This fabulous collection from Roger Stevens contains: laughs (including chuckles, guffaws and grins); sad moments (some); thrills (many); rhymes; haikus; rude words; adjectives (assorted); made-up words (including Wham-wig); nonsense and a fat penguin called Pete. Poems on the CD include ‘Farewell’, ‘Pete’, ‘I had a little Dinosaur’, ‘Nothing would it Eat, But a Chocolate Cupcake’, ‘And my best mate, Pete’.

Roger Stevens reads his own poems, at quite a pace! Many of them are very short, all of them are funny, yes - even the sad ones have elements of humour. They are fantastic examples of the variety of poetry that it is possible to compose and the way in which it can be performed. Roger Stevens is a great advocate of poetry for children. All his poems are appropriate for children from the age of 5 upwards. They are also great for adults - some of the elements of his humour will appeal to adults who will perhaps have a better understanding of it than children.

The poems are also great examples of the many ways in which poetry works; it can have a subject, it can be nonsense, it can rhyme of just be in plain verse. There are so many poems in this collection that there are examples of most forms of poetry.

Unfortunately, there is not a listing of the tracks so it would probably be advisable to buy the book in order to accompany the CD. That way it would be possible to see what all the titles are and have copies of each of the poems in print. Having a track listing would also be helpful for being able to plan use of the CD in English or even Drama lessons, where in a school setting it would be well suited.

The book and CD would also make great gifts for children who are lovers of poetry and humour. ‘Why Otters Don’t Wear Socks’ is a good introduction to the world of rhythm and rhyme and a highly recommended resource for teachers.