Roar Squeak Purr : A New Zealand Treasury of Animal Poems
Edited by Paula Green
Illustrated by Jenny Cooper
ISBN 9780143775140
Penguin Books NZ
A marvellous menagerie of animal poems for children by New Zealand’s best writers – some of them children – selected by star New Zealand poet Paula Green and adorably illustrated by Jenny Cooper.
The title of this book says it all. It is a superb treasury of poems and a real treasure.
Every poem deserves its place in this collection. Some are old favourites from a number of years ago, written by some of New Zealand’s best writers, others are new. There are also poems by children. For those children included in these beautifully illustrated pages, what a wonderful achievement. As a poet, and writer myself, I can still recall my childhood dreams of wanting to be published, and for the young poets in this book, you have every right to feel incredibly proud. What an amazing book to be published in, and for the adults, I can imagine your own sense of pride.
The poems are funny, informative, imaginative, cheeky and cover so many animal topics. Each and everyone is accompanied by one of Jenny Coopers delightful, warm, funny and thoughtful full-colour illustrations. Lots of colour with wonderful matching up of words and pictures. I have always loved Jenny Cooper’s work. There is a warmth about her illustrations that just hits home, every time.
There is a handy Author Index and Animal Index at the back of the book.
Juliette MacIver’s poem Piwakawaka is full of alliteration and it is so easy to imagine fantails flitting about in the forests and bushes of New Zealand.
Hector’s Dolphin by Sally Sutton was one of the favourite picks from a group of year six children who love writing themselves. Other names to watch out for are Joy Cowley, Ben Brown, Bill Nagelkerke, Emma Neale, David Hill, Margaret Mahy, Melinda Szymanik, Paula Green herself, of course, and oh so many more imaginative poets.
I would love to see this anthology become part of a series. Families, climate change and the environment would make great collections.
This deserves a place in every school library. For teachers reading this, this is definitely one to add to your own resources. A fun book to pick up and flip to any page and read together with the family.
I have been reading the library copy but I am going to have to buy my own as I simply don’t want to return this. However, as a school librarian, having an overdue library book is not a good look.
Paula Green loves poetry. She advocates for children to think about poetry, to be creative, and to encourage students to send her their own poems for possible publication on her well-known PoetryBox Blog