Lucky

 Lucky by Roger McGough (Walker Books)

PB RRP $15.95

ISBN 9781847803214

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Welcome to another superb, lively and witty book of poetry. I avoid saying ‘for children’ because everything written for children is always enjoyed by older readers as well. Roger McGough is an observant and wondrous wordsmith. He writes for the stage and has been awarded an OBE and a CBE for services to poetry. He is the author of Dotty Inventions and the other superlative poetry collection, An Imaginary Menagerie who gives readings all over the globe.

It is books like these that bring words to life. Poetry becomes reborn through this entertaining form and enters the mind like a beat from a drum. Each poem is better than the one preceding it.

There are poems about hay fever, the stars, snails, a burp, granny’s canary. From this short list the reader can gauge how versatile and zany the subject matter is in this little book. There are forty-eight poems on ninety pages. The writer has also illustrated the book with pen and pencil.

‘Is sandpaper used for wrapping up sand?

If you lay down your arms, can you still lend a hand?

Is a sick bed a bed that is feeling unwell?

Is a crime wave a criminal’s wave of farewell?’

Then there’s The Book Borrower who borrows a book from a lender who knows it won’t be returned. ‘I’d give her a piece of my mind, but I’d never get it back’. Everything Touches is outstanding and meaningful; No Peas for the Wicked is clever and funny. The title poem Lucky is extraordinary in rhyming verse. The list goes on. If you want a good laugh, or to be amazed at what acrobatics words can do, pick up this book and fill your mind with impressions through poetry. It is a treasure to be treasured and a word lover’s ideal possession. It comes highly recommended.

Book Review: Dotty Inventions and some real ones too

 Dotty Inventions: And Some Real Ones Too by Roger McGough, illustrated by Holly Swain (Walker Books)

PB RRP $ 16.95

ISBN 97881847803320

Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

  

If you want children to learn things, make learning fun. If you want them to remember what they’ve learnt, make it funnier. That’s what’s going on in this wonderful book full of fun and learning. The main characters are Professor Dotty Dabble and her robot Digby. Digby has a screen across his tummy on which he searches for the real truth about inventions, for Dotty loves to claim inventions belonging to others as hers. They travel in a Gizmobile that also has wings attached which open when they need to fly high.

Dotty is invited to enter a competition for the best invention at the National Science Museum. The prize is ‘the holiday of a lifetime’. But which invention should she submit? There is the chocolate cup in which you add hot water and drink before it melts; the voice-activated socks, the nasal floss and the thermal dentures. And there are more to choose from and Dotty is getting dizzy trying to decide.

The types of inventions that enter the competition are: pens that correct spelling as you write, umbrellas with a built in stereo, and edible school scarves, amongst others.

The marvellous real inventions that readers will learn about with Professor Dotty Dabble are: when and why windscreen wipers were invented, how the parachute came to be, and how and by whom was the Biro created. Then there is Velcro, the name originating from the two words, velour and crochet. But the story behind it is so amazing, funnier even than how the Frisbee came to be.

Dotty wins the competition for her claim to having invented Digby. But what are his real origins?

This vibrantly coloured book is entertaining with knowledge at centre stage to excite the reader’s mind. Roger McGough also has a wonderful book of poetry due out next month titled Lucky, created for children and young adult audiences. He was the illustrator of his highly successful, previous collection of poetry, An Imaginary Menagerie.