by Cheryl Moskowitz (Frances Lincoln)

I love the introductory paragraphs to the poems. Of course they all speak for themselves, but when bringing poetry to the young it’s a good idea to give them a little clue as to what the poem is about and it’s interesting to hear the answer to that perennial question: Where did you get the idea from? Moskowitz obviously gets her ideas from the people around her, young and old. Some insightful verses give this book a different feel to many about at the moment. Children will relate to the personal in many of the poems. And respond to the positive messages, too, I hope. My favourite lines – from one of the introductions, actually, but this could be a poem itself: ‘Kids are good at clapping games. Grown-ups aren’t. I think that’s the main difference.’ Well, that sums it up nicely.
TUC