I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont and David Catrow

I Like Myself is a book about self-acceptance. Its racy rhyming-couplet text and loud, zany illustrations really is an ode to self-esteem written to encourage kids to appreciate their own special qualities. The central character, a little girl, really knows what is important in life. Illustrator, David Catrow's watercolour, ink and pencil illustrations add further humour to the funny verse. Even with her fuzzy, unruly hair and her stink breath, like her loyal dog, readers will love her. It's a very silly book that kids will love to have read to them  over and over again. I purchased this book for my grandson, Archie.

"Inside, outside, upside down,

from head to toe and all around,

I like it all! It all is me!

And me is all I want to be.

And I don't care in any way

what someone else may think or say"

Australian Verse For the Young by Bindi-Bindi and Lynne Wilson

Poetry at its best,  the book Australian Verse for the Young, written by Bindi-Bindi and beautifully illustrated by Gympie artist Lynne Wilson, offers a fresh and engaging look at some of our Australian animals and landscapes through its verse. Rhyming couplets are a big feature. There are poems about a crocodile and a snake, a bilby, a dolphin, a cassowary and many other well-known Australian animals.. The settings for these poems are typically Australian, the iconic sandy white beach, the Australian Bush and  the outback. There is also a celebration of the Aussie barbecue and one of our great national parks, Kakadu. The book has a handy contents page and also an informative glossary at the back which gives an excellent summary of each of the animals making an appearance in the book. This book is a welcome addition to the poetry bookshelf in our classroom. Finally, a message from the author Bindi-Bindi:

We hope you'll enjoy this book of verse,

Some poems are wordy. others quite terse,

But our fauna is there for you to enjoy,

So come and meet them - don't be coy.

And whenever you open this picture book,

And at each of these creatures, you take a look,

Make them your friends, and you will find,

That animals, like people, will respond if you're kind.

Keri the wonderful kiwi who flew by H.R.Hopkins

Keri the Wonderful Kiwi Who Flew is a beautifully illustrated New Zealand publication of 1969, by H.R. Hopkins. It has been  written in rhyming couplet verse and is all about Mother Kiwi and Father Kiwi who produce an amazing offspring. The story begins with the hatching of Keri who was incidentally named because of the first sound he made: KK-EEE-RRRRR-IIII. On the day his parents kick him unceremoniously from the nest, they discover he has fully fledged wings, but decided that even though he is definitely "queer," they will ignore jibes he might endure from his flightless relations. Then, one day after foraging for food Keri becomes lost in the forest and has to spend night under a log. The following morning he is  rudely awakened to the barks of the super-sniffing farm dog Ranger. It's then that all hell breaks loose and Keri decides to finally use his wings, although  it seems this will result in further grief. The book is a pleasure for children and adults alike and illustrations abound throughout the book.

But Keri flew on in his wobbly course.

He was seen by some girls and a man on a horse.

The girls were out gathering mushrooms for Mum,

And they got a surprise when they saw Keri come.

The Dinosaur Diner and Other Poems by Paul Sidey

This hardback book contains twenty-four quirky poems about dinosaurs. It has a fairly sizeable cast including a fun-loving camarasaurus, a postie tyrannosaurus, the swotty iguandon, the struthiomimus who lives in  a penthouse, the parasaurolophous with strange dress sense and many more. The accompanying comical ink illustrations by Susan Hellard,  mirror the text well. This illustrator has a great portfolio which is worth a visit. Click on the link under the cover. The Dinosaur Olympics, one of the longer poems is certainly worth a read.
http://www.arenaillustration.com/Artists/thumbsSusanHellard.html

The Dinosaur rap is very entertaining:

If you wanna be a reptile you gotta stay cool
Snarl at your parents, don't go to school
Talk with your mouth full and pick your nose
Who's gonna stop you, do you suppose?

Get down my man and blow your horn
We're gonna party until dawn
There's no need to read so don't bother to write
It hurts your brain - hey let's go fight

If you mess with me you're gonna get zapped
Who says funky dinosaurs can't adapt?
If the world explodes, OK, no sweat
Let's boogie in the ruins to a rap cassette.

This could well be the anthem for a couple of students in my class this year.  Anyway, this will join the poetry section of our little classroom library and is a great reference point for looking at rhyme schemes and rhyming couplets.

Wedding Birds by Jutta Ash (translated by Naomi Lewis)

This is a beautifully illustrated version of a traditional German song with English words by Naomi Lewis. Jutta Ash is already renowned for her book Jorinda and Joringel. The wedding story flows works well with the use of simple but effective rhyming couplets and this would be a great way to introduce this literary device to students. A blackbird and a thrush marry in a splendid ceremony attended by an array of well-plumed birds. Naomi Lewis sadly passed away in 2009 but will be remembered for her translations of the Danish author Hans Cristian Andersen. She reached the grand old age of 98.