Tag Kate Wakeling

Find Peace in a poem

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Find Peace in a poem
Little Tiger

Twenty poets and four illustrators have contributed to the latest Little Tiger collection, this one being a celebration of mindfulness. Mindfulness I see as the state of being wholly in the present, completely awake and aware of each moment, fully engaged in one’s surroundings and accepting that experience without judgement.

The range of poets here is contemporary and interesting, and included are new poems and some previously published ones. such as Michael Rosen’s The Rhythm of Life and, Zero Weil’s Hide and Seek. Therein she describes looking for quiet and after going to the woods and the sea, concludes ‘I found quiet / it must have been hiding / the whole time / inside my words / inside of me’.

I’ve loved that one since discovering it in Cherry Moon.

Each poet in their own way takes an everyday object or occurrence and transforms it into something memorable and in so doing is asking the reader to look anew at the world. Two poets call on readers to put pen to paper, to preserve (Carter) or let go of (Wakeling) their thoughts. In James Carter’s How Easily, he reminds us how special ’moments disappear like sand.’ Moments such as the sight of raindrops sparkling on a lake and ‘The night / you tried to count the stars.’

Kate Wakeling suggests if you’re feeling down or troubled by your thoughts, settling wherever you are, taking a pen and without stopping or thinking, allowing it to explore, in words or pictures, squiggles even. In so doing you may well find ‘some bright new / thoughts begin to / grow.’ It’s certainly worth trying The Ink Cure next time you feel your brain knotting up.

So too is Nikita Gill’s A Lesson from the Trees. Offering not words or thoughts but a reassurance ‘they will listen to you too, / and show you that the answer / to all life’s storms / is to be patient / and stand strong.’

Each double spread is beautifully presented and the four illustrators have been mindful of not overwhelming the words with their images.

Add to your poetry collection be that at home or in the classroom.

A Dinosaur at the Bus Stop

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A Dinosaur at the Bus Stop
Kate Wakening, illustrated by Eilidh Muldoon
Otter-Barry Books

Like her previous books of poems for children, Kate Wakeling’s new collection is full of musicality and playfulness: every one of the almost forty offerings cries out to be read aloud either to yourself, family members or school friends. As the subtitle says, there are ‘Poems to Have Fun With’. It’s certainly true of My Cold (which it’s suggested is read ‘aloud while pinching your nose’). Here’s how it begins; ‘I’ve got this cold / and it’s terrible. // First I had a tickle / in my throat. // Then came a trickle / of gunge / out of my left nostril.’

How many children will have thought of naming their toes, I wonder. They might after reading The Names I Give My Toes: 1. Tiny Tara / 2. Wilbur the Wonky / 3. Mr Medium /4. Fancy Fiona (who wishes she was a finger / 5) Big Angry Bob . The other five are also named and equally funky

I can’t see many people reading The Washing Machine Jive and doing as the author says ‘pull up a chair’ . I certainly couldn’t: rather I found myself needing to be on my feet moving around as I read: ’Your pyjamas are bopping, / your socks can’t stop hopping, / your T-shirts are wriggling, / and your pants? Yep, they’re jiggling.’

Much gentler is In the Quiet of the Trees, my favourite of all the poems herein and it describes beautifully the way I feel in a forest: “The forest is a special kind of still. // In the quiet of the trees, / I breathe deep as roots. // … and in the quiet of the trees / I become / a special kind of me.’ 

You’ll also find riddles on the theme of oceans and mini-beasts – great to inspire children to try writing their own. Also great for getting children writing is Eleven People on the Bus and there’s even a fart poem – a sensible one so we are told.

Eilidh Muldoon’s drawings augment but never detract from the inventiveness of the poems and will certainly appeal to young readers.

A book I strongly recommend adding to home bookshelves and Foundation Stage and KS1 class collections.