joy Te Aho-White, translated by Kawata Teepa (Huia Publishers)

Tio Tiamu, Kurahau, illustrated by Laya Mutton-Rogers (Huia Publishers)

 
Best First Book Award

 

Michael Petherick for #Tumeke! (Massey University Press)

Weng Wai Chan for Lizard’s Tale (Text Publishing)

Isobel Joy Te Aho-White (illustrator) for Santa’s Worst Christmas, written by Pania Tahau-Hodges and Bryony Walker (Huia Publishers)

Belinda O’Keefe for The Day the Plants Fought Back, illustrated by Richard Hoit (Scholastic NZ)

Laya Mutton-Rogers (illustrator) for The Smelly Giant, written by Kurahau (Huia Publishers)