Wise Up! Wise Down!
John Agard, JonArno Lawson, illustrated By Satoshi Kitamura
Walker Books

Three awesome creative people from children’s literature have collaborated on what is sure to become a favourite poetry book for many readers. Two friends John Agard and JonArno Lawson provide the words and the distinctive art of Satoshi Kitamura provides the wonderful, whimsical illustrations. So, when you open this book be prepared to embark on a foray into a lively, thought-provoking conversation between prize-winning poets. It’s so cleverly put together with the two voices taking turns throughout; they’re made to seem as if one person’s thoughts have immediately initiated a response from the other, despite many of the poems having been published previously.

Sure to get your brain cells buzzing are Jon Agard’s Mind, What Exactly Are You? and JonArno Lawson’s rejoinder Never Mind. So too will Questions (JA) and Should I Be Me? (JL) Philosophical posers each one of which could be used to open a community of enquiry type discussion.

There’s humour too, of a wicked kind in for instance, JA’s Crocodile’s Tale: ‘The last man who mistook me for a log / Lost half a foot and can no longer jog.’ and Alligator’s Response (‘Is that right, old Croc? / But can he still walk? // The last man who stopped to look me in the eye? / That falling-down man was an upstanding guy.’ (JL)

What comes across loud and clear is both poets have never lost their sense of awe and wonder about life, the universe and all that: JL summarises this in the final lines of the verse in the final poem: ‘figuring out this strange world will never / be anything less or anything but / a forever and ever adventure.’ A perfect close to a terrific book.

Read it at home, read it in the classroom and then perhaps try out some of the suggestions given at the end.