Old Worlds New Worlds Other Worlds

Old Worlds New Worlds Other Worlds: Stories, Poetry, and Plays for Children compiled by CBCA NSW Eastern Suburbs Sub-Branch PB RRP ISBN 9780645154504

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

The funds raised by the sales of this anthology will further the work of both the CBCA NSW Branch and their Eastern Suburbs Sub-branch in fulfilling their shared purpose: to ensure Australian children have stories written for them, to support and celebrate the work of our Australian creatives, and to promote the joy of reading. Anthology contributors have all donated their stories, plays and poetry, illustrations, and production skills‑— over 70 contributors, including some of the most well-loved Australian children’s literature creatives. These include Belinda Murrell, Kate Forsyth, Susanne Gervay, Tim Harris, Sue Whiting, Patricia Bernard, Elizabeth Mary Cummings, and more.

The Foreword is from the NSW Governor, the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC and Mir Wilson, introduction from Ursula Dubosarsky the Australian Children's Laureate, and acknowledgement of Country in Dharug by Jasmine Seymour. 

The back cover sums up the book’s content: ‘Wonder at the universe. Swim through oceans. Encounter lions. Venture into space. Delve into fairytales. Travel back in time. Face danger head-on.’

Titles of stories include ‘The Red Suitcase’, ‘Dragon Days’, ‘Harriet Digs Dinosaurs’, and ‘Toilet Tales’, Poems include ‘Spooky Stuff,’ ‘The World is Waiting’, ‘Olga: The Girl from Another World’, and ‘A Step Between Two Worlds’. Plays are 'New Earth', and 'Kate, Liz and Nat's Epic Picnic'.

The book is illustrated, too, with beautiful black and white line pictures by talents such as Dub Leffler, Liz Bowring, Marjorie Crosby-Fairall, Sare Christensen, and Gemma Patience. There are even photographs (contributed by wildlife photographer Jan Latte). 

Every time a page is turned, there is a new and exciting discovery to be made. At the back of the book are blurbs about every one of the contributors. Variety is certainly a keynote of this sterling collection.

This is an outstanding compilation which is sure to be enjoyed by its readers, both young and old.

Achievements

In ‘Jackie's Spring Competition’ (PIO) for writers of rhyme, Janeen Brian's verse story, Rosalie Lee won second place and her poem, Stromwert on the Look Out, was an Honorable Mention.'

Janeen’s story, Round and Round, was also shortlisted in the Buzz Words short story competition.

Framed by Poetry

Framed by Poetry by Stefan A Nicholson (Cyberwit, India) PB RRP US$15 ISBN 9789388329249

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

With a sub-title ‘A gallery of chosen poems from my collection,’ this is a compilation of 81 selected poems for a wide range of audiences, including children. Cyberwit says on its AIS, ‘The poet for the most part uses matter-of-fact, everyday words instead of artificial and ornamental vocabulary’, and this is indeed one of the most attractive elements of the collection.

Standing up for issues such as climate change, poverty, prejudice, and social injustice, Nicholson’s poems have titles such as ‘The Last Human,’ ‘Remembrance Day’ and ‘Moment in Time.’ The style of poems varies as widely as the subject matter with prose poems (‘The Promise’), rhyming poems (‘The Writer’), free form (‘Last Autumn Leaf’), cinquain (‘My Dog’), and haiku (‘Poetry Is’).

Overall, in this collection one often sees the versatile poet drawing on his emotional intelligence as he explores his own life experiences and his reaction to the world around him. His social conscience is evident in numerous poems such as ‘First Call’, a prose poem about a child living in poverty. He asks, ‘Why do they live and die this way, while others look away?’ To this he adds, ‘We fight for just equality, freedom from domination. Yet we sacrifice ordinary quiet lives and soldiers from each nation.’ This sensibility is demonstrated, too, in ‘Clouds of Glass,’ with lines such as ‘Cultivating greed without compassion for the hungry poor’, and ‘… deplete everything living, for the greed of man.’

The poet’s personal experience is evident in ‘Denying Self’ which begins with ‘I know a place where we belong – together’ and continues to address a loved one. Alongside romantic poems such as this and poems with a social conscience, Nicholson also writes quirky and humorous poems. In ‘Moon’, he begins with, ‘The man in the moon is standing on his head, /Or maybe it’s a woman, as some modern gals have said.’

‘Musical Life’ is another eccentric poem with lines including (in capital letters), words to do with music such as, ‘I could eat a PIANO FORTE with a TUBA mayonnaise and a FLUTE of champagne to STAVE off my hunger.’

There is no doubt that this collection should appeal to a wide audience, including children. Nicholson has spread his wings wide and with Framed by Poetry adds to his oeuvre which includes 15 novels and non-fiction books for both adults and children.

Copies of the book can be purchased from the publisher (Cyberwit.net) and Amazon.

Janeen's Achievements

Janeen Brian’s adult poem, Music for the Berries was awarded 2nd place in the Open category of the International Ipswich Poetry Feast.

Her poem, ‘A Wizard on his Bike’, was published in the anthology, Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble: Magical Poems.  The poems were chosen by Paul Cookson, illustrated by Eilidh Muldoon, and published by Bloomsbury, UK.

100 Ways to Fly

100 Ways to Fly by Michelle Taylor (UQP) PB RRP $14.99 ISBN 9780702262500

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

This third collection of poems from Australian writer Michelle Taylor is divided into seven sections starting with ‘The Word Zoo’ in which she plays around with words, for example ‘Catch’ in which every line begins with the word ‘catch’ as in ‘Catch a cold/catch a name/catch some ZZZs/catch a plane.’ There’s another poem titled ‘X’ where the letter can stand for a list of things such as ‘a kiss/a cross/a little/a lot’. Occasionally at the foot of her poems, Taylor includes a reference to the poem; in ‘X’ she’s written ‘After a circle an ‘x’ is one of the first symbols drawn by children around the world’.

Another section of the book is ‘Great Balls of Fire’, a collection of limericks, riddles and tongue twisters which includes poems such as ‘The Lamington Thief’, ‘From Hair to Hong Kong’ and ‘Shauna and Shaun.’ Teachers might enjoy taking any of these poems and inviting students to write their own pieces based on them. Other sections in the book are ‘The Time of Our Lives’, ‘Spooky and Sick’, ‘How many noses in a nostril?’ ‘Coming to Your Senses’ and ‘A Pocket Full of Poems.’

Certainly, there’s a wide range of poetic styles and subject matter in this book but sadly very few, if any, lyrical poems. Some poems are very short (in ‘Swing: Funny how/just a simple thing/causes my tiny ear bones/to sing’), some are longer and more developed. It’s difficult to know what appeal most of the poems would have to the average child reader, but there are some poems which happily offer comfort. One poem is ‘Squeeze Cuddle: Hug me/Hold me/Squeeze me tight/Cuddle close/Grab my hand/Everything will be all right.’

To sum up this book: eclectic and aimed at readers aged 8 to 12 years.

To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme?

To Rhyme or Not to Rhyme? by Kristin Martin, illustrated by Joanne Knott (Glimmer Press) PB RRP $24.99 ISBN 978064846354

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Said to be one of South Australia’s ‘most skilful and inventive children’s poets’, Kristin Martin has assembled this collection of rhyming and non-rhyming poems with connections to the Australian curriculum in Science and English from Foundation to Year 7. The front cover gives a glimpse into the subject matter of Martin’s poems – nature – from dragonflies to swallows to frogs and more.

The book is divided into two sections – one for rhyming and one for non-rhyming poems. Here’s an example of a rhyming quartet from ‘Sparkly Treasure’: ‘I found a sparkly treasure/on the dusty path, today/I’m lucky that I found it/as we wandered on our way’. 

All the poems are simple and use simple language. While none of them employ clichés, none of the images are remarkable. 

Many poems offer prosaic statements (from ‘Drought’ for example): ‘It’s hot and dry and dusty/ I wish that it would rain’. However, for a child who loves animals, weather and country, the poems are likely to spark an interest.

Cool Poems

Cool Poems by Kate O’Neil, illustrated by Christina Booth (Triple D Press) PB RRP $25 ISBN 780994349996

Reviewed by Dianne Bates

Despite having written and published her poems for numerous years, this is Australian Kate O’Neil’s first solo collection. It is especially for students who enjoy words, who love rhythm and rhyme. The collection is divided into seven sections with subject headings ranging from ‘In Australia’ and ‘Speaking Your Mind’ to ‘Play’ and ‘Light and Dark’.

One of the first poems in the book under ‘Happy Living Things’ was a short free form  poem with a fine image that sticks in my mind. This is in ‘Slug’, where O’Neill writes, … ‘how is it that your/loathsome taper/makes this/exquisite/tracery of silver script...’. Beautiful! I urge you to get your hands on this book, so you can read poems like this with such memorable imagery. Another short poem in the same section is ‘To a Leech’, the first line of which reads, ‘You’re no prince in disguise’.

In the section, ‘In Australia’, there are poems about being barefooted, eating mangoes, climbing mountains, paragliding and cockatoos. Subject matter throughout the book is wide-ranging and includes school rules, blowflies, Cocky’s Joy, beating the blues and blind man’s bluff. Some poems, like ‘The Cynic Route’, ‘Gargoyle Guile’ and ‘Man and Moonshine’ are more suited to mature readers, but there are plenty of fun poems sure to be enjoyed by younger readers, such as the prima donna selection, ‘The Kid from Camdenville’, ‘Bare, Bare Black Sheep’ and ‘Classy Darcy’.

Happily, too, there’s a variety of poetic forms from rap to couplets, quatrains to free form. A few of the poems use the rhyming scheme of well-known poems. And, too, the poet uses speech within poems such as in ‘Bedtime Boogie’ and ‘Bedtime’.

Booth has done an excellent job of illustrating the collection with black and white line and wash pictures. Stand-outs are the gargoyle illustrating ‘Midnight Feast’ and the big-headed cat about to pounce on the unsuspecting bold mouse.

If you’re looking for a collection which will be rewarded by dipping into and reading fun, serious and thought-provoking poems for your reader aged 9 to 14, this book is highly recommended.

Silly Squid!

Silly Squid! by Janeen Brian, illustrated by Cheryll Johns (Koala Books)

HB RRP $24.99

ISBN 978-1-74299-096-5

Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

Silly Squid is a picture book packed full of poems about Australian sea creatures. Inside its pages you get to meet all manner of characters which frolic in or under the waves. From the Leafy Sea Dragon to the Penguin to the Whale, these animals are explored in poetry and explained by prose fact which is written around the edges of each page.

The poems are fabulously fun. I did not trip over any awkward rhymes. Each one has a great rhythm, which makes reading them out loud a joy.  They all differ in form, length and tempo, which really make this collection sing. They are each individual and some of them short enough for young children to memorise.

Pitched perfectly at the preschool age, these humorous poems will entertain children and also teach them about undersea animals. The illustrations are bright and vibrant and based on the environment and colors of these sea creature’s homes. 

This is a great book for any young child who likes the sea, animals or poetry and would be a fun way to introduce poetry to those not yet indulging. A really great addition for any young person’s library!

The Monster Sale

The Monster Sale: Poems by Brian Moses (Walker Books)
PB RRP $12.95
ISBN 9781847803665
Reviewed by Anastasia Gonis

Brian Moses’ interesting collection opens with the title poem, and continues with equally exciting and gut-wrenching things that children love to drool about. But the collection isn’t only about monsters and ghoulish things. It has a tremendous variety of extremely clever, word-bending poems about animals, inanimate objects and crazy things like hiccups and school poems.

Writing poetry for children is a challenge. For some it appears to come naturally, but when they appear easy that is when construction has been worked hard on.  Moses’ poems are witty, lively and interesting, and they are sure to encourage children to read poetry due to the clever use of words and sound.

There’s always a favourite in every collection, and the clever word play in Tyres ‘Do tyres get tired of the road?’ is an example of how words can be used and re-used in various contexts. A lot of that happens in this book.

The 43 poems in this creative list of rhyming and free verse are thought-provoking and entertaining, and certainly the stuff that children thirst after. Ideal for the 4-100 age group.