The Puffin Book of Utterly Brilliant Poetry

Today I saw a little worm / Wriggling on his belly / Perhaps he'd like to come inside / And see what's on the telly.--Spike Milligan

This is a delightful, bright and gorgeously presented collection of poetry featuring the work of 10 popular and successful poets.

The selection has lots of different styles of poetry to enjoy and most poems are charming, funny or ridiculous. Some poems are familiar and probably already well-loved, but all are great fun and children will love the mad, surreal qualities of many verses featured. Each poet's section is accompanied by the work of different illustrators, making the book a wonderfully varied and colourful read.

Distinctive features of this collection are the interviews with each poet at the beginning of their sections which give the reader an interesting sense of their personalities and the roots of their poetry.

A wonderful high-quality selection sure to fire children's imaginations, this glossy book is amazing value. (Age 8-11) --Rachel Ediss

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Box of delights - Rated
I absolutely loved this book,which I'd bought as a gift for my Granddaughters, to introduce them to poetry.It will be an excellent doorway to another world.It is worth buying for the illustrations alone...such fun.

good poetry introduction - Rated
This is a good book to get you started on poetry - good examples from various authors - you may well want to extend children's interests with specific authors - but it is a good all round introduction to different styles of poetry.

disappointed! - Rated
I wanted to bring balance to the reviews here as I bought this for my 5 year old and I think the best I can say is that the book is aimed at 8+. With the exception of Spike Milligan, there is a lack of accessible, humour and rhyme for the age group in my opinion and to be honest I didn't even like them much myself! Perhaps a question of taste but if you are looking for simple rhymes to read aloud and share together look elsewhere, I am going to

Great - Rated
This is a hit with my grandson aged 4. The illustrations are appealing and the poems varied. I enjoyed reading it myself!

More accessible poetry available - Rated
I don't dislike this collection but for anyone looking for an accessible book of poetry for kids, I think there are better buys. The range of topics and style is impressive, however.
I don't find that the text scans particuarly well in many of the poems and the interviews with the poets are illuminating but add little to the enjoyment of the poetry. I find that small children, in particular, enjoy more rhythmic prose than is found in this collection.