Ring of Words, The: An Anthology of Poetry for Children
Digital version – browse, print or download
Books for Keeps is packed with articles, interviews comment and, of course, reviews.
You can read the whole issue online here, for free!
How to print the digital edition of Books for Keeps: click on this PDF file link - click on the printer icon in the top right of the screen to print.
BfK Newsletter
Receive the latest news & reviews direct to your inbox!
Cover Story
This issue’s cover is from Edward Ardizzone’s Little Tim and the Brave Sea Captain. Brian Alderson discusses this classic picture book, now reissued in a beautiful new edition by Scholastic in ‘Classics in Short’. Thanks to Scholastic Children’s Books for their help in producing this January cover.
PDF
Printer-friendly version
Send to friend
Ring of Words, The: An Anthology of Poetry for Children
Roger McGough
Robert Frost said ‘poetry begins in delight and ends in wisdom’. McGough’s new anthology (now in paperback) more than satisfies this statement. A mixture of classic and contemporary poems takes the reader on a journey through themes of the seasons, animals, family, school and the world of the imagination. As Norman MacCaig says in ‘An Ordinary Day’, ‘I took my mind a walk/ Or my mind took me a walk’ and he saw ‘... how ordinary/ Extraordinary things are or/ How extraordinary ordinary/ Things are’. This selection shows the reader all this and more. There are the pure enjoyment poems that play with words and ideas and there are poems which elicit a deeper response, all beautifully integrated by McGough and dazzlingly illustrated by Kitamura. From Christina Rossetti and R L Stevenson to James Berry and Jackie Kay we travel through different cultures, thoughts, anxieties and experiences, meeting a colourful array of characters and situations on the way. The Ring of Words is an anthology for every mood, every moment and everybody and a great one to begin the new millennium.