Synopsis: This book is a celebration of who we are; good stuff, and not so good, our amazing senses, language, love, gossip, war and cheese. John Siddique's poems blast off the page into real life or they can melt as gently as a snowflake on you tongue. Many of the poems in this book were conceived in primary schools, so John has included special bonus material to help you enjoy reading and writing more, and an exclusive interview about what it is to be a poet.

Review: This is John Siddique’s first collection of verse for children and, as his opening ‘word from the poet’ indicates, it is a book designed to excite young readers about poetry, to keep it “fresh and alive”, to demonstrate how poems can “plant pictures deep inside us where other ways of using words can’t go” (p. 8). Many of the pieces have a list structure, utilising the bits and pieces of everyday experience, from kennings about teachers and poets, to ‘Memory Photos’ and the food-fest of ‘Shopping Day’. A recurrent theme in the collection is identity, drawing on the insights offered by Siddique’s Anglo, Irish and Indian heritage, and encouraging us to enjoy who we are. Individual poems touch on views about our bodies and skin colour, family customs and clashes (treated with warmth, but without sentimentality), and childhood memories. There are celebrations of the senses (‘Apples’, ‘My Body, My Mind and Me’) and explorations of emotions (including the darker sides of our character – vengeance, rage and gossip). The final poem, ‘Unexpected Guests’, sums up this theme perfectly, reminding the reader that “The world is just a village”, and urging us to ‘invite in’ the diversity of cultures, stories, foods and experiences we find around us. The bonus material provides an interesting insight into Siddique himself (reminding us that poets are people!), as well as providing some useful practical advice, particularly about reading anthologies.

One feature of the book I found less appealing was the constantly changing font size between pages. This may be another attempt to underline the subject of diversity, but I personally felt it was distracting.

All in all, an energetic and inspiring new voice – a worthwhile addition to primary poetry collections.

Buy this Book

2007-08-26