Booklist

Carol Ann Duffy
The Hat
Faber (94 pages) 9780571219650
Imagine the loneliness of the life of a ghost or a ghoul, or how a cow gets on when shopping; the sorrowful funeral of a stick-insect, the mind-stirring subject of a sock: a whole range of topics is here. The cover is an instant invitation with title and author in a hat shape topped off with a cow and the poems are terrific! The book is grand to dip into and read one or two, brilliant to go back to and reread any that particularly appeal, lovely to share aloud and good to get to know. The final piece is a longer narrative about the hat. It gets blown from poet's head to poet's head across decades and centuries, so brief choice quotes crop up every time. (What an invitation to extension-invention. Suppose the hat goes from king to king and - oops, that one's lost his head ... or ... maybe ...!)

John Foster (Compiler) illustrated by Tony Ross
The Universal Vacuum Cleaner and Other Riddle Poems
Oxford (58 pages) 9780192763136
Riddle poems as well written as these do have a gleeful fascination. They are all from recent times and cover a variety of styles and disciplines with themes from objects to feelings. John Foster is so experienced and reliable in selecting and presenting poems that this is a certain winner, with varied shapes and text layouts to add to the fun. The illustrator is the equally assured Tony Ross and yes, there is a list of answers at the back to reassure teachers and librarians. Poems are invitingly short in appearance for some readers and these are both entertaining and thought-provoking for all.

Susie Gibbs (Compiler)
Puzzling Poems to Drive You Crazy
Oxford (64 pages) 9780192726087
and
Revolting Poems to Make You Squirm
Oxford (64 pages) 9780192726063
The first of these has tongue-twisters, anagrams, and problem puzzles from poets from the past such as Christina Rossetti as well as from modern times. It fits in with curriculum needs and is also a good stand-alone entertaining book for just dipping into. The second title is aptly descriptive though the contents contain a lot more depth and skill than might be presumed. There are some lovely descriptive pieces. Wendy Cope writes of a scab attracting so much admiration that the healing leaves a bereft feeling. There's a leech commenting on its victims among other matters. It all works splendidly as it can make readers feel deliciously subversive while serving them well.

Susie Gibbs (Compiler)
Revolting Poems to Make You Squirm
Oxford (64 pages) 9780192726063

Reviewed with Puzzling Poems to Drive You Crazy

Chrissie Gittins
I Don't Want an Avocado for an Uncle
Rabbit Hole Productions (64 pages) 9780954328818
A second collection from this poet, just as right as right can be as a poetry book for 7s upwards. There's a broad range of writing here from amusing jokes to poems which, sometimes unexpectedly, evoke responses of deeper emotions. Cleverness, but not for its own sake, with a great sense of fun and an acute awareness of her readership has resulted in a group of poems which are both entertaining and expanding. A valuable and very friendly collection indeed.

Tony Mitton illustrated by Sue Heap
My Hat and All That
Corgi Yearling (73 pages) 9780440867258
A bargain-priced book that will last and last as rereading, of some parts at least, is almost certain. These are poems to be performed, to share by reading aloud, or to read in parts to each other. Any class, or school, use is only likely to add to the demand from individuals, pairs or groups of readers. Sue Heap's illustrations add to the pleasures inside the bright cover. This is a really good alternative to those splendid but over-used versions of modernised fairy tales in rhyme.

Michael Rosen illustrated by Quentin Blake
Mustard, Custard, Grumble Belly and Gravy
Bloomsbury (100 pages + audio CD) 9780747587392
Two previously published books (Don't Put Custard in the Mustard and You Can't Catch Me) have been combined with a new introduction and new illustrations. The CD has Michael Rosen reading, or performing, all 45 poems in his inimitable manner. A breadth of work is here from short rhymes to longer free-verse narrations filled with pertinent observations and turning little domestic everyday matters into sagas. Brilliant.

Brian Moses (Compiler)
There's a Hamster in the Fast Lane
Macmillan (79 pages) 9780330444231
An anthology of crazy animal poems with titles which include 'Tortoise on a Trampoline', the 'Song of a Cat Who Has Been Given the Wrong Brand of Cat Food in Error', 'The Flea that Fled' and even 'The Proper Care and Protection of Socks'. Some are short, such as the four lines about a poodle who's a 'meter reader eater', while the longest piece here has 36 lines. It is a fine 'dip in and enjoy' book and while there are illustrations the poetry is so full of images that they could well promote individual interpretations in drawing.