POETRY, PLAYS & SONGS
crunching dinosaurs and a herd of woolly mammoths as you dig down through the Earth’s layers.
Poetry, plays & songs
Macmillan Children’s Books
SERIES Egmont
The Lion on the Bus Gareth P Jones, Jeff Harter (illus) 24th June, pb, £6.99, 9781405294324 Brilliantly silly animal adaptation of the classic nursery rhyme “Wheels on the Bus” with a light-touch message of friendship and acceptance.
Greenwillow Books
Cast Away
Naomi Shihab Nye 18th March, pb, £6.99, 9780062907707 “Trash tells its story. Who you are, how you spend your days.” Shihab shine a spotlight on the things we cast away, from plastic water bottles to refugees.
HarperCollins
The Last Straw Susan Hood, Christiane Engel 18th March, hb, £12.99, 9780062981394 Stem picture book of activist poems about the threat of plastic and how kids are combating environmental challenges.
Red, White, and Whole Rajani LaRocca 4th March, hb, £12.99, 9780063047426 A heartbreakingly hopeful #ownvoices novel in verse about an Indian American girl whose life is turned upside down when her mother is diagnosed with leukaemia.
Little Tiger Group
Once Upon a Rhythm James Carter, Valerio Vidali (illus) 10th June, pb, £7.99, 9781838911713 Follow the story of music back to the beginning.Did it start with a stomp or a clap? This poem is an ode to the world of music and rhythm.
The Beasts Beneath Our Feet James Carter, Alisa Kosareva (illus) 13th May, hb, £11.99, 9781838911805 Meet trilobites, munching,
A Poem for Every Day and Night of the Year Allie Esiri pb, eb, £14.99, 97815290452 A Poem for Every Summer Day 29th April, vol 3 46 A Poem for Every Spring Day 4th February, vol 4 39 Series of seasonal anthologies of poems selected from Esiri’s bestselling A Poem for Every Day of the Year and A Poem for Every Night of the Year.
50 Ways to Score a Goal and Other Football Poems Brian Bilston 27th May, pb, eb, £7.99, 9781529058048 Hilarious collection of football-themed poems for children from the Poet Laureate of Twitter.
Shaping the World Liz Brownlee 18th February, hb, eb, £8.99, 9781529036862 Anthology of shape poems about people who shaped the world.
Olympic Poems Brian Moses, Roger Stevens 10th June, pb, eb, £5.99, 9781529043013 Funny and inspiring collection of poems about sport and sporting events of every kind, from PE lessons to sports day to the final of the men’s 100m race.
The Best Ever Book of Funny Poems Brian Moses 18th March, pb, eb, £7.99, 9781529049718
Side-splitting anthology of the funniest poems in the world for children chosen by one of the nations favourite children’s poets.
Magic Cat
Freya Hartas (illus) 3rd March, hb, eb, £14.99, 9781913520052 Experience the everyday wonder of nature in this first book of poetry, which explores a magical woodland year.
Methuen Drama SERIES
Plays for Young People pb, eb, £19.99, 978135017 Represent!: New Plays for Multicultural Young People Chris Ceraso (ed), Lisa S Brenner (ed) 25th March, vol 14 1879 David Wood Plays for 5-12 Year Olds: The Gingerbread Man; The See-Saw Tree; The BFG; Save the Human; Mother Goose’s Golden Christmas David Wood, Paul Bateson 6th May, vol 15 4924 Offers a selection of single plays and anthologies organised into age bands to help teachers and youth theatre leaders find suitable works to perform.
O’Brien Press
Sally Go Round the Stars Sarah Webb (ed), Claire Ranson (ed), Steve McCarthy (illus) 8th February, board, £7.99, 9781788492461 Marvellous collection of Irish rhymes to delight any child, beautifully illustrated in an attractive board book.
Otter-Barry Books
The Language of Cat And Other Poems Rachel Rooney, Ellie Jenkins (illus) 8th July, pb, £7.99, 9781913074548 New edition of the 2012 CLPE Prize-winning collection described as “a box of delights” by Carol Anne Duffy.
Hey, Girl! Rachel Rooney, Milo Hartnoll (illus) 8th July, pb, £7.99, 9781913074586 Brilliant new collection of poems from the author of the bestselling A Kid In My Class and deeply insightful in exploring the joys, frustrations and difficulties of 21st-century girlhood.
If You Go Down to the Woods Today . . . Rachel Piercey,
Being Me Laura Mucha, Liz Brownlee, Matt Goodfellow, Victoria Jane Wheeler (illus) 6th May, pb, £7.99, 9781913074654 Three gifted poets team
up with new poems to confront children’s anxieties and worries, helping with ways to develop empathy and mindfulness.
Stars With Flaming Tails Valerie Bloom, Ken Wilson-Max (illus) 4th February, pb, £7.99, 9781913074678 Poems full of laughter, thought and wonder from a star performance poet. Her first collection for several years and a top title for BAME interest.
Weird, Wild and Wonderful James Carter, Neal Layton (illus) 4th February, pb, £7.99, 9781913074739 Celebrated children’s poet presents a selection from his best-loved poems, plus eight new poems specially written for this book. Brilliantly complemented by Layton’s illustrations.
The Emma Press
My Sneezes Are Perfect Rakhshan Rizwan, Yusuf Rizwan,
Benjamin Phillips (illus) 18th February, pb, eb, £8.99, 9781912915682 Poems in the voice of a small boy living in California in the time of Covid-19 with funny observations about online school. Suitable for readers aged 8+.
Troika
Polka Dot Poems Zaro Weil 1st April, hb, £11.99, 9781909991156 Joyful book is an exuberant, humorous and eye-popping poetry primer for young children.
When Poems Fall From the Sky Zaro Weil 1st May, hb, £15, 9781909991958 Published in association with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and illustrated by rising star Junli Song.
Little Light Coral Weil 1st May, pb, £7.99, 9781912745166 A novel in verse that is a compellingly beautiful read.
Walker Books
A Midsummer Night’s Dream Georghia Ellinas, Shakespeare’s Globe, Jane Ray (illus) 6th May, hb, £12.99, 9781406376869
February 2021–July 2021 79
Captivating picture book retelling by Shakespeare’s Globe for very young readers.
SERIES
Old Mother Hubbard John Yeoman, Quentin Blake (illus) 4th March, pb, £6.99, 97814063959
Old Mother Hubbard’s Dog Learns to Play vol 5 14
Old Mother Hubbard’s Dog Takes Up Sport vol 4 21
Out of print for many years, these sparkling gems of quirky humour are available again to delight a whole new generation of readers.
I Am Angry Robert Starling (illus), Michael Rosen 1st July, hb, £12.99, 9781406396652 First in a funny new series from former Children’s Laureate.
Watching the Swallows RSPB, Harry Tennant (illus) 6th May, hb, £8.99, 9781406397789 Stylish gift-book anthology of 50 poems for bird-lovers, with strong crossover appeal.
Take Off Your Brave Nadim Shamma, Yasmeen Ismail (illus) 6th May, hb, £12.99, 9781406399707 Very special collection of poems by a four-year-old author, introduced by Kate Clanchy and illustrated with wit and whimsy by Yasmeen Ismail.
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